Chapter Eleven
It was just before dawn by the time they arrived back at the castle, that liminal time between dark and light turning the sky into a painting of black and purple and blue.
Railings on balconies glistened with dew.
Birds awoke and flitted from tree to tree singing quietly.
Shopkeepers opened their doors and swept their front steps, their eyes lingering on Solana, more curious about the stranger than the muki they dragged behind Suri’s horse.
She imagined this was a common sight for them.
The Masters and their catch parading through the cities.
Monsters bound and imprisoned indefinitely.
It made Solana sick to think about. The people who hired her did so because they would rather have her deal with their deceased family members and friends than a stranger.
Sometimes they made pacts, like she and Sami had done.
Some believed that death was destiny. That reversing the curse wouldn’t bring their loved ones back, no matter what the king proclaimed.
Then there were the Servants of Death, a small group of extremists who believed that the demons belonged to their fallen god, Supay, and to fear or kill them was to disavow their god. They worshipped the muki and welcomed death like a lover so they could be rebirthed and live forever.
It wasn’t much of an existence, but Solana figured they’d learn that for themselves.
They rode back through the gates and to the stables, where a stable boy took their horses with stars in his eyes.
Oskar and Nikolas tossed a rope over each of their shoulders and dragged the muki toward a separate entrance that she knew led directly to the dungeons far below.
She watched them go and ignored the violent urge to chase after them and shove her dagger through the muki’s spinal cord.
She sighed.
How comfortable with death and violence she was, how dark her thoughts, both waking and sleeping.
Even in dreams, the dark beckoned her closer.
“We have to debrief the king,” Reyes said, the impatience in his tone raising Solana’s hackles.
She was tempted to head straight to her rooms just to spite him but knew the king wouldn’t appreciate it.
Already, she had caused one problem by killing a muki.
There was no need to acquire another mark against her.
With a sigh, she followed Reyes into the castle, down a set of stairs and around several corners before coming to a dark wood door. Reyes knocked and a voice called, “Come in.”
The door swung open to reveal a wood-paneled room with midnight blue velvet curtains hanging over faux windows.
Globe lights burned brightly in two corners, casting sharp shadows from the shelves and desk onto the floor.
Behind the desk sat King Killian, bright-eyed and fully dressed in shades of blue, a pen in his hand with which he scrawled across documents she couldn’t quite read.
The silver crown usually on his head sat empty on the desk.
“Did everything go according to plan?” he asked without looking up.
“One casualty,” Reyes responded. Solana inhaled, ready to defend herself to her last breath, when Reyes added, “It was unavoidable. They seemed to be more aware than others we’ve encountered.”
The shock of his lie almost made her slip. It was lucky the king’s head was down. “Academy students are gifted. Perhaps it alters their demon forms in some capacity.” He turned to her. “And you? Anything to add?”
Solana saw Reyes stiffen from the corner of her eye. He had nothing to worry about—it wasn’t like Solana had any plans to tell on herself. “No, Your Majesty.”
At that, King Killian lifted his head and met her gaze. Solana fought the urge to fidget and held his crystalline eyes. “Good work, then,” he finally said, his attention darting back to Reyes. “A word? In private.”
Knowing when she was being dismissed, Solana slipped out of the room and pressed her back against the wall, heart thundering in her chest.
Reyes had covered for her.
Of all the things she didn’t expect, that was the most unexpected of all.
It changed nothing, however, and did not stop Solana from sliding along the wall and tilting her head closer to the door so they couldn’t see her shadow in the gap.
It was too thick to properly hear through, but she was able to catch a few random words.
Control and gift and demon, the rest of it murmurs too deep and low.
Then she heard the scrape of wood on wood and jumped several paces down the hall. The door swung open and closed with a flourish and Reyes stepped out, his eyes going right to her and narrowing. “Eavesdropping?”
He strode toward her with all of his usual rancor. Solana instinctively shifted back and to the side and placed her hand on the hilt of her dagger. Reyes tracked the movement and stopped abruptly, the lines of his jaw and shoulders softening.
“Why did you cover for me?” she asked sharply. “I can handle the consequences of my actions.”
