Bloodguard

chapter 57

Leith

Uni pours another round of ale for me and Caelen.

“Rough day, huh?” Giselle asks, voice raised to be heard over the laughter and stomping from the wooden dance floor and the energetic melody of the iplos on stage.

Caelen moves over so she can take the stool between us. She’s wearing a brown smock similar to the one Maeve wears when working in her garden. She’s trying to blend in, but with her mouth, it won’t take long for everyone to notice Giselle.

Behind the bar, there’s a clang of metal bowls and the aroma of venison stew wafting in from the kitchen. Another day, another time, it would make my stomach growl. But filling my belly is the last thing on my mind right now.

“Is he asleep?” I ask Giselle. He meaning Andres, who is now living with us in New Arrow.

“Yes, finally. Gabi made him a sedative tea with the hopes of calming him.”

Caelen, still wearing his signature uniform, adjusts his scabbard on his hip. It’s still within reach for a quick beheading, but he’s more comfortable now. “Good. Stasia says he’s been anxious since she first received him. It sounds like the tea was what he needed.”

“No, he needed someplace small to feel secure, so we turned the linen closet into a bedchamber for him, and he seems much more comfortable. Thank you, Uni,” Giselle says when he places a mug of ale in front of her. She takes several gulps before continuing. “By the time Gabi made it up the stairs, the tea was spilled and Papa was asleep.”

She finishes off her ale, stealing a glance at Caelen before speaking again. “I miss Maeve. Everyone in the city today asked me if I plan to step into her role.” She huffs. “Who could do that? She’s a selfless leader who treats wounds, delivers babies, and last week repaired the broken wings of a pixie caught in a spiderwolf web.”

Caelen strangles out a laugh, and Giselle rolls her eyes, then says, “I told you that pixie challenged me to go ale for ale. It’s not my fault she was too drunk to fly.”

“Don’t talk about Maeve like she’s dead,” I say, my tone grim.

Giselle tries to smile when Uni refills her mug. “I don’t mean to. It’s just that I never counted on anyone presuming I could take her place.” She opens her palms and stares at her gloved hands. “I’m the last person who should touch anyone, let alone try to heal them.”

Caelen slips from his stool as the iplos end their fast-paced tune. He weaves his way through the crowded tavern and requests a melody. As the song begins to play, tears fill Giselle’s soft honey eyes. She hops off her stool before Caelen reaches us and runs off.

Caelen watches her, then takes her seat beside me. “I requested that song to lift her mood.” He sighs. “It didn’t work as I intended.”

Not long ago, I wouldn’t ask about their business. But things are different now, and I could use a distraction from everything we’ve planned. “Why don’t you go after her? Is it her magic?”

Caelen shakes his head, the quiet majesty he always carries crumbling as he looks to where Giselle stands across the room. “I can’t,” he says. “She won’t let me. She’s poison.”

“What the fuck, man?”

Caelen throws back his ale, then slams the empty tankard down. And here I thought Giselle would be the loud one.

“Giselle has Areris,” he says with a frown. “Maeve has tried curing her for years. Nothing she’s ever made has worked.”

There are battering rams that hit softer than Caelen’s words.

Areris . Even I’ve heard of it. And Caelen wasn’t joking—Giselle is poison to anyone else with magic in their blood. She can’t have a child without killing it. She can’t kiss another without sickening them. And when crying, she can’t even lean her head on the person she adores without risking their safety.

“Is this why you’re so willing to help me tomorrow?” I ask Caelen. “Because you think you have nothing to lose?”

Uni refills Caelen’s mug, giving him ample berth when he starts to sprout fangs. But as quickly as they appear, they retract as Giselle returns to sit between us.

“I’m helping you because it’s the right thing to do.” His gaze flits to Giselle, who keeps her head down. “And because if we pull it off, it will benefit us all.”

Giselle knocks back her ale as the tune Caelen requested comes to an end.

“So, we’re in agreement?” Giselle asks.

I nod. “Yes. If I can’t pull this shit off tomorrow, whoever’s alive takes Andres and runs.”