“True enough,” she said, after yet another delicate spoonful. “I’m used to game, mostly. Whatever I can catch.”
Sabina clucked. “How quaint.”
“Compared to some things I’ve eaten, certainly. For example, a mountain goat’s heart, ripped straight from its ribs, completely raw.”
David sputtered on his tea, and Claude, who had been smiling condescendingly, paled.
“Barbaric,” Sabina muttered.
“Beastly, rather,” Anya corrected, dipping her spoon in the bowl with nary a clink. “Even barbarians cook their food. Ate it in the winter, on the slopes. Had no water. The blood is quite reviving. Warming, too.”
Sabina laughed uncomfortably. The game was not going the way she had planned. “Wheredidyou dig her up, Sylas?”
He didn’t answer, too fascinated with Anya’s tactics. Yesterday, she’d accused him of thinking her an idiot, a simple country rustic. Though her demeanor was a bit rough, he knew well enough the location of one’s birth did little to determine their capability or their intellect; and one look at her sharp gaze showed she was too clever by far. He hadn’t entertained the thought for a moment, and had been insulted at the presumption.
Now, he watched her dip in and out of the role, playing it to her advantage, never letting their perception of her settle, leaving her the upper hand. When she’d first turned her intense gaze upon him, he’d been reminded of a bird of prey. Really, she was a fish, glittering and slippery, cunning as she was capricious.
“I only answered his ad,” she replied, and Sy remembered he had been asked a question.
“And did our Sylas tell you why he’s desperate for the prize?” said Sabina. He thought he detected a particular emphasis on the wordour.
“It didn’t come up,” Anya said primly, taking another delicate sip of her soup.
“So you don’t know,” prodded Claude. “About his… predicament.”
Sy set down his own spoon. “Predicament,” he repeated, laughing without mirth. He saw the game, now. They wanted to toy with Anya, but more than that, they wanted to punish him for not letting them in on his scheme. To, if they could, scare away his one advantage – or lure her in another, more lucrative, direction.
“What predicament?” Anya said, turning to him, her forehead wrinkled.
“How rude of me,” Sabina interrupted. “I haven’t offered you any tea. Do you take sugar?”
“What – yes,” she said distractedly, her attention still on Sy. “What predicament?”
He faltered. “It’s unimport–”
“His indenture. Didn’t he tell you?” Sabina stirred the tea daintily. “The king paid for his education – humble beginnings, you know. And so he must work at the king’s behest until he pays it off. At his majesty’s beck and call. It will take him ages, of course. Especially with the interest compounding every year. Luckily, he has such generous friends.”
“Sabina,” David said, voice low, but it was far too late.
She nodded at Sy’s hands, and though they were gloved, he fought the urge to push them under the table. “See for yourself – he bears the king’s mark on his palm. The king can summon him whenever he wants, from…from how far, Sylas?”
“Sabina,” David said again, but Sy met her stare.
“Far enough,” he said, a warning in his voice. He tolerated her games, even the ones with bite, but she was dangerously close to drawing blood.
“If not for the reprieve for this contest, the king could call him right now,” Sabina continued, clinking her spoon, “and he’d have no choice but to leave behind everything and everyone until the king is satisfied.” She passed Anya the cup. “It is such a shame.”
“It isn’t,” Anya said, taking the cup. The rest of the table, barely interested in Sabina’s toying, now went quiet.
“Beg pardon?” Sabina said sweetly.
“There is no shame in wanting more from life,” said Anya. “The shame is in denying the means. Hoarding away knowledge.” Her eyes, strikingly earnest, found Sy’s. She looked at him as if she were seeing him clearly for the first time. “Like a dragon.”
The silence was now palpable.Uncouthdidn’t cover it. The others did not know what to make of this strange creature who dressed like a hermit, spoke like a farmer, and took her tea like a lady.
Truthfully, Sy did not either. Just when he thought he did, she surprised him all over again.
Terrence’s trumpet of a voice jerked his attention away. “What are you suggesting? Would you have just anyone running loose with our power?” He put his elbows on the table along with his invaluable input and laughed incredulously. “Why, it would be complete anarchy.”
