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His hands tightened anxiously. “What?”
“They’ve been testing my blood. For the past five years at least. Every time I would have the slightest illness, my father would send for a physician, who always took a sample. And then, these past few weeks—all these little accidents—” She shook her head, reviewing the events that had seemed so small and unimportant. The day the glass had shattered in her hands when she was serving wine to Harlo. He had stanched the wound with a napkin—which he no doubt took back to the temple. The day Tivol had cut her thumb with a knife while serving cardu bread. Red droplets had stained one of the white chairs and Heloise had made her curious comment.Nothing is more important than your blood.More droplets on the table, on the brown bread, on the cloth Tivol magically produced . . .
“Tivol definitely knows,” she said in a constricted voice.
Reese didn’t ask her why she was so certain. He just said, “What are you going to do?”
She shook her head. “I can’t even begin to answer that.”
“I’ll take you away,” he offered. “We can go to Chibain, or anywhere else you want to go. I’ll protect you to the limits of my life.”
She focused on him for a moment. That dear face. Those blue eyes. That expression, so full of horror and fear and determination. How could she have ever thought she didn’t love him? “What?” she said in gentle mockery. “You aren’t prepared to sacrifice me to save the world?”
“I’m prepared to sacrifice the world to save you.”
She leaned forward, and he did the same. Their foreheads touched. For a moment, she thought that the contrary pressure of his body was all that kept her from falling over flat again. “There has to be a way to save us both.”
“I don’t care,” he whispered. “All I care about is you.”
She hadn’t wanted Reese to leave, but she hadn’t wanted him to stay, either. Her head was full of thunderstorms and carrion crows, and she couldn’t hear her own thoughts over the din. She had eventually sent him away so she could curl up in the window seat and think, but it turned out she still couldn’t concentrate. So she just rested her cheek on her updrawn knees and listened to the wordless howling in her mind.
It was almost a relief when Jayla announced herself. Madeleine climbed stiffly to her feet as Jayla stepped in and closed the door. For a moment they regarded each other in the fading afternoon light.
“I learned something terrible today,” Jayla said. “But by the look on your face, I’m thinking you might already have heard the story.”
“If it concerns the plans that have been made for me by my father and Tivol and Harlo, then yes. I’ve heard the story. Reese told me this afternoon. How didyoufind out?”
“I know a man. An ex-priest. It’s complicated, but I had a reason to ask him and he had a reason to tell me.”
Madeleine nodded, too weary to inquire into additional secrets. “I am still trying to think through how my life has changed in every possible way. And what I have to do about it.”
“It seems pretty obvious. You have to leave Corcannon.”
“Reese offered to take me to Chibain.”
Jayla regarded her steadily. “If Reese told you, does that mean he has always known this terrible thing?”
“I don’t think so. He said his father just told him, to prepare him for his role as head of the Curval family. He looked even more shocked than I feel right now.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I didn’t want to think badly of him.”
Madeleine surprised herself by laughing. “Oh, I’m sorry, but it pleases me so much to hear you say that! You have always seemed to favor Reese over Tivol, even though you never said a word—”
“It is not my place to have opinions about your friends.” A beat. “Though Idid.”
“And it bothered me that you might not think highly of Tivol.” Madeleine sighed. “Well, of course,nowit doesn’t bother me.”
Jayla grinned as if she couldn’t help herself, but instantly grew serious. “So Reese is on your side. He could be a powerful ally. Would you be safe in his father’s house in Chibain?”
“Would I be safe anywhere? If the world comes apart along the god’s hand-sewn borders, will any of us be safe?”
“It’s a serious question,” Jayla admitted. “And I don’t know how to answer. I just know that I will help you any way I can.”
Madeleine surveyed her a moment. “I think the task of guarding me is about to get more complicated,” she said at last. “And my father will certainly not pay you to help me rebel against him. This might be your best opportunity to walk away.”
Jayla studied her in return. As always, Madeleine thought, the guard’s pale face and serious eyes gave very little away. “I am going to have to keep Aussen’s safety as one of my priorities,” she said at last. “And if I think she will only be safe outside of this house and outside of this city, I will have to take her away. But for me, this is no longer about the job. This is about protecting you—and you need protection now more than ever.”
“I think what I need most now is information,” Madeleine said. “And then maybe I will have a better idea of what I need to do next.”
