“Is he expecting you?” Asher asked him.
“What I have to say is for Henri’s ears alone. I won’t leave until I’ve spoken with him, as you’re no doubt aware,” he warned Asher, “so save us all some time and fetch him for me why don’t you?”
“Henri is occupied at the moment.” I indicated a stool against the far wall. “You are, of course, welcome to wait. I expect him to return any time now.” Despite the fact Asher had stabbed me, I still would sooner have him at my back than be left alone with Edan.
“I can wait.” Edan strode to the seat I offered and made himself comfortable.
“That can’t be a good thing,” I whispered to Asher.
“That Edan’s here is bad,” he agreed. “That he’s being polite is worse.”
“Malik went to his room not a half hour after you left.” I glanced at the other hatch, wishing it would open from the force of will I flung at it. “He won’t be long, and then we’ll fetch Henri.”
The stillness Edan exuded was an indication of his focus on our conversation.
“Don’t stare at him.” Asher touched my arm. “He likes the attention.”
“Don’t tell her my secrets,” Edan spoke softly. “Or I might have to tell some of yours.”
“I have no secrets.” Stern as his face was, I believed him.
Chill laughter raised hairs on the back of my neck. “We all do,” Edan said. “The best ones are those we don’t have the sense to keep. The sweetest secrets don’t know that they are secrets.”
“Shut your mouth,” I snapped, “or you’re welcome to leave and come back later.”
“Do you want to share?” His voice went low. “Your secrets are far more interesting than his.”
Cold sweat drenched my back, but I held his gaze. “I said to shut up or go.”
Running a finger over his lips, Edan settled in to wait. He studied me with an intensity that forced me to break eye contact first. There was an edge to his staring that recalled to me nights my brothers and I had spent in cheap taverns when we traveled looking for work. Of barmaids with their hair piled high, their cheeks rouged, their painted lips smiling and their clothing cinched too tight for them to breathe. Of the predatory gleam of the patrons in those bars and the coins they passed under the tables. Mornings were worse. Night’s makeup had washed off and only stark reality remained.
Edan reminded me of those hungry times, of bad things that happened once the lights went out.
Tempted as I was to ask Asher who Edan really was, I was equally sure I didn’t want to know.
“As interesting as this conversation has been,” I said to the room, “I have a job to finish.”
Asher touched my arm. “I’ll help.”
“That’s not—” The set of his jaw silenced me. “Thank you. I appreciate the offer.”
Quickly I considered what I had to do, what Asher would make of it, what the danger was if Edan noticed and made a mental note of what I had done. I weighed all that against my fear the oil might burn if left unattended and the relative certainty no one would see me making an essential oil from dayflowers and bolt out of the nest shouting, Mercy be, she’s concocted a cure for the plague.
“What’s Henri making this time?” Asher’s disinterested tone heartened me.
“Some type of oil from flowers.” I shrugged. “Perfume’s never been my thing.”
“You don’t seem the type,” he said by way of agreement, which made me scowl.
I was a female even if I refused to smell of flowers or to wear gowns or to glitter.
As I drained the oil for the last time, I disposed of the reduced petals then poured the oil into a large clay bowl I set well away from the heat. Beyond that, I had no idea what came next. All I knew to do I had done. Robbed of work to keep them occupied, my hands trembled. It was ridiculous.
Asher was by my side. Henri, Braden and Fynn were a door away if Edan caused me trouble.
Knowing I was chairbound must be the reason for my rising panic. I vowed right then that I would ask Henri if he could fashion crutches for me. Now that my shoulder was mostly mended, I wanted other options for mobility. I had entertained the notion of asking him for a day or two, but Edan’s arrival gave me the push I needed to force Henri’s hand. He would fight me, but I would win. I had to. Isolation had turned me soft. It was time I shed this pampered skin and returned to my roots.
It was time to meet the plague and its children head-on.
