Chapter Twelve
“Oh… God,” Athdara breathed. “I know that name. Kane. He has been following me since the day Breda Castle fell. He caught up to me, once, and I had to fight to break free. He’s the worst of the bounty hunters, unfortunately. And now, he has found me again.”
Marina was sitting in front of the fire, drying out, as Athdara struggled with her composure. She had just told Athdara about the encounter with Kane at The Black Cock, and watched her face go from a healthy pink to a sickly white. The woman was positively terrified.
“He does not know you are here,” Marina said. “I did not tell him anything. He asked if I had seen you, but I did not tell him that I had. I knew he must have come to hurt you simply by the look of him. He looks… evil.”
“He is,” Athdara said, greatly laboring not to panic. “He was sent after Niko and me when… Oh, God… Niko!”
She gasped, looking at Tay in horror, but he put up a hand to ease her. “I am sure he does not have the boy,” he told her calmly before looking to Marina. “Did he mention her brother?”
Marina shook her head. “Nay,” she said. “There was no mention of anyone else. He said that he had been trying to find his sister, who was taken away by an evil man. I might have believed him, except Athdara was not taken away by an evil man. I knew he was lying.”
Athdara was shaken, so shaken that she had to lean against the wall because her legs were trembling so badly. She put her hands to her face, dazed.
“I thought he was dead,” she muttered. “I’d not seen him for months and months. I thought he was either dead or had given up, but now he’s here? He will find me. People have seen me at The Black Cock, and they will tell him that I’ve been around. People will tell him!”
She was starting to grow agitated, and Tay could feel her fear.
It was a palpable thing, and for the first time, he could see what a toll her flight from Breda Castle had taken on her.
She’d been so strong and determined since he’d known her, but at this moment, he saw the terrified young woman who had lost everything.
For a man who never gave much thought to showing compassion, he had a well of it for her at this moment.
“You were here for an entire month and I never saw you,” he reminded her, trying to keep her calm.
“Even if he does hear that you’ve been here, what then?
He will not know where you are. He will not know you are at Blackchurch, but if he comes sniffing around here, he’ll not survive long. I can promise you that.”
Athdara nodded, but it was doubtful as to whether she actually believed him.
“All this time,” she murmured. “He has found me after all this time. Do you know what he will do to me if he finds me? He caught me once—he found me in a town and ambushed me. He tied me up and told me that my uncle had promised that he could have me as a prize. Can you imagine? My own uncle promised a bounty hunter that I could be his prize. He’ll keep me like a dog in a cage.
I wish he would just kill me. I’d rather be dead than have any part of him. ”
Tay was listening to all of it very carefully.
Athdara had mentioned bounty hunters before, but she was clearly shocked to realize that one was still following her—or perhaps not shocked as much as she was disappointed.
Terrified, absolutely, but also disappointed.
The poor woman had not only endured the fall of her father’s duchy and the death of her father and brother, but now that war was still following her, still trying to claim her as a victim.
Tay knew he couldn’t let that happen.
He turned to Bowen. “I want you to summon Fox, Sin, Ming Tang, and Creston,” he said. “Send them to Exford Castle and tell them I will meet them there. I also want you to send a servant for food and have it brought here. All they can carry. Lady Athdara hasn’t eaten all day and requires a meal.”
Bowen nodded smartly and was off, back out into the rain.
When he was gone, Tay turned to Athdara, who was still leaning against the wall, looking horribly pale and distressed.
He didn’t enjoy seeing her like that. Truth be told, he found himself wishing the bounty hunter would track her to this very cottage so he could show the man some deadly Blackchurch hospitality.
He’d throw the body in the lake and be done with it.
“Marina,” he said, looking at the woman still sitting in front of the hearth. “It was brave of you to bring this information, but I must ask—are you sure you were not followed?”
Marina shook her head. “Nay, my lord,” she said. “I waited until this evening to leave. The conversation I had with the man was earlier in the day. The last I saw, he had taken a room to sleep. When he did, I left.”
Tay considered that. It was possible that the man was watching everyone coming and going from his rented room and possibly saw her leave, but he didn’t say what he was thinking. If he did see her leave and perchance followed her, they would know soon enough.
