Total pages in book: 179
Estimated words: 169943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 850(@200wpm)___ 680(@250wpm)___ 566(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 850(@200wpm)___ 680(@250wpm)___ 566(@300wpm)
“So what if I did?” Her chin goes into the air. “You said I needed a chaperone, and you said you needed a wife. Our marriage suits both of our needs.”
“You’re a holder’s daughter! A virgin! I’m pretty sure they’ll hang me just for dirtying your sheets—”
Aspeth rolls her eyes. “They will not. I meant it when I said I have no personal attachment to my virginity.”
“You might not, but your father, the lord holder, might have other ideas. Tell me, do you think he’d approve of you marrying a Taurian?”
Some of her bravado disappears. “He wouldn’t approve of any of this,” she admits, adjusting the heavy cat in her arms. “Not the guild, not me leaving, none of it. But he’s why I left in the first place, so…” Aspeth shrugs. “He can just deal with it.”
Just deal with it. Words that a holder has never, ever lived by. I’m imagining an army descending upon Vastwarren, looking to liberate Aspeth from her drudgery. I’m imagining myself drawn and quartered in the guild square for daring to touch her. Gods. And she truly thinks this isn’t a problem. I tug on my nose ring. “Who here knows that you’re Lord Honori’s daughter?”
“Just Gwenna. When I told her I was leaving, she offered to come with me. Said I shouldn’t be alone.” Aspeth meets my gaze and her chin lifts again. “We tried to go by guild names, you know. Had them all picked out and everything. I was going to be Sparrow and she was going to be Wren. Nice, anonymous names. But you wouldn’t let us.”
“That’s because you haven’t earned them, which you would know if you knew anything about the guild.”
“Oh, I knew. I was just hoping if we showed up with our own names, we’d get to keep them, provided they weren’t already in use. I thought it would show initiative.”
“You mean you thought you could have the rules bent to accommodate you,” I correct. “Typical holder thinking.” I shake my head, disgusted. “Pack your things. I’m sending you both home. You’re dangerous to everyone here.”
It’ll mean dissolving the Five for this season. It’ll mean no funds coming into Magpie’s coffers once more. She’ll lose her teaching job and I will, too, but at least we’ll be alive. We’ll regroup. Figure out how to recover.
Aspeth jerks to her feet, spilling her cat onto the floor. More cat hair tufts float in the air, surrounding her like a cloud even as she shakes out her skirts. “You can’t send me back. You’ll get me killed. You’ll get my entire family killed.”
That makes me pause, as does the very real fear on her face. “What do you mean?”
She gestures at me. “You think I came here on some sort of…frivolous fancy. That I have no idea what I’m getting myself into.” Aspeth points at the floor, emphasizing her words. “But I came here because this was my only chance. My father might be a holder, true. But if you send me back, he’ll be a dead man, and I’ll be killed right alongside him.”
TWENTY-NINE
HAWK
3 Days Before the Conquest Moon
“What do you mean, you’ll be killed if you’re sent home? You’re the holder’s daughter, the holder’s heir.”
Aspeth grimaces, giving her head a little shake. “What do you know about my father? About Honori Hold?” When I gesture that she should continue, she does, clasping her hands in front of her in a refined pose that looks both natural and utterly rehearsed at the same time. “Honori Hold is one of the oldest holds in the land, one of the original five allotted by the king and the only one still intact. Over the centuries, kings have changed and more holds have come about, but Honori Hold is old and venerable, and we can trace our lineage back to the founding.” She pauses. “And because it is such a very ancient hold, we are broke.”
“Broke?” Of all the things I expected to hear, this isn’t it.
Aspeth nods. “Honori holders are known for their lineage but not their monetary savvy. We’ve prided ourselves on our bloodlines and so Honori heirs have married other holders, but the problem with marrying holders is that their wealth is tied up in artifacts. Consequently, when my father took the lord holder’s seat, he had a great deal of prestige, a great deal of artifacts, and no funds to repair the hold that was falling down around his ears.” She wets her lips with her tongue. “So he decided that the way out was gambling. And since he had no actual money, he sold off artifacts. I’m sure you can see where this is going.”
“Your father sold his family’s birthright?”
Her expression grows tight. “He gambled away the small artifacts at first. Lamps that glowed a certain shade. Mirrors that adjusted your reflection to become more flattering. A bowl that would have endless sugar cubes. Silly things that merchants would love to pay for so they could say they owned an artifact, but nothing that would harm the family’s standing. But gambling is like drinking—no one ever stops drinking with just one glass, yes?”