Page 38 of The Second Death of Locke
“… Didn’t you volunteer for the responsibility?” Kier asked around a sip of ale.
“I like feeling useful,” Eron lamented.
“You do a good job,” Sela said, “with what you’re given.”
That silenced whatever words were forming on Grey’s tongue. She looked at the girl—they all were looking at her—as she ate delicately, in a way that made some alarm go off in Grey’s brain. But she’d spoken. She’d spoken without prompting, and she’d beenniceabout it.
Sela looked up from her plate, saw their eyes on her and blushed deep red. “Sorry, Captain,” she murmured, ducking her head.
“No, no, it’s a good observation,” Kier said, taking another sip of ale. Grey knew the look in his eyes: he was calculating. She nearly kicked him under the table too.
Though they hadn’t been able to speak in private beyond a few passed notes on their watch shifts, Grey knew the curiosity was killing him. They couldn’t just announce that they knew Sela wasn’t who she said she was, not without revealing that they knew something about Maryse of Locke that they shouldn’t.
His eyes flicked to Grey’s, brows arched. She sighed, but nodded. For now, forthis moment, she could play nice.
“Speaking of responsibilities,” she said. “After we finish here. Who is doing what?”
“Like, for thequest?” Brit asked, eyes sparkling.
“Absolutely not,” Grey said, because she still refused to consider this a quest. “Replenishing our supplies.”
“Can you and Brit stay?” Eron asked. “I can acquire the food—thank you for the encouragement, Sela—and Ola can get new clothing, if we can find it. Kier, you can be our devilishly handsome patron.”
“Kind way of asking me to throw my money around,” Kier said. “And accepted.”
Grey swallowed hard. “Ola should stay,” she said. “I can go, if you need another set of hands.”
“Grey,” Kier said, “you need to rest.”
She glanced up at him, betrayed. Even though he knew her exhaustion—she had not been hiding it, through the tether—she could not bear the idea of him going. “Kier—”
“Please,” he said, a touch quieter.
The others looked at her. Kier’s face was carefully blank, but ofcourse he knew what she meant. Shehatedundermining his authority in public, even though he deferred to her in private more often than not. But if something went wrong, he wouldn’t be able to pull power from Ola any more than he’d be able to pull it from a rock.
Grey swallowed. “It’s only,” she said, “we should have enough here to fully guard our… friend.”
“As always, my Hand is quite right,” Kier said smoothly. “Ola, you stay. Grey, you’re in charge.”
Grey thought about protesting further, but at Kier’s look, her words died on her lips. Any more wrangling would cause suspicion.
But she didn’t like letting him out of her sight, and though Eron was a good fighter—no, agreatfighter—she wasn’t sure how safe she felt about this.
“Any medical supplies?” Kier asked, sending a warm rush down the tether.I’ll be fine.
“Bandages, probably,” Grey said, conceding. Because, after all, he was right. She was exhausted, and cramping, and irritable. “Just in case.”
After they finished eating, they made their way up to the two rooms, and Grey was annoyingly grateful when Kier told them the plan: “I want two on guard in the room with Sela, one in the bed with her—sorry, Sela, nothing personal…”
“It absolutely is,” she muttered.
“Youstabbed Kier,” Grey reminded her, in case anyone had forgotten, which earned her an exasperated look from her mage.
“… and two off-duty sleeping in the other room.Sleeping. This is not the goddam army.”
Ola said, “It very much is the goddam army.”
“I’m leaving all of you,” Kier announced, separating some of the coin into a smaller pouch, “and walking directly into the sea.”
