Page 31 of Untempered
CHAPTERTEN
CHAY
“Only the guilty shudder at the Worg’s howl.” ~ Southern saying
The hunched figure straightened as soon as I’d closed the door behind him, throwing back the threadbare scarf and pulling the lightly faded woolen hat from his head. A fine layer of gray hairs the same length as Luca’s own went with it. I’d seen his disguises before. They were subtle and effective. Not a skill I anticipated a new King would need, but certainly helpful when it came to killing the old one. Wordlessly, I accepted the walking stick he passed over.
I hadn’t seen Audrey today in the stands. Her chairs had been decorated with the colors of a different house. No one had batted an eyelash at her sudden disappearance. My gut had been tight all day at the aura of forced calm emanating from the staff. But I held onto the questions I had no right to voice.
“I was worried you hadn’t received my message,” Kadan said, waving him toward a chair before the fire.
“My rooms are being guarded,” Luca said shortly. “It took me time to get past them.”
Kadan’s expression was already as grim as I’d seen it, but I saw his eyes flicker toward the door I stood in front of, and I took pleasure from the way he saw me and relaxed back, a little of the tension in his shoulders unraveling.
I’d worked hard for that trust. He’d worked hard to earn it. And the pride I felt for both of us grabbed me by the throat, filling my chest with a warmth so sweet it hurt.
“I wasn’t followed,” Luca said confidently, pouring himself a cup of spiced juice. “What news?”
“They took one of the assassins alive.”
Luca froze.
“The Duke has paid for a Magework Healer’s services throughout the entire day, and another for tonight,” Kadan went on.
It wasn’t new information to me. I’d been with Kadan when the update had been murmured in his ear, in the aftermath of the joust that had been an abysmal showing, bar our own riders. EvenIwould’ve placed, a fact that had been declared a number of times by my amused friends, all crowing their glee.
As much as I’d tried to stop myself, I hadn’t been able to hold my fears at bay. I was, after all, her champion. Surely, I had a right to know what state the lady of the keep was in? But I’d waited, and reminded myself she was the Butcher’s daughter, first and foremost.
Then the waterboy, who supplemented his wage by charging for interesting tidbits he learned whilst doing his rounds, had visited us.
“I wondered,” Luca said, the words harsh. “I expected him to either publicly eviscerate us, or to have my throat cut in my sleep and for my death to remain an unsolved mystery that didn’t even make the footnotes of a history book.”
That was a highly specific option. I glanced over at Kadan to find a grin spreading across his face. “Look at us, finding a third option like the bred-in-the-bone troublemakers we are.”
Luca lifted his cup in toast, rubbing a hand over his jaw and leaning back against the stone hearth. “There weresevenof them, ’Dan.SevenWorgs. He took outfour himself.And no one heard athing.”
People who were close enough to the Butcher would know when to keep their mouths shut. I’d expected to hear bells tolling, people running in the halls, and general distress. If the assassins had managed to take out more than just the King’s advisor, mayhap there would’ve been chaos. Instead, life had continued as usual.
There was something eerie about that level of violence not creating even a ripple in the day-to-day running of the keep, and it was sickeningly familiar. I should’ve known we wouldn’t hear any news. And I didn’t love that Luca had anticipated this reaction, at least somewhat, but I was caught off guard. I knew better.
“Do you know which of them remains alive?” Luca asked, his voice a monotone.
“The one who went after your bride,” Kadan drawled.
I felt like the entire keep had come down on me.
I’d suspected the Duke, angered by the assassination attempt, might have harmed Audrey.
But to have assassins go after her? Why hadn’t anyonetoldme?
Because she’s nothing to you, and you’re nothing to her.I sucked in a deep breath and ignored the quick look Kadan sent me as I held the air safely behind my ribs until my mind started to work again.
Matri’sion weren’t known for their mercy, but the Duke even less so. If his daughter had been killed, would the assassin still breathe? Surely, someone would have told me if she wasgone.After all, Luca’s entire plan hinged on her. They’d been healing one person.Surely,that one person was Audrey.
I should’ve known this was where we’d end up; another failed attempt on the Duke’s life and the child-King’s crown, suffocated by the threatening silence. I was glad I’d had so much space that I’d forgotten the steps to this dance. And I refused to learn them again.
“They were targeting Victor and Von Rhea,” Luca objected. “That was the agreement.”
