Page 105 of The Bone Season

‘And if I refuse?’

‘I would prefer that you came of your own accord,’ Warden said, calm as you like, ‘but if I must stipulate it, I am willing.’

‘Do you have toworkat being this irritating, or does it come naturally to you?’

‘No amount of petty insults will change my condition, Paige.’

‘And no amount of tea and biscuits will buy my obedience.’

‘I seek your forbearance and dedication. In return, I will tailor your training to compensate for your lack of life support. I will be mindful of your welfare.’

‘Why bother?’

‘This is my offer,’ Warden said. ‘I have already named my price.’

‘Nashira can’t approve of this,’ I said, forcing down my fury. ‘You call me by name. You barely even scolded me for attacking a Reph. Now you’re inviting me for supper. I’ve been tarnishing your good name all over the city, and if anything, you’re rewarding me for it. What is your game, Arcturus Mesarthim?’

‘You will have to trust me. Just as I have trusted you to keep my secret.’

‘Are you going to tell me why you’ve been fighting the Buzzers?’

‘Perhaps I will, when you join me for supper.’

My aura had recovered. I was starting to feel the æther again, a faint prickle of awareness.

‘I’d like to sleep on it,’ I said. ‘You still owe me that favour, Warden.’

‘I have not forgotten.’

We both stood. Even after weeks of living alongside him, his height remained daunting.

He opened the door to the landing for me. It was such a courteous and unnecessary gesture that I looked at him with suspicion.

‘I should not have adjourned your training for as long as I did,’ Warden said quietly. ‘I have been preoccupied. Forgive me.’

The apology came as such a surprise, all I could do was stare at him. After a long moment, I nodded and went to up to the attic.

Gail came straight up for a look at the leak. She put a bucket down to catch the raindrops, then left me to my thoughts. I rubbed my hands over my paraffin lamp, focusing on the æther. Suhail was on the prowl outside; I could sense him patrolling Magdalen Walk. For the time being, I was stuck in the residence.

I got into bed, minding my fresh bruises from the stairs. As I lay there, I considered the offer.

Accepting it would be a serious risk. If I worked with Warden and failed to escape, I would have colluded in my own downfall, granting Nashira a powerful weapon. Without life support, there was every possibility I could experience a lot of pain first, even if Warden went easy on me. Little as anyone knew about dreamwalking, any fool could tell it was dangerous.

But my giftwasa part of me. Perhaps it was a matter of pushing through a pain barrier. Besides, learning to dreamwalk might be the key to finding a way back to London – or lasting just long enough for London to find me. Jaxon might have given up by now, but Nick would keep looking.

Getting my gift up to scratch might just increase my chances of escaping – or surviving – the Bicentenary. Even now, I could floor Rephs. From the looks on the humans’ faces today, that was unprecedented.

Nashira wanted me because I had a power she lacked. That gave me the upper hand. While she thought I was honing it for her, I was safer than most. No one could hurt me without risking her displeasure.

Warden was offering to train me as if I still had a future. If he kept to his side of that bargain – if he allowed me to set my own pace – then I might yet leave this place unbroken, with my sanity intact.

The mandatory supper was irritating, but I could spin it to my advantage. He clearly meant to gain my trust, but two could play that parlour game, and I had just as much to win.

Thuban Sargas had called himconcubine– a word I had never heard before then, loaded with contempt. I could discover what it meant. Suhail, too, regarded him with obvious disdain. I could find out why.

Long before the night bell tolled, I knew what I was going to do.

Warden was still in the parlour, poring over some papers by candlelight, a goblet within reach. When I stepped into the room, he looked at me.

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