The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #4)(97)

With a smile, Seth cleared his throat and the boy slowed to look over his shoulder. The Half-blood froze as his eyes found Seth, with an expression of pure shock on his pale face. “I bet you didn’t think anyone spotted you in Merro,” Seth began softly as he moved forward with slow purposeful steps. “You may not have realized who I was at the time, though,” he continued calmly and smiled at the boy. “Do you know me now, Ander?” he asked, tilting his head to the side as he watched the boy.

“The Crow King,” Ander gasped as his hands dropped to his daggers and he back-stepped quickly.

“Good,” Seth murmured with a nod of approval. “Then you know exactly how much shit you are in right now. No one spies on me, especially not Hemlock’s lap dog.” His voice grew as cold as ice and his expression hardened.

“I didn’t even know you were going to be there! I was there to watch Jala. It was a mistake,” Ander stammered as he clumsily drew his daggers. The boy’s fear was crippling him as Seth had guessed it would. Even the best warrior could be unmanned by fear, and this boy was no exception. It was doubtful that Ander would manage to land a single blow before he died.

“You are right, Ander. It was a very big mistake,” Seth agreed. His hands dropped to his dagger and he smiled again. “I have a message for your master, Ander.”

“Whatever you want to tell him, I will relay the message.” Hope rose in the boy’s eyes as Seth’s words sank into his fear sodden mind. Licking his lips nervously he took another step away from Seth and let out a harsh breath. “What do you want me to tell him?” he asked after a long silence between them.

Seth remained silent for another long moment letting the hope build in the boy. The fool actually thought he was going to live. “You haven’t been an Assassin long have you boy?” Seth asked. Confusion flickered in the boy’s eyes and he opened his mouth to answer, but Seth continued before he could utter a word. “I don’t need you to relay words to your Master. When he finds your body he will get the message clearly. You are going to be my calling card, Ander, and Hemlock will understand exactly what I want him to know without a single word being spoken.”





Chapter 16





Merro





The sound of the door opening drew Neph’s attention from the map he had been studying. His eyes narrowed as he recognized Foster and Noble. Both were commanders in Valor’s knights and both were highly irritating company in his opinion. By the expression on Noble’s face and the way Foster was pushing him forward, Neph guessed they were going to be even more irritating today.

“Tell him,” Foster commanded with an expression of carefully controlled anger written on his tanned face. Foster was typically as immaculate as Valor in his appearance, but today his short golden hair was tousled and his clothing looked scuffed and dirty. Judging by his appearance, getting Noble into the room hadn’t been an easy thing to do.

“No, don’t tell me. Wait and tell Valor when he gets back,” Neph snapped before either of them could speak again. He turned his attention back to the map hoping both men would recognize the dismissal and not trouble him with further conversation. He was rather curious about Foster’s disheveled appearance, but not curious enough to deal with the headache that would likely accompany the explanation. “With all due respect, Sir, this is too important to wait,” Foster said in a louder voice.

“Then tell Sovann. I am a guest in Merro, not a Lord here,” Neph grumbled without bothering to look up. “You are better suited to this than Sovann, Lord Delvay,” Foster pressed.

Neph exhaled loudly, letting his annoyance show through clearly and leaned heavily back in his chair. Glaring at both men he raised a hand and motioned for them to continue. “It is obvious you aren’t going to go away until I listen, so please tell me your woes. If I think it’s something that Sovann could have handled or could have waited for Valor’s return, though, I’m going to kill you both.” He spoke in a matter of fact tone and looked directly at Noble.

“It can wait,” Noble announced with a quick nod and turned for the door.

“No, it can’t,” Foster snapped as he grabbed his friend by the arm and spun him back to face Neph once more. “Tell him or I will kill you myself,” he growled.

Neph raised an eyebrow, eyeing Foster with interest. He had heard the man threaten others before, but never Noble. The two of them were best friends and if Foster was threatening him now it must be important. “Spit it out, Noble, before I get even more annoyed,” Neph ordered in a calmer voice.

“There was a spy in Merro a couple of days ago,” Noble said and turned to leave again. Foster caught him roughly once more and shoved him back toward Neph’s desk. Noble sighed heavily looking from his friend to Neph and nodded reluctantly. “Fine,” he grumbled and cleared his throat. “She found me in one of the taverns and tried her best to get me drunk. She was fit and entirely f*ckable so I played along,” Noble continued.

“How eloquent, Noble,” Neph observed dryly.

The knight shrugged unapologetically in response. “She was asking a lot of questions about you and Jala, and then Zoelyn.” “Did you answer them?” Neph cut in sharply before he could continue.

“Uhh, kind of, yes,” Noble stammered and shrugged again. “I told her you were here because your people had exiled you and you were going to be Jala’s steward now,” he spoke with obvious hesitation and from the glances he was giving the door he was ready to bolt at any moment.