Page 15 of A Blade of Lies and Spirits

“Not really. Judges are a special case. I work for a living. Silver makes a big deal out of not being subtle. Don’t fall for it. I can see why he’s pulled strings. This has gotten mixed up with high-level politics.” He glanced at his reader.

“Demons can be dealt with by means other than suicide, by the way.” His voice flattened. “You need to pay attention to briefings.”

“Yes.” I forced my eyes open again. His expression, while sober, didn’t seem angry.

His reader pinged, and he glanced down. His dimple reappeared. “Silver’s finished the paperwork. You’ve clearly inspired him; I haven’t seen him move this fast in years.” The smile deepened as I stared at him.

“You’re teasing me.”

“Yes, I am. But can you blame me? The poor guy looks exhausted, and you’re pretty cute when you’re irritated.”

He hadn’t raised his hand, and I turned mine so our palms met. “I make my own decisions, and I like to think I give that freedom to the people around me.”

Walker paused. “Yes, but sometimes it isn’t the best or right time to make a permanent decision, and that needs to be considered, too. Not everyone is as tough as you, Alys, and sometimes offering help is better than offering a drastic choice. Accepting help does not make a person a coward.”

His words hurt a little because I knew exactly what he was talking about. I didn’t kill Mara, I only let her choose what she wanted to do. The fact that her choice was to take her own life and be with her sister and children, well, didn’t she earn the right after all she’d been through to decide for herself? But perhaps Walker was right. Maybe if I’d stopped her, we could have gotten her the help she needed to heal.

But I had a feeling either decision I made would have haunted me.

He stared at me.

I stared back. “Noted.” Because what else could I say?

He shook his head. “I’ll have you stay at my place until you recover, if you want, then return to the Dumonts’ house. You need people around you while you recuperate.” His reader pinged again.

The screen flickered on the wall, and the theme music started playing. The title scrolled across the screen.

After another glance, he continued, “I’m passing on a message from Silver. He says to tell you the Dumonts are out of town. Robert was called to Rillo two days ago, and his wife and their boy joined him. They plan to be back in a day or two.”

Relief and unhappiness collided. I needed to see to the swampers, but I wanted to hold Dmitri again so very much. I didn’t like it when they took Dmitri with them on those trips; Robert had a liking for dangerous sports and places. He often wrapped up a tour like that with fishing, or visits to shorelines.

Tyjiss had a shore.

One day a fish would catch him when he tempted fate. I didn’t want Dmitri present for that. I’d argued with Robert about the safety of the sea, but the battlemage was so convinced of his infallibility I’d not made a dent.

Worst case of all, Dmitri could become stressed if he saw Robert hurt. He was two and a half now. Young to start coming into his power, but when you took his paternity into account…

An explosive sound effect from the holo grabbed my attention as the image showed a tall blonde wearing only her hair and strategic scenery striding into a shattered kitchen. Walker chuckled.

“At least you have something funny to watch,” he said. “I’ll order some food, and stay here with you until you’re released, in case of any more visitors.”

“If you give me a knife, you don’t have to stay in the chair,” I said.

He brushed my cheek. “Maybe not. Rest, sleep, you need it.”

Another explosion from the holo caught my attention. Two men had joined the blonde. They wore more clothing than her, which disappointed me.

Walker’s commentary made it funny—he had a lot of opinions on what happened. He moved the easechair next to the bed, offering me water so often that I had to get my legs working to get to the fresher.

He waited outside of it for me, and I leaned on his arm as we headed back for the bed. The holo’s current story featured a bare-chested actor portraying Silver. He swept the then-President’s naked wife into his arms.

“I like history. This is a more memorable way to present it, but they take liberties to make the past seem more interesting.” Walker shifted the pillows so I could watch more easily. We’d seen four episodes, which had taken us into the afternoon.

“Did Silver ever actually sleep with the President’s wife?” I blinked. They’d break the bed jumping onto it like that. It wasn’t fun when the slats gave out.

“No record of it.”

“Hmph. Might be better for him if he did.” I’d moved to one of the visitor chairs to watch the newest episode. I’d seen the cartoons—Judges saving the day from evil, both foreign and domestic, but this was much more violent and sexy.

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