“Because Valor can’t stand to hit her at all. He freezes in mid-swing,” Wisp explained, her voice filled with laughter.
“I can learn as things are now. Each morning I get twenty or so minutes of sword training in and Valor gets an hour of sword sparring with someone talented enough to challenge him,” Jala said as she opened her eyes once more. Her smile faltered on her lips as her eyes locked on the corner of the roof and Zoelyn barely glimpsed the flash of sadness that crossed her features before Jala forced the smile back onto her face.
Glancing up, Zoelyn caught the brief flash of black feathers as a crow took flight from the roof. Silently, she watched the others at the table and realized that no one but she had noticed Jala’s slip. It wasn’t the first time she had seen Jala falter at the sight of a crow. She had been in Merro for nearly two weeks now and there had been at least three occasions when the High Lady paused to watch one of the birds. It was odd behavior and Zoelyn wished one of the others had caught it. She knew without a doubt that Neph would have questioned Jala about it, but they were distracted with the fight in the courtyard. With a sigh, she took another bite of her food and watched as Jala rose from her chair.
“You want to go play with mommy while they fight?” Jala asked as she held her arms out for Legacy. The child wriggled free of Wisp’s grasp and quickly moved to his mother’s side. Smiling, Jala nodded to everyone at the table and picked up her son. “We will be in the garden if we are needed,” she announced.
Shade watched her for a moment and sighed heavily as he rose from the table as well. “I need to get my ship packed. I get to go play with Blights tomorrow,” he sighed.
“May they strip your flesh for dinner and hide the bones well enough that not even Jala can bring you back,” Neph said with a smile.
“If they do, I will bargain with Death for the chance to haunt you,” Shade replied with a matching smile.
“I’m on good terms with Ash. I’m sure I could convince him to bind your soul to the privy,” Neph called before Shade had a chance to reach the door.
“Pissed on in death, eh? They say the afterlife is supposed to be worse than life if you have lived in sin. I rather enjoy sin, and it sounds like nothing will change because of it. Good news for me, then,” Shade returned with a wink as he disappeared into the house.
Neph watched the doorway for a long moment and then leaned forward on the table, his eyes moving from Wisp to Sovann and back again. “So, why do crows depress Jala?” he asked, calmly watching both of them for the slightest reaction. “What?” Wisp asked in obvious confusion.
Sovann looked up from his papers with a thoughtful expression. “They are carrion birds and prone to following battles. Perhaps the sight of them reminds her of the war with Avanti,” he offered with a shrug.
Neph shook his head at both of them and stood from the table. “You are both clueless on the matter. Has to be something to do with Seth,” he mumbled as he headed off for the garden at a brisk walk.
“He is so strange at times,” Wisp mused as she watched him disappear. Shaking her head, she turned back to look at Zoelyn and smiled.
“Welcome to our weird little world,” she sighed.
“She has been part of our weird little world for nearly two weeks, love. It’s a bit late to be welcoming her,” Sovann pointed out in a distracted voice as his quill once again scratched noisily across the papers.
“Better late than never,” Wisp said with a shrug and smiled warmly at Zoelyn. “So, how are your magic lessons going with Jala?” she asked.
“They aren’t exactly magic lessons, love. Jala is trying to figure out how to stop her from siphoning magic. Zoelyn can’t work spells herself,” Sovann corrected, his brow furrowing as he scribbled more on the paper.
Zoelyn watched them both in silence as they debated what exactly Jala was teaching her. Slowly she slid her plate to the side when it became obvious that they were both fully distracted. She watched as the food quickly disappeared and mouthed the words thank you to the Blight. She waited until the food was mostly gone and silently pushed her chair back. “I was supposed to go find Jala when I finished eating,” Zoelyn announced as both Wisp and Sovann looked up at her. Carefully she picked up her plate and nodded to them both as she carried it back into the house.
“Too many people here,” the Blight whispered beside her and she nodded in response.
“I’m starting to get used to it, though,” Zoelyn sighed as she entered the kitchen and carefully placed the plate in the sink.
She turned back for the door and paused as she noticed two men sitting at a table watching her. Vaze, she recognized from passing conversations with Jala. The other one, however, she had never seen before. He was deeply tanned with short, tawny hair and brands on both cheeks. He returned her curious gaze with a look of mild interest as he took another bite from the bread in his hand. His green eyes flashed toward Vaze and then back to her.
“Zoelyn, she is Jala’s ward,” Vaze said in explanation. He lifted his mug to his lips and took a quick swallow as he motioned toward the stranger. “This is Sovaesh. He serves Jala, though you won’t see much of him around here. He is either working or at home. He doesn’t haunt Jala’s house like the rest of them do.”
“I’m sorry I intruded. I didn’t realize anyone was in here,” Zoelyn said as she backed toward the door. Sovaesh was still watching her with the same look of mild interest. He raised an eyebrow at her retreat and shrugged as he turned back to his meal.