And then I lean forward, holding his gaze as I fill my eyes with the intimidation that always forces humans to back down. This male, though, doesn’t respond like anyone else. He glares at me, his bright green eyes sparking with his own anger. He speaks before I can.
“I won’t tell you again. You’ve already cost me too much time. I’ve taken too many chances to protect you from yourself. Let go of what you’re pursuing. They’ll find you. They always do.”
“Then they’ll find me,” I respond. “But I have no choice. I can’t stop what I’m doing.”
I can almost see the anger roiling inside of him. He looks like he wants to throttle me, settling instead for gripping his reins like they’re snakes he’s struggling to subdue. At last, he gets control over his emotions. His face settles into something like resignation.
“You’re a foolish female,” he snarls at me. “So fucking dangerous. I won’t interfere again.”
He yanks on a rein and kicks his heels, racing away from me at a reckless speed.
Good riddance, I assure myself, the anger he’s able to ignite in me bubbling to the surface. I’m always in control of my emotions. They’ve never reacted to anyone the way they do to him. I don’t understand it, but I’m filled again with the certainty that I must stay away from him. He is more dangerous to me than anyone I’ve ever encountered.
Liv watches as I ride back toward the carriages, a gloating grin on her face.
“You’ve got the wrong idea, Liv,” I hiss at her. “Sorry,” I add after a moment. “That male really pisses me off.”
“We can see the sparks flying from here.” Liv’s all smiles again, enjoying whatever she’s decided to believe about him and me. But sheiswrong. I don’t even know his name. And I don’t want to.
“Will we be chased from here?” Frida asks, all business.
“I don’t think so. He didn’t say anything about the Dróttning.” I sigh to myself. I can’t believe I didn’t even ask him the obvious questions. I’m a lousy spy when he’s around. Another reason he never can be.
The rest of the trip is unremarkable. We stay at the same inn and get back to Ulfhild’s before night falls. She asks a few questions but not nearly as many as I’d expected. She probably expects to get whatever she needs from Frida. After offering me a day off—which I gratefully accept—she asks me to return at dusk in two days. She even says she’ll stable the horse for me, prompting a grateful smile. I’ve grown fond of the old girl.
But I can’t go home yet. I should check in with Halla, make sure she and Sagga have enough food. Then report to Bevin. Which I’m dreading for some reason.
Halla’s grin when she sees me lifts my spirits. We chat for ten or fifteen minutes before she needs to get home. She’s been bothered by the long trip I’m supposed to take soon but also wants to make sure I know they’ll be fine without me. I think she’s reminding herself as much as me.
Bevin doesn’t waste any time when I make it to his favorite tavern. Within a few minutes, I’m shown into a back office he claimed years ago. He doesn’t rise or wave me to a seat as I enter.
Instead, he gets straight to the point. “What did you find?” he demands as soon as we’re alone together.
“What makes you think I found anything?”
“You’re a spy. And you were on the outskirts of the training grounds. Of course you found something.”
My job is to tell him everything. It’s what I must do to stay in his good graces. To continue working my way into his organization, and eventually get close enough to the Konungr and Dróttning to get access to information that can help me find my way home. I’ve spent ten years getting to this point. I can’t squander it now.
But for reasons I’ll never be able to explain, the strange man’s face appears in my mind. His words echo.
And I decide not to report all that I learned to Bevin.
“They are the most secretive group of people I’ve ever encountered,” I tell him instead. “I spent hours talking to the staff one day and learned about their families and pets but nothing more. I think they’re chosen for their discretion.”
“And what of your searches?”
Even sitting down, his power over me is intimidating. I struggle to stay neutral, to hide my deception from him. “What searches?” I ask in the most bland tone I can muster.
Bevin doesn’t move. At all. Eventually, his pupils constrict, as if light just flooded the dim room.
“Don’t do this, Sifa,” he warns me in a flat voice. “We both know you searched while you were there. What did you find?”
“Nothing,” I assure him. That much is mostly true. “I went into the library twice but I was found and berated both times. They made it clear I’d be punished if I tried again. I didn’t find any other interesting rooms, and nothing on the grounds gave a hint as to what Ulfhild is involved with. Or Aksell.”
“And the dragons? What did you learn about the training grounds while you were there?”
“Even less. I saw a single dragon when its rider came to entertain himself. But we see that around here all the time. I didn’t see any training runs or even any dragons in flight. The riders knew we were coming. They must have held back on working the dragons while we were there.”
