“Faylinn, before Lord d’Refan arrives, which should be relatively soon, I want to explain the nature of your position.” I hugged the journals to me before I nodded once.
“You will serve both me and Lord d’Refan while you are here. Most likely your day will be filled completely from sunrise to sunset, or later. You are not required to work the hours that I do, but there may be days where it is necessary.” I nodded my head, unsurprised.
“I was used to working weird and long hours as the Healer in Isrun. Work is not a foreign concept to me, General.”
He grunted, “Good. You will start by organizing the missives on my desk.” He gestured to the hundreds of papers that were stacked haphazardly about. “Sort into three piles: ones that I need to see, ones that we need to answer, and ones that we need to burn.”
“How will I know the difference between the three?”
Rohak gave me one of his rare smiles. “You’ll figure it out quite quick, I’m sure. If you find anything from the NUT organization, or similar, those are instant burn. Things from foreign dignitaries or about troop movements are for me, and requests from lesser nobles or merchants in the city can be put in the mid category.”
“NUT?” He grimaced at my question.
“Just . . . you’ll see as you read. Once the missives are sorted, you are free to work on whatever else. I’m sure Lord d’Refan will have books and tomeshe’ll want you to decode, but you’re free to explore the city or the offices here. I want you to feel . . . comfortable.” He added the last part almost as an afterthought, like it wasn’t exactly what he wanted to say.
“Are you giving away State secrets already, Rohak? I expected you to last a little longer than that, but I can see why you’d open up so quickly, old friend. She really is quite something,” a new voice sounded from the doorway, and I turned to see a man that vaguely reminded me of Rohak.
He was shorter, with a slightly rounded belly, and fathomless black eyes that seemed to shake a bit as he stared at me. But they both had the same black hair and tanned skin.
I glanced at Rohak and noticed that while his body was tense, his face relaxed a modicum. “Lord d’Refan, this is . . .”
“Fay,” Lord d’Refan purred as he stalked toward me, stopping just short of my feet. While short, he was still considerably taller than me and I strained to look up at him. Everything in me screamed to take a step back, that the man was dangerous, an apex predator, but I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and held firm, even if I shook slightly.
“Pleased to meet you, Lord d’Refan.” I stuck out my trembling hand for him to shake. “Thank you for allowing me to stay in the guest quarters of your palace. I appreciate it more than you can understand. My village was destroyed recently, as I’m sure the General told you, and I really have nowhere else to go at this point.”
He shook my hand, his larger calloused palm engulfing my own. “The pleasure is all mine,” he intoned as he kissed the back of my hand. I suddenly had the feeling of ants crawling in my skin and Rohak tensed at Lord d’Refan’s actions. “Rohak tells me you’re a Rune Master.”
Straight to business then.
“Yes, well, I don’t know if ‘master’ is the correct term, but I do know a few things about runes.” I gently pulled my hand from his grasp and Lord d’Refan let it drop, shooting me a smile that I’m sure he thought was reassuring. It only made me feel like stuck prey.
“Hmm. Yes. Well, rumors from the staff say that you’re the Bondsmith.” His tone was mocking, and I felt my cheeks pink at his words. “Rumor also has it that you were waiting for Rohak to come to your room last night.”
My cheeks turned an impossible shade of red and I fumbled for my words. Lord d’Refan’s smile only grew at my obvious discomfort.
“Good thing I don’t put stock in rumors then, hmm?”
I nodded vigorously, clutching the journals tighter to my chest.
“So, Fay, you can read and use runes?”
“Yes,” I finally squeaked out. “Yes, I can. The more common runes, obviously, but also some others that I’ve not seen used readily. I learned from a woman in our village named Sharol. She owned the inn and was fairly proficient at runes and wards.”
Lord d’Refan studied me for a minute, those odd eyes shaking as he regarded me.
“You were right, Rohak. I should have never doubted you.” His tone was thoughtful, pensive. Rohak bowed his head at the compliment.
“I don’t blame you for your skepticism.”
“Hmm. Yes, well. I have a task for you, Fay,” he said as he produced two small books from behind his back. “I want you to read these and translate them into the common tongue. They are well beyond what I and my scholars can decipher, but I’m hoping you can crack what is inside here, and quickly. Do that, and we’ll discuss what else I need from you.” Lord d’Refan handed me the books, which I took quickly, tucking them next to my journals.
“This goes without being said, Fay, but what you read stays between the three of us. No one outside of this room can learn what is written in anything I give you unlessIgive you the go-ahead. If I find out that these types of . . . secrets are said beyond this room, there will be dire consequences. Am I clear?” His voice is low and brokered no room for argument.
“Crystal, sir.”
“Very good,” he said as he nodded, the easy smile from earlier back on his face. “Rohak, I’ll let you and the lady get situated.”
“Wait! Lord d’Refan,” I called, and he paused in the doorway, looking at me over his shoulder. “I would like to see Ben, if possible? He was the Earth Mage from my village that came to warn you of the rebel attack. He was . . . is someone important to me.”
