Page 35 of Chained Knight

Of what?The question was answered as soon as thought, for Hannixe turned to her, hands raising, and Ari couldn’t restrain a flinch.

The other woman paused, a shadow crossing her heart-shaped face, and waited.

Every girl was supposed to like jewelry, diamonds being a woman’s best friend and all that. But something this pretty, so heavy, so… so expensive-looking? No. Ari didn’t even wear herown engagement or wedding rings; they were kept in a box on Wanda Lee’s dresser.

All the same, she stared at the necklace, almost longing to touch. What would it be like, to settle something so beautiful against her skin? They kept sayingqueen; this was probably some version of crown jewels.

“’Tis yours, I cannot keep it.” Hannixe’s eyebrows rose, and her mouth turned down slightly. “Please?”

Oh, God. Ari had to shut her eyes as metal, strangely warm, touched her throat. Fortunately, the reminder of Mike’s strangling grasp was brief, and the torc was oddly light—the weight was even, she thought, vaguely enjoyable. A spot of heat dilated under the gem, resting lightly against her breastbone, and the only thing more frightening than the sweet silk-sound of fabric moving as the shakes returned was how natural and strangelyrighta single piece of jewelry could feel.

Like Mom’s silver crucifix, no doubt now irretrievably lost. Getting dressed up was probably necessary at this point—you couldn’t have a pretender to the throne in Levis—but now Ari wondered if they’d give her regular clothes back at some point, or if she’d be returned wearing a ballgown.

“There.” The Grey Lady stepped away, tilted her head, and viewed her work with visible satisfaction. “Now for your slippers, and would it please you to descend? The knights will be waiting to partake.”

Partake of what?The bath’s heat lingered but tension returned anyway, stiffening Ari’s shoulders. “They’re waiting?”

“As is their honour and privilege. So few remain, though. Once we filled the Keep, your companions fair and fell, all merry and wild.” It sounded like a song, or poetry; a faint trace of huskiness remained in Hannixe’s voice. “Many were lost the night you suffered misfortune. The shock was too great.”

There it was again, talking about Ari like some kind of reincarnation. Was it just lip service? Either way, it was dangerous as Wanda Lee’s pointed little trap questions or Mike’s louder, fake-cheerful ones when he’d already decided to hurt her and was just looking for an excuse.

The torc warmed even more, a subtle pulse spreading from its contact with her skin.

“Forgive me.” Hannixe paused, the backs of her fingers briefly touching her mouth, a pretty little mannerism. “It must distress you to think upon. Come, your slippers.”

Slip-on shoes of creamy velvet with heavily embroidered silver uppers and very thin leathery soles, no match for Ari’s hiking boots but at least now she maybe sort of halfway looked like she belonged in this weird place despite her hair turning into a cloud of curls, no makeup, and the rapidly fading yellow ghosts of bruises hidden by long sleeves. There was no mirror to check if the marks on her throat were still visible, or to see how ridiculous she appeared next to Hannixe’s easy, unstudied beauty.

“There.” The Grey Lady straightened, clasping her hands. “Oh, I have longed for this; I should keep you to myself, but that would be s-selfish indeed. Shall we?”

Clearly, there was no way of escaping whatever came next. Ari nodded, and hoped nobody would bust a gut laughing at the sight of an interloper wrapped in borrowed finery.

21

EVENTUAL JUSTICE

Low,half-familiar male voices filled the cottage’s downstairs. Hannixe held aside the curtain at the foot of the stairs, beckoning Ari through.

Do I have to?But there was no escape.

“—the Mere,” Majan was saying. “Leshe is serious in her charge; indeed I think ’tis the only thing she is not careless of.”

“There is a Conjunction soon.” The chained man sounded flat, uninterested. “If missed, simply waiting will suffice.”

“Another ten thousand mortal years?” Jazarl was audibly having none of this.

Ten thousand what now?Ari paused, trying to figure out if her invisible translator had burped, but Hannixe was waiting.

“She is returned. It is enough.” A slight edge to every word, the first brush of killing frost. “If need be we will stand guard twice or thrice as long, and count ourselves lucky to have the chance.”

Ari braced herself, stepping through the curtain.

A couple more plain hard wooden chairs had been found to crouch near the three overstuffed ones, but the downstairs roomwas hardly crowded. Half a dozen men in green and brown. One in grey, his pale gaze finding Hannixe and sharpening. The chained man was at the fireplace, ruddy flamelight running over blackened armor and strings of links; did he sleep in the iron getup?

Nowthatsounded uncomfortable.

The window shutters remained tight-closed and barred; a heavy beam rested in brackets across the front door’s blank inner face. Golden glow from the globes in branchlike holders brightened as the chained man stepped away from the stone hearth; one by one, Jazarl’s men rose. The grey-clad fellow with the stripe in his hair was already on his feet, leaning easily against the wall; his rapier-hilt gave a smart, cheerful little winking gleam.

Thick silence, broken only by the fire mutter-crackling about its business. Ari shifted uneasily, her skirt swaying, and a faint edge of silver touched the room’s light.

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