Night Study Read online

  Reema bit her lip, then nodded. “Yes, I promise.”

  “Good.”

  We returned after dark. Reema helped me take care of Kiki before we entered the castle. I escorted her to Ari and Janco’s apartment. We interrupted an argument about cats. Reema immediately took Janco’s side. When I gave her a questioning look, she mouthed, Stupid kid fun. I laughed and left them to their debate.

  Halfway back to Valek’s suite, I stumbled over a wave of exhaustion. Leaning against the wall, I considered my day. Nothing should have drained my energy like this, although I hadn’t eaten since I woke. Hunger was an infrequent visitor, and the thought of food created another swell—this one of nausea.

  As much as I avoided thinking about it and ignoring it, I realized it was time to visit the medic.

  * * *

  Located on the ground level of the castle, the infirmary treated all the castle inhabitants. Another station in the barracks cared for the soldiers unless the injury was too severe. Then the poor soul was transferred here. The main rectangular room contained two rows of beds along each long side. Lanterns blazed from hooks set into the walls. As I strode down the middle aisle, I nodded hello at the few recovering patients who met my gaze. A medic I didn’t recognize checked a man’s temperature.

  The woman in charge of the infirmary, Medic Channa, also affectionately known as Medic Mommy, jumped to her feet when she spotted me heading toward her desk in the far back corner. An examination table waited in the opposite corner. A white curtain hung from a track so it could be pulled around the table to ensure privacy.

  A mixture of surprise and concern creased her long, thin face. “The gossips reported you’d arrived last night, but I didn’t think I’d see you so soon.”

  I laughed at the implication that it was only a matter of time before I showed up on her examination table. When I visited Ixia, I avoided using magic to heal the cuts and bruises obtained when practicing with Ari, Janco and Maren. Having a wound magically disappear made the Ixians uneasy, and it gave Janco the creeps.

  She tucked her short hair behind her ears. “What can I help you with?”

  Scanning the beds nearby, I lowered my voice. “Is there somewhere we can talk without being overheard?”

  “Yes. My office.”

  “But...” I gestured toward her desk.

  “That’s just so I can do paperwork while on duty.”

  Channa grabbed the lantern on her desk and escorted me from the infirmary. Halfway down the hallway, she stopped and unlocked a door on the left. We entered a small space crammed with instruments, books and a couple chairs. A desk was buried under the piles. She set the lantern on top of a crate.

  Clearing a stack of papers from the one chair, she said, “I’m not in here that much. It’s more of a storage space.” She sat down. “Now, what’s going on?”

  I perched on the edge of the seat. “You keep your patients’ medical information confidential, right?”

  “Of course. I only report cases that involve a crime. But you already know that.” She studied my face. “Are you worried I’ll tell people you’re pregnant?”

  Jerking as if she’d struck me, I said, “What... How... I’m not even sure!”

  Channa took my hand in hers. “I’ve birthed all the babies born in the castle complex, Yelena. It’s not hard for me to spot the signs.”

  “But I’ve been traveling. And been the target of two assassins. I haven’t gotten much sleep. It could be stress.”

  “It’s possible,” she agreed, keeping her professional demeanor, even though she was probably lying to me. “If you wish, I can test your blood. The results will remove all uncertainty. Of course, time will also do the same.”

  I hesitated.

  “It’s best to know. This way you can take proper care of yourself, ensuring your baby will also be healthy.”

  And there was the Medic Mommy we all loved, laying on the guilt. I allowed her to prick my finger and collect a few drops of blood in a glass vial. She added a yellow powder and mixed the contents.

  “It’ll take about ten minutes, then we’ll check to see if it turns blue.”

  “Blue for boy?”

  “No. Blue for positive,” she said, placing the vial inside a drawer and closing it. “Light affects the results.” Channa relaxed back in her chair. “Two assassins? Isn’t that overkill, even for you?”

