Page 123 of The Shadows Between Us
She can’t get any words out. She’s still so shaken from the way I dragged her away from the party and from the sight of the dying man she must now know is partly her fault.
I want to shake her, to get her to listen. But I know that won’t help. And I know it’s not really her fault. She’s been used by people older and far more powerful than she. I just want her to say Vasco is behind it and have the whole thing done with.
“Alessandra?” It’s Leandros.
“Over here.” I bother to actually look around to where “here” is. We’re in some sort of gap between the stables and a small runoff from the mountain.
When Leandros comes into view, I ask, “How is he?”
“He’s all right, but he’s asking for you.”
I look down at the girl. “I can’t leave her.”
“I’ll stay with her. She’ll be here when you get back.”
I hand her over, and the little girl allows herself to be held by a new stranger, though somewhat reluctantly. “It’s all right,” I tell her. “He’s a good man.”
At those words, she lets her face fall into his chest and resumes her sobbing.
And then I take off again. This time, I actually feel the pinpricks of pain that go through my feet with every step. The scenery is a blur around me as I hurry back in through the kitchens and into the ballroom, a nice streak of brown coating the bottom of my once-yellow dress.
Kallias is standing, his back to a wall, no shadows in sight, but I hope that is a good thing, not a bad one. His council is trying to order about the guards, escorting party guests away.
“Are you all right?” I ask.
Seeing me, Kallias grabs me and pulls me to him. “I’m fine. Look at you! Are you hurt? Where did you go?”
In as few words as possible, I explain about the little girl and how I rushed her from the room. I tell him Leandros is with her now.
“Thank goodness for Leandros and this lot.” He points to Petros and Rhouben, who stand on either side of him. “My councilors kept trying to approach me. Vasco has already been carried off to rot in the cells until I’m ready to talk to him. My father’s best friend…”
I’d forgotten what this means for him. It’s not only about catching the person who is trying to kill him. It’s about obtaining justice for his dead parents.
“There was more than one,” I say. “I couldn’t get much out of the serving girl, but she clearly said there was more than one person involved in this plot. I’ll go back and question her as soon as we’re done here.”
“Someone else can do it,” Kallias says as his arms tighten around me.
“It can’t be you. You must stay away from her. We need to figure out what to do with her. But later. For now, we need to know what she knows, and there are too few people to trust. Where are your shadows?” I tack on at the end.
“Once I healed from the poison, I wanted to hit things. Vasco’s face, in particular.”
I resist an eye roll. “You should go upstairs. Rest from this ordeal. I’ll join you as soon as I have more information.”
Kallias sighs. Then he looks over at the men flanking him. “Go with her. Help her with anything she needs.”
Somehow, my chest warms at the absence of him telling them to protect me. He knows I can protect myself. He doesn’t even need to mention it.
I sit upon the dais and hastily brush off my feet before shrugging onmy boots once again. Now that haste isn’t required, I can afford to wear them. Then the three of us return to where I left Leandros and the girl, who appears to have finally calmed down.
I kneel down to her height. “What’s your name?”
“Drea,” she says after a sniffle. “Please, I didn’t know he was the king until today. I never saw him before.”
“It’s okay, Drea,” Leandros says, stroking a hand through her hair, “tell them what you just told me.”
“There were two of them,” she says. “That man, the one who announced the toast to the king and queen. And the lady.”
“What lady?” I ask.There’s a woman involved?
