He walked out into the center of the quad and sat down on a bench on the pavilion surrounding Bayar Fountain.
The Bayars followed him. Han gestured to a nearby bench. They sat.
“What were you thinking, Micah, sending a street rusher up against a wizard?” Han said, idly tossing his knife and catching it. “That was a mismatch. She’s talented, I’ll admit—there aren’t many Temple students who can cut your heart out through your clothes. But she’s never been a steady hand as a draw-latch.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Micah said at the same time that Fiona said, “Who?”
“Cat Tyburn doesn’t crew for you anymore,” Han said. “Sorry.”
“Who is Cat Tyburn?” Fiona asked, looking from Han to Micah with narrowed eyes.
Micah eyed him, his curiosity clearly battling with his desire to keep denying what Han already knew. “What happened? Where is she?” he said finally.
“Where do you think?” Han flipped his knife, caught it.
“You killed her?” Micah’s expression was all horrified fascination.
Han shrugged. “I don’t want to talk about Cat.”
“Well, I do,” Fiona snapped, glaring at her brother. “What have you been up to?”
“Later,” Micah said. “Let’s talk about what happened in Aediion. Who is Crow? Or was he just a bit of conjury you put on for our benefit?”
Han tried the edge of his blade against his thumb. “To tell you the truth, I have no idea who Crow is, or what his game is. I was as surprised as you when he showed up.”
“But you know him,” Fiona pressed. “That was obvious.”
“I’ve met him,” Han said, putting his knife away. “Can’t say I know him. Let’s just say that your visit to Aediion was a case of getting in over your head. Magically, I mean.” He closed his hand on the Demon King’s amulet. “Now. We need to get something settled. I’ve had enough of always watching my back, waiting for somebody to pick my pocket or jinx me or slide a blade between my ribs.” He waggled the amulet. “You want this, come and get it.”
Micah shook his head. “We’re not stupid. You’ll attack us. Or we’ll get expelled for attacking you.”
“I promise. Cross my heart. I won’t attack you. If you can take it, you can have it.” Han smiled, all toothy and slantwise. “Either one. Come on. Who’s first?”
“Toss it over here,” Fiona said.
“Now that would be stupid, wouldn’t it?” Han said. “You with three amulets between the two of you, me without any.” He held the amulet up by its chain. “Nah. You come take it from me.”
Micah shook his head again. “No. I don’t trust you.”
Han sighed. “Guess you’re way too smart for me. See, this thing is choosy about who uses it. Touch it, and you’re nothing more than a smudge of ash and a lingering stench on the breeze.”
“You’re forgetting that I’ve used it before,” Micah said.
“Then come get it,” Han said, grinning, caressing the serpent’s head. “Now or never.”
Fiona pursed her lips. “You’re saying you can handle it and we can’t? When we are the rightful owners?”
“You Bayars keep saying this jinxpiece belongs to you,” Han said. “It doesn’t. You stole it from Alger Waterlow a thousand years ago. It was supposed to be destroyed, but your family’s got a whole stash of illegal magical weapons, don’t you?”
The two Bayars sat perfectly still, not blinking, their hands cradling their own probably stolen jinxpieces.
“You can’t prove any of that,” Fiona said finally.
“Sure I can. All I have to do is hand this amulet over to the clans and tell them where I got it. They’ll believe me. I’d say my word with them is better than yours. Besides, Hayden Fire Dancer was there that day on Hanalea, and he’s well connected with the Spirit clans.”
“You won’t hand it over,” Micah said. “The clans will destroy it.”
“Maybe,” Han said. “Maybe not. But I promise you this—you won’t get it back. Your father murdered my mother and my sister. The Queen’s Guard locked them in a stable and set it on fire. They burned to death. Lord Bayar didn’t light the fire, but he might as well have. My sister was seven years old.”
Micah’s gaze shifted away. “You were wanted for murder. The queen—”
Han raised his hand to stop the spray of words. “Murders I didn’t commit. Oh, there’s plenty of blame to go around. The queen’s on the list too. But I’m not stupid. Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that.”
