Well, sul’Han, he thought, you were hot to get into the palace, and here you are. Maybe when he had a little power on board, he could take advantage of it.
He lay down on the bed and was almost asleep again when he heard voices raised out in the hallway. This went on for a few minutes, some kind of argument, and then the door opened. It was Lila, still wearing the clothes she’d had on in the courtyard—a white blouse, black skirt, and deep blue overdress with a laced bodice.
Ash sat bolt upright and swung his legs over the side of the bed, suddenly wide-awake.
Lila put a finger to her lips, closed the door, waited a minute, and put her ear to it. Then she circled the room, poking behind draperies and tapestries and looking under the bed. She crossed the room and stood over him, hands on hips, and said, “Have you lost your mind, princeling? It wasn’t enough that assassins tried to murder you in your bed? I saved your ass, and this is the thanks I get? You turtle my wine and come straight here so they can have another go?”
One thing you had to say about Lila: she knew how to launch an offense.
Ash just looked at her and said nothing. He was no wordsmith, but experience had taught him that silence was often the winning hand where Lila was concerned.
“Well? What the hell are you doing here?” She held his gaze for a moment or two, as if that might get her a response, then began pacing back and forth next to the bed. “What were you thinking, using magic in the middle of the courtyard? I know you’re a rum healer, but you couldn’t let somebody else be the hero this one time?”
“If I had, Hamon would be dead,” Ash said evenly.
“That’s beside the point,” Lila said, likely because she knew it was true. “Nobody expects you to sacrifice yourself to save somebody else.”
“I’m the reason he got burned,” Ash said. “I had a certain obligation to fix him.”
Lila stopped pacing and swung around. “What are you talking about?”
“Never mind,” Ash said. The less information he divulged to Lila the better, until he figured out her game. “Why are you here? Aside from badgering me, I mean?”
“I’m supposed to ask you if there are any herbs or remedies you might need beyond the standard sort so I can be on the lookout for them.”
“I mean, why are you in Ardenscourt? Is this where you’ve been spending your summers? Cozying up to the king of Arden? You could’ve mentioned that the two of you were friends.”
For a moment, Lila had no comeback. “We’re not friends,” she said, avoiding Ash’s eyes. “I’m here on business.”
“What kind of business?”
“None of yours. I’m not accountable to you.”
“Who are you accountable to?”
“Myself,” Lila said.
“Maybe you’re the one that gave me up to the Darians at Oden’s Ford.”
“Right,” she said, staring up at the ceiling. “And then I turned around and rescued you. You know women—changeable as a day in April. Sometimes we just can’t make up our minds.”
“Maybe you figured you’d collect twice—once from the Darians, for outing me, and once from my mother, for bringing me home.”
Lisa went back to offense. “You’re not planning to do something rash, are you?”
“Such as—?”
“Such as trying to kill Montaigne. Do you think nobody’s thought of that before? Do you think professionals haven’t tried? You’re an amateur, sul’Han. Don’t let the fact that you’re a wizard make you overconfident. This king is surrounded by mages, and he wears a clan-made talisman night and day to protect against magical attacks.”
Bellamy was right, Ash thought. Good to know.
“He employs a taster, and takes antidotes against common poisons on a regular basis.”
What about uncommon poisons?
“Where does he get the antidotes?”
Lila released an exasperated breath. “I should save myself a lot of trouble and hand you over to the king. I’m sure he’d offer a rich reward. Instead, I’ve got to find a way to get you out of here, which won’t be easy now that His Majesty is all smitten with you.” She began pacing again. “I don’t have time for this.”
“I missed the part where I asked for your help,” Ash said. “Why do you care so much? You don’t have anything on the table, as far as I can see. All I want is for you to go about your business and leave me alone.”
“I would love to take care of business,” Lila muttered. “And I don’t need an entitled runaway wizard blueblood princeling mucking it up.”
“No problem,” Ash said. “Stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours.”
“Huh,” Lila said. “We’ll see. You’ll find it’s hard to stay out of anyone’s way in this place.”
22
HOMECOMING