The Cadet of Tildor

CHAPTER 45





“How do you feel?” Healer Grovener pressed his fingers against Renee’s wrist.

“Trapped.” She pulled away. In her time out of a cadet’s uniform, she forgot the limitations of the rank. Deportation back to the Academy the moment she and Savoy brought their charges up out of Catar’s underground had come as a crude blow. Once the Crown’s Healer had made the recommendation, not even Savoy stood up for her right to stay in the fight.

“Did headaches awaken you again this night?” Grovener’s pen hovered over his notes.

“No,” she lied. “Have you news from Catar?”

“I pay no mind to such matters.” His pen scratched paper. “Your visitor may know more than I, however.”

Visitor. She had been allowed none until now. Renee turned to the opening door. “Sasha!”

The girl hesitated in the doorway. Outlines of fading bruises still marred her face and she wrapped herself with her arms, but she was here, outside her quarters and braving the world. “I’m not so naive as to believe the Vipers castrated, but I don’t think they will target my family again any time soon,” she said quietly, a ghost of a smile touching her face. “Thanks to you.”

Renee vaulted out of bed, dodged the Healer, and threw her good arm around her friend. They held on for several heartbeats. “You’re safe now,” Renee whispered into Sasha’s shoulder before pulling back and guiding them both to the cot. “And Catar? How much blood . . . ” She trailed off seeing the other’s head shake.

“None. It was beautiful, Renee. The Crown’s forces”—she grinned, emphasizing the phrase that once more included Renee—“extracting our cousin from the heart of the Vipers’ lair sent a message that a troop of soldiers never could. Lys halted military action as soon as he had Claire, face and blood both saved. And to ensure his intentions sank in, he also seized the infrastructure of Predator competitions.”

Renee frowned at the word choice. “He closed the games?”

Sasha bit her lip. “No . . . It’s not so simple. Those games—”

“Hold up Catar’s economy. I know. If they dissolve, economic chaos will rein until the Vipers think up something equally vile to fill the void.”

Sasha’s eyes widened. “I see my Lys is not the only one who moved beyond seeing the world in white and black. Your thinking is right. The games will go on, but under the Crown’s management.”

“The fighters?”

“Volunteers and convicts.”

Renee nodded. As good a solution as could be made.

Sasha went on, “Of course, Lord Palan tried to use his presence in Catar to leverage a larger portion of the veesi market for himself, but that’s hardly news. And I understand there is a newly registered boy mage who has provided vital insight into the operation.”

“Jasper.” Renee made a note to find the boy upon her release. She owed him that much. “What of Commander Savoy and the others?”

“They trickle back. Savoy and Diam should arrive by morning.” Sasha played with the bedspread and spoke to the floor. “Your lord father is here. He has been waiting to see you.”

A jolt ran down Renee’s back. She wished to believe that concern brought her father to her bedside, but the conversation with Lord Palan echoed in her head. He had claimed the Family’s innocence in her mother’s death. He even dared imply that her father stood to benefit from the accident. It was ludicrous to weigh the word of a criminal against that of her father, but she was yet to catch Lord Palan in a lie. She scrubbed her hand over her face. “Sasha, do you have a ring I could borrow? The bigger the better.”

Her face still, Sasha slid a ruby off her finger and laid it on the table beside the bed before leaving. She didn’t ask questions.

There was little one could do to make an infirmary look dignified, but Renee tried. She pulled the blanket taut over her cot—a tough trick with one arm in a sling—and changed into a pressed set of shirt and britches that Sasha had tossed through the window. The ruby ring and a folded piece of blank parchment lay on the small bedside table. She hoped to need neither.

Her head throbbed. She leaned against the wall and massaged her temple until a knock brought her to her feet.

Lord Tamath de Winter wore beaten britches and shirtsleeves instead of his typical formal attire. “The Healer permitted no visitors before today.” He shuffled his feet. “Are you . . . Good gods, Renee, how do you feel?” Crossing the room in a rush, he touched his fingers under her chin. His mustache twitched.

Renee tensed but stayed still. “I recover well, my lord.”

He let his hand fall to his side. “I hear the king himself now calls you friend and shares wine?”

She blushed. “A one-time audience.”

“Or the first.” He cleared his throat. “I wished to apologize for hasty words spoken without thought. Your home is yours as it has been always.”

Renee bowed, but the stone in her stomach remained in place. Lord Tamath did not keep the habit of apologizing. “How fare the estates, my lord?”

He shrugged. “All well. I secured a new contract for wool and goat cheese that will serve us fine.”

You have not secured it yet, Father. She smiled. “I’m pleased to hear it.”

He waved his hand in dismissal. “I would not trouble you over it, but my colleague may have forwarded the documents to you by error.”

And thus the dice settled. Renee was prepared for the wave of disappointment, but was surprised to find it tempered with relief. At least now she understood the game. “If you speak of Lord Palan, there was no error. He gave me the contract for review.” She let her gaze slide to the objects on the table. “Are you aware of his Family ties?”

Lord Tamath stiffened. “I am. I am also aware that should I fail to honor his demands, I will see grave ills befall the estate.” He reached out toward her. “The last time I refused the Family, your mother and brother paid the price. I fear losing you to the same fate.”

Renee’s head thumped with each heartbeat. Her father’s words directly contradicted Palan’s. “You do this deal only for protection?”

“Why else would I deal with a monster who killed my wife and my child?”

She licked her lips and smiled. “Then I have fortunate news. The contract is here.” She raised her finger to stay his reaching hand. “But Lord Palan needs a great service from me. In return, he is prepared to guarantee that no Family tentacle will ever touch the de Winter estates. They will collect no tribute and offer no menace. Lord Palan offers his ring as a token of guarantee. You can display it to any Family servant and he or she will let you be.”

Her father’s mustache twitched again.

Renee gestured to the table. “Which will you take?” She held her breath.

He reached out and snatched the parchment. “You will understand when you are older,” he said, and started to the door. Then he stopped, one hand on the doorknob. “What is the meaning of this?” Lord Tamath spun, his eyes flashing darkness as he waved the blank parchment in the air. “What did you do with my contract?”

“What did you do with my mother?”

His jaw shut with a click.

Heat gripped her face. She advanced on him. “The Family did not kill her or Riley.”

He bowed lightly as if conceding a match. “No. The coach crashed in a meaningless accident. I thought having a culprit to blame would ease both our souls.”

It was plausible. Or maybe Palan’s supposition was right, and Lord Tamath had rigged the accident to gain ownership of his wife’s lands. Renee was beyond taking her father’s words at face value. Fatigue erupted from nowhere and washed over her. She gripped the edge of the table for balance, refusing to sit while her father remained in the room. “I don’t believe I will be returning to your estates, my lord.”

“My labors on the contract will not be annulled. Where is it?”

“Destroyed.” The steadiness of Renee’s voice surprised her.

Lord Tamath turned and left without another word, slamming the door in his wake.