Page 46

As will Aiken, while he remains. Which will not be for much longer. The thought has plagued me since we arrived.

“I believe it to be so. But . . .” How do I tell her without explaining what I’ve been through these past years? “My husband, he is dead.”

Aedre crosses herself. “To the devil he should go. He mistreated you, and his kingdom.”

My jaw drops open. How does she know this?

“Vow to me,” she repeats again. And though I want nothing more than to return to Cettina, I also know I’ll not deny this woman, one I just met. She is Garra. And I am a woman who believes in other women.

Tis enough.

“You have my vow,” I say, my voice low but firm.

Aedre grabs my hands once again. Though this time, her eyes remain open. “Then I have much to explain to you. We will start with your travel companion.”

My heart skips a beat.

“Father Aiken?”

Aedre shakes her head.

“Nay, tis simply Aiken. The man is a warrior, aye. And a powerful one, like the Shadow Warriors he calls brothers. But he is no Elderman.”

23

Aiken

“Kind of you to seek me out on your return.”

Father Silvester attempts to intimidate me as he does all others. But I do not flinch nor look away. When I first joined the order, I was warned my insolence would see me punished, but that never came to pass.

Tall, thin, and incredibly resourceful, the man has barely seen fifty summers, and yet, he controls more of the Isle than anyone realizes. The church’s rising influence under his leadership has mostly to do with Silvester’s relentless pursuit of more coin and power.

No one knows better than I how far he is willing to go for both.

“Forgive me,” I say, falling into step with the Prima as he walks away from the throne room. The moment I learned he’d arrived at court this morn to meet with the king, I sought him out but missed him before he’d gone inside. His personal guards, men whose moral code equals the Prima’s own quite questionable one, watch with justified suspicion.

I was recruited for my skill and willingness to take the Elderman’s vow, but not being a religious man myself, I have never forged a relationship with any of the others. Good men, their deeds pure, were overshadowed by the Prima’s greed. The longer I serve him, the more I think his presence will not bode well for the future of the church.

“I was carrying out your wishes, Father.”

Instead of responding, he walks faster.

I don’t need to ask about his meeting. After speaking with the king myself, and given Silvester’s demeanor now, I already know its outcome.

“I would speak with you privately, Father.”

Although he is angry now, my proposal should put him at ease. But instead of answering, he continues toward the great hall, and past it, confirming my suspicions. If he and King Galfrid had somehow worked out an accord, he would be remaining for the midday meal.

It is only as we reach a fairly empty, long corridor that Silvester stops and waves away the two guards trailing us. Shadow Warriors, men whose skill surprised me when I first joined them, fade into the background as Silvester berates me with his eyes.

“You’ve been in the capital for three days.”

“Aye, Father. Doing the work you set before me.”

Clearly he does not wish to speak openly here. Trying the closest door to us, not expecting it to be open, I am surprised when the latch gives. And immediately nod for the Prima to enter.

He does so, reluctantly, as I shut the door behind us. A small solar of some type, empty, serves my purposes well.