Page 26 of Jeweler to the Blessed
The Blessed must have made the same calculation I did as the red of his ring faded. He dropped the man. “Fine. He’s not worth my time anyway.”
A group of men quickly swooped in to take the crumpled man away before the Blessed changed his mind.
I sighed in relief and closed my eyes. My heart was still beating rapidly, so I leaned against the brick of the alley wall, waiting for it to calm. Finally, my clenched fist opened, and I spilled the handful of stones back to the street. It was a testament to the stress of the situation that I shut my eyes in the alley long enough for someone to approach.
“What were you going to do?”
That voice.
The words themselves didn’t register so much as the disdain. I opened my eyes to find the guard standing a little too close—staring a little too directly. That anger, I had thought reserved for the abusive Blessed, was now directed at me.
I stood quickly and tried to step back, but realized I was already against the alley’s wall. I sidestepped to give myself more space.
“Fucking Chaos.” He ran his fingers along his jaw again.
I searched the alley over his shoulder to see if anyone was close enough to hear. Alaric had cursed the goddess’s name with him yesterday, but this was the middle of the city’s busiest district, and even alluding to the second goddess was treason.
“No answer to my question?” His voice pulled my focus.
What question? I was still trying to determine if he recognized me from Alaric’s workshop. Or from our run-in at the castle. Or maybe I’d imagined it all, and our gazes locking had not seared into his mind the way it had mine.
I didn’t speak, maybe couldn’t speak, and he continued.
“Starting a brawl wouldn’t have helped.” The anger in his voice was still present, but it wasn’t the petulant display I’d just witnessed from the Blessed on the street. This was something simmering, something with an unleashed potential I never wanted to experience.
I shook my head, gathering my bearings. “I didn’t see anyone with better ideas.”
The guard crossed his arms over his chest, the action accentuating the size of his biceps. Every part of me wished I hadn’t noticed.
He was trying to intimidate me. I really should be scared. Was he aware of who I was? He might take from me in this alley if he didn’t know I was the Glanmore’s new jeweler.
Fear should’ve been prickling down my spine. I was alone and cornered by a Blessed. My immunity still needed to remain a secret, but something about this guard emboldened me. Maybe it was his imposing stature, or the sharp lines of his face, or the fact that Alaric trusted him—that he knew information about my uncle I didn’t. Whatever it was, I didn’t even consider the knife at my hip. Instead, I pushed my shoulders back with a confidence I didn’t truly have.
“Your kind can’t be relied upon to help,” I said.
His spine straightened. “I did what I could.”
That fire that burned through me at the sound of his voice returned as he held my gaze. It was to blame for how I continued to push my luck. “So, he’s just going to walk away? No repercussions for his actions?”
The guard’s eyebrow arched. “I found saving the man’s life the top priority.”
It wasn’t worth arguing about. The guard had done the bare minimum, which was, unfortunately, more than could beexpected of most. Still, I wouldn’t thank him for it. He could look elsewhere if he needed his ego stroked.
“I have to go.” Having wasted enough time here, I turned to step past him. Mother needed the vial in my bag. My emotions were too volatile to be on the street. He said nothing about seeing me in Alaric’s shop or the castle. Maybe he didn’t recognize me. That was fine by me. I needed the few more hours of anonymity.
The guard’s eyes held mine as I stepped forward. He opened his mouth as if to say something. Sweat coated my palms as fear of being alone with a Blessed caught up to me. The alley wasn’t wide enough to pass outside his reach. Finally, my hand twitched near my hip, considering my dagger. I guessed I could defend myself if he tried to take from me. It wasn’t a great plan, but other options evaded me.
The guard flinched. My head swung around, thinking something was behind me, but only the wall was there. When I turned again to face him, he’d stepped back, giving me more than an arm’s length of distance between us.
I rushed past him, not wasting time wondering why. The street had cleared from the fight, but plenty of people were starting to celebrate. I didn’t intend to look back down the alley. The guard let me pass, and I hadn’t heard him move to follow. Something turned my head, but I don’t think it was my self-preservation instinct.
It might have been the opposite.
The guard’s gaze was fixed on his hand. It was balled into a fist at his side, stretching and flexing like he was considering whether to do something with it. The unchecked anger present at the beginning of our interaction was back.
I needed to leave, but something was urging me to stay. I lifted my foot—to what? Take another step toward him? I shook my head at my stupidity, turned quickly on my heel, and fled.
9
