Dawn Study

“We’ll leave tomorrow morning for the garrison,” Cahil said to his crew. “Hanni, please pick up supper for all of us.”

“Not from the Council Hall’s dining room,” I said. “The Hall’s food is laced with Theobroma.”

Hanni gave me a wide-eyed stare.

“You don’t know that for sure,” Cahil said with an annoyed tone.

“How else can you explain the Councilors’ willingness to leave and allow the Cartel to take over?”

“They agreed with Bruns’s brilliant ideas and strategy.”

“Then why not appoint him General and organize the war preparations themselves?” I asked.

“I’m not going to argue with you anymore.”

Too bad. It would be a nice distraction from my situation.

“Hanni, buy a bunch of meat pies from the market.” Cahil handed her a gold coin.

“Yes, sir.” She bolted for the door.

“This place has been compromised. The rest of you pack up all the intel. We’ll move the furniture later.”

They bustled about, shoving files and various items into boxes and crates. I stayed out of the way.

One of the door guards appeared and gestured Cahil over. “There’s a...person at the door. He insists on talking to you and our...guest.”

Scowling, Cahil asked, “Valek?”

Excitement swirled in my chest. Did Valek return to say goodbye?

“No, sir. A young man. Says he has a package for you both.”

All warmth died.

Cahil belted his sword on and tucked a dagger into the opposite side. He held a hand out to me. “Come on.”

Curious and hopeful that maybe Valek had sent me a message instead, I stood. Cahil grasped my wrist tightly.

“I promised to cooperate. You don’t need to hold on to me as if I’m going to run away,” I said.

He didn’t bother to reply. But as he guided me up to the ground floor and through the gloomy warehouse, I remembered he’d done the same thing when Onora appeared. As if the gesture warned her that I belonged to him. Perhaps he worried the young man would attempt to rescue me.

Fisk waited with the other guard by the open door. The fading sunlight lit his light brown eyes. A painful burn shone on his left temple and a raw cut marked his cheek. I shot Cahil a nasty glare. Fisk, though, peered at me in concern. Even though he was seventeen years old, I still saw the small boy that I’d first met over eight years ago superimposed on his tall and lean frame.

“Ah, it’s the Beggar King,” Cahil said. “Come to check on Yelena, Your Majesty?”

Fisk ignored Cahil. Instead he asked me, “Are you all right?”

“She’s fine,” Cahil said.

“And she’d better stay that way, or else—”

“What? You’ll send your kiddies after me? They’re no match for trained soldiers.”

Fisk smiled. I marveled that his grin actually lowered the temperature in the room by ten degrees.

“Oh no, General. I wouldn’t do something so...overt. There are so many ways to make a person’s life miserable.”

Score one for Fisk.

“Did you just come here to threaten me? I’ve more important things to attend to.”

“I brought you these.” Fisk handed a pouch to Cahil and one to me.

Cahil let go of my arm, and I untied the string. Inside was a wooden pendant of a bat hanging on a necklace. Cahil held up an ugly beetle. Leif had been so thrilled when he figured out how to attach a shield to a pendant. His wouldn’t stick to glass or metal or stone, but when he tried wood, it had worked. The sudden desire to see my brother pulsed in my chest.

“Null shields, compliments of Valek,” Fisk said.

Was this a sign that Valek wasn’t angry anymore? I looped it around my neck, even though the baby seemed to be protecting me from magic. When Bruns had captured me, the daily magical brainwashing I endured wore off as the day progressed. And when Rika had used a magical illusion to disguise herself as Valek, I saw through it when she touched my skin. I’d speculated that the baby was stealing the magic, but since I didn’t know exactly what was going on or what the fetus was doing with the power, it was a good idea not to rely on the protection it offered.

Cahil gave me a sour look as he tucked the pendant under his tunic, hiding it from sight. “I don’t feel any different.”

“It’s going to take some time for the Theobroma and magic to wear off,” I said.

“So you say.” He turned to Fisk. “Anything else?”

“I’d like to talk to Yelena in private.”

Cahil crossed his arms as if about to refuse, but after a moment he relaxed and motioned for his men to move away. “Stay in sight,” he said to me, then strode far enough to give us some privacy if we kept our voices low. But his gaze remained on me.

“Do you have a message from Valek?” I asked before Fisk could even open his mouth.

“Uh...no.”

I swallowed my disappointment. It hurt going down and landed in my stomach with a nauseated splash. “How are Lyle, Innis and the scouts doing?”