“Enemy?” His voice wavers. “I never meant to offend you. It is my task to punish those sent to the Bluff. I am a loyal servant of the Empire, just like you.”
I stare at him, jaw hard, waiting to see what he'll make of my silence. It stretches between us like a tugged rope, until suddenly it snaps.
“Do you think I took pleasure in it?” the Governor rants. He places a hand on his chest. “Ihave been your staunchest believer,hoping for the day you would be pardoned, but until that day came, I had to treat you as what the council named you: one exiled under suspicion of witchcraft.”
It's so easy to provoke a man into yelling.
“And Malkin?” I ask coldly. “She’s not a witch. What excuse do you have for her? For Angar? Trisven? The others? None accused of witchcraft.”
“I have not been half so cruel as the law allows me!”
“It’s insulting that you think I can be bribed.Especiallyby this.” I still feel like there’s sand in my teeth.
“It’s not a bribe,” he begs quickly. “It… it was only a token of my admiration, lady knight.”
I stand from the chair, and the Governor stands quickly too, wringing his hands.
“Please, Inevermeant… you have mistaken me terribly…”
“I’ve spent two years watching how you run the place. Save your breath.” I start back towards the stairs.
“Please, to be… abandoned, out here, in this horrible place, youmustunderstand…”
“Understand this,” I growl over my shoulder. “If I do anything to get you off the Bluff, it won’t be foryourbenefit, but because the people stuck here deserve better than to be stuck here withyou.”
“Is there nothing I can do?” he gasps.
I pause at the top of the stairs, grinding my teeth.
“You can give me back my uniform so I can greet our Exalted properly.”
“Done,” he squeaks.
“And you can drag out all the fucking wine and food you’ve hoarded for yourself, and throw a feast for the Hellion’s arrival.”
“I… I thought the Exalted did not eat anymore,” he says. Is the little shit actually trying to refuse me? He’s that determined to hold on to his little pleasures?
“Our War-Father does not,” I say. “But all the people you’re working to the bone deserve it more than you ever have.”
His shoulders tremble.
“Have I made myself clear?” I ask quietly, my voice cold. The Governor nods.
“Yes, lady knight,” he whispers. “It will be done. Just as you say.”
6
I’m finally going home. Standing at the docks and watching Rancor make its final approach, my heart pounds fast. I wipe my sweaty left palm on my naval jacket for the tenth time, then clasp my hands behind me again. The clothes don’t fit like they used to, but it’s better than meeting the War-Father in rags.
“It’s huge,” Malkin whispers behind me. She’s right: the War-Father’s Hellion ship is a monstrosity. It’s nearly as tall as the Bluff’s castle, towering over all of us at the docks. And yet the Bluff’s western shore is so sharp and deep that the Hellion doesn’t have to anchor further out in the water, as the warships do in rockier places.
“You’ve never seen a Hellion before?” I whisper under my breath, squinting into the light. It's been years since I saw such bright enchantment. I forgot how much it hurts to look at.
“Only in drawings,” Malkin whispers back. “Are they all that big?”
“No. Rancor’s a breed apart.” The other inhabitants of the Bluff stand behind and to the right of me. The Governor is at ourfront. He didn’t meet my eyes as we walked down to the docks, but I heard the commotion in the kitchens as they began preparing the feast.
“I’m going to miss you, lady knight.” Malkin reaches forward to squeeze my shoulder.
