Page 44 of Lies Within the Darkest Tower

I hadn’t seen anyone come or go from the main doors in the great hall and didn’t want to make a scene by leaving that way. It was bad enough half of the men in the room were staring at me and this time I knew it had everything to do with me — my size and the fact that I was the idiot who’d used the ring after dark last night — since I was no longer covered in shadow blood.

I guessed that the first floor of the barracks was identical to the third floor and if I went straight instead of going back up the stairs I’d taken to get to the great hall, I’d find another hall that led to that first door Grefin had taken me to when we’d entered the building last night.

I was right, and I hurried outside into a cramped area between the three-story barracks and a one-story section of the building. Mist curled thick around my feet and ankles and the air was damp and chilly. Above, the sky was dull and overcast, andwhile it didn’t look like it was going to rain, it also didn’t look like the sun was going to come out anytime soon.

On the other side of the one-story section of the main building lay the bailey. It was easily three times the size of Herstind castle’s bailey enclosed by tall walls that I had no doubt were thicker than the ones surrounding Herstind castle.

Ahead of me, the stables and its outbuildings took up the right wall almost from the edge of the barracks all the way to the main gate, while to the left was a large section jutting off the main building, the strange building I’d noticed last night that was made of the semi-opaque material, and another large building that I had no idea what it was.

A few men sparred near the building that I had no idea what it was, while four more walked out of the stables with their riding tack and headed to one of the outbuildings close to me. One of them, a human with a medium sized build and short brown hair noticed me and said something to the guy beside him and then all four of them — two humans and two fae — were staring at me. They all looked tired and were splattered with shadow blood and one of the humans had a cut on his cheek.

“If you’re going to be stupid enough to draw their attention by using the ring after dark, at least be good enough to kill more than just one of them,” one of the fae said as they entered the outbuilding.

“I’m just impressed you managed to kill one of them at all,” a familiar voice said from behind me, and I turned to see Kit coming around the edge of the building.

“I got lucky.” Which was an understatement. “Are you following me to make sure I don’t get into anymore trouble?”

“Talon was worried you didn’t get enough to eat.” Kit held out a slice of bread folded into a sandwich with cheese and bacon in the middle.

I took it, not wanting to argue with him and because I was still a little hungry since I’d only eaten part of my roll and half of my porridge before the Lord Commander had shown up.

“Thanks,” I said, “but Talon doesn’t have to concern himself with me.” And neither did anyone else. In fact, the fewer people who noticed me, the better.

Payne and Lewin strode around the edge of the building toward us, the large fae flashing me a wide grin.

“See you when the fourth bell rings, novice,” he said. He wrapped an arm across Kit’s shoulders without loosing a step and they headed to the same outbuilding the other men had gone into.

Swell. They weren’t going to ignore me and that would just draw even more attention.

CHAPTER 28

Sage

I ate the half sandwich,then peeled and ate my orange. The first four men left the outbuilding and returned to the barracks, while Kit and his team picked up their riding gear, headed into the stables, and returned to the bailey a few minutes later with their horses saddled and ready to go.

Payne swung up into his saddle with the powerful grace only a fae could have, gave me a wave as the others mounted, then all three of them rode out of the bailey.

I finished my orange, shoved the peels into my pocket — I’d add them to the manure pile when I had a chance — and crossed the bailey to the stables.

The castle’s bell rang twice just as I was stepping inside the large, dusty building filled with the pungent, musty scent of hay and horse and urine and shit. A middle-aged human with a sword at his hip, a robust figure, and thinning hair looked up from whatever he’d been doing a few stalls down and frowned at me.

“So, you’re the novice,” he said, his tone dry.

Swell. Another admirer.

Another man, about my age — my real age of almost twenty, not the age I was pretending to be — hurried through the stabledoors and stopped beside me. He too was armed, and he gave me a quick glance before turning his attention to the middle-aged man.

“I’m the stablemaster, Kasen,” the middle-aged man said. “Today you’re mine until the fourth bell and then for half of the shift after the eighth bell. Have you mucked out a stall before?”

“I haven’t,” I admitted. No point in claiming to know something when I didn’t since I wasn’t here to impress anyone.

“He’s a noble,” the new guy snickered. “Probably hasn’t had a hard day of work in his life.”

Which wasn’t at all true. I’d spent a lot of time hauling water up stairs for Edred and his new wife’s baths among other things, but I’d never been given stable work.

In fact, shortly after my mother had died, Edred had stopped my riding lessons, and I could only assume it was an effort to limit my knowledge of horses so it would be harder for me to run away.

“Well, he’s not a noble anymore,” Kasen said. “Owun, get him started while I start moving the horses to the pasture. Once you’ve gotten him going, help me with the rest.”

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