Page 26 of The Uncrowned Prince

His eyes met Karreya’s and a wry twist creased his lips. “I should take them home now,” he said, glancing at Emmerick as the healer wiped down the table with a clean rag. “And I’ll be back tomorrow with payment.”

But the larger man shook his head. “You know I will accept nothing from you. Not now, not ever.”

“If you continue like this,” Niell returned gently, “I will have to stop bringing my friends. You cannot always work for free.”

“My debt to you is beyond repayment,” Emmerick insisted. “I do this gladly.”

Niell’s sigh seemed to come from somewhere deep and uncomfortable. “And yet, you still have to eat,” he muttered. “And you know I do not care for all this talk of debt. I will never be able to wash away my own sins, so why should I accept gratitude from another for my efforts?”

“I think,” Emmerick answered, “that your sins are between you and your own conscience. And if you acknowledge no debt but your own, you create an imbalance that will eventually destroy you.”

Niell’s lips quirked, but the expression was more sad than amused. “While I can accept the truth in what you say, I cannot absolve my own guilt any more than you can dine on gratitude alone.”

The larger man shrugged and picked up his basin. “Same argument, same time next week?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” Niell offered him a rueful grin, ruffled Petrin’s hair and stood up. “Shall we then, small ones?”

The boy scrubbed at his face with grimy sleeves before scooting to the edge of the table and lowering himself gingerly to the floor.

“It doesn’t hurt!” he exclaimed the moment his foot hit the floor. His smile was so wide and exuberant, Karreya found herself smiling too.

The boy turned to Emmerick and bowed deeply. “Thank you, Master Healer.”

“I am only glad that I was able to help,” the man replied in his deep but gentle voice. “Take care of your sister and give that leg a week or so to be back to normal before you go jumping off of rooftops or trying to fly.”

Pren giggled.

“I will,” her brother promised, before the two of them scampered out the door and vanished into the streets beyond.

After a final nod to Emmerick, Niell glanced at Karreya and jerked his head towards the door. She followed him silently into the street, checking their surroundings for threats and glancing up to ensure that no one lurked on the roof.

When she was satisfied, she trailed after him, walking a few steps behind and to the left.

“What, no questions or pithy observations?” Niell threw back over his shoulder. “You know, this would look a lot less odd if you simply walked beside me.”

“It would also obstruct one of my hands.” The man clearly had only the most rudimentary concept of how to avoid danger.

“If someone attacks us in the street, I promise to get out of range as quickly as possible. But until then, this formation makes talking rather awkward, don’t you think?”

“Just imagine how much more awkward it would be if you were dead,” she responded coolly, which produced a gurgle of laughter from her companion.

“Yes, but at least I would have enjoyed my last few moments a great deal more.” His eyes twinkled at her as she grudgingly fell in step beside him.

Karreya was feeling slightly perplexed by the man’s infinitely changeable moods. One moment he was a creature of guilt and melancholy, and the next he was smiling and flirting as though nothing unusual had occurred.

But to ask him about it would reveal her curiosity, and that would give him more power than she was comfortable with.

“Where are we going?” she inquired. “And how do you intend to aid me in my search?”

“For today, I have errands I must see to.” He sounded almost apologetic. “Pigeons to send, couriers to meet, that sort of thing. We will go to the market again tomorrow and look for Senaya, but I don’t want her spooked, so I plan to keep the questions about her to a minimum until we’re able to speak to her directly.”

Such methods felt entirely too slow. Karreya wanted to be doingsomething, but she was out of her depth here, and had no choice but to trust his knowledge of these people. And Mistress Bethia had always insisted that an assassin’s most valuable skill was patience—typically while pointing out Karreya’s shortcomings in that area.

“If you’re willing to endure the boredom of accompanying me this afternoon,” Niell added, “I’d be delighted to buy you a proper dinner when my errands are complete.”

Wait, had he actually…

“Was that a… what do you call it? A proposition?” she demanded, staring suspiciously at the side of his head.

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