Page 29 of The King's Man 1

“Who could I have ever trusted, Frederica?”

She stares at me sombrely. “Silvius tells me you saved his life.”

“It’s nothing,” I say hurriedly.

Silvius clasps my arm and meets my eye. “It’s something to me.”

“Anyone who brings light to my... friend’s eyes is welcome here.”

When everything is settled, Silvius bids his farewell.

I step forward, away from the others, keeping my voice low between him and me. “Why don’t you lie low with us?” His gaze lingers on mine and there’s a shift in the air again.

He grimaces. “My mess is too big to hide, even here.” He begins to summon the wind again and lifts a few feet into the air, hovering there, looking down on us. “I don’t want you involved.”

And just like that, he’s gone.

I watch the sky for a long time. His conjured winds fade, but a shiver lingers. My next Maskios. Maybethisis what Akilah meant. Another someone who’ll suddenly disappear. Another mystery I’ll never solve.

* * *

The weeks pass in a blur of unease and caution. Every shadow is a luminist about to jump out of it. Akilah and I bury ourselves in work, and the animals on Frederica’s estate give us plenty of it. Something has been attacking her sheep—something with sharp teeth and strong jaws. Something merciless, that takes flesh but leaves the animal alive to suffer. Already she’s put a generous bounty on the culprit.

I look over the lunch table at Akilah shaking her head at me. It’s a resigned-looking headshake, like she knows I’ve already made up my mind. I flash her a grin.

“Unbelievable,” she says, sagging into her seat.

I turn to Frederica, who is looking at me from the head of the table with a glimmer in her eye. “I won’t force you, of course. But I’d be grateful.”

But my stomach is a twisting knot as I mend the wounds on her sheep. The farm is so exposed; the glow of my medius spells can surely be seen from the luminarium in the distance. I hurry, and hope no one there is looking outside.

Prickly weeds sting my knees when I bend over the bite on yet another sheep’s leg. Akilah gently strokes its fleece, ready to hold it down if the sedation spell wears off.

Magic ribbons swirl in my cradling hand.

Akilah scans the meadow, her gaze always half on the luminarium. She shivers and shuffles closer to me. “Cael...”

“Even animals shouldn’t have to suffer.” My grandfather taught me, in secret, to heal animals first; even when I’d mastered those spells we still would save any hurt creature we came across.

“But can they really be worth the cost of getting caught?”

“Let’s not get caught.”

Her chest stills on a breath and she slowly lets it out.

The sunset shadows stretch long before us when we finally make our way back towards the manor. The scent of a feast drifts on a breeze, and it draws a rumble from my stomach.

As we near the ivy-covered stone walls, the soft glow of lamplight spills into the courtyard, and muffled voices rise in heated argument. One voice I recognise. Frederica’s. Another, heavier, slices through the evening air. Concerned, I follow the sound towards the back of the main house.

“Why? Why is he like this? How can I be rid of him?”

The smash of crockery.

“Be calm. This won’t help any—”

The small yard around which the kitchens range is strangely empty; it should be at its busiest at this hour. A quick glance reveals the reason. Behind the closed latticework doors, the small army of kitchen staff are busily working at the long tables, backs carefully turned. The hot water well that fills our baths and helps keep our linens so sweet stands in the centre, and beside that I see Frederica.

Her face is pinched with distress, the man standing before her seething, his fingers white around the ornate head of a cane as if he relies on it for balance. His fine robe sways, dark curls and braids spilling over his strong shoulders. He readjusts his hold on the cane, revealing a vambrace protecting his forearm.

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