Fiona shook her head, eyes fixed on Han’s face. “No. I won’t.”
“After that, somebody—your people or the queen’s—somebody murdered my friends in Ragmarket, trying to get them to tell where I was. Some of them were lytlings, too. They didn’t pick the street life, you know. It was that or starve.” Han tilted his head. “You going to tell me the queen was hunting me because of some Southies that died?”
“You stabbed our father when he tried to negotiate the return of the amulet,” Fiona said. “You nearly killed the High Wizard of the realm. I would say that’s reason enough for the guard to go looking for you.”
“Negotiate?” Han stared at her. “Negotiate? You bluebloods got your own patter flash. On the street we call it having tea with the pigs. He told me straight out he was going to take me back to your place and torture me to death.”
Micah shifted impatiently. “So what’s your point?”
“The point is, I paid a really high price for this amulet,” Han said. “There’s no way either of you can use it. And I’d rather it was melted down and destroyed than back in your hands. Do you believe me?”
“I believe you,” Fiona whispered, her face even paler than usual. “But you’re a fool if you continue to use it. You don’t know how dangerous it is.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Han said. “You know, Micah, that first night, when I saw you on Bridge Street, I wanted to kill you. I wanted to cut your throat and watch your blood soak into the dirt. I wanted to wrap a strangle cord around your neck and throttle you while you kicked and messed yourself.”
“I’m shaking in my boots,” Micah said, looking Han dead in the eyes.
Han stood and took a step toward him. “I’m what’s hiding in the side street when you walk home from The Four Horses,” he said. “I’m the shadow in Greystoke Alley when you go out to take a piss. I’m the footpad in the corridor when you visit the girlie at Grievous Hall.”
Micah’s eyes narrowed, his self-assurance wilting a bit. Han could tell he was going back over a hundred suspicious sights and sounds. “You’ve been following me?”
“I can come and go from your room, any time I want,” Han said. “I can tell you what you say when you talk in your sleep. I know what your down-low girlie whispers in your ear.” He laughed. “You can’t keep me out of any place I want to be in. I would’ve known about Cat sooner, but you always met with her when I was in class.”
Micah licked his lips. “Perhaps you take some kind of perverse pleasure in stalking me, but—”
“What I’m saying is, if I wanted you dead, you would already be dead a dozen ways. I let you live because now I got a different plan. You Bayars need to learn that you can’t have everything you want. I’m going to teach you. This is just the beginning.”
Micah’s eyes narrowed. “Is that a threat?”
“Absolutely.” Han smiled. “Any time you start a fight, you’d better know who you’re coming up against.” He stood. “Be seeing you.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
MATRIMONY
OR MURDER
It was a gray and gloomy Thursday—though warmer and more humid than any April day had a right to be. Raisa was done with classes for the day, but she didn’t want to go back to Grindell Hall and watch Amon watch her. He’d been edgy for days, even before the episode with Han.
“What is the matter with you?” she’d demanded the night before in the practice yard. “I�
�ve never seen you so jumpy.”
“I have a feeling you’re in danger,” he said. “I can’t shake it.”
“Is this about Han Alister?” she’d asked, pausing with her staff across her body.
He shook his head. “No. Not entirely, anyway. I’ve felt like this since Hallie came home. Like something bad is about to happen.” He adjusted his grip on his staff, carefully placing his hands. “I’ve learned not to ignore those instincts. Please be careful, Rai.”
She’d debated whether to show Queen Marianna’s letter to Amon, and had decided against it. Could Amon’s worries have anything to do with that? Could he sense how unsettled she was, how tempted she was to travel back home?
In the midst of all this, Raisa had exams to study for, and a decision to make about what to wear to the Cadets’ Ball. Female cadets had the option of wearing either their dress uniform or a gown. The uniform would be easier, but Raisa was afraid she’d be taken for somebody’s boyish young squire who’d been allowed to stay up late.
