My ears strained.
A cry?
Achild'spained cry.
I walked quickly as I followed the sound that led around the back of the building. I knew that's where the servants entrance would be and my heart picked up slightly in pace. At the second cry I was running, my feet quiet and light as I rounded the corner.
I took in the scene before me, a terrifying rage brewing deep within. The boy who had delivered Bran's message was leaning his back against the palace wall, blood trickling from his nose as he carefully cradled his arm. He stared up in fear at the man who stood before him.
His shoulders were broad, his height intimidating as he towered over the young Luanthian, orSolerianconvert.
My shadows responded eagerly to the wrath that burned through me, a fan to the flames as they hissed and slid beneath my skin.
Do you see the fear, little shadow?
To hurt a child is such a grievous sin.
Let us pay back the pain he has caused by ten.
The boy's eyes slid to me, widening slightly, and that was when I stepped forward.
I needed to be careful how I approached this, a reckless idea forming.
"There you are.” I stalked forward, practically shouldering my way around the large man. I played the part perfectly, a haughty Solerian woman, without a care or fear of retribution. I spun then, facing him as my hands landed upon my hips. “Why are you holding him up? l've been waiting on his arrival for an hour and had to traipse all the way down here."
His thin lips pulled back in a sneer. “The Luanthian scum had two silver coins on him. He's a thief and I was trying to figure out where he obtained them from."
I took in the guard uniform the man was wearing, a golden breastplate, the sigil of the King etched upon it.
This man was part of the KingsGuard, not an ordinary soldier then. Lifting my chin slightly, my hand waved. "I gave them to him. The boy is a message carrier. I asked him to gather some herbs to practice my potions, and figured he should be compensated as it's not part of his job generally."
The lie slid easily from my tongue.
Telling him that Bran and I had tipped the boy for delivering messages would have been far too suspicious. Luanthian’s were not generally treated with that kind of respect, and I’d be marked as a sympathizer, something I could not afford to be labeled on the palace grounds. In Amori City, fine. In the Old Quarter, fine. However, under the scrutiny of all these eyes, the royal family? Absolutely not.
"Is that true, boy?"
A shaky breath sounded from behind. "Yes sir, I was on my way to collect the herbs that I stored to bring them to her."
Goddess please don't let this man ask to see those herbs.
"Rainer, what's going on here?"
Normally that voice would have sent chills spilling down my spine, but at this very moment it sounded like salvation.
Roan Delmar stepped around the side of the building, his white hair glowing in the silver moonlight. His eyes locked on me for a moment too long before moving to the boy who had slowly been inching behind me, taking shelter from the fury of the soldier who had hurt him.
The Kinslayer’s eyes flitted back to Rainer who now stood at attention. "You were supposed to return to the barracks twenty minutes ago for debriefing after Kilken took over your post."
"Thought the kid was a thief, Captain," Rainer explained. “He had two silver coins on him, but the lady says she gave them to—”
"Leave."
Bitterness crawled up my throat as his stare met mine again, never wavering, not even as the guard stalked away towards the barracks. I held the Kinslayer’s gaze for a moment longer than necessary, before my worry outwon the challenge that lay there. Quickly turning, I crouched to the boy’s level.
I didn't give a shit if Roan Delmar thought me a sympathizer.
The stake had always been my fate, a call that haunted me with every breath that left my body. I refused to let the fear of it diminish the compassion within me.