“Your actions are a reflection of me. It looks bad if I can’t control my unit.”
Whatever notions of gratitude she had potentially harbored fled with his words. “You don’t even want me here. You had the perfect opportunity to get rid of me and didn’t take it.”
“Some of us don’t resort to betrayal and murder to get what we want.
” Reyes resumed walking, but slower, each of his steps a thump she felt beneath her skin.
When he stopped at her shoulder, Solana was already holding her breath.
“I’m entirely certain you’ll get yourself killed or removed from the castle all on your own. ”
Then he passed her by, the scent of cedar and smoke lingering in the air long after he left. Solana waited several moments after the sound of his footsteps disappeared before she turned and headed toward the stairs that led to her rooms.
Another encounter where they had both come out alive.
Solana hardly slept in the callejon, preferring to wander and hunt and pretend like she was in absolute control of her life and her mind. But being at the castle changed things. She ate and she slept and she did things like throw open the door when someone knocked.
Reyes stood on the other side dressed in all black, as usual, his face set in careful disdain as he trailed his eyes from her feet to her mussed hair. In his hands was a tray of food.
Solana’s head reared back. “You brought me food?”
“It was on the floor.” He held it out to her, and she grasped both sides quickly. “I simply picked it up.”
“Is there a reason you’re here besides picking up trays of food that don’t belong to you?” Solana walked over and placed the tray on her bedside table. She caught Reyes inspecting her made-up floor bed and stepped to block his view.
“Is the bed not good enough for you?”
“No,” she shot back. “Once again, is there a reason you’re here?”
“I’m waking you. We’re leaving—” He was interrupted by bells in the distance. One, two, three. “Right now.”
Solana growled and slammed the door in his face.
She threw on a clean uniform, tugged her shoes over her pants, and grabbed a cold arepa from the tray.
When she opened her door for a second time, she found Reyes still waiting, leaning against the opposite wall, hands in his pockets and legs crossed one over the other.
He unfurled, slow and methodical, and reached out toward her head.
Instead of backing off when she ducked away, Reyes pressed further into her personal space and tugged at a strand of her hair. Pinched between two fingers was a singular white feather.
With a huff, Solana shoved the arepa in her mouth and gathered her hair into a loose braid. Reyes said nothing as he watched her, a small smirk tipping one corner of his mouth.
She popped the arepa out of her mouth and gestured with it toward the hall. “Well? Are we going or what?”
The man laughed and sauntered off, forcing Solana to follow with two steps to his every one.
Damn him and his long legs, his smug face, his wasting her time and laughing about it.
She would demand to have her own horse this time, just to avoid being so close to him whenever possible, or else the odds of her stabbing him would increase exponentially.
But when they stepped outside of the castle, they were greeted by the rest of the team on foot. “No horses?”
“She can see,” Suri murmured. Solana shot her a glare, but the woman was already walking away. Oskar and Nikolas turned to follow. Cora skipped to her side. Reyes trailed behind, and she swore she could feel his eyes like a blade in her back.
“Don’t worry about Suri. She doesn’t like anyone.”
“Except for you?”
Cora gave a quick laugh. “Except for me,” she said. “We’re staying in Sonqo tonight. A friend of the king’s had a death in the family and requested collection.”
Collection. It was clinical. Detached. But what bothered her more was that they were being forced to prioritize a request from someone who had the privilege of the king’s ear, rather than the people in Qhilli and even Iques.
She wondered how the callejon was faring with the replacement the king sent.
If they wondered where she was or asked Sami questions he couldn’t answer.
Oskar and Nikolas strode with confidence through the gates with Suri between them. Nikolas swung an arm over Suri’s shoulder, and Oskar handed her a small pouch. She took it and stowed it in a pocket of her cloak. Past the gates, the city was closing up for the evening.
A small girl watched them approach with wonder in her wide brown eyes.
She waved at Solana with a smile. Solana started to wave back, but an older boy grabbed the girl’s hand and yanked her backward, out of the path and into the small side street between buildings.
The boy held his arm out across her chest as their group walked by, specifically shooting Solana a heated glare.
Rude. Solana stuck out her tongue and tried not to laugh when the boy’s mouth popped open in shock.