  Nice. “If you’re trying to distract me, it won’t work. Besides, those assassins are the reason why I can’t be pregnant. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Valek’s your heart mate. There will never be a time that isn’t risky.”

  “Exactly my point.”

  “Don’t you want to have children?”

  Annoyed, I clamped down on my first response—it’s none of your business. But considering the reason I was here... “I do, but not now. And before you give me a lecture on how I should have avoided it, I was shot with an arrow containing starlight. Except I didn’t know it was starlight at the time.”

  “Oh my.” She tapped her foot. “I thought I’d heard every excuse, but that’s a new one.”

  Lovely.

  “If you really don’t want the baby, there are—”

  “No.” The word erupted from my throat before my mind even processed it. “I can’t do that. Others can make that choice, but...” I recoiled from the thought. In fact, the entire conversation was uncomfortable, so I changed the subject. “When did you hear I was in Ixia?”

  “My assistant told me this morning. He learned from the kitchen staff that Valek asked them to make you sweet cakes.”

  The gossips worked faster than Valek’s intelligence network. I remembered how they had bet money on how long it would take me to be captured while I participated in the Commander’s fugitive exercise. Rand, the head chef at the time, had explained it to me: Gambling and gossiping is all we servants do.

  Perhaps it might work in my favor for once. “Has the staff been talking about the Commander’s new guests?”

  “Oh yes. They’re all abuzz about them.”

  “And?”

  The medic gave me a shrewd look. “And I don’t spread gossip. How can my patients trust me to keep their health issues confidential if I’m chatting about others?”

  “You can’t.”

  “Exactly.”

  But that wouldn’t stop the kitchen staff or the housekeepers. Perhaps a visit to the kitchens was in my immediate future. After all, I haven’t eaten all day. Too bad, the sound of a drawer rolling open ruined my appetite.

  As Medic Mommy dipped her hand into the drawer, a strange mix of apprehension, fear and excitement flushed through me, leaving the tips of my fingers tingling. She grasped the vial between her thumb and index finger and held it up to the lantern light.

  I stared at the liquid inside.

  It was blue.

  11

  VALEK

  After Yelena left his office, Valek tried to concentrate on the piles of reports. But his thoughts kept returning to his heart mate. Or rather, his wife. Amazed, he touched the bandage under his shirt, recalling the intense emotions that had ripped through him mere hours ago. Amid the maelstrom of confusion and betrayal caused by the Commander, one thing had been crystal clear.

  Yelena.

  Nothing else mattered. No one except her mattered. It was liberating and terrifying at the same time. If she’d said no... He shied away from that horrible thought. Instead he focused on the joy of her reply and the passion of their union. It still hummed in his blood. Along with the desire to keep her safe, which would be difficult because of the current situation.

  Valek needed to evict the trio of unwelcome guests permanently. But how to do it? He agreed with Yelena that Owen would lie low for a while. Which was why he hadn’t insisted that she have an armed guard by her side at all times. Not that she’d allow it, or that the protector would be effective if Owen attacked. Hell, even Valek couldn’t keep her safe, not if a null shield was used against him.
r />   Abandoning the reports, Valek descended to the lower level of the castle. He checked the storeroom that Yelena, Ari, Janco and Maren had used to train back when she had been the Commander’s food taster. Except for a thick layer of dust, nothing had disturbed the space. Valek would borrow a handful of rags to clean it. Hopefully, they could keep her new training sessions a secret.

  Then he headed to the Commander’s office as ordered. The room’s entrance was located along the back wall of the throne room. When the Commander had taken control of Ixia, he’d removed all the intricate tapestries, the opulent jeweled throne and expensive decorations. In their place, he brought in desks, chairs and filing cabinets for his officers and advisers. The productive sprawl had no discernible organization or path, but Valek had traversed the expanse so many times, he could navigate it blind.

  Onora stood with the Commander’s two personal guards outside the open door.

  She hooked a thumb inside. “Food taster just brought his supper.”

