by Jaye McKenna
Larrad said only, “Meet me in front of the house. The carriage should be ready in a quarter of an hour.”
Dani nodded and slipped out. Rio had already gone off-shift, so it was Coryn who followed him up to his suite. In the dressing room, he pulled the bottle of anzaria from its hiding place in the top drawer of his dressing table and measured out a dose. Movement in the mirror caught his eye, and he glanced up to meet Coryn’s eyes in the glass.
“Sir,” Coryn said quietly, “I have something that will stop the anzaria from making you so drowsy.”
“You do?” Dani turned to face him.
Coryn pulled a small vial from his pocket. “Five drops of this added to the anzaria should do the trick.”
Dani reached for the vial. The glass was cool in his hand, the liquid inside dark. “What is it?”
“Concentrated tansin flower extract, mostly. You won’t sleep tonight, I can promise you that.”
“That’s a small price to pay, if it’ll help me get through the meeting without Father suspecting anything.” Dani counted five drops into the medicine cup, then handed the vial back to Coryn. “Thank you.”
“Keep it,” Coryn said. “This won’t be the last time you need it, and there’s no guarantee I’ll be on duty when you do.”
Dani drank down the medicine, then tucked the vial away with the anzaria.
“You’ll crash hard tomorrow,” Coryn warned.
“If I can get through tonight, I’ll worry about that tomorrow,” Dani said grimly. “Coryn—”
“We need to go,” Coryn said, cutting him off and turning away.
Dani stared after him for a few moments, then grabbed his jacket. The last thing he’d expected was help from Coryn. Dani had tried engaging him in conversation a number of times, but Coryn’s clipped, one-word responses had made it clear that Coryn had no interest in him beyond his duty.
Had something changed?
No… Coryn’s manner was as cold and indifferent as ever as they made their way down to the waiting carriage.
The drive into the city was uneventful. The stimulant countered the side effects of the anzaria perfectly, and the anzaria itself worked to keep the noise out of his head. When they reached the city gates, Dani was surprised to still be feeling like his usual self. As long as he didn’t run out of either drug, perhaps it would be possible to keep his secret from his father.
He hoped he wouldn’t have to worry about it for much longer. Surely, he’d hear from Mother soon, telling him Uncle Ty had paved the way for him to join her in Altan. He couldn’t wait to be free of his father and the responsibilities Larrad wanted him to take on.
When they passed through the marketplace, Larrad began gathering his papers and putting them away in his satchel. They’d nearly reached the Briarwood, the exclusive club where the men of the aristocracy went for dinner, drinks, cards, and other entertainments. He knew from things Haiden had said that most of his father’s after-hours business deals were conducted there. But instead of turning north toward the upper-class establishments near the theater district, the carriage turned south, toward the warehouse district.
The sun had set just before they’d reached the city, and as the carriage clattered on, the streets became narrower and darker, the lamps placed farther apart. Dani had never come to this part of the city before; well-bred gentlemen simply didn’t frequent this part of town. He understood now why his father had insisted on bringing half a dozen guardsmen with them, as well as Coryn and a well-armed driver.
“Where in Fiora’s name are we going?” Dani asked, peering through the carriage window at the poorly lit streets.
Larrad, who had been silent up until now, cleared his throat and said, “The situation at the warehouse that’s been taking up an inordinate amount of my time is about to be resolved. Normally, this duty would have fallen to Haiden, and I wouldn’t have had to bother with it. Once you’re competent enough to take Haiden’s place, it will be your responsibility to see to things like this. That being the case, I thought it might be instructive for you to observe tonight’s proceedings.”
“Oh?” Dani wasn’t sure what to make of that. Tension tightened his shoulders and burned in his gut as he tried to imagine what could possibly need his father’s personal attention so late in the evening.
The carriage finally rolled to a stop behind the dark bulk of a warehouse. Coryn and four of the guardsmen accompanied Dani and Larrad, leaving the remaining two guardsmen and the driver with the carriage. Two men met them at the back door. Inside it was dark and silent, but the men had brought lanterns. One man hung back and spoke quietly to Larrad while the other led the way down the hall.
