Page 45 of The Warrior Priest
“That’s none of your business.” Rhys gathered up the reins and prepared to mount.
Uncle Roderic withdrew his sword and pointed it at Rhys. “I have a right to know everything that happens in my city.”
Rhys removed his foot from the stirrup and turned to face my uncle. “This isn’t your city. It belongs to the people. And my business is Merdu’s business. You dare to challenge Merdu’s warrior?” At my uncle’s hesitation, Rhys put a hand to the sword blade and moved it aside. “I don’t want to hurt you, or your men.”
Uncle’s Roderic’s face distorted with his sneer.
“Sir,” the sheriff said, his voice pitched high. “Sir, we cannot detain a warrior priest. Master Tomaj and the rest of the order will descend upon us.”
Uncle Roderic watched as Rhys mounted. He didn’t sheath his sword, but he didn’t stop Rhys either. “You are a plague on your order, Brother. Liars and oath-breakers have no place in Merdu’s Guards. I will be watching you and when you make a mistake, I will expose you for the unworthy scum you are. Not even your fellow brothers will want to save you then.”
Rhys rode out of the courtyard.
I sank down and lay on my back. My breaths came in rapid bursts and my pulse pounded loudly. Tears slipped out of the corners of my eyes, down the sides of my face to dampen the tiles. My argument with Rhys had been bruising, but I wanted nothing more than to throw my arms around him and thank him for protecting me.
But meeting him again would be dangerous. My uncle had him in his sights now. I didn’t doubt that he’d follow through on his promise to expose Rhys’s broken oaths. While he broke none by seeing me, I wouldn’t put it past Uncle Roderic to falsify evidence then present it to the high priest. While Master Tomaj and the other brothers would protect Rhys, the high priest wasn’t so sentimental or forgiving.
While I lay there with the sun drying my tears, I knew I had to leave Tilting. I had to leave Rhys. It was the only answer.
I would hide away for now and bide my time until I was ready, and I would avoid Rhys in the meantime. I wouldn’t go anywhere near the order’s temple or the secret room he kept.
Drawing in a deep breath to steady my frayed nerves, I set off across the roofs of Tilting, heading toward the slums. Minnow would take me in, just as she took in other young women in need of help.
I was determined notto go near Rhys, but I broke my vow a few months later. Mysterious events in Mull affected the entire kingdom, including Tilting, and distracted my uncle from his task of finding me. It gave me a reprieve. I could breathe again and I slept through the night for the first time since he’d come for me in my home.
I did not continue my work for Rhys, however. My uncle wouldn’t be distracted for long and I didn’t want to draw attention to Rhys’s connection with me. Despite the candle flame flickering in the secret room’s window, I stayed away.
Until tragedy struck Merdu’s Guards. Master Tomaj died, and I knew Rhys would be reeling from the loss. Tomaj had been Rhys’s anchor when his world had collapsed upon his father’s death. Rhys could have given up on himself and spiraled out of control, but Tomaj had guided him and loved him as any father should. Their bond had been special.
Although Rhys had his priest brothers for support, he would needallhis friends to gather around him now. He had always been there for me when I needed him, now it was my turn to be there for him.
I climbed the vine to the secret room’s balcony and lit the candle in the window. Then I waited for him to come.
Chapter10
Rhys did not come to me.
He was announced as the new master of the order of Merdu’s Guards the day after Master Tomaj died. He wasn’t even given time to mourn.
I placed a candle in the window of our secret room the following night, but he still didn’t come. Nor did he come the next night. I fell asleep waiting and awoke at dawn and returned to the home Minnow kept with her partner.
On the third night, on the day Master Tomaj’s body was buried, I didn’t light the candle. Instead, I entered the temple complex using the door Giselle had showed me. I picked the lock and headed up the steps to the tower parapet. I watched the priests perform a ceremony in the yard as dusk fell. Rhys stood at the front of the entire order and each priest knelt before him, one by one, and said something I couldn’t hear. They appeared to be officially making Rhys their new master. It was thanks to Vizah’s booming voice that I realized they were swearing an oath to serve Rhys and be loyal to him.
Rhys accepted each brother’s oath with a nod. Then, as the sun gave its final gasp, the dinner gong sounded, and the priests entered the garrison. Rhys remained behind until he was the last one left. He drew in a deep breath.
As he did so, he tipped his head back and looked directly at me.
I doubted I could have escaped via the tower steps in time, but I didn’t try anyway. I sat down, out of sight from anyone down below, and waited.
He joined me moments later, his chest heaving, a pulse in his throat throbbing. His jaw was set hard, his nostrils flared, every muscle of his face straining for control. To some, he might look his most furious. But I knew he was trying hard to master his emotions.
I opened my arms and he came to me. He sat and tucked his arms around me, gathering me onto his lap, then buried his face in my neck. I cradled him, stroking his hair, as he wept silently.
Some time later, he pulled away. He wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand. “Sorry,” he muttered.
“Don’t be. Not with me.”
He looked down at our linked hands, but I doubted he saw them. “He shouldn’t have died. Not yet. He wasn’t old. He was healthy, strong. He wasn’t supposed to die for years. And now…he’s gone and I…”
