Page 158 of A Sanctuary from Shadow
“And Howlite and friends couldn’t have stocked their closetsafterhe regained consciousness?”
“Not unless a royal armory was built in the Dell overnight.”
My stomach curdled. “So, the hundreds of tethers they’re using right now—”
“They’d already had them stocked and at the ready.”
“They planned this,” I repeated, almost numb.
“Indeed.” Pete never felt the need for a sugar coating. “A slaving entourage carrying more than 20 tethers between them would be considered excessive. This stockpile—the royal armorers would deem outrageous. And needless, like. Unless this was a sanctioned mission for which these tethers were specifically allocated.”
“And by sanctioned—” The bile rose again.
“I mean the king,” he rumbled like righteous thunder. “He’s allowing this horseshite to happen in his name.”
I buckled to the ground and vomited at Pete’s boots. It was all too much. The sorrowful howling of the Humwater Dellians, the barely restrained hatred surging through Pete’s every fiber, the fact that I’d made out with a feyr who’d been planning to enslave every pretty beyn within a ten-mile radius for Goddess only knew what purposes, and the fear that someone in my father’s inner circle, who he’d entrusted with his sovereign powers, was abusing them in atrocious and irreparable ways.
The powers that I was destined to inherit. Should I choose them.
With things as they were, how could I not?
Fucking A!
Sionna pranced around me, whimpering at my condition.
Still stiff as hell in his justified wrath, Pete took a knee beside me, laid a hand on my back as I barfed. He soothed Sionna with his other.
“Drink.” He pressed his waterskin to my sour mouth when I’d finished.
Tears streamed down my cheeks, my fingers trembling, as I guzzled the dregs of Pete’s water. When I’d washed away the noxious taste in my mouth, I returned Pete, the stone-faced cage fighter, his water skin. “Th-thank you,” I croaked, wiping my chin.
“You’re welcome.” Pete grabbed my elbow and hefted me to my feet. “Are you through retching?”
I glared at his sudden deviation from compassion. “I think so.”
“Good. Because I must dosomething, and I need your help.”
Looking skyward, I said a silent prayer to all that was holy. For everyone’s sakes. Then, rapping Pete on the chest, I trudged to the wagon for my book bag. “Give me a minute to change. I’m not getting in a fight wearing a fucking cancan dress.”
IfoundRyeonthe edge of the slaving lines, searching for Maggie. I’d done a cursory sweep for her too and hadn’t found her. For all I knew, she wasn’t even there. As personal as Howlite was making his beef with the publicans for simply encountering me, it didn’t seem above him to lock Maggie up somewhere until the herds were ready for shepherding.
Stealthy as I could manage—given that I was close to shitting my pants—I grabbed Rye, clamped his mouth, and dragged him, wings flapping, into an evergreen alcove where shadows dappled us like leopards.
Rye’s eyes blazed in recognition when I spun him to face me. His breath sawed as he opened his mouth to snarl at me for what I’d done, but I held a finger to my lips. Then I unsheathed a very large dagger from under my hair and held it out for his inspection.
The publican blanched. Pete was right—Rye recognized hisscian. Maggie must not have told him Pete followed Howlite and me upstairs after the tournament because he gasped. “Where did you—?”
“Shh.” I trembled, eyes darting toward the town square for slavers. If any of them saw me, I was toast. “He gave it to me for protection. We’re going to try to help.”
His shock fading, Rye scowled. “DidPetehave a hand in what happened to Howlite’s coffer?”
I grabbed Rye’s sweaty arm to quiet him. “What happened last night was an accident,” I whispered, which was true. For the most part. But Rye’s silent castigation pricked my guilt—the bleeding wound that it was. “And that’snotwhy this is happening.”
This, Pete had assured me. And I really needed to believe him right then.
“How are just the two of you going to help?” Rye gestured toward the slaving lines and their new hawk-eyed masters.
I bit my lip, sheathing Pete’sscianbetween my shoulder blades. “Is there somewhere nearby that we can hide people?”
