Page 81 of The Great and Terrible

We shared a smile before she, too, abandoned me for her room.

Alone, I sighed and padded to the parlor, thinking to sketch for a bit. Halfway there, the sounds of splashing water reached my ears, and I groaned. Iris.

Sure enough, the water maiden rose from the shallow depths, standing in full glory. With a seashell top and a pearlescent skirt, she eased onto the marble ledge and stretched out, getting comfortable. “Miss me?”

“Not even a little.” Deep breath in. “Here to offer a new favor?”

“It’s collection day.” The pink-skinned beauty bared her teeth in a parody of a smile. “Why else do you think the leader of the rebels attacked Lux today?”

“You wasted a boon.” I ground my molars. “They’ll never get past the guards.”

“I don’t need them to. I only needed the Guardian distracted so I could breech his barriers and have this moment with you.” Iris glided her fingertips over a ruby choker. “I’ve decided what you’ll do for me. And you will ask me no questions about it. You will simply shove this into theGuardian’s mouth the next time you are with him.” The water maiden stretched out her arm and revealed a small white disc resting in her palm. “Use any means necessary, and do not warn him of your plan beforehand.”

Though empty, my stomach curdled. “I’m not a murderer. I won’t let you make me one.”

“He’s evil incarnate. You won’t be a murderer but a hero.” She shook the disc, a silent command to take it.

I longed to ask athousandquestions, I pinched the offering between my fingers. What was it? What would it do? Nothing good, that much I could guess. Which meant I couldn’t do as she requested. Not if I hoped to get home. Not if Leona’s sister had any chance of being found and freed.

“Ask me for something else,” I beseeched. “Anything?—”

Iris was already gone.

Agonizing over what to do, I retrieved the hat square, folded the disc inside it, then crammed the material into my pants pocket and paced the room. No way I could do as the water maiden demanded. But if I didn’t? What happened then? Ian claimed there was a way around it.

But I couldn’t tell him. I was bound by Iris’s demands. And if Ididkill him? Was Ian a bad man or a good one?

My gaze snagged on the table. On a bowl filled with fruit akin to apples and oranges. The Guardian and Jasher were fruit born of the same root. An orange tree couldn’t grow apples and vice versa. If Jasher was good, the Guardian must be too. Maybe. Probably.

When I tired of pacing, I showered and dressed in clean undergarments and a long, white nightgown. The only sleepwear available in the dresser drawers. Thankfully, there were undergarments for tomorrow too, as well as a shirt and leather pants folded and ready for tomorrow. I relocated the hat square and disc to a pocket in the leathers. Just in case.

Still my thoughts refused to settle. Failing to keep my word to Iris would make me a liar. Liars developed acrimen and summoned storms. Did I really want to fight more monstra? But wouldn’t killing the Guardian summon the monstra as well? And if not monstra, the entire royal army.

How might Jasher feel if I harmed the man who must be as significant to him as Daniel Shaker was to me?

Ian hated the monstra. How could I slay an ally against the plague upon Hakeldama?

Frustrated, I stroked my compass…which I needed to return to Jasher, who might not wish to speak with me.

I turned off the lights and climbed into the soft, soft bed, where I thrashed about, unable to sleep without the executioner’s strength and heat. Even when I finally found a position comfortable enough to settle, I did nothing but swing from one decision to another. Do feed Ian the disc. Don’t. Do. Don’t.

The constant upheaval exhausted me, and my eyelids grew heavy. Heavier. They began to slide shut until I caught sight of a moving shadow outside the canopy of falling stars. Instant awareness. Did I detect a soft pad of footsteps? My heart raced with anticipation. Had Jasher come for a visit? I didn’t move, too afraid of scaring him away.

The shadow slinked closer. Closer. Hmm. I didn’t detect his scent.

My ring heated to sizzling in a blink. Danger! Fear sparked, my mind castigating me for my lack of foresight. In my distraction, I hadn’t kept a weapon nearby.

The intruder stopped at my bedside, and I heaved with relief. Patch. Except, she lifted a dagger—and swung. I screamed as I rolled to the other side of the mattress and scrambled off. My feet tangled in the hem of my nightgown, and I tripped forward.

By the time I righted, she was ready. We faced off. It was then I noticed the chair pushed beneath the handle on the door, stopping any guards from entering.

“Why?” I demanded, darting my gaze. Weapon, weapon, where was a weapon? The table! Knives.

Torment glazed her features. “If you go home, I’ll have to return to West’s stable. I promised I’d kill you before you left. It was the only way to gain my freedom. I-I can’t go back. I’m so sorry.” Though crying, she lunged, taking another swing at me. “I’m bound by my word.”

Utilizing a move taught by Jasher, I blocked and launched a strike of my own. Contact! Knuckles met cheekbone. The girl’s head lurched to the side, blood and spittle spraying from her mouth. She fell but didn’t drop the knife.

I wasted no time, sprinting to the kitchen table. Argh! The knives and forks were gone, only spoons remaining. Not knowing what else to do, I slammed a champagne bottle against the table edge. Glass shards rained to the floor.

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