Page 118 of Thorn Season
“Yes,what?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Very good. What kind of ceremonies do you preside over, Quincy?”
“All kinds, Your Majesty. Weddings, funerals—”
“Funerals!” Erik swung back to the gentry. “Does this summon any memories?”
The nobles fidgeted, a few shuffling toward the exits before they noticed the silver ropes barring their way. When they tried for the grand foyer, the guards blocked the threshold. Though many here might have heard the rumors—seen odd glimpses—most hadn’t witnessed Erik at his worst. They didn’t know what kind of beast lay beneath the dazzling facade.
They were about to find out.
“How about this?” Erik peered down at Quincy. “Three purses of gold for pointing out the face you recognize in the crowd.”
Quincy shivered around his knees, unwilling to look up.
“Come now,” Erik crooned. “For the right price, even a minister can be bought.” He nudged Quincy with his polished boot, voice deepening. “Surely I needn’t teach an educated man that people can only bend so far before they break.”
My specter roiled, and I fought the urge to shake Quincy by the shoulders.For your own sake—answer him!
Then the crowd jostled. The nobles were parting again—staggeringout of the way—as a sharp-shouldered figure sliced between them. Junius stepped forward, and dread sank like a stone inside me.
“Thank you for refreshing my memory, Your Majesty,” Junius said steadily. “I do recognize this man.”
Erik’s face lit up. “Excellent, Lord Junius.”
Upon hearing Junius’s name, Quincy lifted his head and crawled for the Dawni lord. “Please, my lord—”
One of the guards raised his silver-tipped boot and kicked Quincy back to the floor. I gasped, and Erik’s fingers tightened around mine. I was sure he could feel me shaking.
“Can you tell us how you recognize him?” Erik asked.
Junius shifted and, for the first time, looked nervous. “He recently presided over a funeral held for members of my family.”
“Members of your family,” Erik intoned. “Is that what you’re calling your staff nowadays?”
Ice flooded me, stilling my body. My hand solidified in Erik’s.
No.
No.
Unbelievably, Junius straightened. “Many of our staff members raised me, Your Majesty. They fed me and clothed me and cared for me in my illnesses. One of them delivered me into this world. So yes, they were my family. And they deserved a proper burial in the presence of the gods.”
I felt my head shaking.No, no, no.
I’d told Junius where to locate his buried staff, not thinking of the consequence. Not realizing the danger I would be putting him in.
Erik licked his lips, amused. “What a moving sentiment. Thereis one problem, however. Weren’t thosefamily membersexecuted by my Hunters as Wielders?”
“They were, Your Majesty.”
“And in accordance with our laws, do Wielders have the right to funerals? Or are they cut down and discarded like the animals they are?”
A gasp swept through the crowd, and then the guards were at our backs, swords crossed in defense as Keil stormed toward us.
Erik glanced languidly between the blades. “Is there a problem, Ambassador Arcus?”
