Page 97 of Winter Gods & Serpents

“And he despises me deeply, but he won’t kill me, not him, not his brother either, not yet,” I said maybe a bit too assuredly. “How do I make him scared? He is used to seeing me kill, shall I truly sacrifice a lamb, paint a crafters halo chanting a summoning verse in Borsich while doing a crazy dance on a full moon?”

She groaned, gradually laughing. “Let it go, would you. Drop this conquest, you wont break him.”

“I don’t want to break him only, you know, stretch his mind.”

“Your are manic.”

I rolled my eyes. “So you keep saying.” I spread my arms wide on the mattress, rolling the ball of my feet up and down the soft sheets. “I like playing manic with him.” He fed it, many avoided it, ran away, give to it or even tear from it, that is if they didn’t stoke it enough to end up dead.

Nia gave me a look of concern, almost doubling if she should say it. “He reads through your lies.”

How? I blink frantic at her. “How do you know?”

She sank further in the bed, fiddling with the tips of her gloves. “I feel it, like I normally feel through my magic. The air shifts around him too, sometimes waves of magic flow out of him, overwhelming, and then poof, nothing.”

I cringe. Was it bad that I understood nothing? “Scary,” I say propping my head onto my hands.

She hit me with a pillow. “Just don’t mess with him too much, he is a bit odd.”

I blew a breath and leaned on my side. “How is Freja holding amongst the den, is my oar sturdy?”

“No one has called her any demeaning words yet. She has offended two captains and a general so far and made a trade deal with west Koy for timber. You have created a star pupil and obtained another city. Two are on your side now, who’s next?”

“I have a few ideas. Pen is inquiring into something for me, but first we deal with the Adriatians in Brisk.”

“Heavens,” she exclaimed sitting up. “You are defiling the fifteen-year-old.”

* * *

Cai and Mal had been ready by the door when I made my way for breakfast with father. I had hidden my wound on a long sleeved deep emerald dress, a short cape thrown atop and my hair to the side to cover the new scar on my neck. Penelope had blushed my cheeks claiming I looked like the dead this morning, probably the lack of sleep and the blood loss from yesterday.

“So?” I asked, itching myself under the cape.

“The two were faded by Nia to a safehouse in Kirkwall and are with Sam. We sent two decoy bodies for both the couple. And I found this,” he said, handing me a letter.

The Inn is compromised, see if the princess has any prisoners, do not harm.

My father had sent people after me directly after finding out what I had done in Pine Inn. He also did not know Nia had snuck into the Inn staying the night there waiting for us, fading two decoys, and then fading back the two Adriatians to a safe house.

“How did he get the news so quick? I cannot believe he sent Adriatians. Pretty good actors too.”

We had expected it, but I’d thought a patrol would intercept us, not a whole gang of Adriatians. Father had a flare for dramatic effects.

“He is very subtle in his work,” Cai said snidely. “Be careful cakes, this was a close one. If he sends someone to inquire about them in Adriata it will not take long for him to find out you have tricked him. That if his subtle mannerism doesn’t fail him once again.”

“He will be too distracted dealing with me, I am not planning a calm few next days.”

“I’d hope not, there would not be a healer good enough to fix you from a state of rest.”

I handed him the receipt back. “They lied to me, the guards.” Kilian and Mal, both had to have known.

“They didn’t,” Cai said, folding the receipt back inside his jacket. “Both came to me and Nia to let us both know the men were compromised and not acting in their own interest.”

“What?”

“Kilian stopped his brother, told him and us to let you know only after you’d healed.”

“You should have come and told me.”