The cure was complete as far as I could tell from Mana’s notes. The one ingredient lacking was a spiritual element. Henri and I were not spirit walkers, and his plants hadn’t blossomed in Salticidae soil. If prayer over the oil was a requirement rather than a suggestion, I hoped Henri bowed his head.
I had nothing to say to the gods my mother wouldn’t box my ears for voicing.
As much as it pained me to acknowledge it, at this point we had done all we could for Ghedi.
It was time we turned our focus to the risers and the threat they posed to the nest and—more immediately—to us. By the time the sound of a lock springing met my ears, I was eager to see Henri.
When he entered the room, he sought me out and gifted me with a lopsided smile that drooped at its edges. I cut my eyes toward our uninvited guest. Henri followed my gaze, and his grin slipped.
“Edan,” he said in greeting.
The male stood and ducked his head. “I would not have come if it were not important.”
The change in his demeanor raised my arm hairs. Asher appeared likewise unnerved.
Henri gestured Edan to rise. “I trust your wait was uneventful?”
A flicker of reluctance passed over Edan’s face. “I was not as polite as I could have been.”
“Show my friends the respect they are due.” Henri bypassed Asher, taking his place by my side.
I slid my hand into his in a show of support.
“I will endeavor to do so in the future,” Edan said smoothly.
Henri squeezed my fingers. “I accept your word in the spirit it was given.”
That made Edan chuckle. “I had no doubt you would.”
“You risked much to come here.” Henri sounded unhappy at the fact.
“I would have risked more to stay away. We must talk. I would prefer to do so face-to-face.” Edan measured him with a glance. “You’re dead on your feet. I figured you would be. I brought a tray of meats and cheeses and a bottle of wine. You can eat while I relay my message.”
My shock at his kindness must have shown because his eyes twinkled with mirth.
Henri’s gaze darted toward his office. “Is Marne with you?”
“Soon.” He glanced that direction too, then back at me. “We plan to wait this out in the city.”
Henri braced his palm on the back of my chair to steady himself. “You aren’t staying?”
“Only long enough to tell you what you must know.” Edan clasped his shoulder. “Don’t worry. You won’t starve. Place your orders as you have been. They will be filled by an associate of mine.”
“Can they be depended upon?” Henri stressed his point.
Edan’s affable façade slipped. “I would not entrust your wellbeing to any who could not.”
“I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. Please.” He held up his hand. “Bring the tray. Let’s talk.” His fingers tapped the handle of my chair. “Would you care to join us? As tired as I am, and as eager as Edan appears to be to get on his way, I would appreciate another set of ears to catch what I miss.”
He must have known it was an invitation I couldn’t refuse.
I didn’t disappoint.
Much to Edan’s amusement, I kept the dagger Asher had lent me braced across my thighs. Henri was oblivious. His eyes were at half-mast, and he was fumble-fingered opening his bedroom door. The meal Edan mentioned sat on Henri’s bed on a tray identical to the one Ghedi had brought me. For all I knew, it might be the same one. Then again, how many such ornate trays must exist in this nest?
>
I entered the room with hesitation. “This is your room?”
The bed was narrow and slender, the frame simple. A heavy chair sat in the corner beside an old table strewn with books. Papers littered the floor in that corner. Clothes were piled beside the door. Plants in metal stands lined one wall, and the smell of herbs filled the space. It was a nice room. It reflected the studious male who slept there, but I had trouble imagining this as his bedroom suite.
As a brother of the maven, I expected more gold, more ornate carvings, more…everything.
“Is it not what you expected?” Henri waited until Edan claimed a seat before sitting on his bed.
Since I had my chair, I could hardly complain I had not been offered a position first.
Nape prickling from being confined to a cramped space with Edan, I kept my back to the door and him in my periphery. Henri was fading, and the last thing I wanted was to be alone with Edan.
“It must be a good sign if she has imagined how your bedroom looks at all,” Edan said.
I ignored him. “I admit I anticipated a grander room considering your position.”
