Page 419 of Of Empires and Dust

They had yet to find the book Gildrick had been reading or any of the missing pages from all the others.

He and Poldor hadn’t said it out loud, but they both knew the truth. There was a traitor inside the temple, or in Ardholm at least. Pages didn’t simply tear themselves out. Had the missing pages been from Grandmaster Invictus’s book of Andarsían recipes, Kallinvar would have thought little of it. But that was not the case. And if there was a traitor, then Kallinvar could not believe that Gildrick’s death had not been a purposeful act.

Furthermore, if that traitor was not Watcher Tallia, then who was it? The thought that any in Ardholm could have betrayed them sent a chill down Kallinvar’s spine.

He leaned forwards and pressed his forehead to the pages of the book in front of him. It was the same book he’d found on Gildrick’s lap:A History of the People of Ardholm.

“Why was this the last book you were reading, old friend?”

Kallinvar knew he was missing something. Something that was right there in front of him.

The door creaked open, and Ruon pushed in with a steaming plate of roasted vegetables and sliced lamb. She was the only thing that brought him any semblance of peace.

“Fresh from the kitchens,” Ruon said as she brushed aside the book before Kallinvar and laid the plate in its place.

“You should be sleeping.” Kallinvar stared at the steam wafting from the food as he spoke, slowly moving his gaze to Ruon.

“I’ll sleep when you sleep.”

“You only got back an hour ago, Ruon.”

“Don’t lecture me, Kallinvar, you’ll only turn yourself into more of a hypocrite than you already are.” Ruon walked along the stone bookcase, tracing her fingers across the edges of scrolls. “I once asked Verathin whether he’d read all of these.”

“What did he say?”

“He laughed.” Ruon shook her head. She stopped, tapping her finger against the spine of a red leatherbound volume. “Eat that food while it's hot, and we will spar.”

“I don’t have time to be sparring, Ruon. None of us do.”

“You’ve been sitting there with your head in those books for days on end. Sparring clears your mind. I told Ildris to meet us in the sparring pits. It’s not a question.”

Kallinvar began to argue but decided against it. He never won arguments with Ruon – nobody did.

Kallinvar devoured the food before him as Ruon stared at him with horror in her eyes.

“You could have at least taken a breath.”

“No time for breathing.” Kallinvar picked up the empty plate and made for the door before turning and cupping Ruon’s cheek with his free hand. He stared into her eyes for a long moment, then kissed her. “Thank you for never doubting me.”

She rested her hand atop his. “That cuts both ways.”

The pair of them stepped from the study and walked through the great halls of the temple, their steps echoing.

“It is quiet tonight,” Kallinvar said as they walked, looking about at the empty halls.

“Watcher Poldor is holding a vigil in Ardholm,” Ruon said. “He came to me earlier to see if the other Watchers and temple hands could be given a few hours reprieve.”

“He came toyou?”

Ruon nodded. “The incident with Tallia has more than a few people on edge, Kallinvar.”

Kallinvar gritted his teeth. “I was wrong to treat her as I did.”

“You were. Have you apologised?”

Kallinvar shook his head, biting at his lip. “I wanted to… I should have.” He bit at his lip. “I will.”

Ruon led Kallinvar through the temple and down to the sparring pits, where they found Ildris. Ruon grabbed a sword from the racks and tossed it to him. “Best of five?”

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