I stared at him, fighting back the urge to grab one of the wooden practice swords from the wall and beat the shit out of him with it. The manipulative dick. He knew I didn’t want anything bad to happen to Bokkan. He was playing on my emotions for his commander.
“You need to get the fuck away from me,” I finally said.
Guldan didn’t argue. He bowed his head and left the training room.
With a frustrated shout, I turned around and threw all my weight behind an elbow to the groin of the practice dummy. It rocked a bit, something that never would have happened before.
I couldn’t trust anything the commander said. I needed someone else to verify his statements, but I wasn’t sure who I could trust.
The only other source of information in the house was Masu. So far, she’d been honest with me. It was time to find out if that extended to her master and his future.
Breathing heavily, I scooped up my empty water cup and headed toward the house. The soldiers gave me a wide berth as I marched by, but I could feel their eyes on me. I wasn’t sure if shooting them a middle finger would be considered an insult here, but I thought about it.
I didn’t have the patience to deal with any possible fallout, so I kept going, ignoring them all.
I rounded the corner of the house and found Masu in the herb garden, weeding the beds. Her head came up, and she smiled when she saw me.
Until she saw my expression.
“Lady Leda, what is wrong?” she asked, sitting back on her heels and wiping her hands on her apron.
I stopped beside her and collapsed on the ground on my butt. “I need to talk to someone, but I need someone to be honest without their own agenda.”
Masu tilted her head, her red eyes locked on mine. “Are you looking for a recommendation?”
I almost laughed at her obvious confusion. “No. I was hoping I could talk to you and that you would tell me the truth without trying to manipulate me into doing what you want.”
The imp blinked at me several times before she folded her hands in her lap. “I would be honored to help you, Lady Leda.”
“Please just call me Leda.”
She nodded. “Very well. What would you like to discuss, Leda?”
“Guldan shared some things with me a little bit ago that contradict things that Bokkan told me. I’m not sure what to think and I have some questions.”
“I will answer to the best of my ability.”
“Do any of the humans here ever return home?”
“A few have,” she answered.
I took a deep breath, trying to remain patient. “How often does it happen?” I asked, trying to reframe the question without sounding like a complete bitch.
“Not very often,” she admitted. “Maybe one or two a year.”
“And how many humans come into the realm every year?”
“I do not know the exact number, but there is a slave auction at least once a month, and they usually have ten to twelve humans each.”
Shit, that was a lot more humans than I expected. It also meant that Guldan hadn’t lied when he said a few returned to the human realm.
“Do humans absorb magic while in Penumbra?” I asked.
Masu nodded. “I do not know a lot about it, but humans who remain here for extended periods are eventually able to utilize small amounts of magic to do things like lighting a fire or casting simple spells.”
“Do you know if it makes them a target for supernatural creatures when they return home?”
Masu’s face fell. “I am afraid I cannot answer that, Leda. I do not possess knowledge of the human realm.”
