Page 49 of The Warrior Priest
God’s blood. I pushed off from the trunk, ready to run, but the words of one of the constables made me stop.
“Sir, I have her necklace.”
A wave of nausea rose within me. In the turmoil, I’d forgotten about the pendant.
Uncle Roderic ordered his guards and the constables to retreat.
After they’d left, I heard the high priest’s angry snap. “That was a poor use of the order’s men, Master.”
“I disagree,” Rhys said.
“We weren’t here on the order’s business,” Rufus added. “This was personal.”
“There is nopersonal.” The high priest’s tone remained ice-cold. “Everything you do is the order’s business. Every act you perform, every word you utter, and every breath you take is on behalf of Merdu’s Guards, no more so than now you are its master, Rhys. Go back to the temple and compose yourselves. There’s a problem in Mull that requires your attention. I was on my way to tell you about it when I saw the governor’s carriage heading this way at speed with all his men.”
Giselle tugged on my hand. “I don’t think they’re coming after us. Can you breathe now?”
I nodded and squeezed her hand. We slunk off through the park together.
Although it was easier to breathe, my chest still felt tight. Despair constricted it. My mother’s pendant was gone, my only link to her and the women of my ancestry with it. If the story of the talisman was true, then Uncle Roderic was in possession of enormous power.
Although I could break into his home or office and steal it back, he was too clever to simply leave it lying around or in a locked box. He would hide it, or keep it on his person. My uncle was always well guarded. Could I even manage to get close to him without Rhys’s help?
The answer was irrelevant because he would refuse to help. He’d already made it clear he didn’t believe in the legend and didn’t care enough about an object to risk his life, or mine, for it.
The high priest had also made it clear that, as master, Rhys had a responsibility to his order. The fact that Rhys didn’t counter him proved that he agreed. In my heart, I knew it was the way of things now. The days of escapades across the rooftops were over, as were our meetings in the secret room. Rhys couldn’t spend his evenings chatting idly with me anymore, or drinking in the tavern with his friends, or kissing women. He was the master of the most powerful religious order on the Fist Peninsula, and he had a great responsibility. He needed to use diplomacy and sound judgment in the future. He had to keep the respect of all his priests, not just his friends, and he must be seen to be on the side of justice. He would make a fine master, as long as he wasn’t subjected to distraction or temptation.
I was both.
I’d made up my mind a week ago to leave Tilting, but I’d been putting it off. Now it was time to follow through on that decision before I ruined Rhys’s life.
But I couldn’t simply slip out of Tilting without telling him. He’d worry that I’d succumbed to my injury. After everything he’d done for me, I owed him a goodbye.
As I sat on the bed in Giselle’s room at the Cat and Mouse with the cooling salve tingling the cord burn at my neck, I penned a woefully inadequate note to Rhys. It didn’t say all the things I wanted to say. For one thing, I didn’t tell him I loved him or that I was leaving so he could fulfil his duties as master of Merdu’s Guards. It simply said it was best if I left as soon as possible. Then I thanked him for ‘everything’.
I reread it—it was definitely inadequate—then gave it to Giselle to deliver. “Before you go,” I said, “can I ask you another favor?”
“Of course. Anything.”
“Is the offer to be your apprentice still open?”
Her smile started slowly then quickly spread. “It is. Are you sure, Jac? It means leaving Tilting.”
I indicated the folded note in her hand. “That’s why I’m saying goodbye to Rhys.”
She studied it. “Ah. You don’t want to say it in person? He said he’ll come as soon as he can. For one thing, he’ll want to see for himself that you’re all right.”
“Tell him not to come. Tell him I don’t want to see him. Say anything to put him off. I can’t face him, not to say goodbye. It’s too hard. If he wants to write me a message, then he can do so.”
Giselle slapped the note against her hand. “I’ll deliver it now.” She paused at the door. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing. He won’t leave the order for anyone. You need to move on with your life. Once you start presenting yourself as a woman, the men will all start noticing you, and you’ll realize there are many more fish in the sea. You’ll forget about him.”
I shook my head. No man could compete with Rhys.
She must have mistaken my head shake for modesty. She approached and sat on the bed. “You’re very pretty, Jac.” She touched my chin. “You have the most striking eyes.” She released me and stood. “When I’m finished with you, you will be the most alluring woman in Glancia.”
I fellasleep but awoke when I heard the door open and close. “Well?”
She sat on the edge of the bed. “He asked how you were. I told him you were recovering and would be fine. Then I handed him the note.”
