Page 2 of Untempered
“Go,” the girl said, the word as sharp as a cracking whip.
Shocked at the sudden change in her as much as the ring of command in that single word, I fell back. I was halfway through the door before I’d even stopped to think.
She’d known it was him.
She’d known it was him and she’d been scared.
There was violence in the man. Everyone knew what he was capable of, of course, but now it wasn’t buried deep; it was just under the surface. It was in his eyes and mouth, fists and feet.
I turned, but the door was already closing in my face. A meaty arm dropped into my vision, another surprisingly clean hand splayed over the sturdy wood.
Ignoring the hard knot in my belly, I looked to the side, my body poised to defend. Two heavily armored men stood there in the black of the Duke’s personal guard.
One, sure. But two?And then I’d have the Butcher to manage—without any tactical advantage.
“Move on,” Mikus said, his eyes fixed on the curve of my breasts. He was known around the castle as the Butcher’s Cleaver. It had taken me less time to identify him as a vicious beast, than it had to unpack my bags when I’d first arrived in the guise of handmaid to the lady.
The Duke’s voice sounded from behind the door, full of frustration and disappointment.
I paused at that. A disappointed Butcher was probably not a deadly one. As I hesitated, Mikus’ hand tightened on my shoulder. He was so close and tall that I had to look almost directly up. Pulling myself back, I resisted the urge to grab that hand and shatter every bone.
“Mind your manners, sir,” I said stiffly, making a show of straightening my dress as I pulled away.
Mikus’ answering smile was wide and hard. But it was Wade, on the other side, who said, “I’ll mind more’n that if you linger.” The leer was an entirely unnecessary addition to the threat in his words—and wild horses, how I would’velovedto have my knives.
I felt suddenly naked without the weight of my war-belt and quiver in these unfamiliar skirts, so far away from my tribe. With all the dignity I could muster, I turned on my heel and went to find the little lordling.
Mayhap I’d be able to use whatever happened between the Butcher and the child as leverage.
The way her head had snapped up went through my mind. Her eyes locking onto the door. Her pupils tightening to pinpricks. She’d had no way of knowing who it was. The child must be terrified of life.
Enough time had passed before I tracked down the lordling that I was grateful to my cloak for staving off the cold. I found him in the deepest section of the keep’s library, his nose in a book. He sat in a chair by the fireside like he owned the place—neat hair, velvet clothing, richly embossed belt, arrogant tilt to his chin. All the typical trappings of nobility.
I managed not to curl my lip when I said, “The lady will see you later this day.”
He blinked, his eyes slowly focusing on me. “Oh. She still wishes to see me?”
That made me pause. Did she? More likely, it had been an excuse. “Why wouldn’t she?” I asked, my mind whirring.
She’d looked me in the eye. She’d spoken to me with purpose and force. My belly twisted. It was the first time the possum of a child had spoken to me, and it had been a command to make me move.
“I postponed the wedding,” he said, his book drooping in his hand, his brows drawing together. “The exact date is yet to be decided, but I’ll accept nothing until she’s a woman grown.” He was putting aside the book and I set my teeth against the impossible formalities I hated but remembered so well.
She’dorderedme.
“Hasn’t she been told?” he asked, standing. “I thought to tell her myself, but the Duke?—”
Is telling her now.“Farewell, my lord,” I said, cutting in over his apologies, before turning my back on him.
I didn’t know what was going on, but I’d be damned if I was going to allow myself to remain ignorant.
I’d try her door first. If those two guards were there, mayhap I’d change my route. I’d scouted the area when we’d first arrived. I knew the way through the garden and access points over the curtain wall, so I could enter her room unseen by the window if I needed to.
“Isolde,” Luca called. There it was again, the ring of command in a noble’s voice. In comparison to that tiny, scared child, this lad sounded like a magework puppet, all show and flash. But that tone still served as a warning and a reminder.Do as I say. I have the power. That’s what he meant.
What was it with nobility this day?
My pace quickened, causing my hair to bounce into my face. I tossed the blonde curls out of the way and didn’t bother looking back.
