The Storm Crow (The Storm Crow, #1)(49)

Caylus watched her silently, not interfering. Once Kiva seemed satisfied, I said, “You’re a rebel.”

He shook his head, then stopped as if reconsidering. “Sort of. Not really.” I raised an eyebrow, and he explained, “I know the leader, the one organizing the raids in the Verian Hills. She asked me to get a message to her contact in the castle, but when I saw you…”

“She has a contact in the castle?” Kiva asked. “Who?”

“And how did you know who I was?” I added.

Caylus shifted his weight again. “There aren’t many Rhodairens around here. Not any, I don’t think. And you were with the prince.”

So he had recognized Ericen. Yet he’d still intervened last night, knowing full well who he risked angering. An image of his scarred, shaking hands surfaced. Where had those scars come from?

He glanced at Kiva, then away again. “I think you should talk to her about this, not me. I owed her a favor.”

“Can you set up a meeting?” I asked. “Here, preferably. And soon.”

“Tomorrow evening? At sunset?”

I nodded, my heart rate rising. This was happening. “What about the assistant position? Is that real?”

He bit his lip. “It, um, doesn’t pay…”

Kiva snorted, but I said quickly, “That’s fine. I need a reason to come here, or the queen may be suspicious.”

At first, I thought he didn’t hear me, but then I realized his eyes were focused through the window over my shoulder, where the two Vykryn who’d accompanied us stood across the street.

“Something wrong?” Kiva asked, her tone low. “You look worried.”

“I—No. I’m fine. Anthia, right?” His eyes fell on me. His lilted Ambriellan accent turned my name into a song, and I half considered letting him call me by my full name just to hear it.

“Just Thia.” I jerked my head to the side. “This is Kiva. Don’t mind her. She wouldn’t trust a chair to stay still long enough to sit in it.”

Caylus blinked, his head tilting, the puzzled look on his face suggesting he hadn’t noticed Kiva’s insinuations at all.

“Do you know who I am, Caylus?” I asked. “What it is you’re involved in?”

“Unfortunately.”

I glanced at Kiva, but a small smile tugged at Caylus’s lips. He was joking.

Kiva hooked her arm through mine. “Right. See you tomorrow,” she said.

I waved as she jerked me toward the exit, closing the door behind us. As we descended the stairs, I heard the locks click.

We waved to the woman behind the counter and left the shop, the two Vykryn mounting as we climbed into the carriage.

The moment the door shut, Kiva said, “He’s weird.”

“I think he’s cute.”

“I don’t trust him.”

I rolled my eyes. “You don’t trust anyone.”

“There’s something not right about him. He gets this look in his eye like he’s planning something. I’ve seen it in criminals.”

“He’s an inventor. He probably thinks a lot.”

She leveled me with a flat stare, and I sighed, leaning forward. “He’s in a difficult spot, Kiva. He’s in enemy territory, helping to facilitate an alliance against them. Give him a break.”

“I’ll give him more than a break if he screws us over,” she muttered.





Sixteen


Our carriage pulled along the circular drive of the castle, but when the door opened, it wasn’t the driver standing alongside it. It was Ericen. He stepped aside as we climbed out.

“Did you enjoy your trip to the city?” he asked. The wound on his face had scabbed over, the bruising on the edges starting to fade.

“It would have been a lot better if I didn’t feel like a prisoner,” I replied, glancing at the two Vykryn.

“More like an honored guest.”

“Who can’t leave.”

He smirked. “Right. Could I borrow you?”

Kiva interjected before I could reply. “I think the words you’re looking for are ‘I’m sorry I’m such an ass.’”

A muscle feathered in his jaw. “Yes. I was getting to that.”

She raised an expectant eyebrow, and Ericen sighed. “I’m sorry for the way I acted last night.”

“Close enough.” Kiva stepped toward the castle. “I’ll meet you inside.”

I nodded, trying to hide the smile threatening my lips. “I’m assuming you didn’t come down here just for that?”

“To be scolded like a child? Surprisingly, no.” He smiled. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”

He led me along a dirt path that curled around the castle. It sloped upward toward a large barn lined with wide square doors that split across the middle. Several were open, revealing the black heads of massive warhorses. At the main entrance, two wooden doors had been pinned open.

Horses stood secured to metal loops in the barn walls as stable hands brushed them or else swept the main walkway clear of hay and horsehair. Ericen traced a path through the horses, taking us much closer to their back hooves than I’d have liked, but he seemed as comfortable around them as I’d been with the crows.