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When I smiled, he turned to where Ox and Katrina were looking at Premila’s baby with looks of fierce concern.
“Hey, Ox. Can you and Katrina stick around and babysit the pups today?” he asked in a teasing voice.
I would have kicked him…if I hadn’t been so amused by his question.
Sebald stood with the women as well, and at Jace’s question, his anxious frown softened. “Would you?” he asked. “I…I’m not sure if Barthold will come looking for Premila.”
That was all it took to have both Ox and Katrina stiffening as though they were about to go into battle.
“We told Magnus we’d spend another day in the city, listening to what people think,” Katrina said.
Before she could continue, Magnus finished her thought with, “But Magnus would greatly prefer that you stay here and guard the most precious treasures any of us possesses.”
That decided things. The men headed around the corner of the cottage, making it look like they had merely met for breakfast and casual conversation. Katrina and Ox managed to convince Premila that she would be better off spending the day in the cottage where they were staying, in case Barthold really did come looking for her at Sebald’s cottage, and that they should send for a healer. Premila didn’t want a healer looking at her, but as they walked into the garden for the other house and headed inside, I heard her agree to one for her baby’s sake.
That left me, Avenel, Kliment, and Nikandr to tidy up the garden before heading inside.
“I’m Gennadi,” I introduced myself to Kliment and Nikandr as we followed Avenel into the kitchen, then added with a twist of pride, “Jace’s pup.”
“Kliment, Jorgen’s pup,” Kliment introduced himself with an eager smile, shaking my hand once we were in the kitchen.
“Nikandr, Hati’s pup.” Nikandr shook my hand as well. He looked a little abashed, then lowered his head a bit and added, “Hati told us who you were last night after we saw you. He…he said you used to be someone named Yuri’s pup.”
“He and Jorgen both agree that the way this Yuri person treated you was criminal,” Kliment said, looking a bit uncertain. He glanced to Avenel—who was preparing a pot of tea from a kettle that was already steaming on the stove—as if Avenel were the most prominent pup in the room and would give him permission to speak his mind. I found that interesting. “Jorgen said that if Yuri hadn’t already been killed, he would have put a bounty on the man’s head and brought him to justice for what he did to you.”
I swallowed uncomfortably, uncertain whether the two knew I was the one who had killed him. The memory of those horrible moments tried to rise up and take me, but I wouldn’t let it.
“What sort of status do pups have in the northern kingdom?” I asked instead, hoping to get them to talk about something that would distract me.
Kliment and Nikandr shared a look, then Kliment said, “It’s sort of hard to tell. We’ve only been with Jorgen and Hati for half a year or so.”
“And the north isn’t really a kingdom, not like the cities or…or what we’ve heard about King Magnus’s kingdom,” Nikandr added.
My pulse kicked up a bit, but I tried not to let it show in my expression. It occurred to me that I might be able to learn more about the north—and about the Kostya Kingdom from Avenel—through conversation with the other pups than Magnus or Jace could learn from hours of negotiation with Jorgen, Hati, and Sai.
But I had to be gentle about how I pried for information.
“Jorgen insisted yesterday that the two of you enjoy being their pups,” I said, moving to the counter to help Avenel with what I assumed was breakfast he’d started making for the four of us. “Do you really, though?”
“Yes, absolutely,” Nikandr answered quickly, then glanced to Kliment.
“We very much do,” Kliment said, blowing out a breath and coming to help with breakfast as well.
The four of us went to work setting the small table in the kitchen with plates and cups, and, as Avenel finished cooking them, eggs and sausage and toast.
“I genuinely thought I was going to die in all of the turmoil that happened last winter,” Kliment said, arranging butter and toast on the table. “My family were merchants in Seymchan, and we did well, but after the wolves boycotted faires, my father’s business dried up. We did the best we could and worked hard, but Father got sick right around Solstice. Then Mother came down with it too.”
He paused, looking sad, then continued with, “They both died on the same day. My older brother took charge of things, but his way of taking charge was to farm the younger children out to relatives. He never admitted to it, but I think he sold my youngest brother and sister. He definitely sold me.”
“I remember Jorgen saying he paid gold for you?” Avenel asked as he brought the teapot to the table, then returned to the stove. “He said he paid it to your father.”
Kliment flushed as he reached for the pot. “Loras is more than ten years older than me, so Jorgen thought he was my father. I didn’t see any point in correcting him. It doesn’t matter anyhow. That part of my life is over and done, and I’m glad for it. Loras knew I liked men, and even though he was a selfish, spiteful prick, he did me a favor. I liked Jorgen from the start.” He flushed even more and grinned as he poured his tea.
“Is that how things happened with you?” I asked Nikandr.
Nikandr shook his head, looking glum. “My family were nobles. My father never came back when he left to answer King Gomez’s order that he present himself in Hedeon. When things got bad in the winter, my mother and older brothers tried hoarding food. They were found out, though, and…and killed.”
“You escaped?” I said, sending him a sympathetic look.
