Death Sworn(21)

Sorin spooned some porridge into his mouth. “I don’t know.”

“Why weren’t you sent?”

Only the faint rippling of muscles beneath gray sleeves gave his tension away. He chewed and swallowed before answering. “I don’t know that either. But if the master believes Ravil is best suited for this mission, he is right.”

Ileni raised her eyebrows. “How trusting of you.”

He shot a sideways glare at her. The gleam was gone. “You’ve met him. Do you think he’s a man who makes mistakes?”

Ileni swallowed. The tingle of daring vanished as fast as it had come, leaving only the sour taste of fear in her mouth. She moved her arm, which had almost been touching Sorin’s, closer to her body. She had been reckless enough for one day, and obviously this was a conversation best backed away from. “How many missions have you—”

Sorin moved like a snake uncoiling, lunging forward. She jerked to the side instinctively, and his arm brushed her hair as he grabbed the upraised arm of the blond boy on her other side.

“Don’t,” Sorin said. His voice was low and perfectly calm.

The other boy did something complicated with his wrist, almost pulling his arm free. Sorin did something equally complicated, and his grip held. The other boy glared at him. “She insulted the master!”

His voice was deliberately loud, and once again the room was dead silent. Everyone was looking at Ileni, a hundred pairs of hard eyes and faintly curled lips. The weight of their disgust was palpable, making her small and loathsome.

So they kill me now, Ileni thought, and was surprised by her sudden, fierce desire to live. She gathered up what magic she had, knowing it was not enough.

“She asked a question.” Sorin, too, raised his voice. “She has been answered. It’s over and done.”

“She spoke of the master with no respect at all,” the boy hissed. “You’re going to allow it?”

“I am,” Sorin said. “Because the master commanded me to allow it.”

The blond boy stared, breathing heavily. But he leaned back a fraction.

“What were his exact instructions?” Irun asked lazily, from the far end of the table. “That she be kept alive? Or that she also not be chastised for even the most filthy speech?”

The blond boy looked up eagerly, and Ileni made the mistake of meeting his gaze. The hatred in it took her breath away. The Renegai respected their Elders, too, and Ileni would never have spoken of one of them so dismissively. But if she had, she would not have been afraid for her life.

“If any of you try to chastise her, the master will hear of it,” Sorin said. He sounded almost bored, but he was still gripping the blond boy’s wrist, despite the other assassin’s obvious attempts to pull away. Sorin’s arm was still inches from Ileni’s cheek, and she could feel his muscles trembling slightly with the strain. “He commanded that she not be harmed.”

“Well. That’s not precisely true, is it?” Irun stood and sauntered closer. He was on the opposite side of the table from them, but Sorin transferred his focus immediately to him, as did everyone else at the table—everyone else, Ileni realized, in the cavern. Irun was the center of attention. “He didn’t command any of us not to harm her. He just commanded you to protect her.”

“Which is,” Sorin said, “what I’m doing.” He twisted his hand. The blond boy let out a muffled whimper.

“Ah, yes. Because you’ve always been so obedient.” A ripple of laughter went through the cavern. “Your dedication does you credit.”

“Thank you.” The words were a snarl.

Irun grinned. “Will you fight me for her?”

Sorin dropped the blond boy’s arm and sprang into a crouch on the bench. His spine formed a taut curve, pulling his gray shirt tight. But his face was completely calm. “I’d fight an imperial dog like you for a copper coin.”

Irun stalked closer, moving like a hunting cat, and the assassins on his side of the table sidled away. “How fortunate for you, then, that I don’t consider the foul-mouthed whore worth even that much.”

Sorin leaned forward, poised and deadly. Ileni could feel his eagerness. The gleam was back in his eyes.

Irun crossed his arms over his chest and sneered. “What, were you commanded to guard her against insults, too?”

Ileni laughed. It started out too loud and forced, but her hysteria gave it an edge, made it real. Every face in the room turned to stare at her.