Page 72 of Court of Talons

“Maybe because it’s from the Wes?—”

“Don’t say it,” Nazar snaps. “Such treason…” He draws a deep breath, his eyes taking on a faraway cast. “The Imperium must be told of this. And it’s you who must tell them. As Merritt. The Tenth House is the closest to the border—the last defense. It must be you who carries this tale.”

I make a face. “First, let’s see if I survive this week.” The idea of traveling to the heart of theExalted Imperiumas mybrotheris so ridiculous it doesn’t even spark panic in my heart.

Much.

We talk more, until I’ve begun to doubt what I saw with my own eyes, heard with my own ears. Surely, Rihad couldn’t be planning anything so dire as an attack on the Protectorate—or, so much worse, the Imperium. Surely, I somehow misunderstood…

I’m midway through another round of rationalization when Caleb finally returns.

“There’s a good number of men out there,” he says. “Laughing and talking—but not about you. Still, it’s most of the warriors from the tournament.”

I know he’s implying I should join them, but I refuse to leave our chambers right away. Instead, Caleb and I practice our skills of not looking at each other for a while, each of us occupied with our own thoughts. At length, however, I venture out to the bonfire in the central courtyard. I’m surprised when Caleb joins me shortly after, but I can’t deny how glad I am for his company. He hands me a cup as he hefts a flagon of wine.

“Stolen,” he says with a shrug, and I lift my brows.

“They made the stealing easy I take it?”

“They practically forced it on every warrior and squire in the castle. If you’d stayed on your pallet where you should have been, you’d have probably found a girl in your bed.” He grins at me. “Not that you would’ve known what to do with her.”

I snort as he pours the wine into my cup. He’s not entirely wrong…or right. Not anymore.

We stand watching the fire for a long while as we drink, and I welcome the warmth that flows through me, both from the fire and the spirits. My mind buzzes from all I’ve learned this night, all I still don’t understand.

Caleb finally speaks, under the murmur of conversation. “The servants are still talking about that girl who fell to her death.”

“They saw her fall?” So Ihadbeen spotted by more than Rihad. Blessings to the Light for a disguise over a disguise of a disguise. Twice the blessing to Gent for saving me.

He nods. “Enough did. She leapt straight out a window and was gone. They predict her body will be eaten by wolves before it’s ever found.”

I grimace, imagining that fate. “Who do they think she was?”

He shrugs one shoulder, shooting me a glance. “No one knows—they assume a day worker from the village, like I said, but so far no one is talking. Of course, it’s not yet dawn.” He turns his face toward the castle walls. “If she did fall from that height, though, she’d surely die.”

I follow his gaze. There’s a light blazing from the high windows of what I now know is the Lord Protector’s rooms. Does he truly think a mere servant girl had been spying on him, I wonder? Better for me if he does.

Caleb blows out a long breath. “So, Gent was there to catch you?”

I stare into the leaping fire, but I can’t stop the grin as I recall the Divh’s sudden appearance and all that came after. “He was,” I say simply.

“But—how?” He pauses, his throat working. “Bad enough that you dressed as a servant andspiedon the Lord Protector.Then what? You were discovered, you ran, and youjumped? How’d you know he’d be there?”

I think about that, my headlong dash with my arm extended. Caleb’s guess is accurate enough to bring it all back in vivid detail. “Because I heard him laughing. In my mind. He was that close and…and then he was there.”

Caleb looks at me then shakes his head, returning his gaze to the fire. “You jumped into empty air and expected him to catch you.”

“Yes.” Once again, I see Merritt’s face, hear his laughter. My heart twists in pain.

Because Merritt was right…Merritt had always been right. If he jumped, his Divh would do all he could to catch him. If he called, his Divh would always answer.

Just as he answered me this night.

Caleb and I stand together for a long while, our talk eventually turning back to the feast. Caleb speaks of Fortiss making a speech to honor Kheris, and the bold southern warrior taking it all as his due, the clear favorite to win the tournament after he so soundly defeated the strange boy from the eastern border.

That catches me. “Strange?” I ask. Strange is bad, very bad. If the way of the warrior was to stick out like a squash in a field of roses, I’d have already won the tournament by now. Speaking of roses… “They don’t mean the flower petals, do they?”

Caleb huffs a laugh. “No. That escaped much attention, as far as I can tell. But the moment when you stretched your arm toward your Divh before he disappeared? That was noticed and remarked upon. Rihad made a joke at your expense, about how living in the mountains made friends hard to come by, and everyone laughed.”