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)
That’s for the future, though. For the present, I want to know what Aspeth’s plans are.
I want to know what’s going to happen between us.
I want to know what the king said.
I hate having to wait to even talk to my wife. That the guards outside the inn have made it very clear I’m not allowed in to see her until she leaves her father’s table. So I stand outside, in my full guild master regalia, and I wait, arms crossed.
I can be just as bullheaded as any noble. I’m making it clear to them that I’m not leaving without my wife. Bad enough that she’s been sent off with her father without anyone letting me know. I’ve already filled Rooster’s ears on what I think of that.
“They’re holders,” he’d explained as if that answered everything. “They don’t answer to me.”
I don’t care if he’s right. I’m still pissed about it.
So I wait. And when one of the guards sends a message inside, I half expect to be escorted from the premises despite all my trappings. Instead, they open the door to the inn and let me through. My wife is on her feet, and she dutifully kisses the cheek of her father, an elder balding man with a thick gut and ridiculous pointy shoes that mean he cares more for fashion than for common sense. He gives me a dismissive look—which I ignore—and then heads out with a pretty woman on his arm. Aspeth remains a few steps behind, her gaze on me.
“Wife,” I say when she gets close enough, a wealth of meaning in my tone.
She doesn’t seem to notice my choice of words. Her hands smooth down her plain dress and she leans toward me, her voice low. “You should have joined us for dinner. Perhaps then he wouldn’t have lectured me as if I were a foolish child.”
I want to tell her that I tried to join them for dinner, but it’s just as well. People have been lecturing me for days now on taking advantage of a noblewoman. Of my shameful morals in daring to marry a holder’s daughter while being Taurian. I can miss out on hearing it (again) from her father. “I’m here now.”
Aspeth squints up at me, and then touches the bright red sash across my coat, studded with golden pins. “And you look very fine, too. Red suits you.”
“You approve, then?” I offer her my arm.
She takes it, gazing up at me as we exit the inn. “Why wouldn’t I approve? If anyone deserves it, it’s you. I’ve seen how much you do for the guild.”
Things are different now, though. She’s seen it through the eyes of a student, a hopeful who dreams of joining the guild. Someone who put everything on the line to join and has now been banned from it entirely. I know Rooster’s decision and I hate it, but the king supported it. I know Aspeth must be crushed inside. She had her reasons for joining—to save her father’s hold—but I also know that she’s dreamed of and studied the ruins of Old Prell so extensively that it’s been more than just a recent plan. No one loves Old Prell half as much as Aspeth Honori, and now it’s been taken from her.
And it makes me feel helpless, because I don’t know what to do about it. If you need brute force, I’m the one. If you need an expert on the maze of tunnels beneath Vastwarren, I’m the bull you need. Taurians have a keen sense of smell and an innate ability to always know where we are going. That’s why we’re perfect in the Everbelow. I can handle that, just like I can handle teaching students how to become part of the guild.
What I can’t handle is the thought of my wife’s crushing disappointment. I don’t know what to say that will make it better.
So I’m silent as we walk through the sloping, cobbled streets of Vastwarren. It’s dark, with flickering lamps lighting the streets. Someone’s horse snorts nearby, and I neatly move Aspeth out of the way of a particularly muddy patch on the street, but other than that, we walk in silence.
“My father has a new heir,” Aspeth finally says, her fingers playing on my sleeve as we walk.
“Ah.” Dark God’s five hells, what am I supposed to say to that? Not only has she lost the guild, but she’s lost her inheritance? This is just getting worse with every step.
“I’m sorry it’s not us. I hate to disappoint you.”
She’s thinking about me? I turn to look down at her, surprised. “I haven’t given it a single thought, Aspeth.”
Now she’s the one who looks surprised. “No? Most people marry a holder’s daughter because they want power. They dream of what they can do with the hold in their control.”