The Crow King's Wife(66)
“Excellent. I have a plan, but I will need his help with it.” Shade announced then paused before stepping into the hall and turned back to look at her a bit abashed. “Um where exactly would I find him? I’m not sure which room is his.”
“He won’t be in his room at this hour. He will be practicing with Vosha somewhere.” Zoelyn answered quietly and rose from her chair.
“Somewhere?” Shade raised an eyebrow at her with the question and she smiled in response.
“The two of them have become rather close friends since we recovered Delvay, and Vosha has decided it’s his duty to ensure Dray knows the appropriate skills for the next battle.” Zoelyn explained with a heavy sigh. “He knows my feelings on violence so he doesn’t include me on their training sessions. I have a general idea of where they go, but honestly it depends on what they are working on. Dray is learning swords, archery, and magic and each one seems to require a different place to practice.”
“So I should wander until I find them?” Shade asked hesitantly.
“Or Zoey could show us where she thinks they might be.” Grim suggested as he rose from his chair and headed for the door that led to the gardens. “I confess I’d like to meet Micah’s son. Valor says he is a mirror image of his father.”
“In appearance they could pass as twins.” Shade informed him with a wide smile and to Zoey’s eyes he looked entirely too pleased with his words.
Grim eyed him for a moment thoughtfully and then slowly nodded his understanding. “So the Rivasans are going to get a visit from a dead man are they?” he said softly.
“Perhaps.” Shade responded as he brushed past Grim and stepped out into the early morning light. He inhaled deeply and smiled as he glanced back at Grim. “It’s going to be a beautiful day.” He declared cheerfully.
*
There was nothing beautiful about the day as far as Zoelyn could see. The sky to the north was dark with promised storms and the humidity of the air made her leather clothes chafe against her skin. Her steps slowed at the edge of the training grounds and she let her gaze sweep across the men that already clustered there. Several were working on swords while still more carried grain and fresh water to the horses stabled nearby. None of them were Dray, but then she hadn’t really expected to find him near so many people. Despite how Jala insisted they were welcome in Merro, both she and Dray found it difficult to openly move amongst crowds. There were only a rare few they felt truly comfortable around, and just the sight of the soldiers in the yard made her want to retreat back to the house.
The grass crunched behind her and she didn’t need to look up to know it was Grim that stood beside her now. Shade’s presence was vibrant and he would have spoken the moment he paused, but Grim studied the training yard in silence before turning his attention to her.
“Most of them seem to be Arovan. I see quite a few I recognize.” There was a note of distaste in his voice that didn’t surprise her at all. The men and women that had been sent to Merro had been the dregs of the Arovan armies. If Grim knew them by sight, he knew that fact as well. He hadn’t had a chance to see what Valor had made of them yet. He was still judging them by what they had been in Arovan.
“You still don’t like crowds, but then I can understand why now.” Grim mused softly and nudged her shoulder as he moved away from the activity. “Let’s see if he is on the other side of the grounds. Once we are away from the stables there won’t be as many about. I confess I have no desire to be seen either.”
Zoelyn gazed up at him at his words and a frown lightly creased her lips. She walked beside him for several steps only glancing back once to watch as Shade strolled toward the soldiers working at swords. No doubt he planned to simply ask where to find Dray, and it was likely the faster approach, but given a choice she preferred to simply look herself and avoid unnecessary conversations.
She looked up at Grim once more once they were well beyond the earshot of those behind them and her frown deepened at his expression. His grey eyes were narrowed with thought and his lips were drawn into a thin line. For the first time since she had met him she could see where his nickname had spawned.
Grim noticed her attention and his eyes met hers for a moment before he returned to studying the grounds before him. He was still searching for Dray she had no doubts on that, but his mind was pondering something else entirely; something not very pleasant at all if his expression was any indication.
Melissa Myers's Books
- Archenemies (Renegades #2)
- A Ladder to the Sky
- Girls of Paper and Fire (Girls of Paper and Fire #1)
- Daughters of the Lake
- Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker
- House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)
- Our Kind of Cruelty
- Princess: A Private Novel
- Shattered Mirror (Eve Duncan #23)
- The Hellfire Club