They stopped outside a door, and Dani followed his father into a bare room, empty but for a slender man tied to a chair in the far corner. The man lifted his head and blinked at the intrusion of the lantern light. Dark eyes widened at the sight of Larrad.
“My lord, I—”
One of their escorts backhanded the man. “You haven’t been given permission to speak, Belnith. Don’t make it worse.”
“No, don’t!” Dani protested, the burning core of acid in his stomach bursting into full-fledged nausea. He turned to his father, only to find himself already facing Larrad’s penetrating stare.
“What was that, Danakho?” Larrad asked, his voice like velvet-edged steel.
“I…” Dani swallowed. “You… why must you hurt him? Why can’t you just—”
“Quiet, Danakho.” Larrad’s voice was a menacing growl. “You’re here to observe, not comment. Understood?”
“Y-yes, sir,” Dani murmured. “I… um… I’m not feeling very well. I wonder if I might wait in the carriage?”
“No, you may not,” Larrad snapped, then turned on his heel and strode forward to address the prisoner. “Mr. Belnith. Four days now, you’ve been assuring me you had nothing to do with the goods stolen from these premises. And yet just last night, I had a rather illuminating conversation with the man who received those stolen goods. He said you’d been supplying him for months and cooking the books to hide your crime. I don’t suppose you’d care to explain those allegations?”
Belnith’s face was grey. Sweat beaded on his forehead, glistening in the lantern light. “I d-didn’t, my lord, I swear it. He’s lying.”
“Then perhaps you’d like to explain how a crate of weapons from Karrakh bearing my mark came into his possession?”
The man said nothing as he strained against his bonds.
Larrad nodded to one of the men standing near Belnith. “Mr. Belnith seems to be having trouble explaining himself,” he said mildly. “Could you provide him some encouragement?”
The man grinned, displaying a mouthful of broken, discolored teeth. “With pleasure, m’lord.” He turned and rammed a fist into Belnith’s gut.
“No!” Dani cried out before he could stop himself.
Larrad turned to glare at Coryn. “Keep him here and keep him quiet.”
“Ai, sir,” Coryn murmured.
Dani shivered and looked away. While his father was focused on beating the truth out of his underling, Dani began to edge toward the door. He’d only moved a few steps when a strong hand closed around his arm and jerked him back. He twisted his head around and met Coryn’s icy, expressionless eyes.
“Your father ordered you to stay here,” Coryn said in a low voice.
“I can’t,” Dani whispered.
Coryn’s other hand closed around Dani’s other arm and he was held firmly in place. “You will.”
Belnith cried out, and Dani opened his mouth to protest, but before a sound could escape, Coryn’s arm went around his chest and his hand clapped over Dani’s mouth. “Shut it,” Coryn hissed in Dani’s ear.
Dani didn’t dare try to fight him. He knew from watching him spar with Rio that he was no match for Coryn. So he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. He couldn’t close his ears, though. He heard the sounds of a fist hitting flesh, heard Belnith’s grunts, which soon tu
rned to broken sobs.
The beating didn’t stop until Belnith confessed and named his partners. By the time it was over, Dani was feeling so sick and lightheaded, Coryn was more than half supporting him.
Someone took hold of his chin in a painful grip, and his father’s voice growled, “Open your eyes, boy.”
Dani did as he was told, and when he caught sight of the mess they’d made of Belnith, his stomach heaved. His dinner made an untimely reappearance, narrowly missing his father’s shoes.
Larrad cursed. “Get him out of here,” he snapped at Coryn. “I’ll deal with him later.”
Coryn positioned Dani’s arm over his shoulder and manhandled him out into the hallway. One of Larrad’s guardsmen went ahead with the lantern, and Coryn pulled Dani along beside him. Dani’s eyes were so blurred with tears he could hardly see, and he was shaking badly enough to make walking difficult.
With Coryn’s help, he made it to the carriage, and once the door was shut and he was safely alone, despair consumed him. He collapsed across the seat, great, heaving sobs tearing from his throat. He never heard his father enter the carriage.
