Page 112 of A Vow of Blood and Tears

I moved on to the next rune, double-checking my translation across the few sources I had.

When I was sure that I could reasonably add the word ‘circle’ to my notes—‘a circle of thorns’, the first line appeared to read, a clear reference to the thorns binding our hands, followed by ‘blood’ and ‘given’—I turned back to the first page of the lexicon and steadied my pen.

There was a soft thump in the back of the library, the muffled sound carrying in the silence. My shoulders tensed, and Thorn and I both looked up at the same moment. The golem, taking his usual post on my right next to the table, had his spiky hands fisted at his sides.

I saw no one, not even guards; Koryek and his men had been reassigned to the wall once Thorn was gifted to me. No shadows moved in the dark corners I could see.

There was another thump, the sound of a book hitting the floor, and then a flurry of soft giggles and a man’s whisper. One of the curtains over the far windows shifted.

I closed my eyes and exhaled, counting to five for patience.

Feel free to roust them, I signed to Rose, wanting Thorn to remain by my side.If they’re going to canoodle, they can do it somewhere other than the library.

That high-pitched giggle was a littletoofamiliar to me now after that particularly trying dinner.

My petal-bodied golem took off with her usual graceful strides, flowing into the stacks, and moments later I heard a sharp intake of breath, a hand being clapped to a mouth, and fading footsteps. Then a feminine voice: “By the Lady, what ungodly thingareyou? No, get your hands off me—!”

I smiled to myself.

Rose returned, a bit of bounciness to her gait. Silence once more predominated the library, and I returned to my work, inking ‘circle’ into place.

A sky blue blur whipped in front of me, and I made a giant ink splotch over my rune as something flopped heavily into the velvet couch on the other side of the table.

Kajarin raised a brow, kicking one foot up onto the couch and casting her gaze across my table. Her dress, more Serissan silk, the color of the peacocks Visca found so useless, frothed around her in actual billows. How did she walk in those things?

“My. Aren’t you the most studious little mouse.” She ran her pinky around the corner of her lip, where her rouge had smeared.

Which castle guard or servant was walking around right now with that crimson smeared all over his face? I hoped Wroth would not see it.

“If you’re going to ruin my fun, the least you could do is bring me more wine.” Kajarin glared up at Rose, and I realized the shiny glaze in her eyes was that of being extremely drunk, first thing in the morning.

I flipped back to the front of my journal to a blank page.She won’t answer to you, I wrote, and held it up for her.

Kajarin had to lean forward and squint to read it. Her strawberry blonde curls hung around her face in boisterous disarray. “Then have her fetch me some. Hell, you can join me. Why lurk around in dusty old books all day when you could…” She waved a hand languidly. “Entertain yourself?”

Thisisentertaining to me.

“Huh.” The woman adjusted one of her hairpins, a lacy gold filigree studded with sapphires. “You have odd notions of fun, Cirrien.”

I debated asking her to call me Cirri, and decided I didn’t care.It’s necessary work.

Kajarin’s laugh was loud and brash. “No, darling, you’ve got it all wrong. Don’t you get it? You’re the Lady of the Rift. There is noworkfor you.”

I raised my brows, giving up on the translation for now. It was impossible to focus, not while she wriggled around on the couch, kicking her feet up, the rustle of her skirt driving me mad.

If I didn’t have work to do, I’d feel useless, I wrote pointedly.

She reclined on an overstuffed cushion, stretching luxuriously, and cut her eyes at me in a sly sidelong glance. “Would you? We’ve done our jobs. We’ve both married hideous freaks of nature. Now here comes the reward—a lifetime of luxury for sacrificing ourselves.”

I just shook my head, and Kajarin wrapped a lock of her hair around her finger, twisting to re-curl it. “By the Light, he’s already warped your pretty little head, hasn’t he?”

What do you mean by that?

“Are you serious?” Kajarin laughed again. “Is he asking you to do this? Dig around in old books, day in, day out? Let me guess—he’s also told you that you’re responsible for all the little hayseed peasants in the Rift, that you have a duty to the keep, so on and so forth?”

I hesitated before writing,I suppose as the lady of this hold, I am responsible for their wellbeing. Right now, this is what I’m best at, what I can do for them.

“Oh, no no no, dear girl.” Kajarin sat up abruptly, swaying ever so slightly as she stared at me across the table. “That’s where you’re wrong. Are the stories I heard about you true? You were a servant to the Silver Sisterhood?”

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