The grin that had twisted the corner of his mouth now lit his eyes. “One you claimed to be quite skilled with.”
“I won’t deny that,” I answered cheerily, to fuel his amusement.
He took a sip from his glass and shrugged. “My point is made.” He walked over to the window and stood beside me, setting his glass down on the deep marble ledge. “I’m sorry about your head today. It was one disturbed heckler. He’ll be found.”
“And hanged?”
“That will be up to Banques.”
“Do you take responsibility for anything? You are the king.”
He didn’t answer, but maybe that was answer enough. He leaned forward on his elbows, looking out at the arena, lit with flickering torches—more of his new domain.
“At the end of the week we’ll be going to Tor’s Watch,” he said. “I want you to speak to the Ballengers. Convince them to come out.”
“Speak through the door of the vault? They can’t hear anything through that.”
“But—”
“I’ve seen it. The door of the vault is three feet thick and made of solid steel, and it’s surrounded by solid rock. Not even a ghost can squeeze through it.”
“There has to be a way. How do they get fresh air?”
I didn’t know how much he already knew, but I did remember one of the rules, if you ever lie to the king. I avoided lies and chose my truths sparingly.
“There’s a ventilation system that was created by the Ancients. I wasn’t told how it works. I only had a brief tour.”
He turned and looked at me, his eyes narrowing. “A tour given by the Patrei?” There was resentment in his tone, as if Jase had usurped a personal right of his.
“Yes,” I answered.
For such a simple piece of information, he took a long time to absorb it. “What about another way out?” he finally asked. “Is there another door?”
“No, I didn’t—” Jase’s words tripped through my head unexpectedly. Every good stronghold has more than one way out. Otherwise you could be trapped. Why hadn’t I thought of this before? Was it possible that Jase’s wisdom applied to a vault built by the Ancients? Maybe that was where he had learned it in the first place.
“I never saw another door,” I answered. Which was true, but how were they getting fo
od? They’d been trapped in there for over a month. The hole in the roof of the cave Jase called the greenhouse was a hundred feet up. Things like Candok bears and snakes sometimes fell through, but nothing went back out. Were they foraging in there like the first Ballengers did, braving whatever animals had fallen in? And perhaps eating them?
He stepped away from the window, gulping back the last of his wine. An angry line pinched between his brows. “They can’t stay in there forever. They’ll have to come out eventually.”
He shifted awkwardly on his feet, setting his glass down, then turned suddenly, pressing his hands against the wall on either side of me, pinning me between his arms. He looked at me, and I wasn’t sure if he wanted to kiss or kill me. His eyes blazed with a fire that I couldn’t read. I could almost see a battle going on in his head. Stand your ground. Blink last, Kazi. My heart sped, but I returned his stare, waiting him out to see what he would do.
He leaned closer. “I’m still a little confused about you and the Patrei,” he said. “The last time I saw you at the arena, you punched him in the face, and you didn’t hold back. He had blood running from his mouth. That was no mere lovers’ quarrel. It looked like you wanted to kill him. And then, it’s my understanding that you arrested him in a very violent encounter. But your reaction on learning of his death seemed to indicate that you cared for him? Just what was your real relationship with the Patrei?”
Our real relationship? I worked to keep the panic from my face. If he knew the truth about Jase and me, who and what we really were to each other, he would throw me back in a cell and never let me out. My head ached as I tried to block out thoughts of Jase, terrified it would all be plain in my eyes.
Montegue pressed forward so his thighs brushed mine. Heat radiated from his body. “Or maybe you’re undecided yourself?”
I tried to recall everything he might have seen, and also what others might have told him—especially Garvin and Paxton. “I bided my time with him out of necessity. It was my only way into Tor’s Watch.”
His face tilted slightly, pushing closer, his eyes dusky, swallowing me. “So, you were using him?”
“It was my job. I don’t regret it.”
“A loyal Rahtan. And that’s all it was?”
“He was an interesting pastime while I searched out Beaufort.”