The question was clearly meant for Luc, who drew himself up. “The boy needed to know.”
“He’s achild.”
Oh, here they went again. Fighting over him like two dogs with one bone. Rolan sighed. If they carried on like this, the pie would get cold. Besides, as much as Rolan enjoyed being the center of attention, there were better ways to go about it.
“The duty of the healer is to tend both the mind and the body,”said Rolan.
The room went still as Luc, Evaine, and Anaya all turned to stare at him.
“What?” Luc grunted.
Rolan sighed and continued,“To neglect one is to im—imp—imperil the other.”
Anaya followed his gaze to the embroidery framed on the wall over the stove, the tiny words stitched in blue thread.
“Did you justreadthat, Rolan?” Anaya asked.
Rolan leaned back in his chair, knitting his fingers behind his head. “Was I reading? Huh. Reckon I was. Just one of my many skills.”
“You taught him to read?” Evaine asked the Arcanist.
“Taughtis putting it generously,” said Luc, giving Rolan a baleful look. “One cannot teach a sack of rocks to roll up a mountain, but with a great amount of effort, one mightdragthe sack to the top, even if it kicks and complains the whole way.”
“I’ve been trying to get that boy to set foot in a schoolroom for years,” murmured Evaine.
“He is as stubborn as a…” Luc paused, as if searching for the right analogy.
“As a mule with a grudge,” finished Evaine.
“A mule with a grudge…,” Luc replied, stroking his beard. “Quite so. And hisaudacity.”
“Yes!” Evaine waved a hand high. “The boy is as brazen as the sun! You know, he once stole a sack of potatoes from my kitchen,afterI’d just fed him a lovely hot dinner. The nerve!”
Rolan winced. He hadn’t thought she’d known about that. Hehadfelt bad, but he’d also eaten all the potatoes. They’d kept his belly full for a whole week.
The air in the room relaxed, tension filtering away with the smoke up the chimney. The furrows in Evaine’s brow eased, and Luc’s shoulders lowered from their broody hunch.
Even so, Rolan frowned. He hadn’t liked it when the two were ateach other’s throats. He wasn’t sure he liked them bonding over his supposed faults anybetter, though.
“Don’t forget he’ll lie as easy as breathing,” added Anaya, giving Rolan an amused look. He was about to deliver an insult of his own, but then she said softly, “And he’s loyal to a fault. He’ll cover for you in a tight spot, as sure as snow in winter, even if it costs him a few nights in a cold cell.”
Rolan felt his cheeks grow hot again. He looked down at his empty plate.
“Well, if anyone bothered to ask theboy,” he grumbled, “he’d tell you all he really is, ishungry.”
To his relief, Evaine began to cut the pie, and Luc sat down, and Anaya poured everyone cups of apple cordial. The rich smell of cooked onions and potato and leeks filled Rolan’s nose, and for the first time in a long time, he couldn’t find a single thing to complain about.
“Tell me about these reading lessons,” Evaine said.
Rolan smiled. “There were lots of knives involved.”
Luc coughed around his mouthful of pie.
“Well, now Ireallywant to hear more.” Evaine’s eyes glinted, but not quite as sharply as they had before.
Luc was no talker, though, and the story of Rolan’s unconventional education had to be dragged out of him word by word from a suspicious Evaine, with Anaya tossing in a question of her own now and again. Rolan, for once, was content to let everyone else do the talking, leaving him in peace to shovel pie down his throat. He managed to snag two more pieces while Evaine and Anaya were occupied with interrogating the cornered Arcanist. They’d moved on todiscussing Rolan’s gains in mathematics, which were unfortunately less impressive than his reading. But still, he secretly savored their surprise at how much he’d accomplished over the last few weeks.
Stubborn. Cheeky. Occasionally untruthful. He could admit to being all these things. But he wasnotstupid.
