Page 43 of Lies Within the Darkest Tower

His gaze dipped to the tray in my hands and somehow his expression darkened even more. I had no idea what he was upset about. Probably the orange. Troublemakers probably didn’t get delicacies like oranges, and I should have known not to take one.

He started striding toward me. And it was clear he was headed for me because his silver gaze bored into me the entire time. Everything within me screamed to flee. There was an intensity to his gaze that declared him a predator and me his prey.

But I knew escape wasn’t an option. There was nowhere to go and with no escape, fleeing would only make my punishment worse. It certainly had with Edred.

Would he beat me like Edred did? Perhaps going to the stables at the second bell had been a trap and he was going to tell me I should have gone at the first bell. Edred liked to change the rules as well.

I tightened my grip on my tray, trying to hide my trembling hands. I couldn’t look weak. I couldn’t make anyone question my masculinity.

He stormed closer and I instinctually dropped my gaze then remembered what Talon had said. A Guardsman didn’t look down for anyone, not even the Lord Commander.

I yanked my gaze up and met the Lord Commander’s eyes head on. My stomach churned with the fear of reprisal, but if I was a man and if I was going to be a Guardsman, I needed to accept that looking up wasn’t necessarily an act of defiance that needed to be punished. It was just how it was supposed to be. Man to man. Guardsman to commander.

“Kit,” the Lord Commander growled, his attention jumping to the skinny fae. “Your team’s assignment has changed. Lastnight’s hunting teams said there was increased activity near the gates so I’m adding your team to the patrols this morning.”

“You’re just doing that because the quartermaster doesn’t want me mending clothes anymore,” Payne drawled, his tone overly familiar, as if the Lord Commander wasn’t the Lord Commander and just another fae.

Lewin rolled his eyes at him. “No one wants you mending our clothes. That’s why you were assigned to an elite team. So, you wouldn’t ever be given that chore again. You’ve been here for nine years you still can’t sew a straight line.”

“Do you need me to assign a fourth to your unit,” the Lord Commander asked, not acknowledging the banter either negatively or positively.

“Permanently. Please,” Lewin begged. “Get us back to full hunting duties.”

“You’ll have a complete unit soon,” Rider replied. “I want to get the novices started on their training first then open up the elite competition.”

“Who knows,” Talon added. “There might already be a few novices ready to join the elite.”

Everyone’s eyes slid to me.

“Not if they’re all as dumb as this one,” Grefin huffed.

“I’ll remind you thatthis onehas already killed a hound,” Talon said.

“No,” Rider growled. “This onegot lucky.” He turned his attention back to Kit. “Do you want a fourth?”

“Depends on who you want to give me,” Kit replied.

“I’ll go,” Talon volunteered. “It’ll be nice to patrol the Gray again.”

Payne snorted. “You have a fucked-up definition of nice.”

“And I need you at the main gate watching the novices arrive.” The Lord Commander’s attention jumped back to me, making me want to curl in on myself and disappear. “I don’twant anymore surprises and I want your initial assessment of them before we get them situated.”

“Fine,” Talon sighed.

“And we really don’t need a fourth to patrol around the gate in the day,” Kit added.

“All right.” The Lord Commander turned on his heel and marched into the kitchen without — thank the Father! — commenting on my orange.

“Well, he’s in a bad mood,” Payne said.

Grefin shot me a dark look. “Gee, I wonder why.”

“I should go,” I mumbled.

Lewin gave me an apologetic look then pointed behind me. “There’s a bin at the back of the room for your dirty dishes.”

“Thanks.” I hurried away before anyone else could say anything, set my tray in the bin with the other trays and dirty dishes, and, with my precious orange in hand, went back to the corridor where I’d first entered.

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