I shook my head. “I’m Sifft. It’ll be healed by tomorrow.”
“Good, because the official welcome and de-masking is tomorrow night.” He motioned to the nearest double cloudsak. “Have a seat. I’ll grab us both a drink so we can continue the conversation.”
I sat down on the cloudsak and crossed my legs. Not a very ladylike position given I was naked, but then I was a soldier, not a lady. “Why are you so sure a plot to bring down Winterborne even exists?”
“Because there’s been some unusual vibrations happening under the earth for many years now, and while the earth cannot—or, more worryingly, will not—tell me its source, it seems to be aimed at Winterborne.”
“So its source is coming from here somewhere?”
He began gathering a tray of sweetmeats, cheeses, and breads. “That is unclear.”
“Then how did you get involved in this search? Blacklake’s a very long way from Winterborne.”
“Which is precisely why Kiro asked for my assistance.” He placed the platter on the floor near my feet, and then poured two glasses of rich red wine. He handed one to me then sat down beside me, his body warm against mine. “But he also asked because I owe him.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Why?”
He hesitated. Just for an instant, an odd sort of defensiveness flashed across his face. I touched his arm lightly. “You don’t have to tell me, Commander.”
“Trey, please, at least in this place. And I should, because it goes to the heart of why I know so much about your situation.” He paused. “You once asked how I ended up at Blacklake.”
I reached forward and made a sandwich of thick cheese and bread. “And you said you’d only tell me if I won the bet.”
“I think we’ve gone past such games at this point.”
“I’m glad.”
“So am I. Although restraint remains the best option—at least until tomorrow night’s unmasking.”
“A statement that doesn’t preclude the possibility of intercourse,” I noted, amused.
He smiled. “No matter what you think, I’m not made of stone. But what I’m about to tell you mustn’t be repeated anywhere else in this place; this you must swear.”
“You have my word on that, Commander.”
“Trey.” He hesitated. “The first part, everyone knows. Eighteen years ago I had a liaison with Jaci Fisk, as she was known back then. Said liaison produced a child.”
I just about choked on my sandwich. “You what? How old were you?”
“I was six months away from my sixteenth birthday.”
Which was technically underage by the Forum’s rule, and a punishable offense. “What happened?”
“While it was a mutually agreed act, she admitted to deliberately getting pregnant in the hope I’d commit to her when I came of age. Such a joining would have raised both her status and that of her house.”
“The Fisk house being Lower Reaches?”
“Yes—and not known for producing anything more than mediocre witches.” He paused. “Anyway, because I was underage at the time of the child’s conception, my father had the right of refusal over any possible agreement. He forbade it, stating if there was to be a committal, it would come after the babe was born.”
“When the auditors revealed what the child was?” Or, more precisely, wasn’t?
He nodded, and his expression began to glow with something close to rapture and utter, utter love. It was so powerful, so strong and beautiful, that tears prickled my eyes. Oh, to be the recipient of such depth of emotion… a dream, I knew, but nevertheless a pleasant one.
“And she was perfect in every single way imaginable,” he murmured, obviously no longer really seeing me, “but she was stained, and also unlit. My father, as you can imagine, did not react well.”
“So there was no committal?”
He laughed, the sound bitter. “No. Not just because of the babe, but because the admittance of such conniving killed any feelings I might have had for her.”
“And the child went into state care?”
“They practically ripped her out of my arms to do so. I had such a row with my father that night—it’s the reason why we speak little even now.” He paused, the joy I’d briefly seen falling to moments of old pain, anger, and hurt. “Two days later, I was accepted for the position of earth witch at Blacklake. Five days later, Kiro helped me smuggle my daughter away from state care and out of Winterborne.”
That he—someone who’d been raised in the luxurious rule of this place—would even consider such a thing, let alone go through with it, not only left me speechless, but fighting the tears that were stinging my eyes. To give up everything he’d known for the sake of his child—a child he’d held for no more than a few minutes—was a phenomenal thing to do. Especially given he was barely sixteen at the time.
I blinked rapidly and managed to ask, in a somewhat normal voice, “Why would Kiro help you, when for all intents and purposes he was going against Forum rules?”
“Because years ago, when he was little older than I was when my daughter was born, he fell in love with my mother, but the union was considered unacceptable by her father. Kiro didn’t hold the power that he does now.” He half shrugged. “What he did for me, he did out of the love he still holds for her. She asked him to help me.”
“So you owing him a huge favor is the reason you’re here rather than at Blacklake?”
“I owe him more than one favor, but yes.”
“And your daughter? She lives with you still, at Blacklake?”
“Oh yeah.” His expression was both proud and little rueful. “I may be the commander, but she runs Blacklake. They’ve spoiled her rotten since we arrived, and she’s not beyond making full use of it if she so desires.” He paused, his smile and eyes saying all that needed to be said about the depth of his love for her. “Which, to her credit, she mostly doesn’t.”
I hesitated, but couldn’t help asking, “Has she siblings?”
He blinked, and his gaze came fully back to the present. “I would have called another earth witch to undergo the ceremony of Gaia if I was committed, Neve.”
The smile that twisted my lips held a bitter edge. “There are many, both here in the Reaches and in the outer bailey, who do not hold the sanctity of a commitment so highly.”
“And was it such a person who gave you this appalling low opinion of your own attributes?”
There was a flick of anger in his voice and it made me smile. “Perhaps.”
“Give me his name and I shall knock some sense into him.” He paused, and frowned. “Recant that. I’d rather you spend time with me than chase a past lover.”
I laughed softly. “And here I was thinking you were determined to remain celibate until after the unmasking.”
“That would be more ideal, yes, but there are two and a half days of debauchery to follow that, remember.”
“To which I’m most certainly looking forward.” I tried to swallow my yawn, but didn’t quite succeed. “Sorry, it’s not the company.”
“No, it’s an aftereffect of the ceremony. Most initiates barely make it through half a plate of food before they succumb to sleep.”
“There is too much I need to know to allow that.”
“Much of which can be said tomorrow, when Kiro comes back. For now, I’ll continue with Eluria’s story, as he already knows the details.”
Eluria, I knew, meant precious flower. It made me like him even more.
“Long before she reached maturity, it was very obvious she could hear the earth. I began teaching her control almost as soon as she could walk and talk.”
“So from the very beginning you knew I was lying.”
He nodded. “When she reached maturity and came into her full potential, it was evident she was a powerful earth witch. I consulted Kiro, who told me that, although rare, it was certainly not an unknown situation. But it was happening only to those unlit whose skin holds major staining.”
“That still doesn’t explain why we’re classified as unlit. We’re very obviously not.”