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CHAPTER44
Arin
As preparationsfor battle with Pain continued, I sword trained with Draven in the early hours of the day, while the air was still cool. Lark always slept late, usually having stayed up carousing in the feasting halls, telling raucous stories to the warriors, ignoring my concerns regarding Razak’s spies.
This morning, however, when I reached the training yard, Draven wasn’t there to greet me.
I gathered my hair back, picked a sword from the rack of weapons, and gave it an experimental swing, testing its weight. I didn’t have Draven’s muscles or his stamina, but we’d discovered I excelled at speed and lethal accuracy.
Razak would surely send soldiers out to meet War’s warriors, and I had no intention of standing back and watching others fight for us. I needed to be able to hold my own. Besides, throwing a sword around was far easier than juggling.
I thrust the sword a few times, watching my footwork in the sand, then making sure to keep my stance balanced, and as I spun, I spotted Draven’s familiar figure with another man, half hidden under an archway. I’d never seen the man before. He wasn’t wearing War’s colors, so he didn’t belong at court. Pale linens wrapped around him, designed to keep out the sun and the sand. A desert dweller, not a noble.
Not unusual. Traders from outside the court came and went every day. Supplies were delivered. Not everyone at court was a lord.
Their meeting ended, and I returned to stretching and footwork practice. “Who was that?” I asked, as Draven made his way over.
“Huh?”
“Back there? The man you were with. I’ve not seen him before.”
“Oh.” He turned away and grasped a sword. “Just an aide organizing a few menial things.”
Menial things that he couldn’t discuss. He hadn’t met my gaze. “Draven?”
He swung the sword, bunching impressive biceps, making the two-handed weapon appear featherlight. “Yes?”
This man had lied to me before, for weeks. He’d looked me in the eyes and convinced me to join with him, knowing he plotted with Razak against us. Would he betray me again? “Thank you for offering to train me.”
Of course he would. For his son.
“As I said before, I’m happy to help. Are you warmed up? Let’s begin.”
If Draven had been sent a letter demanding Lark for the return of his son, he’d make that trade. And if such a letter had been anything like mine, the exchange would take place before the full moon. Whatever the means, whoever he used, Razak would stop at nothing to get Lark. And Draven was an easy target.
We practiced parrying and footwork. I was not a natural dancer, and told him so, then suggested he should train Lark, who I suspected would be lethal with a blade. I’d seen him fling daggers with terrifying accuracy.
Draven chuckled. “Lark doesn’t use anything as honorable as swords. Daggers, yes. Easier to conceal for the final blow. If Lark has a mind to kill a man, his victim won’t see it coming.”
They’d had their differences, him and Lark. Draven had reason to hate the Court of Pain, and he’d always blamed Lark for what happened in my court, but we’d moved on from that. Hadn’t we? Would he really give him up instead of telling us?
Draven had been clear in the past; he’d do anything to save his son.
“No, you’re right,” I said. “Lark doesn’t need swords.” Draven had lied once, and he’d do it again. There was no use in questioning him, as he’d deny it.
We talked a little more, but with the sun rising and the heat beating down, Draven called off the rest of the training session, claiming he had a meeting with Noemi to go over who in the court might be vulnerable to coercion. He’d know all about that.
His meeting with the stranger was probably nothing. But if it wasn’t, then I had to warn Lark. Draven had betrayed us once. And for his son, we all knew he’d do it again in a heartbeat.
* * *
Lark was proving elusive.I was one step behind him all day, always chasing his tail, until catching up with him in my chambers—our chambers, since he’d begun to join me in my bed every night.
The aides had drawn him a steaming bath, from which he’d stepped moments before I entered. His robe clung to his narrow hips and damp back, hinting at his lithe muscles.
“Been busy?” he asked.
“I’ve been looking for you for much of the day.”
