The Queen's Assassin (Queen's Secret #1) - Melissa de la Cruz Page 0,37

did ruin the fun, because within moments the stable hands disperse for bed, almost all climbing up into the loft. Only one stays behind, in the opposite corner of the barn. If he’s separated from the others, then he’s my best bet for an ally. I wonder why he’s relegated to the floor like I am—maybe he was the last new addition? I’ll try to learn more about him later. In the meantime I need to figure out how to get to Caledon. After I get some rest, that is. My eyelids are heavy. All the sleepless nights combined with today’s adventures have caught up with me.

The first day was a success; still, I’m determined to make this visit to Deersia as short as possible. I won’t be able to hide for long.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Shadow

I SPRING AWAKE, READY TO fight. I’m being attacked.

The leader of the pack is standing over me, holding a small pail, doubled over with laughter. My face and hair are soaking wet. As are my clothes. I’m lucky there was just water in the bucket.

“Wakey-wakey!” he says. His minions are watching from a distance. “Time to shovel dung, plebe,” he continues. “Follow Jander. He’ll show you what to do.”

Jander turns out to be the boy who slept in the other corner. He looks at me sheepishly and shrugs. Standing next to him, I realize how small he is, and young. He must be eleven or twelve at most. I wonder how he ended up here, and why the others treat him so poorly.

“Are you going to take off your shirt?” the bully asks me.

“What?” I blurt out. I realize I’m standing there with my arms wrapped around my wet torso. The linens under my shirt are loosening.

“He’s afraid we’ll see how soft he is,” one of the other boys offers. They all laugh and begin adding their own insults.

“His soft widdle baby belly,” another calls out.

I clench my jaw and control a jolt of fury. I’m tempted to go after them. Pummel them until they beg forgiveness.

Jander turns toward the horse stalls, so I take a deep breath and follow him. I’m more than happy to put some distance between myself and the others.

It’s not a terribly cold morning, but my wet clothes make me shiver. Jander disappears around a corner and returns seconds later with a folded wool blanket, which he holds out for me. It belongs to the horses, but it’s clean, so I don’t mind. I wrap it around my shoulders. “Thank you, that was very kind of you,” I tell him. I think I see a bit of a smile around his lips before it evaporates.

Cleaning the stalls is easy work. I never did so many at once, but I’m accustomed to taking care of animals. I reach down to grab hold of a wheelbarrow when a wave of guilt rushes over me. I left my aunts with all the work. No doubt they’re furious that I’ve gone—but I’m not worried about furious. What upsets me is imagining them distraught or terrified, not knowing if I’m all right. Selfishly, I hadn’t considered that side of it. And I must stop thinking of it now. I bite the inside of my cheek to distract myself.

I bite down again, hard, and think of Caledon and the Guild. “Not too bad, huh?” I say to Jander, referring to the clean stalls we’ve already done. He nods but doesn’t look up.

We shovel out the manure and replace the hay for each horse while they’re being exercised in the field. With two of us, it doesn’t take too long.

Jander doesn’t speak, but I don’t know if it’s because he’s shy or because he’s mute. I realize I haven’t heard him talk at all to anyone.

“So, how long have you been here?” I ask him. He just shrugs. I try again. “My name’s . . . Shadow,” I say, holding out my hand. I don’t want to start out by lying to him. He hesitates but then shakes my hand weakly before going back to shoveling.

By the time we finish, my clothes are almost completely dry. Things could have gone differently this morning—I’ll have to be a lot