“She’s already taken care of.”
I grabbed him by his sandstone-hard arm and walked us farther down the servants’ corridor, away from the rooms.
“What did you do? You promised not to tell anyone about her.” I kept my voice low, but the tone was nothing short of hissed anger and concern.
“Relax, and I didn’t tell anyone. Just trust me, all right, she’ll be fine. Go grab your things. My men are soon ready from inventory, and we’ll be leaving shortly.”
I only stared at him.
What does he mean, she’s taken care of?And I couldn’t possibly leave her for that long.
“Cordelia, I swear to you, she’ll be fine.”
I surveyed him for a while longer before saying, “I thought you said swearing is not your preferred method of negotiation.”
“I did, didn’t I? A bargain, then.”
I raised a brow. “Should I bargain with you, though? We both know what happened the last time we bargained.”
“Just name your price.” Well, somebody was impatient.
“I will only come with you if you promise to restock Cinnamon’s bales of hay. All fifty of them.”
“Done. Now go pack your things.”
I blinked. “You’re serious?” I expected us to haggle.
“Yes. Now for Boreas’s sake, will you go get your stuff?”
“And you promise that she’ll be all right, even if it takes us up to nine days? And what if we are for some reason delayed?”
“Cordelia,” he said, grabbing hold of my arm, “I promise.”
I nodded. “It’s a deal, then.”
I didn’t waste much time packing, though I did pause to slip two silver coins from their hideaway. I placed one in each of my dress pockets so that they would remain silent.
As I was about to leave, Nadya stirred.
“Where are you going this early?” she rasped, blinking away her sleep.
“I was asked to accompany Lord Hailin to the market in Dunehaven. I will return in around a week’s time.”
“Oh, lucky you!” she said, before letting out a grunt and throwing off the bedsheet. “Iwill be accompanying the three princesses to the Fabrique today. They are indesperateneed of new fabric for the Graind Races and plan to visiteverystall. Yay me.”
I had almost forgotten that the Graind Races were only a couple of months away.
“Good luck, then. I’ll see you in a week. Take care of yourself, and keep an eye on Sabriela, will you?”
“I will. You take care as well, Delia. Be wary, all right?”
I nodded. “I will.”
“Let’s go,” Aegir said the second I opened the door. I had to up my pace to keep up with him, taking three steps of mine for two of his.
We made our way into the courtyard, the sun already beginning its slow ascent over the horizon, casting a fiery orange glow across the grainy landscape. We approached Aegir’s men. Six of them. All very white, all donning weapons. They moved around, focused on the final preparations. Two of them were adjusting the saddles, and another pair carried waterskins, securing two along each side of every saddle, then storing the larger ones in the carriage. The remaining men were doing their final checks.
“Here, keep this fresh,” one of them said, to another male I was certain was his brother. He handed him a bag of what I suspected was food. The trails of white mist that swirled around the sack told me he was an Ice Wielder.
