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There was a knock on the door.
“Enter!”
The door opened, and a young worker girl shuffled in, carrying a tray.
“Put that over there,” Commander Bloodbain said, pointing toward a low table near the fireplace.
After setting down the tray, the girl hurried out of the room like she was being chased by hornets. I desperately wished I could go with her.
“I ordered us some food,” he said, extending his hand to invite me to sit in the chair across from him like we were about tohave a friendly chat. “It’s just hot broth and herbal tea, but they say that’s the best medicine for a deprived stomach.”
If it was up to my stomach, I would have sprinted for the food. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten, and my hollow insides ached. But the warning bells in my head kept my body still.If a guard helped you, he’ll soon come calling for a favor.
He watched me for a moment and then sighed. “All right, you can just eat it when you’re ready.” Picking up one of the bowls, he drank his broth in silence, staring into the fire.
Slowly, reluctantly, I moved to sit opposite him and set the candlestick on the floor. I brought the bowl of broth to my lips, being sure to keep the map on my hand concealed. I needed to find time alone to study it. If I lived that long.
“Feeling better?” Commander Bloodbain asked with one eyebrow raised when I’d drained every drop of both the broth and the tea.
I nodded, realizing that I hadn’t been this clean and well-fed for as long as I could remember. Still, every bone in my too-thin body ached. I wondered how many baths and bowls of broth it would take to make me feel whole again.
I wondered if I’d ever feel whole again.
“You’re name’s Raven, right?”
I flinched. My name sounded foreign on the tongue of a Rathalan. I was more used toslave. Malack. Girl. You. Filth.I looked up to see the commander watching me, the golden firelight casting jagged shadows across his face. I nodded, hugging my arms around my body protectively.
“So, what you told Thrailkull was true? You really can’t remember anything about your tribe?”
Was this part of his plan to “get the truth out of me” like he’d promised Thrailkull? “I didn’t lie to him, if that’s what you’re asking,” I said, giving nothing away. He may be acting friendly now, but that didn’t give me cause to trust him.
“Hmm,” he said, his gaze falling to the tray that sat between us.
I eyed the dagger at his hip, silently planning to steal it after he fell asleep.
He suddenly leaned forward.
I reached for the candlestick.
“I was just going to pour you more tea.” He spoke calmly like he was trying not to scare off a wild animal as he filled my mug.
When I didn’t put down the candlestick, he said, “We’re not all the same, you know. There are some of us who don’t agree with Thrailkull and his coming war against the tribal kingdoms.”
“But you’re helping him,” I blurted out. I didn’t know anything about Bloodbain, but that much seemed obvious.
“It’s not that simple.”
“Isn’t it? From what I’ve heard, you do Lord Thrailkull’s bidding. Making youexactlythe same as—” I stopped myself. Clearly, the exhaustion and grief had removed the restraints on my tongue, putting me on dangerous ground.
“Don’t believe everything you hear,” Bloodbain said sharply.
I held my tongue this time, hoping to keep it attached.
He let out a long breath, looking past me toward the fireplace. “When I was seven, Lord Thrailkull had my parents killed. It happened right in front of me. That day, I made a vow to avenge their deaths. So, when I became old enough, I joined the guard unit, knowing the only way to kill someone like Lord Thrailkull was to get as close to him as possible.”
Kill Thrailkull?My mouth fell open. In that moment, Bloodbain no longer sounded like the cunning commander of the Rathalans. He sounded like a lost boy trying to find justice in a cruel world.
“Why haven’t you done it yet?” I asked, suspecting that as the guard commander, he’d have had many opportunities to enact his revenge.
