CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Shall we take this outside? Jason asked. He waited for me to stand up and then followed me out with the sailor.
When we exited through the front door, Jason said, This is Simos. He said he can carry a message for you.
I was going to tell Jason to give us a moment alone but there was no reason to do so. I had hopefully crafted a message that would withstand scrutiny and not give anything away about my background.
If the price is right, Simos added.
I opened my knapsack and took out the smaller portioned bag of salt that I d brought with me. I handed it to him and his eyes widened.
Will that suffice? I asked, knowing that it would.
Yes. What is your message?
There is a soldier in the palace named Demaratus. I need you to find him and tell him that his daughter lives. Demaratus would know that I intended for him to pass the message along to my parents.
That s all? Simos asked.
Yes. I thought short and simple would be my best bet. It is important that this message be delivered as quickly as possible.
Simos told me that his ship is setting sail tomorrow, Jason offered.
We are. The other man nodded.
That s good. Swear to me that you will deliver this message right away.
Simos put his hand over his heart. I swear it. I will make certain that I find your Demaratus as soon as we land and I will tell him his daughter lives. I was glad he repeated the message back to me, showing that he would remember it. He tucked the bag of salt into his belt. It was a pleasure doing business with you.
I nodded. I was so very relieved. Finally, I had managed to accomplish something. I would be able to get word sent back to my parents. They would delay the prince, giving me more time to find the eye. I was no longer treading water-I had surged forward.
Simos pulled open the door to the tavern and loudly announced, Drinks are on me!
A loud cheer broke out and I made eye contact with a man I recognized.
It was the witness for the selection. The one who had made sure Quynh and I got on the ship and not some substitute Locrian maidens. Alarms sounded inside me, my breath quickening. Something was off about him being here.
About him watching me.
The door swung shut but I yanked it open again.
What are you doing? Jason asked.
I scanned the room quickly but I didn t see the man. As my breathing evened out, I figured that my overly anxious imagination had created it.
It didn t stop the dark and creepy sensation currently crawling up my back, though.
Nothing, I said to Jason. I thought I saw something, but I was wrong.
He looked concerned but only said, You paid Simos too much.
It s worth that and more to me. I had enough left to hire a life mage and book us passage back home. If the mage required more compensation, I would offer him his weight in salt when we reached Locris, if he wanted. Jason didn t know the lengths I was willing to go to.
If anything, I would argue that I d given Simos just enough to ensure his loyalty and make certain that the message was delivered.
Now, if Jason had told me that I d paid Mahtab too much, he would have been right. But I would have given her all three bags of salt to have had that extra time with my sister.
Regardless, how I spent my resources wasn t any of his business. Our time together was at an end. I wasn t sure how to communicate that to him effectively. I settled on, I have to be going. My mother would have insisted that I thank him for his help, but given that he had annoyed me tonight more than he d helped, I decided my farewell was enough.
Where?
The library. I grimaced. Again, I hadn t intended to share that with him. It had just slipped out.
You should go during the day. When it s open to the public.
That s not really something I can do.
Why? Oh. You re breaking the rules by being out this late, he said, not waiting for my answer. I ll come with you.
You don t have to-
He held up a hand, cutting me off. Let s not have this argument again. I ll accompany you. Besides, I have to come. My toll has not yet been paid.
I narrowed my eyes at him. And it won t be.
We ll see. His arrogance was infuriating.
Biting back a growl I asked, Do you know where the library is? And can you take me there? If he was going to shadow me, I should at least take advantage of his knowledge.
Yes. And yes.
With that confirmation I headed for the main gates to enter the city, trusting that he would tell me what direction I should head. Or that he would take the lead and I could follow quietly behind him.
But when he caught up, he walked alongside me. Forcing me to keep an eye on him so that I could see which way to go.
Why are we going to the library? he asked as he headed into one of the northeastern paths, the opposite of the ones leading to the temple.
Libraries have information.
What kind of information do you need?
I let out a big sigh. You say that I m the one with the insatiable curiosity, but I think you re even worse than me.
He placed his hands against his chest. Is it my fault that you re so fascinating that I have to understand everything about you?
My breath stumbled. It was the kind of thing he would have said to me in my dreams. So much so that for a moment I didn t believe he d actually said it out loud. I wasn t going to let myself get caught up in some foolish fantasy, though. I can t fault you for your curiosity because it would make me a hypocrite. But if you re going to play at being my bodyguard, we have to get one thing straight between us. I will not be telling you what I m looking for. You can either accept that or go meet your barmaid.
A part of me expected him to say his goodbyes and travel back to the Golden Lamb so that he could fully enjoy the attention of the beautiful and willing barmaid.
I accept. And while he didn t say it, I could see on his face how amused he was by my demand.
Because he thought I was jealous.
Which I was not .
We walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes with him leading me through the labyrinth.
If you re looking for information, you d be better served searching the palace library. I ve heard they have a great number of collections, he said.
Yes, I m sure it s very easy to break into the palace so that I can search through their scrolls and books, I said sarcastically.
Fair point. But the library will be worse. It s heavily guarded.