Sometimes she actually missed dressing up.
Still, it was probably too late to hire a seamstress, and unlikely she’d find something to fit her in the secondhand shops along Bridge Street.
Tonight she’d meet with Han. Her heart accelerated. She’d sent a message to Hampton Hall.
Han, I apologize that our evening ended so abruptly. It was wonderful up until then. AB apologizes also. Well, that’s not strictly true, but I apologize for him. Looking forward to Thursday, and to the dance.—Rebecca
There’d been no reply.
Maybe I should see if he shows for tutoring tonight before I look for a dress, Raisa thought glumly. She was tempted to cross the bridge and find Han at his dormitory, but that could end badly in a number of ways.
Amon’s edginess was catching. Raisa found herself constantly looking over her shoulder, feeling the itch on the back of her neck that said someone was watching her. Gray wolves clustered on the quad, their ears pressed back against their heads, and she heard their plaintive howls late at night.
Finally, she hid out in an upstairs reading room at the Wien House library and tried to study. But Han Alister kept intruding into her thoughts. And Amon Byrne. And Marianna, her mother. One moment she decided to return home to the Fells as soon as exams were over, the next she worried that her return might precipitate a crisis. She read the same paragraph over and over until she fell asleep, her face pillowed on her arms.
“Newling Morley?”
Raisa looked up to see a nervous-looking cadet standing in the doorway. She blinked at him hazily. “Oh! I must have fallen asleep! What time is it?”
“It’s after nine o’clock,” he said. “The library’s closed.” He scanned the room as if to make sure, then added, “Everyone else is gone.”
Then it struck her. Nine o’clock! She was supposed to meet Han at eight. On Bridge Street. Madly, she scraped her papers and books together, stuffing them into her carry bag. Would he have waited? Would he have come at all?
The click of the door latch made her look up. The cadet had stepped inside and shut and locked the door.
On second glance, he didn’t look so cadetlike. Maybe it was his ill-fitting uniform and the fact that he was older than most of Raisa’s classmates. Perhaps it was his flat black eyes and the way his nervousness dropped away like a cloak he wore against the weather.
Maybe it was the way he moved toward her, like a predator.
“Thank you for waking me, Corporal,” Raisa said, her heart thudding under her jacket. “What’s your name?”
“My name’s Rivers,” he said. “Corporal Rivers.” He circled around the table toward her, seeming unaware of the fact that he was wearing a cadet scarf. Not a corporal’s.
Wolves slunk along the walls, whining uneasily.
When Rivers got within range, Raisa snatched up her jar of blotting sand and flung it into his face.
He was quick. He nearly managed to dodge out of the way, but some of it went into his eyes. He scrubbed at them with the heels of his hands, and that’s when she saw the garrotte dangling from one fist. Grabbing up the study lamp from the desk, Raisa smashed it into the side of his head and ran for the door.
Somehow, he was on top of her before she could get it open.
Grabbing a fistful of her hair, he yanked her head back, looping the strangle cord around her neck. As he pulled back to tighten it, Raisa slid her hand between the garrotte and her windpipe—another trick from Amon Byrne—braced her feet against the door, and launched herself backward, smashing her head into the assassin’s chin with an audible crack.
The assassin’s head struck the edge of the table, and they both went down on their backs, Raisa on top. Raisa ripped away the strangle cord, rolling to her feet and groping for her dagger.
But Rivers lay still, his head at an impossible angle.
Raisa turned and fumbled at the latch, her hands shaking so hard she could scarcely manage it. Finally, she yanked the door open and ran straight into Micah Bayar.
He closed his arms tight around her, pinning her arms to her sides. Lifting her, he carried her back into the room, turning her so she was pressed up against him, her back to his front.
