Page 41 of Secrets of Graves and Gold

Before I can wallow in the loss, one of the soldiers ducks into the fort. The other remains, eyeing me warily. I keep my careful distance from the building, both so I don't appear a threat and so they can't pose much of one to me.

The last glow of sunlight fades from the sky. I shrug my cloak closer against the bite in the wind—and the gate swings open.

Major Pawlem looks much the way I remembered him: keen eyes wide set in his tan face, sandy hair pulled back in a short ponytail at the nape of his neck, average height made more impressive by the assurance with which he carries himself.

He strides a few paces from the doorway and stops there with an expression of disbelief I catch in the moment before my vision hazes again. "Gods above. What in the realms are you doing here?"

I note with relief that he hasn't brought any additional soldiers with him, at least not right out of the fort. Knowing Pawlem, he has at least a few waiting on his call just beyond the gate. His cleverness didn't only extend to card games like three-snap.

He's also been circumspect enough not to name me in front of his charges. Which means he isn't yet sure whether he should report my presence here or not.

I smile grimly. "I'm trying to avert a nation-wide disaster. And I was hoping we spent enough time together that you know I would be on the side of averting it rather than causing it."

He lets out a huff of a sigh and motions to the soldiers at the gate. They hang back while he ambles toward me, but their gazes stay glued to me, watching for any threatening movements.

Pawlem wears a sword of his own, his hand resting casually on his belt within easy reach of it. He comes to a stop about halfway between the fort and my position near the trees.

He doesn't want to open himself up to an easy ambush either. That's perfectly fair.

I walk to meet him, watching for any trickery on his end. No one else stirs around the fort. A raucous laugh filters faintly through one of the lantern-lit windows.

The soldiers are having a little ale with their dinner, from the sound of it.

I draw up a couple of paces from my former colleague: close enough that we can speak without his underlings overhearing, far enough that he'd have to lunge to stab me.

I pitch my voice low. "I'm sorry to come to you like this. You're probably aware that my situation has become rather... fraught. I won't take much of your time. I've been cut off from my usual sources of information—I wanted to confirm that the royal family is still safe and find out whether there've been any additional attacks since the assault on the palace."

Pawlem lets out a rough chuckle under his breath. "You have missed a lot. Is it really true, Stavros? You've given your loyalty to one of theriven?"

I manage to work a wry note into my next words. "Strange as it might seem, it turns out there's more to them than their powers, just as there is with every other human being. And this one happens to be the key to fulfilling my loyalties to the Crown, as hard as the king finds that to believe at the moment."

"I'll say. By rights, I should arrest you. He's calling you a traitor."

I grimace. "He didn't give me much of a chance to explain myself. But I swear to you, Pawlem, on the souls of all the men and women we saw fall in battle, I'm serving him as well as I know how, whether he can understand my methods or not."

The major takes a few moments of silence. Even without twitching my head to clear my vision, I can feel him studying me.

He wasn’t one of the officers I worked most closely with, but he rode out under my command enough times for me to have felt this visit worth the gamble. There was a time when the man in front of me trusted my word implicitly.

He once helped lead our squadrons on a rambling hike through icy wind and drifts of snow because I said it was the best route to come at our opponents’ flank. On another occasion, he had his cavalry charge straight through what looked like a wall of fire after I assured him it was only illusion.

But now he isn’t sure he can even talk to me.

Pawlem swipes his hand across his mouth. His gaze darts from me across the nearby trees. “Is she here?”

I don’t need to ask who he means. “No. I came alone. For her safety.”

He sighs and shakes his head. “I never thought I’d see this day. There are patrols sweeping the countryside looking to hunt you down like a common criminal, you know. Have you gone as mad as the riven do, throwing everything you’ve worked for away for some woman?”

It takes all my self-control not to bristle. “If you knew her, you’d realize she’s more than that. And as I said, my decision has to do with what’s best for our entire country. I can understand that’s hard to accept. You don’t have to believe it. But what would it hurt to answer the questions I asked?”

Pawlem appears to deliberate silently with himself. Then he makes a flippant gesture as if to say, Why not? “I’m not going to tell you where the king and his family have settled for the time being, but the last I heard, they were all still alive and uninjured.”

Thank the gods.

I take a deep breath. “And the miscreants who attacked them? Has anyone significant been apprehended? Have they made any further moves?”

Pawlem’s jaw works as if he isn’t sure he’s comfortable telling me. Or maybe he’s simply uncomfortable with the fact of what he has to say.

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