Henri poured a drink and offered the glass to me. I declined. There was only one cup, and he needed the wine to wash down his meal. “The room my parents gave me is no doubt identical to the one you’re picturing for me. But I prefer staying close to the work.” He popped a square of cheese in his mouth after first offering a piece to me. “Tell me why you’ve come, Edan. How bad is it? What are Lourdes’s plans?”
“Bad is a relative term.” He settled into his chair and crossed his legs under him. “Your sister has been monitoring the situation for some days. She believes the city is safe from this threat and has decided to use this opportunity to study our enemy. Paladin Rhys issued orders to his guards to observe but not engage the risers. So far, there have been no sightings of the other creatures.”
“Harbingers don’t like getting their hands dirty.” I explained, “They use risers for that.”
“Right now we’re working under the assumption the risers who made their way to Erania either followed the orders of a harbinger who elected not to accompany them, or they journeyed here under their own power.” Edan waited to see if I contributed my opinion. He surprised me enough that I did.
“There’s a harbinger nearby pulling their strings.” There had to be. “Whether it’s ours or a different one is the question.”
“What has been learned from observing them?” Henri asked.
“Not much,” Edan admitted. “The risers haven’t attacked the walls or tried entering the city, and so far they appear oblivious to the guards unless they are confronted. In fact, the only area where the risers are congregating is outside the stable hatch. For that reason, the bulk of the paladin’s resources have been redirected there as well as the other hatches scattered outside the wall, though the risers are content to charge the stable hatch rather than seek entrance elsewhere. They seem very simple to me.”
“Left to their own devices, they might be.” Too bad they had help. “Harbingers are the real threat. If one is spotted, warn your maven she is better off killing it before it sings the risers into action. When under a harbinger’s control, risers are made more vicious by their lack of thought and their strict adherence to their master’s orders. Observe the risers if you wish, but keep your eyes to the skies.”
“I will keep your advice in mind.” An indulgent note entered his voice.
“Is there anything else?” Henri set his empty tray on the floor, nudging it aside with his foot. Focused as I had been on Edan, I hadn’t noticed Henri clean his plate or drain his cup.
“Nothing of consequence,” Edan said. “You and I have discussed the rest.”
I gawked at him. “You risked infection to tell him that little bit?”
“I have been taking the same preventative medicine as Henri has. You said earlier you have faith in his skill. Perhaps you are not the only one who trusts him with their life?” Rising with his back to me, Edan lifted the cushion on his chair and withdrew a thin packet. “Once I leave, I swore to your sister I would not return to the nest until it had been purged of sickness and I was not at risk from or a risk to those inside. You and I—we may not see one another for some weeks.”
Henri shook his head. “I’m certain that wasn’t by design.”
“Marne isn’t used to living underground.” He shrugged. “She craves a good hunt.”
“Will you hunt the risers?” Though no one had said, they could hardly be left free to roam.
“They do not interest me.” Edan rolled his shoulders again. “Marne may think otherwise.”
“If she should become interested, take her outside the wall to the forest near the old vineyard. There are lepus there she can trap.” Henri held out a hand, and Edan set the packet on his palm.
“I may do that.” With a formal bow that suited him well, Edan said his farewell to Henri.
“Don’t let the door hit you…” I muttered as Edan passed.
His deep chuckle followed him into the hall.
When the door closed, Henri studied me. “Would you like me to escort you to your room?”
“No.” My fingers drummed my armrests until I noticed Henri’s habit in myself and stopped. “You need sleep. You’ve done too much and gone too long without rest. Head down. Eyes shut.”
After a brief hesitation, he tucked the packet away and did as I ordered, stretching out across his mattress. “What next?”
Subtle warmth in his voice lured me closer. “Stop squinting so hard and relax.” I rolled nearer to his bedside and ran my fingers through his hair. “There. That’s better.”
“I ought to send you away,” he murmured.
“Afraid of my brothers, are you?” I teased while scratching his scalp lightly with my fingernails.
He cracked one eye open. “Let me worry about your brothers.”
