as he steps into the room and presses a kiss against my hand. He winks, knowing I’m not posing as a lady today, but it makes me smile anyway. “Grayson thought you might need an escort to make sure nothing happens during your... community service,” he explains in a low voice. I smile at his description of my work with the priests. I guess that’s a nice way of putting it.
A part of me had been so worried that with Grayson gone, anything could happen, but I never should have doubted him. He’s always looking out for me, even when he’s not here. Smiling, I nod gratefully.
“You ready?” he asks, and I get the impression that even if I wasn’t, the guards would make things difficult for us, so I simply smile and nod once again. “Great!” He offers me his arm, and I loop mine with his, glancing over my shoulder to see Jayne watching with a concerned look on her face.
“Remember what I said last night,” I say quietly, reminding her of the plan I have with Tor. In case something happened to me today, I want to make sure she knows there is a way out. Tor would help them, even if I wasn’t around anymore, I’m sure of it. She simply nods her head solemnly, like she knows exactly what I’m thinking.
“What were you two talking about?” Wilson inquires, as we enter the corridor and start walking slowly. It’s quiet, and we barely see anyone, even as we enter the main corridors.
“Oh, just about dresses,” I chirp lightly, and I see his eyes sharpen as he looks at me. Wilson knows I’m not the kind of woman who sits around and talks about clothes and jewels, but the guards don’t know that.
“I see,” he replies, ending the conversation, but his expression tells me this isn’t over. When we’re alone, I know he’s going to grill me.
The rest of the walk is in silence until, too soon, Priest Rodrick appears as if out of nowhere, his expression darkening when he sees the mage on my arm.
“Ready for your penance, 625?” he questions in that dramatic, over the top voice he uses in services to appear better than everyone else. I know now he does it on purpose, having heard his real voice before when he lost his temper.
“That’s not her name anymore, and you know it,” Wilson growls, taking a step closer to the priest. The guards shift, their hands going towards the weapons strapped to their waists. Rodrick looks at Wilson and sneers, staring down his nose at the young magician.
“Call your dog off,” he orders in that haughty voice of his, and I know he’s doing it to piss off Wilson. It works.
“How dare you—” Wilson starts, but I cut him off with a hand on his arm.
“It’s okay, don’t rise to it,” I interject quietly, watching as he takes a deep breath, pulling his eyes from the priest to look directly at me. After a couple of seconds, he seems to calm, and I give him a tiny smile which he returns with one of his own. The sound of clapping has me looking up, and I see Rodrick is sneering at me this time.
“My, my, you do work quickly.”
Wilson stiffens, but I just shake my head slightly. Now is not the time to pick a fight with the priests, especially not with two guards behind us who are practically vibrating with anger and violence. I know what he’s implying, but I don’t care.
Thankfully, the priest gets tired of waiting for a response, so he just snarls and starts walking, leading the way. We follow, and the ominous presence of the guards behind us obviously make Wilson nervous—I can tell by the way he keeps glaring at them over his shoulder.
“Where are we going?” he asks me quietly after we enter the older part of the castle. It’s usually quiet here, but I haven’t seen anyone other than one lone priest who dipped his head in greeting to Rodrick.
I’m not sure what to tell him. I’m pretty certain that Wilson doesn’t know about Vaeril, and telling him could put his life at risk. I doubt the priests are going to let him come into the underground room with me, and I’m right. Reaching the corridor with the secret door, Rodrick turns and blocks the way forward.
“This is as far as you go, mage,” he jeers.
Wilson frowns and shakes his head. “No, I’m to accompany