Page 45 of Wicked Thieves
Gabriel granted them a curt nod before he said to Henry, “I would tell the boys to stay clear from the upper district come nightfall. There’s no telling how many there are now. The best they can do is wait until the danger has passed. Let the rest of the Watchmen rot for all I care.”
Walking into the kitchen in time to hear Gabriel’s voice, Zara’s concern was palpable as she approached the table. Her hands warm as they landed on Anelize’s. “There’s no way for us to get word to them now, is there?”
“With all the patrols scouring the city in rounds, it’s become increasingly more difficult to wander the streets without somehow being questioned. I’ll see if I can get a message to them before sundown, you have my word. In the meantime, you should all stay inside where it’s safe.”
Henry rose from his seat as Gabriel stood, readying to bid them farewell. He clapped a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder as he said, “Stay safe, old friend.”
“What’s going on?” Castian asked after Gabriel slipped past the backdoor of the tavern.
“It appears more Moroihave been sighted. More so in theupper district these past few days.” Henry leaned forward and rested his bulging arms atop the table. “The Moroi aren’t simply moving to the upper districts. There are more of them than before. Gabriel hasn’t been the only one to warn us of these sightings. If this continues, I worry there are going to be far more of these monsters than Watchmen and Vedrans combined.”
“I hope Gabriel will be able to get word to the boys,” Zara said, her hands fidgeting with her apron.
“They are perfectly capable of handling themselves, my love.”
“With theirgifts,Henry,” Zara insisted, a crease forming between her dark brows. “As Watchmen, they only have their swords.”
“Watchmen aren’t as weak as one would hope,” Castian murmured as Anelize rose from her seat to retrieve the vial she’d left on the counter this afternoon for the prince. “They were trained to kill anything and anyone that stands in their way. My father ensured it by granting them free rein to hunt down the Vedrans by any means necessary.”
Anelize placed a steaming cup of tea before him, along with a plate of biscuits.
When Castian noticed, his lips pursed.
“I’m not a child…” he murmured, even as he downed the tea infused with his tonic before quickly eating all of the biscuits with a twisted look on his face.
She snorted as she took her seat once more.
After he managed to shirk off the foul taste, Castian looked between the Dobrins and her. “Aeric said they would not be returning until tomorrow. With the Senin approaching, my father has been especially demanding of the Watchman tocapture the rebels. Either way, I have faith they will find a way to survive, should they come to face the Moroi again.”
The twins and Aeric had left before sunup to join the patrols after having bid them all farewell. Unlike his brother, Adan hadn’t muttered so much as a word to her since their trip to the forest, and he stalked off without casting her a single glance once again. If he wasn’t complaining about her, he was ignoring her. She honestly didn’t know which she preferred more.
Idris had been pleasant enough, offering to teach her how to strengthen her concentration with conjuring when they returned; convincing her she’d been right to ask him. If Adan didn’t want anything to do with her, then she would find another way to practice her conjuring.
Try as she did, however, none of them had managed to fill her thoughts more than Aeric Maren, and it drove her close to madness with frustration. She had to wonder why he managed to follow her waking thoughts so much. They’d hardly seen each other in the past week, and any time they’d spoken it had come down to her throwing insults for the most part, and him making those witty remarks. Until he’d come to share more news on Enid, not at her request but because he’d thought to do so. Then he revealed parts of himself, his life, that encouraged a gnawing curiosity to discover more of his past before they met. How he became the Captain of the Watchmen, his relationship to Castian and why the two seemed to be attuned to one another.
The distant sound of screams made them tense. They rose and hurried over to the front of the tavern where the muffled sound of a commotion outside came from beyond the door. Anelize wandered over to the window facing the street,pushing the curtains aside. In time to see that a group of lower ranked guards were pushing an old fruit vendor aside as they began rummaging through his stall which had been tipped over. They ignored his attempts to get them to leave, and he took to cowering against the wall when they appeared to threaten him.
The folk walking down the streets ignored the commotion as they quickened their steps before the guards set their sights upon them next. When the guards finished tormenting the man, they sauntered away with arrogant smirks on their lips as they laughed and pushed each other about before disappearing into the market square. The old man moved slowly to pick up the mess of his cart, shaking his head as he struggled to right it on his own.
“It seems torment is Elvir’s way of passing the time,” Henry said with a grunt as he walked over to the rack beside the door and pulled a heavy black coat off the hook. Anelize watched as he pulled open the door. He slammed it shut behind him, leaving only the invading snowflakes in his wake. Anelize watched him as he crossed the street and placed a hand on the old man’s shoulder.
The two conversed before Henry moved to right the cart, picking up discarded fruit that could be salvaged before offering the man his coat.
Zara sighed, sadness in her gaze as she watched her husband from afar.
“If this is how the guards treat so-called ordinary folk, one cannot possibly imagine what the prisoners within the castle walls are being subjected to…” Tears filled Zara’s eyes as she said those words. She excused herself before Anelize could offer any semblance of comfort she could provide. Wellyn’s absence weighed on her more than she allowed herself to show. Anelize closed her hands into fists at her sides as she watched Zara disappear up the stairs.
“Funny how they call Vedrans monsters, when they can’t even bring themselves to look in the mirror. How easy it must be to prey upon the weak,” Castian said, his unusually cold tone pulling her attention to him. The frustration and sadness on his handsome face seeming to mirror her own in that moment. Granting her a glimpse of the young man behind the boyish smile with a far greater burden than she realized.
She couldn’t help but agree.
When Henry returned, Anelize retreated to her room once more. This time, when she reached for the knife on her bed, she didn’t hesitate to make the first cut.
17
Days had come and gone in a blur as she practiced conjuring. Every time she made a cut, she grew increasingly used to the sharp sting. More used to feeling her power come into its own. The heartbeats in the tavern more familiar.
One morning, she’d even gone downstairs where the children were playing and seated herself at one of the tables in the corner. Their chatter and laughter pulling her concentration the first time she attempted it, but eventually she managed to reduce their lively voices to mere distant chimes. It was only when Luca came to poke her side that she lost focus and sent him an annoyed side glance that made him quickly scamper off.
