Page 36 of Mistress of Bones
“No!” Azul exclaimed, the game forgotten. It suddenly felt very important that he understood this. That while he might think her a malady, she was no monster. “It’s not possible. It can’t be done.”
“But you had some kind of connection to it?”
“Toher.”
A snort when she elaborated no further. “Miss Del Arroyo, you can answer my questions here, in a holding room, or back in Valanje. It’s up to you to decide the ease of your travel and the quality of your living.”
For a moment, Azul envisioned taking out Nereida’s dagger and plunging it into the side of Enjul’s neck. The image was so heartwarming she took another step toward him, her fear forgotten long enough for words to slip out of her throat. “But we’re not going to Valanje, are we? Not yet, anyway.”
Enjul stood, so slowly, so gracefully, fear ran up her spine like icy fingers. A predator reminding its prey of who was in charge.
But he was not completely in charge, was he? Azul had something he lacked.
“And where are we going?” he asked, his tone so dark and smooth it threatened to make a mess of her heartbeat. And not because of fear.
“Cienpuentes,” she answered, locking her knees when he took a step closer. His scent filled her lungs. Not the kind of rotting smell that ought to follow a man like this, but rich like soil under her hands ready for the blossoms of spring.
“Is that so?” he said, leaning even closer until his mask filled her vision, and that strange mix of thrill and anticipation coursed through her veins again. She fought the urge to meet him halfway until something broke—his mask, her forehead, or their gazes. “Do you happen to know who the other malady is, then?”
Sense returned, and she took a step back. His scent followed. “No. Until today I thought I was the only one with my gift.”
He cocked his head. “Why do you insist on calling it that?”
“Because it is a gift. I’m no scary monster from old tales.”I’m not you, she wanted to say.
“If you truly thought of it that way, wouldn’t you be using it more?” He must’ve noticed her flinch, because his tone became persuasive. “Yes?”
As if such a thing would work on her. “As you said, I am no god. I have no right to judge.”
“Ah yes, you will only use it on those who die by your hand. Is that how your sister died to begin with? Were you curious to see if you could use yourgifton a person and killed her?”
“No,” she bit out.
“How selfish of you, then, to use it only on your sister. I think, Miss Del Arroyo, that you well know it’s no benign gift but a foulness. It gives me some hope that you are merely misguided instead of simply reprehensible.”
“Reprehensible or misguided as I might be,” she answered through clenched teeth, angry at herself for allowing him to rile her, “perhaps it’d be good for you to lower yourself to my level, if you wish to apprehend this other malady.” She took a few calming breaths, short and shallow, while he mulled her words. He still was too close; she didn’t want to be overwhelmed by his scent and presence all over again. To be tempted into doing something unwise.
“I will travel—me and De Guzmán will travel—with you to Cienpuentes and help you find whoever brought Sirese Zenjiel to life after his death.” Cienpuentes, where she would find her sister’s bones and hide her away with Nereida’s help. “And then, when our business in the capital is done, I will go with you to Valanje.”
Enjul allowed the silence to settle and fray her nerves before speaking, “Why should this other malady be in Cienpuentes and not Aviene or Rozas?”
“Why would anyone care to kill and bring back one of the Valanje’s ambassador’s trusted men but for political reasons? And politics means Cienpuentes.”
A gleam of triumph flashed in his eyes, and Azul knew she had given away more than she meant to.
“Why kill and bring back a man unless there is a way to manipulate them and learn what they know? Thereisa connection between you and the corpses.”
“There is,” she admitted reluctantly.
“Does it exist with everything you bring back?”
“Yes.” She swallowed hard. “I could sense Isadora was alive, and now I can tell she is no longer here.”
“What about animals? Surely you must have practiced your foulness on them. Does the link exist as well?”
“Yes.”
“As I thought.”
