So she pressed him. “What did you see?”
He breathed in, then released the words bottled up inside. “Too much,” he said. “Enough.” He paused. “Those—those images I saw.” He stopped, cleared his throat. “The little girl, and the boy, and the king of Arden . . . were they true?”
“They were true,” she said, a catch in her voice. “The boy—his name was Riley. He was fifteen, and I was twelve.”
“I’m sorry, Jenna,” Adam said softly. “I’m sorry that happened.”
She turned to face him. “I punched the king in the nose,” she said, fierce tears leaking from her eyes. “He bled, and bled, and bled . . .” She trailed off. “That was the beginning. I’ve been fighting back ever since.”
“Since twelve?”
“Do you think I wasn’t a grown-up, after that?”
“I see your point.”
“You’ve had losses, too,” Jenna said. There was a question buried in there, but he didn’t take the bait.
“Yes,” he said. “I suppose I’m still walking that line between life and death, trying to choose which side I’m on.”
“I want you on my side, healer,” Jenna said.
“And . . . I want to be,” he said. “It’s just . . .” He searched her face. “How do you ever really know a person?”
Jenna ran her fingertips over the back of his hand, tracing the veins. “Not everything is a lie, Wolf,” she said. “Sometimes you have to believe what you see.”
His head came up, as if she’d startled him. Leaning forward, she slid her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. For a moment, he resisted, then surrendered. It was a long time before they broke apart.
31
THE EMPRESS’S GIFT
It was becoming an ordeal—getting in to see the king. After only three days away in Baston Bay, the change in procedure was striking. Lila and Destin submitted to the pat down, the interrogation, the magery—all before they even entered the small council chamber. The mage on duty, Marc DeJardin, scowled as he rooted through the crates full of flashcraft.
“More chains for the enslaved, Barrowhill?” he said when he’d finished.
“You may not approve, but it’s a living,” Lila said. “Somebody has to do it, so it might as well be me.”
DeJardin didn’t seem impressed by that logic.
The blackbirds hoisted the crates and carried them into the hall, Lila and Karn following behind.
The usual suspects were ranged around the conference table—Marin Karn, Michel Botetort, and Gerard Montaigne. They all wore grim expressions, and the tension was thick as thistle and just as prickly. Whatever they were discussing, it seemed to be bad news, and General Karn was the one in the hot seat. They had no intention of sharing, though, because they quit talking as soon as Lila and Destin walked in.
Destin seemed to pick up on the mood in the room as well. His gaze flicked from face to face, resting on his father’s the longest.
Well, Lila thought, as she and Destin took a knee, at least we’ve brought some show-and-tell.
“Your Majesty,” Destin said “Barrowhill and I are pleased to report that our operation in Baston Bay was a success. In fact, the results have exceeded our wildest dreams.”
I don’t know about that, Lila thought. My dreams are pretty wild.
Destin chose an item from each of the crates and set them on the table for display. A collar, a talisman, and an amulet.
Lila had never seen General Karn display any spark of excitement or enthusiasm, but now he came damned close before he tamped it down. He picked up an amulet, which lit up brightly when he touched it. He set it down again quickly and said, “What’s the count?”
“One hundred and thirty-three collars,” Destin said. “Fifty-four talismans. One hundred fourteen amulets.”
“It’s a pity you weren’t able to get more talismans,” the general said, mopping at his face with a handkerchief. “That’s what we really need.”
It’s a pity you’re such a heartless, ungrateful bastard, Lila thought. This time, blessedly, she kept it to herself.
“How were you able to secure so many at once?” Botetort asked, showing no desire to examine the loot.
“We intercepted a shipment of old flash on its way from the Southern Islands to Chalk Cliffs,” Lila said. “This is more than a thousand years old.”
“What was it doing down south?” General Karn asked. “They have no use for flashcraft. They drove out their mages a long time ago.”
“It was hidden down there by the copperheads at the end of the Wizard Wars, when they knew they’d lost,” Lila said. “They didn’t want it to fall into enemy hands. It’s been there, forgotten, ever since. Somebody tipped them off, and they decided to ship it back home, so to speak.”
“How did you find this out?” General Karn persisted, seeming intent on poking holes in her story.
“Lila has relatives in the Southern Islands who keep her informed,” Destin said.