Page 75 of Over the Emerald Valley
“I want to hear through walls.” Temaj pouted.
“Shush. What if it’s a threat?”
“It’s probably just Ottah. Neku would have spoken to him by now.” Temaj rose from the lounge, swayed, and nearly fell over.
“Whoa.” Solon caught him easily enough, but that kind of disorientation was concerning. “Maybe you should stay here. I’ll see to Ottah.”
Temaj shook his head. “It should be me. He doesn’t like you. Help me walk.”
“I’ll carry you.”
“I can walk. Let me have your arm.”
Solon did him one better and wrapped an arm around his waist to help support his weight. Temaj threw his arm over Solon’s shoulders, and they shuffled their way down the hall to the stone doors. “Let’s wait and be sure it’s Ottah.”
“It is.”
“How do you know?”
“No one else could find their way through this maze without Neku’s directions.”
“What if one of the other guards knows the way? One loyal to Abasi?”
Temaj peered at him from the sides of his eyes. “Then you’ll kill him. You worry too much. Open the door.” Temaj leaned against the wall and waited.
“A bit of caution will do us no harm.” Solon listened for more evidence. When the braying of sheep sounded loud enough for both of them to hear, Temaj shot him a “see? I told you so” look and gestured to the door.
“You were right,” Solon admitted.
“I often am.”
Solon tugged the stone slab open. On the other side stood Ottah, bruised, his crooked nose swollen under Temaj’s makeup job, lip bloodied. He carried a wooden pole across his shoulders with a tied sheep dangling from either end. That had to weigh at least one hundred pounds.
“Come in.” Solon stepped back so the man could enter, then reached for the pole. He lifted the sheep effortlessly and again marveled at the changes to his body. Such strength, but why? For what purpose? And at what cost?
Ottah ignored him in favor of Temaj, whom he looked over from head to toe. “What happened to you?”
“I could ask you the same.” Temaj gave him a saucy little half smile.
Meanwhile, Solon set to work, making the poor ill-fated sheep more comfortable. He couldn’t untie their legs, but he could move them to a dark corner and lay them on their sides next to one another. He didn’t know much about sheep, but he recognized signs of stress when he saw them. Poor creatures.
He returned to the two men. Ottah had his hands on Temaj’s waist while Temaj still leaned against the wall. Their faces were too close together for Solon’s liking, but Temaj wasn’t his to covet. He was his own person, and if he wanted to flirt with Ottah, he could.
But Solon didn’t have to like it.
And he didn’t have to watch.
As Temaj murmured his thanks, Solon turned back to the sheep. Then stopped. He couldn’t leave because neither Temaj nor Ottah could close the stone door, nor could Temaj walk unassisted, so with a grunt of displeasure, he paused in the hall.
“You didn’t know?” asked Temaj, his voice low, but the words came to Solon’s ears crystal clear.
“Not in the slightest. Some of the house staff believed the rumors, but us guards thought it was nothing but superstition.”
“And the emeralds?”
“That I suspected. I was this close to earning his trust when your boyfriend showed up.”
“Life as a criminal wouldn’t suit you anyway. As much as you want to be hard, you’re soft at the core. Tell Neku I’ve vouched for you. Sail with him back to Thebes and put in for the army. You’d make a fine soldier.”
