“That’s what it sounds like.”
“Leave her alone, Bain,” said the large woman.
Bain retorted, “Excuse me for wanting just one night to grieve the poor bastard before someone starts using his rank—”
“I’mnotusing his rank,” Velka snapped. “It’s been a whole day and she hasn’t eaten. Do you want her to starve to death before we get there?”
“Yeah,” snorted the girl with hard eyes. “Because one day without food will kill her.”
In fact, it had been a lot longer than that since my last meal. A few days at least. But of course, I didn’t tell them that.
One of theirs had died, presumably during their raid on the palace. Gods forgive me, but the first thought that entered my mind wasGood. They’d killed my people—had killed myking. It seemed only right that they should lose one of their own.
Velka’s lips thinned. “If Rade thinks we intentionally starved her—”
“That’s enough,” Keir said, voice sharp. “She will eat. Tomorrow.” He turned to Bain. The kohl around his eyes made him look frightening. “And yes, temporarily, Velka is your Second. Sillia is your Third.” He gave a nod toward the massive woman. “They’ve always outranked you, Bain. Alarik’s death doesn’t change that. So don’t be an ass.”
Alarik. The Kald who had stood beside Keir. Who’d ripped thatguard’s throat out and spat it to the ground like a dog with a displeasing stick.
Once more I felt a dark sense of satisfaction.
Bain’s shoulders lowered. He didn’t say anything else. Keir’s word was final.
Silence descended again, and I could only blink at what I’d just witnessed. I had expected blind revelry, a celebration that they’d managed to kidnap the Gods-Chosen. I didn’t know exactly what the drink was in their cups, but I could smell the bitterness of it. Not wine like my queen had but certainly some sort of ale. I would’ve thought they’d be a drunken, laughing, rutting mess.
I had not expected grief.
But they had attacked one of the most well-protected structures on the continent. They couldn’t really have expected to break in, steal the Gods-Chosen, and get out unscathed.
The boy who looked related to the large woman—Sillia—lifted his cup to the empty seat. “To Alarik,” he said.
They all lifted their cups and intoned, “To Alarik.”
Eventually they started talking about plans for tomorrow, what time we would leave and where we would make camp. No one spoke to me, but they never stopped watching me out of the corners of their eyes.
So I watched them right back.
Cano was the name of the boy who had made the toast. He seemed to be beloved, like everyone’s little brother—and Sillia’s actual little brother. Half brother, from what I could gather. He was also at the bottom of their ranking system.
Dalla, a step above Cano, was the girl who shot me accusing glares across the fire.
Sillia didn’t speak much, though she listened attentively. Even when her thoughts appeared to be elsewhere, I could tell that her ears were always alert.
They were at once a cohesive unit and extremely fractured,probably due to Alarik’s death. When even one maid was no longer able to work in the Gods-Chosen’s rooms, the lot of us were left scrambling to figure out how to fill the void. The Kaldfolk’s dynamics reminded me a bit of that. A team set adrift.
Around us, Kaldfolk doused campfires as they readied for sleep. My captors left the fire crackling and reclined on the bare ground, no tents of their own to vanish into.
Bain shot Velka a look, but she studiously avoided it as she lay down beside Dalla.
Bain caught me watching. But instead of snapping or questioning me, the edges of his lips quirked up in a malicious grin that was far more frightening than anything he could have said. Ice flooded my veins.
“Bain.”
Bain’s gaze flicked to Keir for a second before he rolled his eyes and got comfortable like the others.
Keir turned to me. “We’ve still got a ways to go. If you don’t sleep, you’ll regret it.”
But my eyes darted back to Bain, whose chest was rising and falling rhythmically. I didn’t believe he was actually asleep.
