Page 76 of Thorn Season
Since their two dozen staff members had been Hunted, the Jacombs’ status within the gentry had dangerously declined. And courtiers embodied Daradon’s symbol better than anyone; why wield knives when thorns cut deeper?
“Don’t take it to heart.” I toyed with the gilded edge of a playingcard. “Nobles hang off each other like accessories. You’re simply not fashionable anymore.”
Junius snatched the card, nearly nicking my fingers. “What do you want?”
“To be friends.”
“I have enough friends.”
“Oh?” I glanced at the empty seats. “Are they hiding under the table?” Junius continued playing, and I sighed. “I know you don’t like me.”
“Do you?” he purred. “How clever.”
“But,” I said, sharpening, “you’re spiting the wrong person. I don’t choose my friends based on popular fashions.”
“No, you choose them based on whatyougain from the friendship. I’ve been a courtier far longer than you, Lady Alissa. So I ask again: What do you want?”
I breathed deeply, trying not to bristle at his tone.
After my failure with the Bolting Box, Kevi Banday was my best lead. If he was forging the copycats’ weapons, he might steer me directly toward the keeper of the compass. But the fastest way to find him was through records I couldn’t obtain.
Junius could.
So I said, with practiced calm, “As a lord of Dawning, you can access the records of every Dawni citizen. I have a name. I need an address.”
A breeze wafted from the courtyard, fluttering the cards. Junius laid a palm over them, then said, “No.”
I laughed under my breath. “Whoever taught you to haggle did a poor job. You’re meant to hear my offer before you refuse.”
“I know you overheard my disagreement with Rupert. In returnfor the address, you’ll convince the Creakish to deliver our grain.” Junius ran his dark gaze over me before returning to his cards. “A loaf of bread isn’t worth the trouble of your friendship.”
“Do you think someone smart enough to keep the king’s attention would tempt you with something as trivial as grain?”
“Oh, I doubt it was your smarts that grabbed his attention.”
I gritted my teeth. Garret had assumed the nobles would be tripping over themselves to earn my favor, but Erik’s interest worked against me when it came to Junius.
Luckily, I’d never needed the king’s interest to get what I wanted.
I lounged back, nails drumming on the table. “First, the Creakish grain; next, the fish from Avanford. Where courtiers are fickle in their admiration, they’re steadfast in their scorn. How far will they go to injure your once-great province?”
“Do you have a point, Lady Alissa, or has aimless cruelty become your nature?”
“I only lament that one allegation can cause such ruin. I’ll bet the person who accused your family of knowingly housing Wielders is laughing in their cell as we speak.”
I waited for Junius’s eyes to narrow. Then I grimaced in a weak imitation of embarrassment. “Excuse me,” I said breathily. “I assumed they’d been brought to justice. To besmirch the Jacomb name without consequence...” I shook my head. “Have you even identified the accuser?”
Silence.
Then: “Are you a Spellmaker?” Junius snarled. “Because only Spellmakers can bring back the dead. Is that what you’re offering?”
I blinked, suddenly rattled. “You know what I’m offering.”
“Vengeance?”
“Justice.”
“Justice would mean two dozen innocents returned to this world. If you can’t offer me that, we’re done.” He gathered his cards, chair scraping back.
