Death Sworn(45)

She resisted the urge to apologize. Instead she said, “I want to offer you a trade.”

He chewed and swallowed before he replied. “Thank you, Teacher. But I don’t think you have anything I want.”

“Then you lack imagination. Wouldn’t you like to know how you can beat Irun next time he decides to attack you?”

Silence. Bazel looked down at his plate, rigid and unmoving. When he spoke, it was in a near whisper. “Irun has a lot of magical power, too.”

“He does. But power without knowledge isn’t very useful. With the spells I would teach you, you could humiliate him.”

Bazel’s hands twitched. “In your class,” he said finally. “I would pay for it later, in our next weapons drill. Pay heavily, I would imagine.”

A fatal accident, Sorin had said. Ileni repressed a shiver. “Possibly,” she said. “Of course, that wouldn’t change the fact that Irun had been humiliated.”

Bazel smiled. It wasn’t a smile she wanted to return. It was grim, deadly, and so implacable that she suddenly wondered if this was a good idea.

Too late to reconsider. “Of course, I would have to tutor you privately. It would take a lot of my time.”

“You have something better to do?” Bazel said.

Just because someone was being victimized did not, necessarily, make him likeable. Ileni lifted her chin, trying to look mysterious rather than irritated. “A great number of things.”

“Like allowing Sorin to drag you along as the special entertainment for one of his parties?”

Was that why he had brought her? “What do you mean, his parties? You were there, too.”

Bazel’s face twitched. “Didn’t he tell you? The parties were Sorin’s idea, and he’s the one who organizes them. They’re not exactly sanctioned by the master.”

“He does things of his own volition?” Ileni’s voice emerged sharp. That special entertainment still stung. “How remarkable. I’m surprised he can get away with it.”

Bazel smiled bitterly. “Sorin’s the sort of person who likes to find out what he can get away with. In case you hadn’t noticed.”

She hadn’t. She had thought he was a perfect assassin, that he kept any rebellious impulses under strict control. And she still wasn’t sure she was wrong. A party and a dance . . . permitted transgressions, she was willing to wager. Deliberately overlooked, like her own use of sleep spells or excursions with Tellis. It didn’t mean Sorin would ever dare anything truly forbidden. That occasional gleam in his eyes, the wildness she sensed simmering beneath the surface, could be safely dissipated in a few nights of celebration. The master was wise, at least when it came to controlling his students.

She leaned forward. “These lessons wouldn’t be at your master’s command, either. They would be for you.”

Bazel rubbed the back of his neck, but all he said was, “And what you want in return is chocolate?”

“Not quite. Though I wouldn’t say no to a few pieces.” Ileni pressed her hands hard against her knees, under the table where Bazel couldn’t see. “I want to know where you get the chocolates.”

He hesitated for so long she was afraid he was going to refuse. She took a risk. “Did you get them from Absalm?”

“What? No.”

She couldn’t tell if he was lying. She bit the inside of her lip. “But you must have used magic. I don’t believe the other assassins would give you spoils from their missions.”

Anger flashed across his face. She added, “Yet. I can help you change that.”

He laughed shortly. “Even if I beat Irun, that won’t turn me into a different person, Teacher.” He blew out a short breath and nodded. “I’ll show you how I get them. But I don’t know when they’ll be back.”

Was she supposed to know who they were? Ileni decided the safest thing to do was nod.

Bazel inclined his head back, a barely discernible motion, then swung his legs over the bench and hurried away, leaving an uneaten jumble of claws and jointed legs on his plate.

Almost as soon as he was gone, Sorin slid into his place. Ileni braced herself. But all he said, after a glance at her full plate, was, “Are you done eating? I think it’s time you learned something new.”

He didn’t mention Bazel as he led her away from the table and through the corridors, walking instead in silence. Ileni, prepared for a challenge and rehearsing a dozen different retorts in her head, didn’t realize where they were going until they were there. Then she stopped so short she almost fell, staring at the racks of shiny knives in the cavern where Irun had almost killed her.