Page 131 of Shadows and Roses

Skeptical, Castien nonetheless offered, "They're good people, but they've been at this for a long time. Perhaps they need your perspective."

Damon smiled. "Maybe you're right. Kevam used totell me things like that."

Castien's eyes widened. "Are you accusing me of saying something wise?"

Damon grinned. "That does seem a bit unlikely, doesn't it? Don't worry, Cas, you'll understand someday."

"Oh, good. I was worried there for a moment."

Damon contemplated him. "Have you finished the book?"

Castien scratched his head. "Ah, no. One of those things I'll understand someday, perhaps?"

"Finish the book. 'Someday' will be 'never' if you don't try."

"Right." He paused. "Where did you find this, anyway? You never spoke of such things before."

Damon shrugged. "I’ve never lived in a palace with an extensive library before."

This didn’t seem like something the royal library would leave around for casual reading. Castien liked reading, though a flash of his last memory amongst the shelves sent a guilty warmth to his cheeks.

"Right. The library, of course. Good night, then." He ducked his head and left.

—

He played with the wolf pup. She had grown to nearly full size, a beautiful grey wolf, and she was still highly protective of the nursery. Her den, now.

Castien’s presence didn’t seem to be missed at court. He spent time with Octavius and in the training circles, instead. Actually training, this time. They were attempting to break him of the habit of blocking with his arm. The leather bracers were good enough to be armor, but that wasn’t their intended use, and they were a bit small.

Progress through the book was slow. The writing did not improve and he did not understand it any better. Even worse, halfway through, the author spent a dozen pages on dragons. Damon couldn’t possibly believe all of this. Developing a headache, he set it down again and considered patrolling the court. Alarmed that the court sounded better than the book, he nonetheless wandered the halls.

While he walked, his eyes caught on the nobles. A lord's whip came down no less hard on their victims than a lady's. Male and female servants were used alike, neither suffered particularly more or less.

As his aimless feet approached the nobles' apartments, he hesitated. The Escorts avoided this area, implicitly allowing whatever happened within. An unusual sound convinced him to continue.

Someone was sobbing. That was common enough. The unusual bit was the voices offering condolences.

He glanced at his guard and strode through the wide open doors of the hall. The voices came from the nearest room on his left.

Several lords and ladies sat in the sprawling, opulent sitting room. They all turned and scowled at his entrance.

One stood. "Escort. Are you here to investigate this horror?"

What would these people consider horrible? He lazily raised a brow. "I was only curious about the tears. What happened?"

Their faces were grim. The lord who spoke pointed into the bed chamber. "A child was murdered."

Castien blinked. They didn't give him their usual smug twist of their lips at his surprise. He gestured for his guard to remain in the room. Jerome wouldn't likethat, but the captain wasn't here.

Another group surrounded the window in the bed chambers. Ensconced within their circle, a couple leaned over the bed, sobbing over a white-silk-wrapped body.

"What happened?" Castien asked again, softer.

The lady looked up. Her hands trembled as she silently stepped away from the silk.

"No," the lord beside her groaned. She turned to hug the man to her chest as Castien stepped closer, the crowd allowing him passage. Her somber eyes followed him.

Gently, he pulled back the cloth and froze.

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