CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE #2
I caught it with an oof. “You’re lucky that your dick is worth all this constant brooding I have to put up with,” I teased.
He shot me a dark look that held a tiny glimmer of amusement. Though, to be fair, it could have been a trick of the light.
A short time later, we parted ways at the stables.
Talon began tending to the horses as usual while I returned my sack of possessions to the tack room.
I spent a few minutes playing with the dogs and then left for the food hall.
Inside the building, I found my friends gathered near the end of a table, loading their pewters with food.
Spotting me, Nakoa smiled. “Well, good morning. I heard you made it through the labyrinth.”
“Told you that she would,” Khalida reminded her from the other side of the table. She then beamed at me. “Congrats on passing Xalbia.” As the others echoed the sentiment, she patted the empty spot beside her. “Park your butt here, cousin, we saved you a seat.”
I felt my brow crease as I accepted her invitation. “We’re cousins?”
“I’ve decided to adopt you,” Khalida informed me. “Just go with it.”
Snickering, I poured mead into my tankard.
“You’re planning to accept a place in the Black Tapestry, right?” Quillen asked.
“I am,” I verified, setting down the jug.
Khalida bumped her shoulder into his. “Told you that she would.”
He raised his shoulders. “The labyrinth has a way of making people reevaluate the worth of a position in the Order.”
Opposite me, Jelani dipped his chin. “I came close to choosing basic servitude instead. Some days, I wonder if I made the wrong decision,” he grimly admitted.
“We’ve all been there,” said Quillen.
“I almost quit once,” Soule confessed with a sigh. “I’m glad I didn’t. I think I would have later regretted it. And then I wouldn’t have Nakoa.”
Beside him, the female in question bristled. “You don’t have me.”
Groaning, Khalida rolled her eyes. “He totally does. Stop fighting it.” Throwing a cube of cheese into her mouth, she turned back to me. “You should move to the floor where Nakoa and I sleep in the women’s barracks. There are a few spare beds there.”
Nakoa nodded, a teasing gleam blotting her gaze. “Not that I think you’ll sleep in it much, Anara. At least not for the foreseeable future.”
“Yeah, you see, we tried hunting you down to check on you after everyone got back from the caverns,” Khalida told me, her eyes smiling, “but you weren’t in the bathhouses. Or the stables. Or anywhere else we looked. And it quickly became clear that you were in Talon’s bedchamber.”
I tore off a chunk of bread. “How did it become clear?”
“We asked him when he was grabbing new boots that looked way too small for him from the supplies room,” Khalida replied.
“He confirmed it. We also asked if we could go see you. He vetoed that, but we knew he would. He doesn’t like having others in his private space.
Except for you, it would seem.” She smiled. “How intriguing.”
I sighed. “You’re intent on making a big deal out of this, aren’t you?”
“I don’t have to. His behavior makes a thing out of it.” She chomped down another cube of cheese. “I mean, let’s cover the facts here.”
“Let’s not,” I objected.
Ignoring that, she went on, “He never fucks candidates. He never takes women to his bedchamber. He never leaves marks of possession on their neck—yeah, I heard about your bite. And he never snatches them out of their seat and herds them out of the food hall.” Her face turned all dreamy.
Seconds later, her brow furrowing, she looked at Quillen.
“Why don’t you ever drag me out of here like that? ”
He blinked. “I don’t need to. You follow me everywhere like a lost puppy. It’s sad.” An oof flew out of him, so she’d presumably socked him in the gut or something.
“Ass.” Khalida again resettled her focus on me. “So, are you going to thank me?”
I finished chewing my food before I responded. “For what?”
“Pushing Talon into making his move,” she elaborated.
I frowned. “What did you have to do with it?”
“Oh come on, I—” She cut herself off, sliding a guilty look at Jelani.
I smiled. “What? What did you do? Be specific.”
Jelani’s brow creased as he stared from me to her, but then the light of realization glittered in his eyes. Eyes that started to widen as he pointed a finger at her. “Wait, you used me to try to set them up.”
Khalida straightened. “And aren’t you proud that you had a hand in helping your friend get a bedtime playmate? Does it not make you feel warm inside?”
“No,” he snorted.
I chuckled, lifting my tankard. Hearing a pewter clatter to the floor, I looked to see a sheepish officiate lean down to pick up their fallen plate. I also noticed Atticus sitting a few feet from them, his eyes glazed over, his expression vacant.
Compassion squeezed my chest. I could loathe him and still pity his loss.
“I take it that you and Talon have agreed to something exclusive, Anara,” said Nakoa.
Meeting her eyes, I sipped at my drink. “We have.”
“That’s another first for him,” Khalida commented, grinning.
Quillen swiped another piece of bread from a tray. “I figured he’d make a pass at you,” he said to me. “I didn’t foresee him throwing his ‘no candidates’ rule out the window, though. I thought he’d wait until you were an officiate.”
