Page 81 of The Flame and the Forsaken

“Oh, Mariel.” Yesenia turned from where she stood at the hearth, stirring something that smelled earthy and delicious. She smiled. “Seems we had the same idea this morning.”

“Avoiding the awkward dance of trying to make unwanted small talk with the nervous kitchen staff?” Mariel asked before she could think better of it.

Yesenia laughed. “We were always cozy with our workers here, but it certainly isnae like that in the Easterlands.”

“Never been.”

“It’s exactly the nightmare you’re imagining.”

Mariel laughed despite herself, despite imagining Yesenia with her legs clamped around Erran’s head, writhing under his skilled tongue. “I didn’t mean to intrude?—”

“You’re not.” Yesenia unhooked two mugs and ladled tea into one. “Here.”

Mariel tentatively stepped forward. “Gratitude.”

“Donnae thank me just yet. The good tea is on the other side.” She winked.

Mariel wanted to hate her. Oh, Guardians, how she wished she did. But there was a certain charm to the woman that made Mariel wish they’d met under different circumstances. They might have even been friends. “If I die, I’m holding you responsible.”

“That’s the spirit.” Yesenia filled her own mug and nodded toward a small table, where the workers probably took their own meals. “Join me?”

Mariel suddenly froze. Small talk was one thing. Whatever Yesenia was offering seemed entirely another. “Oh, nay. I need to...” She gestured behind her.

Yesenia nodded. “Another time.”

“Aye,” Mariel said and rushed out, her heart a sprinting, dysfunctional mess. Embarrassed, she dipped into the first set of doors she saw and found herself in the midst of a modest library.

It wasn’t like the indulgent cavern of learning Whitecliffe had. There were only a few shelves, half-full of books, and bins full of what looked like rolled maps. In the center was a desk far too large for the room, and she realized it wasn’t a library at all, but an office.

The doors opened behind her. She turned and saw Khallum.

“Mariel.” He latched the doors and smiled. “I’m glad ye came along this time.”

She realizedthis timewas a reference to the way she’d been excluded from Erran’s last visit to Warwicktown, the one that had launched the entire messy affair and his campaign to rehabilitate his image. She’d fallen ill from something she’d eaten at the Spires, which she’d seen as a mercy. Only later did she learn just how much humiliation she’d been spared. “Esmerelda is a beauty.”

“Aye.” Khallum stepped farther in and leaned against his desk. “I ken I’ll enjoy spoiling her.”

“My father was like that. Always spoiled me, when he could.”

“You two were close?”

Mariel nodded.

“Erran said you lost both your parents young.”

“Aye.”

“Condolences.”

“It was a long time ago. I’m sorry about your own father, Lord Warwick. I always heard he was a fair and just lord.”

Khallum nodded at the floor. He crossed his feet. “Aye, he was a good man. And call me Khallum. Your husband has seen me naked.”

Mariel laughed awkwardly. “You’re probably here to work, so I’ll just?—”

“I saw ye come in here and followed,” he said candidly. “Thought we could talk.”

What is it with all the cursed talking? “About?”

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