Page 44 of The Bone Season

‘I was checking on one of the amaurotics. Is that a crime around here?’

‘Their welfare is not your concern. Since we have business elsewhere this evening, I will overlook your impertinence,’ he said, ‘but do not expect me to do so again.’ He turned away. ‘Come with me.’

I was outnumbered and unarmed. Trying to get out of this situation would be suicidal. Surrendering to the inevitable, I followed him.

Warden led me back down the boulevard. The other Rephs walked behind us, keeping a respectful distance. I glanced at his eyes again.

He caught me looking. ‘If you have a question,’ he said, ‘you may ask.’

‘Why are your eyes like that?’

‘Doubtless you will soon find out.’

I stiffened. ‘You’re taking me somewhere to punish me, then?’

‘No. I am taking you to your first test.’ When I gave him a sharp look, he said, ‘I did call at Magdalen to collect you. When I saw you were gone, I suspected I might find you at Amaurotic House.’

‘I’ve been here two days. I haven’t even done any training.’

‘The first test requires none.’

‘We’re not testing in number order?’

‘That is the usual approach,’ Warden said. ‘You are an exception.’

Of course.

‘I have one more question,’ I said, keeping my voice low. ‘What happened to you last night?’

Warden looked straight ahead.

‘I rescind your invitation to speak,’ he said.

I almost bit my tongue in two. Patronising, despicable bastard. I should have killed him.

The Rephs escorted me back to the lamplight, to the building where Nashira had turned my world upside down. For the first time, I noticed the gold letters arching over its gates, readingTHE RESIDENCE OF THE SUZERAIN. The guards bowed when Warden passed, pressing their gloved fists to their chests.

The gates closed behind us. The steely clang tightened my muscles. My gaze darted, seeking handholds and footholds. Looking for a way out was an instinct I could never shake.

Warden took the gravelled path that wrapped around the oval lawn. Two of his friends went to stand guard on either side of the doors, while a third came to my other side. He was the spitting image of Pleione, down to his well-boned face and raven curls.

Flanked by Rephs, I stepped over the threshold, into an entrance hall with spotless ivory walls. Suhail Chertan waited beside a stone pillar.

‘You may remove your tunic,’ Warden said to me. ‘It will limit your range of motion.’

He framed it as a choice, but I had none here. ‘You told me this didn’t require any training,’ I said. ‘Is it something physical?’

None of the Rephs answered. I unbuttoned the white tunic and handed it to Suhail. We proceeded up a set of black steps, where two gates opened to allow us through a gilded baroque screen.

When we emerged on the other side, I turned colder. Several Rephs awaited us in a long chamber. The back wall was a feat of intricate stonework, humanlike figures carved all the way up to the hammer-beam ceiling. A chequered floor reflected the candlelight.

Warden went to one knee and lowered his head. I did the same when a Reph stared me down. Most of them were unfamiliar.

‘Arcturus.’

I risked a glance.

Nashira Sargas had appeared. Tonight she wore a set of black robes that covered her to the chin, along with the obligatory gloves. Passing an old wooden chair, she came to stand in front of us.