Zeke chuckled before looking down at me with a shadow of concern. “When did you turn seventeen? Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?”
I shrugged. “My birthday is in the spring. But no one asked, so I’ve been keeping it quiet.”
“Even from me?” He sounded hurt. “I could have at least…”
“What?” I asked. “Made me a cake? For the moment, everyone seems to have forgotten all about me turning seventeen, and that’s for the best. You know what will happen if Gia catches wind I’ve already had my birthday. She’ll start badgering me to get activated, or at the very least tested. And that would be an absolute disaster.”
Zeke sighed. “You’re right, of course. I just hate thinking of you all alone with no celebration or even acknowledgment on your seventeenth birthday.” He took my hands. “You deserve better, Cadie.”
“Thanks,” I said lightly, pulling my hands gently free. After the last half hour, I knew better than to let myself get caught up in the moment a second time. “But you’d better get back to Master Augusta. She seems to be getting wise to your strategies.”
He seemed reluctant to go until I assured him I intended to spend the rest of the afternoon resting. It was true, too. Now that I had been ashore for a while, the exhaustion was catching up with me, and I ended up napping just as I’d promised.
The evening meal was eaten outside on long makeshift tables made of wooden planks. A breeze off the river kept the temperature from being too unpleasant, and the overall mood was lighter than might have been expected after the events on the river.
While the king and queen sat at a separate table with Masters Augusta and Drake, Evermund, Hayes, and the heads of each of the three delegations, the other nomads mingled freely with the Tartorans. I heard a number of conversations about the differences and similarities between the current trip and the usual nomad lifestyle, and for the first time, the real value of the tour hit home. It had been an inspired idea of the king’s, providing a far less formal environment than the court.
“Well?” Zeke asked as we all walked back toward our tents after the meal. “Is the traveling life as bad as you thought?”
“Quite the opposite.” I grinned. “As long as an entire team of servants come with me, that is.”
His expression turned rueful. “You have me there. Sleep well, Cadence.”
I hesitated, slow to meet his eyes. “Sleep well, Zeke.”
Gia raised an eyebrow at me as we hurried into our tent, but I ignored her. I wasn’t ready to talk about the warmth in his eyes, even if it kept me company in my dreams all night.
Chapter 14
Airlie
On my way back to Quirin’s house, I had to duck between buildings at the sound of heavy footsteps. When the guard who I had left tied beneath my bed strode into view, I stepped deeper into the shadows.
He was heading toward the General’s house, fury on his face, and I had no desire for a run in with him before he reached his destination. I could only hope the General had meant it when he assured me I would be safe from retaliation.
I waited until he was out of sight before hurrying on my way. Letting myself back into the house, I didn’t bother to attempt to stay quiet as I cleaned up the chaos in my bedchamber. But Quirin still didn’t emerge. I clearly needn’t have bothered creeping around earlier in the night.
Eating alone at the table the next morning, I found myself staring at his closed door. Quirin was one of my captors, certainly, but after my conversation with the General, nothing was black or white anymore.
I had lain in bed for a long time, pondering his words and reliving parts of my childhood, and I had managed to retrieve memories of at least three visits from Quirin and Dara. As a child, bringing Renley to play with Cadence and me had seemed like enough of a reason for their visits. But with the greater understanding of increased age, I could see it had been more than that. Especially since my parents had always fought after they left—hushed voices behind the closed door of their bedroom.
Unlike our father, our mother must have been swayed by Quirin and Dara’s arguments. A fresh wave of grief for her loss swept over me. If she had lived, would she have eventually convinced him?
Our father had kept Cadence and me isolated, but the other adults in our lives had all fought for us. Quirin had barely known either of us, and yet he had traveled a long way on more than one occasion to advocate for our inclusion in a bigger community. And though I wasn’t foolish enough to think there was nothing in it for him, it still counted for something.
Crossing over to the door, I knocked firmly. When I didn’t get a response, I knocked again. Quirin called something that wasn’t loud enough to be heard clearly, although it might have been a command to leave him alone. I knocked again.
Finally he opened the door with a weary sigh.
I gulped at the sight of his haggard face and bloodshot eyes. He couldn’t continue like this.
“Will you join me for breakfast?” I asked.
When he looked like he was going to say no, I took his arm and steered him toward the table before he could reply. After a moment’s resistance, he complied, dropping into the seat with a weary sigh. And when I put a bowl of porridge in front of him, he began to eat.
I sat across from him, and we ate in silence for a while as I gathered courage for the question I wanted to ask.
“I snuck into the General’s study last night,” I said eventually.
Quirin looked up sharply, some of the fire from the graveyard back in his eyes. “Did you stab him?”
I chuckled uneasily. “Unfortunately I didn’t have a blade handy.”
“A pity.” Quirin turned back to his porridge.
I cleared my throat. “He made a surprisingly convincing argument that we should all be working together.”
Quirin’s lips twisted up, but his expression couldn’t be called a smile. “Even as a young lad, he always knew when honey would best serve his goals. Your father was right about him, and I should have listened.”
“My father?” I straightened. The conversation was already going in unexpected directions. “What did my father have to do with the General?”
“Nothing much.” Quirin stirred his porridge, still not looking at me. “Which was precisely his aim. But he did visit us once.”
I gaped at him. “Father came here? When?”
“Just before he met your mother. He came here on his way to Tarona which is where he met her. Dara and I had invited him more than once. We were young and full of hope for the future, and we thought if he could only see the community here, he would be convinced to join us.”
“But he wasn’t.”
Quirin sighed. “We thought he was stubborn and foolish, but he had clearer vision than the rest of us.”
I frowned. “What does that mean?”
“Your father said it was obvious where things were headed here. The General was just a youth back then, but your father believed he would end up in charge. And he wasn’t interested in being used by anyone—or in his children being used either.”
I bit down on my tongue to prevent myself blurting out something sour. Our father might have protected us from being used by others, but who had protected us from being used by him in his single-minded quest to raise our family above everyone else?