Page 121 of The City of Zirdai
“Yes. I had to prove to the Invisible Swords that my intentions were honest. I had to make amends before I could return.”
“You…” She was going to say he didn’t have to prove himself, but he did. Not to her, but to the rest of the Invisible Swords.
“Me?”
“Why didn’t you tell me what you were doing?” she asked instead.
He stiffened and the familiar stubbornness crept into his expression. “I had my reasons.”
Oh no, she needed a better answer than that. He could have avoided hurting her. Then why— Scorching sand rats. Why didn’t she think of this sooner?
“You suspected there was a traitor in the Invisible Sword,” she said.
“Someone had betrayed them to the priestess, and I didn’t think it was Banqui. But I wasn’t sure who it was, so I kept my plans a secret.”
While upset he didn’t trust her with his plans, she recognized that he’d been right not to. She would have told Jayden right away. The name stabbed into her and the exhaustion from…everything…caught up to her.
“Timin,” Rendor snapped. “See to her wound.”
The man had been standing there politely waiting as they talked, but he sprang into action.
Shyla waved him off. “I’m fine. It’s shallow.”
But Rendor was determined and there was no force that could counter a determined Captain Rendor. So she settled on a cushion and allowed Timin to clean and bandage the cut on her neck. Rendor ordered his men to carry Yates and the Water Prince to the black cells. And, she had to admit, that improved her mood greatly.
Hanif and Kaveri were fetched and updated.
Hanif slapped Rendor on the back and beamed at him when he learned of Rendor’s actions. It was a huge reversal of Hanif’s opinion of the man from when this all started and Shyla had gone to the First Room of Knowledge to find information about the Invisible Sword.
His reaction to the news about Jayden’s betrayal wasn’t as happy. “Jayden? Are you sure?” he asked in stunned disbelief.
“I’m sure.”
Rendor, though, didn’t say a word, just gazed at her in concern. She wondered if he’d suspected Jayden all along.
“You still need someone to rule,” Timin said. He’d been hovering nearby as if uncertain what to do.
The person would need leadership abilities, be able to organize the various tasks that were needed to run a city, and be incorruptible. Not many people had those qualifications.
She looked at her father. “You have lots of experience with—”
“Not interested,” Hanif said. “Besides, I’m a sworn monk. Jayden is the true leader of this city.”
“But—”
“I know what you said about him, and I know you read his soul. But did you look deep enough? Or did you just search for the answers you needed?”
Shyla opened her mouth to reply that of course she had, but then reconsidered.
“You should have learned by now that people are capable of changing.” Hanif glanced at Rendor, making his point. “Whether or not they choose to exercise that capability is up to them.” He smiled at her. “Perhaps you should look again.”
She huffed at her father in exasperation.
Unaffected, he said, “In the meantime,we’rewilling to step into the leadership role until then.” He took Kaveri’s hand in his.
Kaveri gave him an unreadable look. “We are? That’s presumptuous, old man.”
He waited.
