Page 47 of Reap & Sow

“What of those?” Kit said, gesturing at the great stone bowls atop each side of the gatehouse. They were big as bathtubs and dotted all along the bailey wall, crackling with merry fire. Each one supported a large cage, protecting the flames within from the elements.

Eda’s cheeks warmed. I can’t believe I forgot about them!

The warning fires were always lit. Fed with ash wood and powdered silver, they were blessed each morning by the Cloister. The fires were supposed to turn blue if demonic power breached the perimeter. Eda had never seen it happen. Demons were not exactly wont to go roaming into an Order stronghold.

Equine disguise or no, Kit couldn’t just trot into the courtyard without alerting everyone to his true nature. “Right. Yes. Those might…pose a problem.”

A flash of steel caught the sunlight.

It was a woman, resplendent in half-plate armor and scarlet doublet that reached her knees. Unlike the Blades who’d attacked Eda and Kit, she wore a breastplate inlaid with gold and matching scale-like epaulets upon her shoulders. She was pulling on bracers, strapping them about her forearms as she walked. A flustered young man struggled to keep up as he spoke to her.

Brown-skinned, with hair cropped close to her head and a razor-sharp jaw, she was at once striking and intimidating. Eda would have recognized her from her towering height and broad shoulders alone—she stood nearly six feet tall.

Eda pressed her nose to the gates in awe. “That’s Martine Tenelle, Commander of the Blades. Only Grand Marshal Tiernan ranks above her.”

Kit made a thoughtful sound. “She reminds me of our females back home. It’s still strange to me that you keep so many males in leadership here.”

“Why? Are your women stronger?”

“In some ways. Historically, they’re just better at holding on to power. Males granted authority tend to get excited and start chopping off heads or instigating civil wars, which makes for a short and bloody reign. My mother used to call it cock-blindness.” His smile faded. “Of the six archdukes currently in power, my brother is the only male.”

Eda studied his regal profile. The die-straight nose, the fine brow, and soft, artful cheekbones. She hadn’t considered until now just how incredible it was that he came from another world. Eda was unexpectedly ravenous to hear more: What Infernus looked like, what food they ate, what music they played. Did they have music? Art? Most burning of all: What was it like between you and Mr. Night? How did you end up here?

She made herself look away. Tenelle had stopped by the stables. She stood close to the young man at her side, as though trading secrets. “What d’you think they’re saying?”

“She’s telling the boy that the Faithhood are too meddlesome in the Order’s affairs. That he must continue to stay close to the bishop.”

Eda’s head snapped sideways. “You can hear them?”

“Just about.”

Excitement stirred. “They must be talking about Fane. What are they saying now?”

“The boy is part of the bishop’s retinue.” Kit’s eyes narrowed. He leaned close, said softly in her ear, “He’s telling her he will go wherever the bishop does. That he will not fail.”

Eda shivered.

The lad bowed deeply to Tenelle. He held his pointer finger flat to his brow; Tenelle returned the gesture before he made his way back across the courtyard.

Eda’s thoughts shifted to and fro. “Tenelle doesn’t trust Fane. Something he’s done must have made her suspicious.”

If nothing else, this meant the man was not infallible. The Faithhood and the Blades were supposed to work together as one harmonious unit, but they were not beholden to the other. If Tenelle had someone reporting back to her on Florian’s comings and goings, then a seed of distrust had already been planted. And if she ever found out what he was really up to…

She’d have the authority to condemn him.

Hope sparked like tinder in Eda’s chest, but she could not become distracted. The thought of Florian being exposed was a heady one, but Eda needed to get her brothers free—no more, no less. Clearing her name was not something she had room to consider.

“Unless locking away the bishop gets your brothers out, that’s of little use to us,” Kit said.

She wasn’t sure if she appreciated or disliked the way his train of thought so often followed her own. Ben and Lawrie were still guilty of owning a Gateway and killing a Blade, no matter what happened to Florian. His guilt would not entirely alleviate their own. But…

“If the bishop was exposed for making a Pact, everything he claimed would be under scrutiny. The accusations against me would have to be thrown out. Maybe Ben and Lawrie too.”

“Optimistic of you.”

“Might you try not being so—”

Someone screamed.