That was disappointing. There had to be a way inside or else he wouldn t bother leading me there. If Jason didn t have a plan, I would come up with something. It wouldn t be the first time tonight that I d sneaked through a heavily guarded location.
We had entered a pocket of businesses and apartments, and we passed by a tavern serving something delicious. The scent of roasting meat hung in the air and I let out a small groan.
Hungry? he asked, and I couldn t deny it.
Always. I should have packed myself something to snack on.
It s one of the things I like best about you, he said. His words felt like they were loaded with meaning but I didn t understand what he was trying to actually say. Wait a moment. I have something for you.
There was a stone half wall running along the sidewalk, and he took a knapsack from his back and placed it on that wall. I hadn t even realized that he d been carrying one. So much for my powers of observation. Both Antiope and Demaratus would have been mad at me.
Jason began digging around inside it while I sat on the wall. Someone was playing a flute nearby and the melody was sad and haunting. I was caught up in the music when I noticed something fluttering out of the corner of my eye.
I turned to see a bright yellow feather floating down and landing on the wall next to me.
My lungs constricted so tightly I could barely breathe. I reached for the feather, holding it aloft. I realized that it had come from Jason s bag.
It s here, I swear it, he mumbled.
When I stood up, still holding the feather, he finally ceased his search and looked at me, confused. What s wrong?
I held the feather out accusatorily. Is this yours?
Memories raced into my mind, piling on top of each other. I remembered when Quynh had been hit by that bola, knocked off her feet. How I d been so focused on reaching her, helping her, that I had forgotten my surroundings. Leaving myself utterly defenseless.
That man standing over me with his sword, about to strike. Realizing that my life was at an end. My mouth flooded with the taste of metal as I perfectly recalled the terror and panic I d felt in that moment.
But then he d been struck in the chest with an arrow.
An arrow with bright yellow feathers.
It took Jason a moment to drag his focus away from his knapsack to look at the feather in my fingers. What? Oh, yes. That s mine.
He didn t seem to realize what he d just admitted to.
You shot that man.
Which man? You ll have to be more specific, he said as he returned his gaze to his bag.
The one that nearly killed me.
He finally seemed to pick up on the tone in my voice and gave me his full attention. His face revealed nothing, keeping his secrets, and he didn t respond to my accusation.
You protected me. My voice caught. More importantly, you protected Quynh. From this day forward, no matter how annoying I found him, I would always be grateful to him for that.
Still, he said nothing.
I thought it was against the law to help a Locrian maiden. I felt desperate. I had to know why he had done it. To understand why he would risk breaking the laws of the goddess to help me.
It felt extremely important.
The guarded expression fell off his face and the teasing charmer returned. I didn t break any laws. I was aiming for you. Am I to blame for being a poor shot?
He was not going to dissuade me. You saved my life.
I would disagree.
You gave me the clue I needed to navigate the labyrinth, I tried again.
Jason shrugged nonchalantly. I did no such thing. I was only singing a song.
The fact that he knew how the clue had been conveyed to me meant that he had done it deliberately, no matter how he attempted to deny it.
Pieces started to fall into place and I realized all that he had done that day. He must have been watching over us. He hadn t acted on my behalf until he d shot the arrow and he d only done it because I d been about to die.
The ambush waiting outside the temple, I said, remembering how I d expected a trap and instead found a bunch of unconscious men on the ground. You fought them.
That had nothing to do with you. Those men owed me money.
All of them? I asked incredulously.
Yes. It was fortunate for me that they all gathered themselves together in one spot like that so that I could demand payment. And if they were there for you, well, it hardly seems sporting to lie in wait like that.
I expected a trap. It was important to me that he knew I hadn t run into that situation without realizing what the outcome would be. That I had understood what I would be up against.
With a shake of his head, he said, You wouldn t have gotten past them.
I frowned. You did.
I m me, he said with a grin.
Yes, he was. The one blessed with an incredible otherworldly fighting talent that he wasted in taverns and on ships.
And he had used that gift to save my life. To help me get into the temple.
The spear? I asked.
I m not much of a spear thrower, either. Again, I was aiming for you but I missed you on the wall.
He must have been an incredible shot. I remembered how precisely that spear had been placed, exactly where I needed it. How it had buried itself deep in a rock wall, speaking to Jason s strength. You gave me the additional hand- and foothold I needed to climb.
That s not how I remember it, he said. But it was very clever of you to go down through the roof after you found the doors locked.
Had he been keeping pace with me the entire time? Watching over me, protecting me?
Why? I asked. I needed to understand this, more than I had ever needed to understand anything.
You know why, Lia, he said quietly.
I did know why. Even if I couldn t have said the words, I felt the reason in my soul.
The defensive walls I d built up around my heart shattered with that realization, leaving a pile of rubble behind and no way for me to protect myself against him and his charm. I was afraid that I wouldn t be able to keep him out any longer.
Everything else faded away. My fears, my sorrows, my worries. All I could concentrate on was Jason and what he d done.
If I managed to save Locris, it would be because he had saved me first.
Without thinking I stepped forward and pressed my lips against his.