  “Any problems?”

  “Other than being grumped at, no.”

  “Good. You’re dismissed. Report back for duty at dawn.”

  “Yes, sir.” Onora strode away.

  When the taster left, Valek knocked and waited for permission to enter—a new aspect of their changed...shattered?...relationship. He concentrated on expelling all his emotions as the Commander remained silent for twenty minutes before allowing Valek to enter.

  He approached the desk and stood at attention, keeping his gaze on the tidy surface. A lifelike glass snow cat glinted with the lantern’s amber hues, but the interior of Opal’s magic detector stayed dark—a relief. However, the pair of black snow cats Valek had carved for the Commander no longer decorated the desk. He noted the missing gifts without reacting, but their absence was like a slap in the face.

  “Report,” the Commander ordered.

  Valek filled him in on a few new items—reports of thieves using storms to cover their activities in MD-1, and a request for more soldiers in MD-5. The rest were all minor details he normally wouldn’t bother the Commander with.

  The silence stretched. Finally, the Commander asked, “Have these Storm Thieves been caught?”

  “No, sir. They’ve managed to evade capture so far.”

  “Do you think magic might be involved?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Then I want you to personally investigate this problem.”

  “That will involve a trip to the coast, sir.”

  “I expect it will. You have permission to travel to MD-1. However, I did not give you permission to assign Onora as my guard. It is a waste of her time. She is to work with you on all your assignments. Except when you leave for the coast—then she is to be in charge of security. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir.” Valek fisted his hands. Onora wasn’t ready for the responsibility, but he couldn’t say anything. This was beyond painful.

  “And you are not allowed to skulk about, either, investigating my guests.” Papers rustled. “Why is Captain Timmer in my dungeon?”

  “He’s a sexual predator, sir.” Valek explained his abuse of Onora and Wilona. “I planned... Permission to inform Onora about his presence, sir?”

  “Granted. Tell her she will have the pleasure of executing him in public. It’ll be a mandatory event for all my soldiers. They need to understand I will not tolerate such behavior.”

  “Yes, sir.” For some reason Valek thought she’d balk at that order.

  “Inform Colonel Qeb to schedule Timmer’s execution during the fire festival.”

  Which was six months away. The festival was held every year in Castletown. An execution during the festival would certainly drive the point home. “Yes, sir.”

  “Also, I want you to assign one of your agents to collect all information received from Sitia about the Council’s reaction to the rumor about Owen and the Curare. I want to know if there’s any discussion about an attack on Ixia. Do you still have an operative working for one of the Councilors?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Why not?”

  “Master Magician Irys Jewelrose discovered him, and he was arrested and extradited to Ixia.”

  “Was this before null shields were readily available?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Send another agent to infiltrate the Council. Have him or her obtain a null shield to block the magicians. I want daily reports.”

  “Yes, sir.” He hoped Yelena wouldn’t find out. As the Liaison, she’d worked hard to develop a civil and respectful relationship between Ixia and Sitia.

  “When is Yelena planning to return to Sitia?”

  An alarming question. And the Commander didn’t use her title. “Unknown, sir.”

  “She is a Sitian and a magician and is no longer welcome in Ixia. Send her home with the Sitian girl.”

  Surprised, Valek lifted his gaze. He could argue the same thing about Owen and his friends, but the Commander’s cold stare sent a warning signal. Was Ambrose in control, or was Owen directing the man’s thoughts? The magic detector hadn’t flashed. Yet Valek suspected these orders were from Owen.

  Valek sensed he teetered on a dangerous edge. “Permission to speak, sir?”

  “Granted.”

  “Yelena is unable to use magic, sir. She will be a target in Sitia if she returns.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about her this morning?”

  Valek toppled off the edge and landed right in the middle of trouble. He suspected the Commander already knew about Yelena and had been testing him. “At the time, I believed it was more important to warn you about Owen. After that, I didn’t have the opportunity.”