“Lady Athdara says that you took a job at The Black Cock,” he said. “Serving wench?”
“Aye, my lord.”
“She also said you were once a dreg.”
Marina grinned, glancing at Athdara. “I was until the lady knocked me silly and I was unable to recover in time,” she said. “But I can try again in a year.”
“It means so much to you to be Blackchurch-trained?”
Her smile faded. “Aye,” she said. “I must make my own way, and marriage is out of the question.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t like men,” she said frankly. “I would rather earn my own way as a warrior. I’m good at it. I can prove it if Blackchurch will give me a chance. If warlords know I am Blackchurch-trained, I can secure a prestigious position.”
“What about going home to your family?”
Marina scratched her head. “My father was a merchant in Rome,” she said.
“When he died, my brother took over the family business and ruined it. There is nothing there for me. I took all of the money I had and brought it with me to pay for my entry into Blackchurch. Whatever my life becomes, I must make it.”
That explained quite a bit. Tay didn’t even know the woman, but she’d risked much to help Athdara. A lesser person would have simply ignored the information, and, at some point, Athdara might have walked right into the bounty hunter.
That said something about Marina’s character. It was Blackchurch quality.
“Marina, do you know who I am?” he asked.
Marina looked up at him. “A Blackchurch knight,” she said. “I do not know your name.”
“Do you know anything about the Blackchurch trainers?”
Marina nodded. “A little,” she said. “The dregs are kept away from them, but I’ve heard about them. I’ve heard about the one from Cairo and the one who used to serve kings. They have names like the Avenger and the Conquistador and the Leviathan.”
“I am the Leviathan.”
Her eyes widened, and she suddenly bolted to her feet, weaving unsteadily because she was so surprised. “M-my apologies, my lord,” she stammered. “I did not mean to speak so informally to you. I did not know—”
Tay held up a hand to silence her, though it was not rudely done. At least, he didn’t think so, but for a man who didn’t deal well with women, it was a gesture sharper than it should have been.
“I know you did not know,” he said. “I am not offended. But it seems to me that you have already displayed characteristics that we look for at Blackchurch.”
“What… what have I done, my lord?”
Tay tipped his head in Athdara’s direction. “You have shown loyalty and bravery,” he said. “Those are admirable qualities. You said that made it through the dreg training only to be eliminated by Athdara?”
Marina nodded. “There were only two places open,” she said. “Athdara earned the first, and another man earned the second. That is why I went back to The Black Cock. I wanted to try again when I was permitted, so I wanted to remain close by.”
Tay rested his fists on his narrow hips as he faced her.
“I am the first trainer the dregs will meet,” he said.
“I teach endurance and physical readiness, among other things. Athdara is no longer part of the group I am teaching, which means there is a place for you if you want it. As a reward for helping Athdara, I think you have proven your worth.”
Marina’s eyes opened wide. She looked at Athdara in shock before returning her attention to Tay. “My lord,” she gasped. “Do… do you mean it?”
Tay nodded. “I do,” he said. “But after you do something for me.”
“Anything, my lord.”
“Athdara will be enduring special training while she is here,” he said.
“She is going to stay here, in my cottage, but it would not be proper without a chaperone. Instead of sleeping with the recruits in the cloister, you will sleep here, with her. If anyone tries to accost her, you will protect her, and she will protect you if the need arises. I think the two of you together are better than the two of you separate. Would you agree?”
Marina nodded eagerly. “I do, my lord,” she said. “Thank you for this opportunity. I cannot thank you enough.”
“No need to thank me. It is you who should be thanked.”
Marina had gone from shocked to giddy with lightning speed. She looked at Athdara, grinning with delight, and although Athdara was thrilled for her friend, she could barely manage a smile.
“I will not fail, my lord,” Marina said. “May I gather my things now?”
Tay shook his head. “Not at the moment,” he said.
“Lady Athdara needs your help first. This is my cottage, and I hardly spend any time here, so it is not a comfortable place. I want you to help Lady Athdara make this place as comfortable as she wants it. Do whatever she wishes. Once she is fed and beds are prepared for the night, you may return to The Black Cock and gather your things. But be cautious—if the bounty hunter is still there, he may be watching for you.”
Marina frowned. “But he has no reason to watch for me, my lord.”