They did not speak at all as they made their way through the corridors.
Judah hadn’t been in Elban’s study since she was eight years old. The smell of it hit her like a blow: fire, brandy, leather, sweat. The dark, wicked tobacco Elban smoked. The room looked different by gaslight; brighter, colder. The books in the library, back when Judah had been allowed in the library, felt like friends she hadn’t met yet; Elban’s books felt like guards at a fortress. A glass-fronted cabinet held the good Sevedran wine Elban drank, a carved stone medallion hanging from the neck of each bottle. One small, delicately paned window was set into the wall, but the hour was late and the window was black.
Elban sat at the huge desk, pen in hand, book open to a blank page in front of him. In the purplish lamplight, he seemed even more cadaverous than usual, his long white hair hanging over his shoulders like a shroud. At the sound of Gavin closing the door, he looked up. “You’re all here,” he said. “I shouldn’t be surprised. You always did travel in a pack.”
A big leather sofa and two armchairs were arranged in front of the fireplace, where a hot fire burned. He gestured toward the sofa. Elly sat down, her movements as fluid and dignified as if she were at a state dinner. Gavin sat on one side of her, Judah the other. As if they could offer her some protection, merely by being there. “Not quite all of us,” Elly said. “Theron is ill.”
Closing the book and crossing the room to sit in one of the big armchairs, Elban said, “I heard. Will he live?”
“He’s recovering.”
An iron poker rested in the heart of the blazing fire. Elban took a neatly rolled cigarette from the tray on the table and, leaning over, picked up the glowing poker and touched the cigarette to its tip. “It would be like him, after all these years of coughing and stuttering around the place, to die just now when it was least convenient.” He blew a cloud of smoke into the air. His pale eyes studied Elly. “Your value is dropping, Tiernan. I bought you from your father for six hundred pieces of gold, but my son traded you away to save a half-blind weakling who might die tomorrow, anyway.”
On the other side of Elly, Judah felt Gavin’s skin go hot. But Elly’s tone was smooth and even, without a single ragged edge. “Theron is worth more than all of us put together. And I wasn’t traded away this time. This is my decision.”
“Banish the word my from your vocabulary, Tiernan. Nothing belongs to you.” He flicked the ash of the cigarette onto the carpet. “Well, say what you came here to say.”
Elly’s chin lifted. Gavin’s stomach was a sick void. “I’ll marry you. But I want your word. Theron lives.”
“If fate wills it.”
“I hope fate does will it, then, because if anything happens to him, I’ll throw myself off the solstice balcony. Right into the Lord’s Square.” It didn’t sound like an idle threat.
“Really?” Elban looked at her with no more than mild interest. “The girl who has to be forcibly dragged onto that very balcony, threatening to plummet to her death from it? How gruesome. Wouldn’t it be easier just to kill me?”
Every muscle in Gavin’s body tensed. Judah’s, too. Elly didn’t move.
“In my sleep, perhaps, after a night of conjugal bliss? You wouldn’t be the first to leave my bed with murderous intent, Tiernan. Of course, you could try it right now.” Elban spoke cordially, as if he were offering them all tea. “There are three of you and only one of me. Only one of you has any combat training, and I’ve killed more men than I can count—but still.”
“I don’t imagine that would end well for us,” Elly said.
“Very perceptive.” Elban raised his cigarette toward her in salute. “My guards all come from Highfall Prison, you know. The Seneschal selects them. Most were under death sentences—petty offenses, theft or fighting. Occasionally worse. Occasionally much worse.” He spoke like a tutor lecturing them on some subject he knew so well it no longer interested him. “All of them are clever enough to recognize that they’ve been rescued. All of them know they owe me their lives. They are fiercely loyal.” The smoke from his cigarette circled his head. “I’ve assigned one to each of you. If I’m found dead tonight,