* * *
Rio did not sleep well that night. Dani and his father left the estate shortly before sunset, but it was close to midnight before he’d heard the carriage return. It had taken a supreme effort of will to remain in his quarters. Morning couldn’t come soon enough, and the briefing he received did nothing to allay his fears.
“Slight change in routine today,” Hawk said as he stood before her desk at attention. “Should make your job a lot easier. Master Danakho’s been confined to his suite for the next few days.”
“Is he ill?” Rio blurted out.
Hawk eyed him curiously, but shook her head. “No. I don’t know the details, but apparently Lord Jherek was displeased by something that happened yesterday evening. Master Danakho is under house arrest until further notice.”
With Dani under house arrest, there was little more for Hawk to say. There would be no outings to worry about, no lessons, no sparring in the practice yard. Hawk dismissed him, and Rio had to make a conscious effort not to break into a run as he headed toward the house.
The guardsmen outside Dani’s door looked grim, but neither said a word as they unlocked the door to let Rio in. Hawk hadn’t mentioned Dani was locked in. Inside the suite, there was no sign of Dani, but Pendrin was there. He looked pale and strained, the dark smudges under his eyes suggesting his night had been as sleepless as Rio’s.
“Oh, thank Fiora you’re here,” Pen said, glancing toward the closed bedroom door. “He hasn’t slept a wink. I’ve been in with him most of the night.”
“What happened?” Rio asked, keeping his voice low.
“Something angered Lord Jherek last night. He made his displeasure known with his fists.”
Rio’s blood went cold. “Is Dani all right?”
“Bruised and in pain, but I don’t think anything’s broken.”
Rio bit back a curse and went straight to the bedroom. The curtains were drawn shut against the morning light, and though the lamp was lit, it was turned down low. Coryn stood by the door, but the bed was empty.
“Where is he?” Rio demanded.
“Hiding between the bed and the wall,” Coryn said, his tone conveying no emotion whatsoever. “He’s been there since first light. Trying to avoid his father, I imagine.”
“Is he all right?”
“All right enough to cry.”
Rio wanted to scream at Coryn, to demand why he had so little compassion when he’d been through the same damn thing himself. Had the Khalshir destroyed every shred of humanity Coryn had once possessed?
Instead of taking hold of him and shaking him like he wanted to, Rio schooled his own expression to the same cool disinterest veiling Coryn’s eyes. “What happened? Pen said his father was angry with him.”
“Master Danakho made a bad impression at the meeting last night, and he was punished for it.” Coryn’s voice remained cool and steady. If watching Dani’s punishment had bothered him, there was no sign of it.
“Anything else I should know?”
“He’s confined to the suite.”
“Ai, Hawk told me. Any idea how long that’s going to go on for?”
Coryn shrugged. “Until Lord Jherek decides otherwise. Probably at least until the swelling goes down and the bruises fade.”
Swelling and bruises… Rio felt sick, and he couldn’t get Coryn out the door fast enough. When his partner was gone, Rio turned up the lamp and went straight to the other side of the bed, where he found a quilt-wrapped Dani wedged in the narrow space between the bed and the wall. One golden-brown eye shimmering with tears stared up at him out of a bruised face. The other eye was swollen shut.
“Fiora’s mercy, Dani, what has he done to you?” Rio dropped to his knees beside him and moved the blankets gently aside so he could assess the damage.
Dani flinched when Rio gently touched his bruised cheek. Carefully, Rio helped him to his feet. Dani whimpered with every movement and every breath.
“Have you had anything for pain?” Rio asked as he eased Dani down gently on the bed.
“No.” Dani’s voice was a hoarse croak. “He told Pen… no medicine.”
Rio moved his hands to the hem of Dani’s shirt, but paused before lifting it, noting it was the same shirt Dani had worn to dinner last night. “All right if I take a look at your ribs?”
Dani closed his good eye and nodded. A tear squeezed out from between thick lashes and crept down his cheek. Rio wiped it away before lifting his shirt.
The bruising on Dani’s sides and chest was far worse than on his face. It looked as if he’d been kicked repeatedly. Dani flinched as Rio ran his hands over his ribs.
