Page 159 of Unrivaled
“Thanking you, son,” Kaelson said.“I’d take it as a personal favor.Might be delicate.Best you’re gentle with it, now.If it’s spilled, don’t go touching anything, all right, Andrew?”
“Yes, Captain.”
Bernadette would’ve asked more questions of me.Then, Bernadette was used to needing to explain everything to everyone.
“This pack,” Kaelson asked, taking my head and putting something soft beneath it.“What do I need to know?”
“Poisoned,” I offered, the word sounding weak.
“Trap?”
“Clockwork,” I agreed.
He grunted.“Raa’shi lord, you said.The one who’s been sneaking in and out all year?”
The smile made the residual blood crack on my face.“You knew?”
“Suspected,” he said.“I knewsomeonewas sniffing about.Then Chay said something the other night.The way he’s been carrying on, as if they’ll be wed any day, well, it made sense.”
“He poisoned Steward Daniel,” I said, the words thinner than I liked.“If I don’t recover,” I told him, “Don’t let Audrey into the pack.”
“If you don’t recover,” he said, briskly, “you know damned well that girl will be putting his head on a pike tomorrow for the whole tourney to admire.”
The thought pleased me.“I think I got it in time.”
He grunted.“We’ll see, won’t we?I’ll send for Audrey once that pack’s in here and out of sight.”
I reached out.His forearm was thickly corded in my hand, and warm.“Wait.”
“Wait?”he demanded.“How do you think she’ll like that?”
I swallowed around the blood, trying to clear my head.“She’ll be scared,” I said, forcing my eyes open again.“She doesn’t need the fear, Kael.”
He looked down at me, his face impassive.He knew I was right.Him and me, we were two halves of a coin.There was naught to be gained by scaring her.If I died, which felt unlikely, then I’d done all I could already.If I didn’t, she could fuss over me tomorrow, after she’d had a decent night’s sleep.
“I’ve a job to do, woman, and you’re on it.”
I closed my eyes.“I’m giving you the night off, guardsman.At ease.”
He let out a soft huff of laughter.“You just want to recover so you can have the front row view to whatever she does to him in retribution.”
“I’ll save you a seat,” I promised, by way of thanks.
“That stupid boy,” he muttered, with the sound of a cloth being wrung out again.“Should’ve got better poison.”
If I’d had any strength left, I’d have smiled to hear my own thoughts being echoed so closely.
CHAPTERFIFTY-SEVEN
CHAY
Dogs need a master.
—Southern saying
24thDay of Autumn’s Son Moon,
Age of the Locways, Year 272