She fought for her life, screaming and kicking and squirming and flinging out her elbows, employing all the street-fighting skills Amon had taught her. Micah held her in such a way that it was difficult to gain leverage enough to do any real damage. She smashed her heel into his kneecap, and his breath hissed out in pain, but he didn’t loosen his hold. Instead he smacked her knife hand against the wall until she dropped the blade. He kicked it away, and it pinged as it hit the wall. She tried to memorize its location, in case she had the chance to get it back.
Power trickled into her, a current that ran down her arm and into Elena’s talisman ring. A fraction of Micah’s usual output.
“Is that the best you can do?” Raisa said, still struggling to free her arms. “Magically impotent today, are we?”
Unexpectedly, Micah laughed. “I am a bit drained at the moment, I will admit,” he said. “I have missed you,” he murmured, pressing her close, his lips against her hair. “Truly. And to think you were right here, all along. What a wasted opportunity for clandestine trysts away from that wretched nurse of yours.”
“I haven’t missed you,” she retorted. “Go away, and I’ll let you know when I do. If I don’t cut my throat instead.”
“We need to talk,” Micah said. “I could stand here holding you, which I am thoroughly enjoying, but it is difficult to talk to the back of your head. I would prefer to look at your face. If I let go of you, can we have a civil conversation without my risking the fate of the unfortunate on the floor?”
Well. If they were going to talk, Raisa wanted to be able to read Micah’s face, too, and try to discern what lay behind the words.
“All right,” she said. “I promise to hear you out.”
Micah loosened his hold and took a step back. When she turned to face him, he looked her up and down, taking in her soldier’s tunic, her shaggy cap of hair, the Wien House emblem embroidered on the front. “You are transformed, Your Highness,” he said. “Are you really at Wien House?”
“I’m in a special program for royalty in exile,” Raisa said. “For princesses who refuse to marry at swordpoint. We’re learning to fight off unwanted suitors.”
“There were no swords in evidence, as I recall,” Micah said. He paused for a heartbeat. “My father was most displeased with me when I let you slip away on what was to be our wedding night. I wish you could have been there to share it.”
“Your father’s displeasure, or our wedding night?” Raisa said.
Micah laughed again. “Both. It has been a less interesting world without you.”
Micah looked different from the last time she’d seen him. His hair was shorter, cropped into a student cut. His face seemed thinner, as if he’d lost weight, though it was hard to tell under the cloak. But he was as breathtakingly h
andsome as ever, his dark eyes shaded by his black brows, shadows layering the fine bone structure of his face.
He also looked scuffed up and bruised, as if he’d recently been in a fight.
Micah glanced down at the man on the floor. “Brava, Your Highness,” he said. “He’s really very good.” He drew off his leather gloves and slapped them thoughtfully against his palm. He was trying to radiate confidence, but his hands shook a little.
“Well, he can’t be that good,” Raisa said, trying to sound offhand. Trying to control her own shakes.
“On the contrary, he is. He just underestimated you. We all did. We’ve been looking for you for months. I should have known you’d be down here with Corporal Byrne. And that your copperhead father was in on the conspiracy.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Raisa said. Damn, damn, damn, she thought. The Bayars would welcome an opportunity to be rid of the Byrnes and Lord Averill, to remove those voices from the queen’s ear.
“We thought it peculiar when a cadet from Oden’s Ford visited Lord Demonai, and Demonai went to the queen,” Micah said. “So when the girl left, we thought it worthwhile to have her followed. She came straight back here, to Grindell Hall. With a focus that narrow, it didn’t take long to pick you out.”
“And so you sent an assassin after me,” Raisa said.
“Four, actually,” Micah said. “The other three were waiting downstairs while Rivers came in to find you. They were puzzled that you didn’t come out when the library closed.”
“Why kill me?” Raisa asked, figuring she might as well know before she died. “Was it because I jilted you at the altar, or —”
“Well,” Micah said, “we Bayars are very sensitive about being jilted, after that episode with Queen Hanalea. But my father also worries about your rebellious nature and your close connection to the clans. You even look like a mixed-blood.”
“I am a mixed-blood,” Raisa said, lifting her chin.
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