We started climbing the stairs.
“But why leave? Think of the wealth and status the king would grant you, Maggie. You would want for nothing.”
“Riches? I don’t want riches, especially from the king! You saw what he did to those two men today? His men do the same every day in the Hinterlands. Starving men strung up for not being able to afford ridiculous, high taxes. Soldiers raping women as payment for outstanding sums. Or worse. Kidnapping them for brothels here in the Walled City.” I clutched the train of the blue dress I had on beneath the cloak. “I could never have worn a dress on the road. It was too dangerous. The king’s men are the danger.”
Griffin didn’t argue, and his expression was more than enough for me to know he knew some of what I said was true.
“You idolize an evil man, Griffin.”
“I don’t idolize anyone. I’m a survivor, like you.” He sounded hurt and a little angry. “All I have is because of what the king and Jori have given me.”
“A room? Food? Weapons and clothes? Please. I saw how the people cheered for you, from Top to Bottom. You’re more to them than a sword. So much so that when you stand beside the prince, the people cheer for him too. You’ve earned everything the king has given you and more.”
He wrestled with that while we continued up the steep stairs. My legs ached. My heels felt raw with blisters. I was looking forward to the tavern, and my horse.
“All of this must be our secret. You cannot tell the prince or the king!” I poked him the chest. “Promise!”
“I promise. It’s the least I can do. You saved my life.” He held his hands up. “Now I’ll be more than ready for my next turn in the ring.”
It occurred to me that I was missing a vital piece of information. “Why did you bring me here?”
“What do you mean? You asked me to,” he blurted, but I could tell by the look in his eyes he knew exactly what I meant.
“You wanted to see her. To get a leg up on battling her, didn’t you?”
Griffin stared, mouth hanging open. I was right. “Maggie, you said it yourself. I earn my place with the king and Jori with my sword. If I don’t win in the arena, if I lose favor with the people, then I have no value to them. I could lose everything.”
“And if you kill her, I lose everything.” My legs cramping, I pressed on, hurrying as quickly as I could up the stairs, refusing to look at him.
His footsteps were constant, never waning, but the silence spoke volumes.
Night was almost over. It would be morning in a few short hours. Thankfully, the horses stood where we’d left them at the tavern. Riding uphill would be hard on them, but my legs would go no farther.
Griffin made sure I was tucked into the cloak before knocking on the fortress gate. The guard chuckled, shaking his head, and opened it just enough for us to slip through.
We entered the castle through an alley door this time. The delicious aroma of baking bread met us in the kitchens, as well a heavyset balding man covered in flour and smelling of a long night of ale.
“Griffin?” His eyes fell on me. “Bradyn thought you already back. Moldark’s just come for her tray. He’s on his way to her room now.”
Griffin grabbed my hand and ran. Up a spiral staircase, through a door that entered the Great Hall, which was unnervingly silent. Through three more stretches of hallways until we reached the one with the grate.
Griffin went first.
Crawling quickly bruised my knees and palms. He rolled the stone to the secret entrance into my room as quietly as possible. The only noise was a slight tap when he leaned it against the wall.
The room was still dark. Griffin tugged the edge of the cloak, reminding me I wasn’t wearing it when I left. I pulled it over my head and gave it back to him. His hand brushed mine and squeezed. There was no time to ask him why he did it, or what it meant. No time to understand why it made my heartbeat quicken. I wasn’t sure I liked him any more than I did when the day started, especially if he was planning to try to kill Rendicryss.
I scooted around him and slid out the hole beneath the bed.
Someone knocked.
Petal’s feet emerged from behind the screen. I could see her bare heels. Her back to me, I exited on the far side and threw the covers back as if the knock had woken us both.
“Who is it, Petal?”
Holding a tray, she glanced over her shoulder, first at the chair where I had fallen asleep earlier, then at the bed. The door cracked, and I could see Moldark’s toothless scowl leering in.
“Good morning, sunshine.”
Xavier shuffled around him and slammed the door shut. His eyes sunken and bruised, he took one look at Petal and opened the door again.
“Get out!” he yelled at her. “Now, before I box your ears!”
Petal set the tray on the table by the fireplace and ran out the door.
Once alone, he paced. “Maggie, we’re in trouble. I’ve been trying all night. All night! And nothing . . .” He held his bony long-fingered hands up, showing them empty. “There is no magic. The king is angry. I saw it in his eyes.” He was near tears.
“I don’t understand. What happened?” I sat down in the chair before my legs gave out.
“After dinner, the king bade me to perform, and I did. Everything the same. Gems. Bones. Staff. I called to the moonlight, and it wouldn’t bless me! I tried to heal our squirrel, but he died on the table between the roasted pheasant and baked apples.”
“What did I say about hurting the animals, Xavier?”
“It would’ve been a real crowd-pleaser, lass, if I had been able to save the little bugger! That evil northern boy Cornwall, and Lady Esmera, they laughed—at me! I went back to my old tricks, which displeased King Umbert. He called me all manner of names and threw me out of the Great Hall!” He dropped his head into his hands. “Why? Why is this happening?” His neck craned, his eyes on the ceiling. “One day, I’m blessed by the gods, and the next they take it all away!”
He burst into tears that mixed with the thick layer of black kohl, turning his deep wrinkles into muddy rivers. “Prince Jori spoke on my behalf. Said that I was tired, and without my assistant. That I deserved another chance.” He sighed, regaining slight control. “And so tonight I perform in the king’s chambers. And you . . . you must be by my side. Understand?”
The king was cruel but nowhere near as stupid as Xavier. If I went with him, in what I expected would be a small private room, and helped him, King Umbert would know—he would deduce the magic was in me.
After all my snapping at Griffin, I couldn’t help thinking that perhaps he was right. Perhaps I should tell King Umbert the truth. Maybe the king would give me everything I asked for, including Rendicryss. . . .
I would’ve laughed at myself if Xavier wasn’t in the room. King Umbert never did anything for anyone without it benefiting him. He would try to use me and Rendicryss one way or another. Whatever the outcome of this performance, nothing good would come of it.
I poured Xavier a cup of water from the pitcher on the table near the fireplace and handed it to him. “I understand, Xavier. I understand everything.”
Ten
Griffin
Griffin delighted in his ability to use both hands to crawl out of the passage. He had no way of knowing what lay on the other side of the wall for Maggie, but her room was dark and silent. A good sign their secret outing would remain a secret—once he paid off Perig.