Page 80 of Heart of Shadows

“They’re trying to help some villagers cure a sickness that seems to be spreading, almost like a plague.”

Dimitri stiffened and leaned forward. “A what? Where? When?” He gripped the table, his knuckles white.

“I—I don’t know. I don’t know Pelenor.”

With a giant whoosh of breath, Dimitri sat back in his chair and tapped his fingers upon the table. “You’re sure it was a plague-like sickness?”

“That’s what they said, and what we saw. Why?”

“Because the king knows nothing of it. Or, if he does, he’s said nothing, which I would not put past him,” Dimitri growled. “Either way, this is grave news.” He sighed. “Come. Eat your breakfast. I fear today will be a long day.”

Harper ate obediently, though it did not take much persuading. He had not failed to notice how thin she was, as if she had never had a full belly. Dimitri pursed his lips and dropped his gaze to his own plate.

It was the same wherever he went. No matter whose kingdom, abject poverty and inconceivable wealth existed side by side. He fleetingly wondered if the rulers in her homeland were as cruel as the king. If he could somehow send her back, what kind of life would she be returning to? She had said precious little about it, but that spoke volumes in itself.

It was another reason not to pursue sending her home by whatever means he could. It was an excuse he could focus on, rather than think about why he really wanted to keep her under his watch. At her heated request, he had returned the charm bracelet to her, but with a heavy sense of foreboding and a warning to her to always keep it hidden.

It has to be connected, his mind taunted him. The stone, the charm, the girl, Saradon…

The request to join the king’s presence arrived sooner than he liked, just as they finished eating.

“Come,” Dimitri said, grim-faced. “The king requests your presence ‘to reward you for your services’.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Harper asked, her eyes wide. “Perhaps he could return me to Caledan.”

“I would not raise your hopes. Harper, you saw his true spirit last night. Do you think he will be so benevolent?”

She did not answer.

“Do not ask it of him,” he warned.

At Dimitri’s request, Emyria fussed over Harper, making sure every inch of her was impeccably presented in the squire’s clothing. As a last thought, he stopped her before they left.

“Wait. I have something for you. A peace offering, if you will.” She frowned, but watched as Emyria handed a wrapped object to him. He held it out to Harper. “Here.”

She unwrapped it to discover a familiar dagger. The one Aedon had given her. Her hands closed tightly around it. She met his gaze, radiating confusion, her fire quenched by the surprise of his action. Her words, when they came, were gentle enough to surprise him too. “Thank you.”

He nodded stiffly.

“Why?”

“Because today will not be easy. Consider it a talisman of courage. One condition though?”

She hesitated, a question in her eyes.

“Don’t use it on me, will you?” He could not help but grin.

Her answering smile was glorious, like the coming of the sun, and it sharpened to steel as her vicious fire returned. “I can’t promise.”

60

AEDON

Aedon’s heart thundered with the thrill of evasion as he vaulted from Brand’s back. The shadow of the giant wings over him vanished as the Aerian soared away, Erika still within his arms for her own mission. Aedon landed upon the battlements with a soft thud, cushioning the impact with his knees. He pressed himself down to the ground and into the shadows and stilled, surveying his surroundings. Tournai at night. The city never slumbered. It thrummed with life, though a different tune to its daytime cacophony.

Seeing a fleeting gap between the patrolling guards, Aedon flowed from shadow to shadow. With a running leap, he vaulted from the wall onto the roof of a nearby building. Before he could be spotted, he slid down the rough thatch, stopping just before the edge—and the perilous drop to the cobbled street below.

Checking his handholds before he committed, he swung from the roof onto a shuttered window sill below, and from there—after confirming he had escaped notice so far—used his momentum to grasp a hanging sign closer to the ground, swung once, and jumped, alighting on the ground with a wet slap.

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