“Easy,” Rio soothed. “I need to see how badly hurt you are. I’ll be as quick and as gentle as I can.” To Rio’s relief, Dani’s ribs appeared to be intact, though there was certainly enough bruising to make breathing painful. He pulled Dani’s shirt back down, then drew the covers up over him. “Do you think you can sleep?”
“I’ve tried.” Dani’s voice was a paper-thin whisper. “It hurts.”
“Have you eaten anything? Or had anything to drink?”
“No.”
“All right, I’ll have Pen fetch something. Try not to move. And breathe shallowly if you can. I’ll be back.”
Rio closed the door quietly behind him and leaned against it for a moment, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his fists in impotent fury.
“Is he… can I do anything?” Pen sounded hesitant.
Rio opened his eyes to find the valet hovering just out of reach. “See if you can get some water into him, but do it carefully. And he needs something for the pain.”
What little color had remained in Pen’s face bled away, and his pale eyes widened. “But Lord Jherek said—”
“Until someone tells me differently, my orders are to protect Master Danakho’s life,” Rio said, pushing past him. “If I think he needs pain medicine, then it’s my responsibility to get it for him.”
Pen grabbed at his sleeve. “But you can’t. Lord Jherek will be furious!” The valet was trembling so hard Rio could hear his teeth clacking together.
“Who’s going to tell him?” Rio put his hands on Pen’s shoulders to steady him. “I’ll take full responsibility, but I can’t leave him to fetch it.”
Pen looked doubtful.
“If he’s furious, he can be furious with me.”
Pen didn’t look happy. “I’ll get him some,” he whispered. “I’m glad you’re here, Rio.”
“I wish I wasn’t here,” Rio said grimly, then glanced toward the bedroom. “I wish he wasn’t, either.”
* * *
Dani lay in a pain-soaked state of alertness as he had for most of the night. More than anything, he’d wished for the oblivion of sleep, but the stimulant Coryn had given him had kept him wide awake and keenly aware of the agony that came with every breath.
When his father had returned to the carriage after his meeting was over, he’d found Dani huddled in his seat crying. Without a word, Larrad had hauled him out by the scruff, thrown him to the ground, and proceeded to deliver a beating that seemed every bit as bad as what poor Belnith had gotten.
Larrad had been livid, and all Dani had been able to do was curl up in a ball and wait for it to be over. He didn’t remember getting up off the pavement. Nor did he remember the carriage ride home, or being put to bed, but he’d woken in agony, bleeding on his own bedclothes.
He wanted Rio in the worst way, but dared not ask for him. Coryn was the night guard, and he stood by the door, silent as a statue, offering nothing, not even a concerned look or a kind word.
When the thin grey light of dawn began seeping through the curtains, Dani finally drifted off, only to wake from a terrifying dream in which his father stormed into his room and threw him out of his bed. Whimpering, he’d shuffled to the side of the bed and painfully lowered himself to the floor. He’d managed to drag the heavy quilt down from the bed and burrow under it, thinking, in his half delirious state, that Larrad might mistake him for a pile of dirty linens.
In his dreams, Rio came and helped him get back into bed. Dani tried to hide because he didn’t want Rio to see him looking like this, but when Rio went away again, Dani whimpered at finding himself alone. Then that honey-and-smoke voice was back, winding its way through the darkness.
“I told you I’d take full responsibility, Pen.”
“I’ll just pour him a dose, then.”
A moment later, a hand slipped under his shoulders and eased him up, and the lip of a cup was pressed against his lips.
“Drink it down,” Rio said softly. “It’ll help the pain.”
Dani drank obediently. He recognized the taste of blackseed extract mixed with a little water. When he was finished, he reached for Rio’s hand, and after only a moment’s hesitation, Rio took hold of it and squeezed gently.
Between the stimulant crash Coryn had warned about and the soporific effect of the blackseed extract, Dani soon drifted off. Rio woke him a short time later to help him drink some soup. By that time, the pain was only a dim echo of what it had been, and his mind was pleasantly fuzzy.
