Fire and Thorns 00.7: King's Guard by Rae Carson

Author:Rae Carson
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2013-06-21T04:00:00+00:00

11

ON the afternoon of our second day, the four of us squeeze into my room. It’s a tiny chamber with threadbare furnishings and a single window overlooking the sea. Though the day is too warm, a fire roars in the small hearth. I hope the crackle and spit of wood will confound eavesdroppers—as well as make it unbearably warm for anyone hiding near the chimney, where the wall is thick enough to conceal a listening cubby.

“How go your inquiries?” I ask Miria, keeping my voice low.

“Not well,” she admits. “I think I’ve spoken with every cook, scullery maid, manservant, and washing woman in the house, and they are all too afraid to say anything directly.” She pauses. “There is something odd, though. . . .”

“Yes?”

“All of Isadora’s personal servants were released from service.”

I frown. When my grandmother died, her personal attendants were reassigned rather than released. Mamá said that as long we could afford to keep them, there was no reason to lose skilled, loyal help. “Do you think Isadora is . . . dead?”

She shakes her head. “The servants speak of her as though she lives, though they refuse to give details. And another thing: Have you seen the boy in the kitchen who is missing a couple fingers?”

I nod. “Not an unusual injury for the kitchens.”

“It was no accident,” Miria says. “Lord Solvaño caught him stealing a piece of cake during a Deliverance Day feast. He grabbed the cake knife and cut off the boy’s fingers right there.”

Fernando gasps.

“That’s . . . excessive,” I say.

“Solvaño said he would have cut off his whole hand to mark him as a thief, but the cake knife was not large or sharp enough to get through the boy’s wrist.”

I suppress a shudder.

“Well, that explains what I’ve been hearing down on the docks,” Lucio says.

“Oh?”

“Half the people I talk to worship him like a god. He punishes criminals brutally and swiftly. They believe it successfully discourages crime.”

“The other half?” I press.

“They refuse to talk about him at all. I think . . . I think they might be terrified of him.”

“Did anyone say anything about Isadora?” Fernando asks.

“No. Although word is out that Solvaño has ordered extra supplies to host four royal envoys. He’s been bragging about it, apparently.”

“Envoys?” I laugh.

“You don’t consider us envoys?” Miria says to me sharply.

Fernando and Lucio look to me for a reaction, so I’m quick to clarify. “I’m just surprised he’s bragging about hosting us. He could not have greeted us less warmly.”

“According to the wine merchant, he boasted about how much it was costing him to provide for his important guests. To be honest, I didn’t even realize the merchant was talking about us at first,” Lucio says.

“You weren’t buying wine, were you?” I ask, suddenly on alert.

“I don’t have any money, so I tried to barter for it,” Lucio admits.

I grab him by the collar, ready to go after him like I did in the stable. “I thought you were joking earlier. If you drink on duty, so help me God, you will never carry a sword in Alejandro’s service.

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