Page 94 of Healer to the Ash King
He sighs deeply, running his fingers through his pale hair. “I’ll have to disqualify her. Is there anything else I should know?”
“Sabre appears to have a private political agenda.” I repeat the words she spoke to me in the arena. “I’m not sure she’s connected to the anarchists, but she shares some of their ideology.”
“You should have told me about that immediately.” Five tiny flames spurt to life at the ends of his fingers, and I tense, waiting for punishment. But he only says, “In the time we’ve known each other, I’ve withheld things from you as well, so I will not rebuke you for this. But if you know anything else, Cailin, tell me now.”
My mind fills with things I should confess: Rince’s near-suicide and assassination attempt, the Undoing and their plans, Khloe’s pregnancy.
But Khloe’s secret isn’t mine to speak. And revealing Rince’s connection to the Undoing could make the Ash King suspect me as well—and I can’t let that happen, not when he has finally admitted the connection between us, not when I finally have hope that maybe, maybe—
“There is nothing else,” I tell him.
“Good.” He reaches inside his cloak. “Then take this. Before we return to the palace, you and I are going to have a little more fun.”
I look down at the object in his hand. It’s a full-face mask, darkly metallic, with cutouts for the mouth and eyes.
“There’s a festival in the city tonight,” he says. “The Ruse Wake. Most people will be masked, so you and I can walk among them.”
“Is that safe? And this building is magically sealed. How will we get out?”
“I have my own private exit, which responds only to my magic,” he replies. “And once we’re in the streets, our masks will protect us. Besides, you and I are the most powerful wielders in this city—perhaps in the entire kingdom. Even if someone should guess who we are and attempt an attack, we can defend ourselves.”
He binds his white hair into a knot and then puts the mask on, tying it at the back of his head and pulling up the hood of his cloak. “What do you say, Healer? Are you ready to see a different side of the Capital?”
The Ash King ties my mask for me, and he wraps his strong, warm fingers around mine as we approach a side exit of the Justice Building. A few expertly wielded fireballs, and we’re leaving the building, whisking across a shadowed alley before the oncoming patrol spots us. The Ash King pulls me against him, and we stand together in the darkness while the guards tromp past, completing their rounds.
Then he guides me along the alley and out into the streets of Cawn.
We have not resolved the matter of his impending choice. I’m not sure if he plans to continue the competition and sleep with the Favored even though he claims he doesn’t want to.
Maybe he’ll find a way to include me in the contest. After all, I’ve completed most of the challenges so far. Or maybe he’ll declare an end to the Calling and announce that I’m his choice.
Or perhaps he will sleep on it, and bow to what he believes to be his duty, and continue with the Calling as planned, rejecting me and choosing one of the Favored.
He didn’t actually say he loves me. But he came precariously close to it. Though his face is masked, I sense a difference in him—an excitement, a lightness that’s contagious. I squeeze his hand, and when he looks down at me, I smile, knowing he’ll read the sparkle in my eyes and know I’m happy to be here with him.
The deeper we wander into the City, the brighter and more colorful everything is. Masked revelers jostle and dance between booths strung with fluttering pennants. Perish produces coin from an inner pocket and buys a bag of sugared nuts.
I snatch it from him. “I’ll test them first, to be sure they aren’t poisoned.”
“Sneakthief,” he says, grinning. “You just want the first bite.”
“Guilty.” I pop a nut between my lips. My eyes close as warm sugar crunches and melts, as the rich nutty flavor fills my mouth. “Heartsfire, I think I like this better than your tongue.”
“I’m deeply offended.” He snatches the bag from me and eats one himself. “Gods, you’re right. They taste so much better than your sweet, wet—”
“Hush!” I shove a few more nuts into his mouth, and he laughs, louder than I’ve ever heard him laugh before. We step aside, out of the flow of people, and drift into a square where three wielders are doing a small display of elemental magic: water, air, and fire working together. They’re nowhere near as powerful as the King and I are, but their clever use of the elements in combination is fascinating.
People gasp and cheer and laugh, music jingles from another show farther along the road, and sparks from the fire magic float high into the black sky before winking out among the white stars.
Standing at the back of the crowd, with my shoulder pressed to the Ash King’s arm, sharing a snack with him and watching the magical display, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. Weariness tugs at me, but I’m too full of joy to yield to it.
I’m happier now than I was with Rince by the stream. Happier than when the Ceannaire was teaching me dance steps. Happier than I ever was on a market day back home. Happier than those rare occasions when my parents laid aside their work to read to me or sing with me.
I’m happiest now. Because of him. The Ash King.
“It feels odd, eating something my servants haven’t tested and brought to me,” he says.
“I’ve never noticed anyone tasting the food for you.”
