Page 36 of The Twisted Throne

“A good attempt,” he muttered. “But I’m not that easily duped. I’ll see you inside your room, and then I’ll post a guard beneath it.”

Any desire to apologize evaporated. “It’s not a trick. I just don’t need to be tucked in a second time tonight.”

“No, but I might need to tie you to the bed to keep you from further foolish pursuits.”

Ahnna’s cheeks flushed at the sudden vision of how that might go, and as if realizing what he’d said, James pressed fingers to his temple. “Your single greatest skill seems to be driving me to madness. No more discussion. I’m taking you back to the house, and that’s the end of it.”

Ahnna only nodded, words escaping her.

James jumped and took hold of the top of the wall, lifting himself until he was looking over. He remained in that position, watching, then heaved himself up so that he was sitting atop the wall. Reaching down, he offered her his hand, barely visible in the darkness. “Leave the whiskey.”

Gripping the bottle tightly, she jumped and caught his hand, allowing him to pull her atop the wall. Though his size spoke to considerable strength, it still shocked her how easily he lifted her. As though she weighed no more than tiny Hazel. It was no wonder he’d knocked those men in the bar unconscious with one blow. Realizing she was staring at him, she said, “You should really learn to sayplease,” took a mouthful of the whiskey, then dropped to the soft turf below. Without waiting for a response, she boltedto the entrance of the maze, hearing James’s curse of annoyance as he followed her.

The maze remained as brightly lit as it had been when she’d traversed it before. Retracing her route, Ahnna lifted the bottle of whiskey to take a small mouthful, intending to discard the rest, for she could feel the faint buzzing of the alcohol in her veins. As she did, Ahnna saw smears of blood on the bottle and her fingers.

Frowning, she examined her hands. Except for a small scrape on her right knuckles, which hadn’t bled, she had no injuries.

“Are you hurt?” she demanded, rounding on James, who strode a few paces behind her. “You’re bleeding, because this blood isn’t mine.”

“It’s nothing.”

Hissing between her teeth at the stubbornness of men, for she knew well how they’d letnothingturn to rot and rot to a cold corpse in a grave. “Let me see.”

“It’s fine,” he protested, but she’d already caught hold of the hand he’d used to pull her atop the wall, blood glistening crimson on his pale skin. “James,” she growled, “you have glass stuck in your knuckles.”

“I’ll pull it out before I retire to bed.”

Huffing out an aggrieved breath, Ahnna tugged him to the center of the maze, then pushed him down on the bench next to the fountain. Water sprayed from the top, then poured down a series of tiered basins, the noise loud enough to drown out her curse as she held the injury up to the lamplight. Sloshing some of the whiskey on her hands, she then poured some on the sharp shard of glass embedded between his first and second knuckles. “This is going to bleed a lot. Will need stitches.”

“I’ll have one of the servants look at it.”

“I’ll do it,” she grumbled. “It’s my fault.”

Retrieving her kit from where it was stored in a pouch attached to her belt, she extracted a needle and length of gut thread. “Old habit,” she said before he could ask the question of why she had such supplies on her person. “I was raised primarily by my grandmother, my father’s mother, who is Ithicana’s most accomplished healer. She made me learn the arts while I lived with her. If you ever find yourself in need, I’m quite accomplished at delivering babies.”

“Seems unlikely, but if I find myself with child, I’ll keep the offer in mind.”

Smiling, she pinched the edge of the glass and eased it loose, then used more of the whiskey to rinse away the blood until she was certain no more shards remained.

“What of your mother?”

“What of her?” Ahnna’s jaw tightened by reflex, and she bent closer to the injury to hide her reaction.

“You didn’t reside with her?”

Ahnna laughed softly. “Hardly. All her time was for Ithicana and the bridge. Having children was a duty she had to fulfill as queen, and once she’d done so, she wanted little enough to do with us. With me, most especially, because she preferred my brother’s way of thinking. My value came from how I served Aren and as a bargaining chip in her dreams for Ithicana.”

“Dreams?”

Nightmares, in Ahnna’s opinion, but she said, “She hated how isolated we were. Desired to open our borders so that our people could live more like those in Harendell and Maridrina. Aren was, and is, like-minded.”

“Is that why your people stopped wearing masks at Northwatch?”

“In part, I suppose.” She hesitated, then said, “I never asked him. Only obeyed the directive.”

Ahnna waited for James to ask whether she supported the change, but he said, “Were you close with your father?”

“No. He loved my mother so much, there was nothing left over for anyone else,” she answered, threading the needle. “And he died for it.”

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