Fearless as the Dawn by Katie Roman

Author:Katie Roman [Roman, Katie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-03-12T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

When Aleka woke, she struggled to remember why she was lying on a hay mattress on the floor. She had slept in her uniform, and her eyes were puffy and sore. She sat up, stretching, her mind puzzling through her current surroundings. Then it came back to her in a rush, and the nervous laughter that overtook her in the alley returned.

This time, Aleka allowed the giggles out. They felt unnatural, but if they kept her from crying, Aleka would let the hysterical laughter out. In the cold light of morning, Aleka took a moment to truly think about what she had done.

She’d struck a member of the nobility, a magistrate at that. Then she ran out on her indentureship, one the magistrates’ court had pushed on her. All while endangering two horses and their driver. No court in all of Cesernan would look mercifully on her. And why did she do it? Because of a word. The repetition of the word accident drove her to madness. She wanted to wound them as they wounded her, and Captain Blackstone seemed like a good place to start for raining vengeance down on House Greyhome.

That was as far as Aleka’s impulses got her. Her plan formed in an instant and she ran with it, never looking toward the end of the line. It never entered her thoughts that she’d have no help in this venture. All the stories she’d heard said the Thieves’ Guild sneered at the nobility; but after last night’s debacle, Aleka saw she was all alone in this. Marcus and Thom had offered some assistance and Essie was kind, but no one would help her contact Blackstone.

She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out the soapstone idol. She certainly couldn’t go back, so naturally she had to find a way forward. The idol warmed to her touch. It was all she had left. Aleka left everything – her coin, her mother’s favorite dress, her other idols, even her real name – were all at the Admiral’s home on Golden Road. The next course was to find work, preferably in a place Blackstone would go. Aleka decided it would be best to ask Thom for aid. He seemed more amiable than the King of Thieves. She kissed the idol and returned it to her pocket.

~*~*~

Aleka came into the Angel’s common room with a churning stomach. She felt like the contents of her body would evacuate at any moment. There were few in the common room, though; by Aleka’s count it was only nine. It was nice not waking before the sun, for a change. She walked to the counter where the innkeeper, Jim, stood behind it, going over a ledger.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked as Aleka approached.

“Well enough, thank you.” Aleka looked around, trying to catch sight of Thom, hoping he might be lurking in the shadows. “The man who paid for my room and dinner, Thom, is he around?”

“Not this early. He’ll come in with His Majesty around the noontime meal.

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