“I can’t make you any promises.” I admitted, “I worry about them constantly.”
He turned his head toward me. “I regret adding to your burden.”
“Shh.”
“I mean it.” He stretched out his arm and rested his palm on my knee. “I should have done more than I did. If I had given your family the same consideration as I gave mine, we wouldn’t be here.”
“If I had read the fine print in our contract with Hishima, we wouldn’t be here either.”
His thumb stroked the inside of my thigh. “You can’t blame yourself.”
“I can’t blame you either.” It wasn’t fair. As my initial anger faded, I began to see that.
I was angrier at myself for being led so easily into Hishima’s trap than at Henri’s actions.
“Am I forgiven, then?”
I thumped the crown of his head. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
He reached up and rubbed his scalp. “How far would you go?”
“This far.” I leaned over, used my finger to tilt his face and kissed him.
“Were you making a point just now?”
I chuckled while sliding my gaze down his body, toward the laces of his pants. “You tell me.”
The flash of color in his cheeks drew me down for another taste of him. This time he caught me. Short as my hair was, he had to cup my neck to take control of the kiss.
I let him, moaning encouragement while I slid my hand across his chest. I relished the pounding of his heart under my palm for a moment before easing lower. When my fingertips brushed the closure of his pants, Henri wrapped an arm around me, tugging me half on top of him.
I bumped my shin on his bedframe, sucked in a sharp breath and exhaled a curse.
He released me instantly and pushed up onto his elbows. “Are you—?”
“Fine.” The gentle throb of pain cleared my head. “You should be sleeping.”
He bent over and cradled my calf, lifting my leg to examine it. “I’ll be more careful next time.”
I leaned over and pressed my lips to his. “Now, Henri, whe
re would the fun be in that?”
I pried his hands from my leg then shoved his shoulder until his back hit the mattress. Covering his eyes, I waited until his lashes stopped tickling my palm, and I knew his lids had remained closed.
That endearing curve bent his lips. “How long will you stay?”
“A while.” Until I was certain Edan had gone and Henri would stay where I put him.
He hesitated. “Is that wise?”
“How else can I convince my brothers their worst fears have been realized?” I ruffled his hair. “Rest, Henri. My brothers will survive the scandal if I’m found inside a male’s room.”
It was Henri’s neck and my arse I worried about.
Chapter 9
I snuck from Henri’s room once his breathing evened. He needed the rest, and I couldn’t shake a nagging sense of urgency that the dayflower oil ought to be contained. In my mind’s eye, I imagined Edan filling a flask before leaving for the city. Ridiculous, because he had no inkling how the oil was used or why it had been distilled.
I frowned. Or did he? As well-informed as he was on all other fronts, apprised enough to be an informant for the maven, was he also made aware of the dayflower oil’s purpose?
Once inside the laboratory, I went straight to the kiln to satisfy my paranoia.
The large bowl of dayflower oil was as I had left it. If Edan had known of its purpose, he had taken no liberties with its contents. No sooner had I stretched cheesecloth over the mouth of an empty jar, when a hand grasped my shoulder. I twisted around, almost toppling my chair to get a look behind me.
My heart stopped up my throat. “Why aren’t you with Fynn and Braden?”
Asher bit into a crisp apple and spoke around the core. “Waiting on you.”
“Why is that?”
“Do I look like an idiot?” He wiped his mouth.
I plucked the fruit from his hand. “Do you really want me to answer that?”
He snatched back his apple and took another bite. “Malik went to fetch something from the stables for me. He ought to return any minute. It won’t take long to realize what I asked for isn’t where I said it would be. I’d wager Fynn is getting pissy right about now since I haven’t put in an appearance. Braden will cover for me as best he can, and neither will dare leave the other in that room alone, but you left me in a tight spot. I had to do a bit of fancy talking to convince your brother to head to the stables without setting eyes on you first.” He pointed at me. “I did a favor for you. What do you think would have happened if Fynn or Malik found you in Henri’s bedroom?”
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