“He obviously knew that he needed to act fast,” Nakoa concluded. “He’ll have heard that some officiates were planning to approach her once she was part of the Order.”
“And he obviously wasn’t going to risk that she’d accept any offers thrown her way,” Khalida added, still grinning.
I felt my brows dip. “Why are you so psyched by all this?” I set down my mead. “So what if he’s acting out of character? What’s exciting about it?”
“You’ll get it once you’ve been an officiate for a while,” Khalida replied.
“We don’t hear a lot of good news around here.
Most of the action we get involves blood and death.
So even small positive things can uplift the communal mood.
We all care about Talon—he’d give his life for us in an instant. We want good things for him.”
“He has Eva,” I pointed out, ignoring how that made my belly twist.
Nakoa made a face. “I wouldn’t say she’s ‘good’ for him, though.”
Maybe, maybe not, but … “I don’t think everyone will be as pleased about Talon’s unusual behavior as you are.”
“Some of the female officiates won’t like it,” Khalida agreed. “The ones who want to bed him, I mean. But they’ll just have to suck it up, won’t they?”
The conversation shifted topic, then. Between bites of our food and sips of our drinks, we spoke of mundane matters. Right up until a Listen up whistle from Talon sliced through the hall’s chatter, cutting it off.
“Candidates, outside,” Ajax called out from the doorway, Talon at his side.
I muttered quick goodbyes to my friends and then joined the other candidates in following Talon and Ajax out of the building. They led us to the courtyard, where Keyes, the Sovereigns, and Ariadne all waited.
My stomach seized as the half-bloods’ attention honed in on me.
I forced my muscles not to tense and determinedly kept my expression neutral, unwilling to let them pick up on my unease.
How could I not be an uneasy? They didn’t look necessarily displeased that I’d survived Xalbia—I got the impression it was that they were annoyed I’d proven them wrong.
Every step of the way I’d surprised them, and they very much resented it.
As the Sovereigns turned to Ajax, I allowed my gaze to slide to Talon. His eyes were on me, and not even the tiniest flicker of emotion could be seen. His Cardinal mask was firmly in place.
While I appreciated—and wanted—that professionalism, it was still kind of odd to have him look at me with such distance in his eyes. He was much better at compartmentalizing than I was.
I cast subtle glances at my fellow candidates.
Most appeared sober and nervous, much like Bevan and Lear, but they held their heads up highish.
Others were stiff and fidgety like Reeve and Sable, and I wondered if they were torn on what to do.
I had no clue what Atticus intended—his expression was still empty.
As the half-bloods fully faced the crowd of candidates once more, Minos stood to his full height.
“Good morning.” It wasn’t so much a greeting as a flat formality.
“Xalbia, as you know, is officially over. Every single one of you not only survived it but passed.” He gave a slight nod of respect. “Well done to you all.”
“As I am sure has been explained to you, nobody is obliged to join the Order,” Eacus chipped in. “There is no shame in choosing a different path. But our hope is that you will join. Difficult times are upon us. Every last man and woman counts.”
“Be that as it may,” Rhad began, “we only want those who will dedicate themselves to the Tapestry. The force is only as strong as its weakest member. It must always be solid.”
“Those of you who do not wish to join the Black Tapestry, step forward,” bid Minos.
Several tense moments past, and then three candidates took a shuffling step toward the Sovereigns.
One was Sable, which didn’t much surprise me.
Another was one of Bevan’s group, which I’d half-expected.
The third was a female who had actually powered through every step of Xalbia, so that did take me off-guard.
But then, as Quillen had pointed out, the labyrinth had a way of making people reconsider the wisdom of joining the Order.
Minos’ gaze flicked from the three who’d stepped forward. “Ariadne will escort you out of here and find you a different placement. Go.”
Their heads bowed, they melted away and followed his daughter out of the garrison.
“As for the rest of you, consider yourselves now an official seam within the Black Tapestry,” said Minos. “Serve the Order well and it will do the same for you.”
As one, the Sovereigns turned to leave. Minos, however, paused; his gaze sliding to me.
Elegant as ever, he came toward me. Like before, my power slinked back, as if still locked in observation mode.
Though I didn’t see how it could be locked in any mode—it wasn’t sentient.
It didn’t think. Didn’t want. Didn’t strategize.
“Congratulations, Anara,” said Minos, his voice toneless.
“Thank you,” I said with a slight smile.
“Many unanswered questions surround you, but I can say one thing for certain: You do not lack courage.” With that, he strode away.
I subtly released a relieved breath, and the power within me again spread its metaphorical wings.
Once the Sovereigns had left, Ajax cleared his throat and spoke to the crowd as a whole again.
“Grab your uniforms, choose a bed in the barracks, and then you will be assigned your duties here at the garrison. Tonight, we celebrate. Oh, and”—a corner of his mouth tipped up—“welcome to the Black Tapestry.”