Page 80 of Of Bargains & Betrayal

Large crowds. Entire armies.

A small camp would be nothing to even a modestly skilled plane stepper then. And while it would easily explain why I still had no memory of crossing the Wastes, it didn’t paint any clearer picture as to who could be responsible.

The accusations Maksym wielded at my brother were hard to believe when Odessa did not employ plane steppers. At least, not as of just weeks before my father’s death, when he’d lamented to me about how much he’d gladly pay to employ even one. But they did not come to Odessa, or make themselves known if they did. I was hard-pressed to believe my brother wouldn’t have made sure every denizen of our kingdom knew he’d achieved something our father never managed to do.

That left the dark fae of Grimmoria, or even the Wastes, but I just couldn’t fathom the motive behind it. Sure, Calder could be viewed as a weak point, but they knew they had the upper hand in every way against Odessa already; such a petty act of instigation would be utterly pointless.

Goddess, I needed to move on, and quickly, before my mind ruined what had turned out to be a perfectly good day.

Clasping my hands behind my back, I tipped my head. “And how skilled of a stepper are you, mage?”

The insufferable man shrugged again, but I caught the way the corner of his mouth twitched, made even more evident by the scar that ran from the side of his chin to the crease of his nose.

Despite the more poised appearance of Jasper whenever we’d been in Maksym’s presence, he’d slipped into a remarkably casual ease with me. I doubted that was by any influence of the king, but Eilir could have had something to do with it.

Regardless, I appreciated the easy candor that had encompassed our entire day thus far, even if I was coming close to dwelling on things that would upset it entirely.

And perhaps the most ridiculous part of the day? The slight disappointment I’d developed that Maksym had tied the stay of my execution to a betrothal to himself and not his mage. Sure, I did not know what he looked like, or if he were horrifically maimed, but at least Jasper had proven himself capable of handling time alone with me without turning it into an act of hostility.

But that thought only framed up just how ludicrous my circumstance was. I never thought I would feel disappointed at being forced to marry one man instead of another—especially after apparently being promised to one of their very dead fathers.

“Well, regardless of what you will not tell me about your plane stepping prowess,” I said, “all I’ve gathered is that you’ve made me do a hell of a lot of walking today for no reason at all.”

He huffed a quiet, amused noise. “All in the name of assessment, I assure you. And look—” He gestured ahead with a gloved hand. “We’re back already.”

That statement was a bit of a stretch.

Down the pathway, past two more slopes and at least a few hundred paces, was the gatehouse we’d passed through that morning.

I was positive we still had a lengthy walk back to the garrison buildings once we’d passed through that, too.

“Well, I’m so relieved you can report back to your king I’m capable of walking.” I added a hearty sigh at the end.

Drills had been one thing; they held my interest. But the leisurely pace of our stroll left a little to be desired.

“He’ll add that to my list of highly desirable attributes, I’m sure, just beneath my incredible sense of humor and above the pert shape of my ass.”

The mage coughed and patted his chest with a gloved hand. “Yes,” he rasped with a chuckle. “I’m sure he will. Now, do you remember the main barracks hall I pointed out? On the edge of the garrison?”

I turned my attention back to the gatehouse and border wall down the path, ever growing as we neared. Squinting, I slowly said, “I think so…”

“Good. That’s where our training supplies are. I’ll meet you there.”

In the second it took for my head to whip to the side, all that was left of the mage was a dark swirl clinging to the air.

My jaw slackened.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered.

As the day warmed and the sun broke through the cloud cover, some of the morning’s humidity had dissipated, but not as much as I’d hoped, so I found a patch of shade beneath the overhang of the barracks hall roof to settle under.

I was honest when I told the mage I didn’t need to take a break after our first round of drills, but, good goddess, more water might’ve been a good idea. The skin tied to my hip was empty, and while the rest of that walk—alone—hadn’t been exactly taxing, I was sure I’d sweated my weight at least once over.

Unfortunately, a cursory sweep around the area yielded no wells or pumps, so I waited. And waited. And waited.

The stone windowsill had enough of a ledge that I could sit on it, and the side of the building I’d picked clearly wasn’t a high-traffic area, so it could’ve been worse.

A few dark fae, both Umbrite men and women, and some I couldn’t place, strolled by, all in matching uniforms, casting me looks that sat somewhere between displeased and confused.