Page 7 of The Warrior Priest
Ruffled!He still saw me as a child. Sometimes I think he also still saw me as a boy. If my mother was alive, I’d be dancing at balls and playing the pianoforte, wearing pretty dresses with my long blonde hair elegantly arranged. Yet here I was, sitting on a windowsill, eating honey cake brought to me by the man I loved, who treated me like a fourteen-year-old boy.
I ate the honey cake as the first drops of rain splattered on the windowpanes, and tried very hard not to dwell on something I couldn’t change.
Rhys built a small fire in the fireplace then warmed his hands by it. “You were at the parade ground this morning. Did you enjoy our display?”
“I did. There’s nothing more exciting than watching oversized men with oversized opinions of themselves pretend to fight each other with wooden swords.”
He shot me a wry smirk over his shoulder. “Blame the master for the swords. I wanted to use real ones for authenticity, but he thought drawing blood while the king, governor and high priest all watched on was a bad idea. Can’t think why. What do they expect from the protectors of the faith?”
“You had all the ladies swooning.”
“Andreashad them swooning.”
I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t sure if Rhys was truly unaware of the effect he had on women, or whether he was just being modest. “How did you see me? Half the city was there, and I had my hood drawn low.”
“I didn’t.” He sat in the armchair, stretched out his long legs, and smiled slyly. “You just confirmed it. You’re a good spy, Jac, but don’t get caught. Your captor will have the truth out of you before you’re aware you’re being interrogated.”
“This is hardly an interrogation, and I had no need to keep my presence at the parade ground a secret from you.”
His smile faded. “Just don’t get caught when you’re spying.”
“I’m too good to be caught.”
“You’re forgetting how we met.”
“I’ve gotten better at escaping since then.” A lot better, thanks to Rhys teaching me how to balance and use my small size to my advantage. “Besides, I was distracted that day.”
He arched his brows, waiting for me to tell him what I’d seen that I’d found so distracting. When I didn’t respond, he added, “Promise me you’ll be careful, Jac. Don’t get complacent.”
“I promise. What’s brought this on?” It was nicer than I thought it would be to have someone worry about me, particularly when that person was Rhys. Perhaps he’d always worried about me, just never expressed it.
He crossed his legs at the ankles and stared into the flames. The light flickered across his face, highlighting the strong angles of his jaw and cheeks and giving his eyes a moodiness that wasn’t natural on him.
I got up and stood between him and the fire. “Rhys? Do you have a new job for me?”
“You’re good, Jac, but I think I’ll ask someone else.” He shrugged without meeting my gaze.
“For Hailia’s sake, just tell me about the job. If I feel it’s beyond me, I’ll reject it, but don’t pretend there’s someone else you can ask because there isn’t. I’m your best spy.”
After a moment, he lifted his gaze to mine. “And you accuse me of having an oversized opinion of myself.”
Despite my irritation, I couldn’t help my smile. “What’s the job?”
“I want you to look for a document in the governor’s office.”
I went very still.
Rhys missed nothing. “What is it?”
I shrugged, dismissive. “What’s the document?”
He narrowed his gaze. “A declaration giving Tilting’s governor the power to make decisions without the agreement of his council.”
“That can’t be allowed! He’ll change laws to his advantage, assign contracts to businesses linked to his own interests… It’s dangerous to give a man like him so much power.”
Rhys’s gaze narrowed further. “That’s why we need to know if it’s just a rumor or not. If the document exists, I want you to find it. I don’t need to see it. I just need to know what it says. The governor can’t be given more power. He already pays the magistrate and sheriff to do his bidding. This will be disastrous for the city.”
“The king won’t allow it.”
