Page 34 of A Court So Dark
“I mean you handled him.”
“Oh, we have a similar saying.” I stared at the pattern on the rug, still feeling addled by the rush of emotion and release of stress.
“Well, what is it?” she asked when I didn’t elaborate.
“What is what?”
“Your similar saying.”
I had to concentrate and think back and figure out what she meant. “It’s… um…to have someone eating out of the palm of your hand.”
She nodded appreciatively. “I like it.”
“Though I don’t think I had anyone eating out of the palm of my hand.”
“Yes, you did. After that performance, he’ll believe anything you say.”
“What do we do now, Larina?” I felt at a loss.
“We wait?” She sounded as uncertain as I felt.
I nodded thoughtfully. “Cardian’s my best chance to find Kalyll, but what if I can’t get the information out of him? What if we wait, and it’s a waste of time?”
“It’s definitely a possibility.”
“The others could go on to search for him, I suppose.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea,” Larina said.
“I need a way to communicate with them, though. Do you think they’re all right?”
“It sounds like they got away.”
“I hope so.”
“Any idea how I can get in touch with them in Nerethien? Oh, God, I hope no one finds them.”
“It’s a big place,” Larina said reassuringly, “and they’re used to this kind of thing. They know what to do, so I don’t think we should worry about them.” She paused and thought for a long moment. “Maybe Shadow can help.”
“But can we trust her? I knew she was right about Kalyll’s location, but—“
“I think we can trust her. When I was in your room, retrieving the brooch, she came to warn us about Cardian being here.”
I pulled at my hair. “The brooch.” I had forgotten about it. “If I hadn’t tried to go back for it, this wouldn’t have happened. I would be with the others.”
The brooch suddenly appeared in front of Larina. It floated with a layer of pixie dust and slowly descended to my hand. I tightened my fingers around it.
“Thank you,” I said so quietly I barely heard myself.
“I… I think you could still go with the others,” Larina said. “But…”
I looked up and met her eyes. “But that may not be the smartest choice.”
“Yes. Now you have another path that can help you find the king, whereas before you only had one, a very unlikely one.”
I couldn’t argue with that, but the thought of being here and playing this game with Cardian, of all people… I wasn’t sure I could do it.
You have to do it, that other voice spoke inside my head.You have no other choice.