  “I see. Will her magical powers return?”

  “Unknown, sir.”

  “Do you intend to marry her?”

  Where had that come from? “Yes, sir.”

  The Commander tapped his fingers on the desk. “If she agrees and remains here, then she must cut all ties to Sitia and become my Sitian Adviser. If she is unable to do so, or if her powers return, then she must leave immediately. Understood?”

  That it was harsh? And that there was no way in hell she’d agree to cut all ties? Oh yes—crystal clear. “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. You’re dismissed.”

  Valek turned to leave. When he reached the door, the Commander called, “Valek, if I discover you didn’t have the opportunity to inform me of other important issues, I will add your name to Colonel Qeb’s execution list. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir.” Valek left.

  He navigated the throne room with his thoughts whirling from his meeting with the Commander. His threat made it clear that if he caught Valek disobeying orders or taking matters into his own hands, Valek would be terminated. Unnecessarily severe. Owen must be influencing the Commander, but the magic detector didn’t flash. Valek would have to investigate despite the threat. He’d just have to ensure he didn’t get caught.

  However, he needed to keep up appearances. He spent the next couple hours doing damage control, informing Gerik and Onora that his earlier orders about Owen were no longer valid.

  “Report to my office in the morning to begin your training,” he said to Onora. “Gerik, you are to remain on the Commander’s detail.”

  He found Maren doing bo staff drills with a group of young women. She started them on another drill and he called her over to explain.

  “We’re not to do any investigating. Understood?” he asked.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “Commander’s orders.”

  She tapped a finger on her chin. “Little Miss Assassin ratted you out, didn’t she?”

  The possibility had crossed his mind. “I need you to find an agent who can infiltrate the Sitian Council.”

  “That’s gonna be super hard. The Councilors are all wary of new people. When do you need the agent in place?”

  “The sooner the better.”

  “Even harder. We might have to settle for bribing s
omeone already on the inside.”

  “As long as the information is accurate. Stop by my office tonight with a couple suggestions.”

  “Okay, boss.” Maren returned to her students.

  * * *

  Valek arranged for Reema’s escort. The girl wouldn’t be safe until she left Ixia. Then he searched for the power twins. Ari and Janco played cards with Reema in the dining room. From the groans and pile of coins in front of Reema, he guessed the little scamp had won many hands.

  Janco threw his cards down in disgust. “That’s it! I’m tapped out.”

  Reema grinned and raked in more coins. “Do you want to play, Uncle Valek?”

  “And go broke? No, thank you.”

  “Awww. You’re no fun.”

  “Did Yelena tell you about going home?” he asked.

  Her good humor dimmed. “Yes.”

  “I’ve assigned two of my most trusted men to escort you.”

  She perked up. “Ari and Janco!”

  “No, sorry. I need them.” Did he ever.

  Once again she deflated.

  “You’ll be leaving in the morning, and you’ll ride horses so you can get home faster,” Valek tried.

  “Horses are fun,” Janco said.

  “I guess.” She fiddled with a coin.

  “How about I let you borrow Beach Bunny? She’s a hoot to ride and she likes to jump.”

  “Really?” Reema’s eyes lit up.

  “Really,” Janco said. “She’ll jump over logs and streams and stuff.”

  Valek kept quiet, even though jumping would be prohibited. The object was to get her home safe, after all.

  Lacole arrived and announced it was Reema’s bath time.

  “No.” Reema crossed her arms. “I don’t need a bath.”

  “You’re grubby. You smell. And your tunic is covered in horsehair,” Ari said. “Now go take your bath or you won’t get the goodbye present Janco and I bought for you.”

  “Yes, sir!” She hopped off her chair and pocketed her winnings. “Come on, Lacole.” Reema grabbed the lieutenant’s hand and dragged the woman away.

  “Please don’t tell me you bought her a weapon,” Valek said.

  Janco pished. “A weapon? Who do you think you’re dealing with? We got her weapons!”