Threatened [W&W Book 2]

Chapter 34

No one visited Anya for the rest of the day, except for the kitchen boy, Matt who brought her meals. She wondered if Ildri had refused to bring more to her. The thought made her stomach feel empty in a way that had nothing to do with food. Anya reminded herself that she had more important matters to deal with. Far more important.

The small piece of sky that was visible through the window was growing dark when Anya finally accepted that she would have to ask for someone to come and talk to her. All it would take was a short word to the guard about her intentions and he would see that someone was summoned.

Yet something held Anya back. She did not want to draw attention to herself, or her feigned change of heart. She would wait for the next day and see what came. Surely they would ask her more questions, or were they saving that pleasure for the king? Or perhaps they thought that time alone to wallow in her guilt would loosen her tongue.

It hardly mattered. The door in the next room opened. Anya barely noticed. It opened many times during the day as the guards relieved each other. It was a small detail that faded into the background like the hardness of the cot or the slightly dank scent of the dungeon.

"Anya."

Anya sat up quickly. "You're awake." Jim should barely be softening, not standing just outside the bars of her cell.

"I am."

"How are you? You should still be paralyzed from my potion. Or did Sir Thomas find a way to speed up the relaxing?"

Jim smiled a bit grimly. "I'm not a complete fool. I threw up a magical shield at the last second, and it must have absorbed the worst of it."

"That's interesting."

"I would hardly confront an attempted murderer completely unprepared," he said in a neutral tone, but the words still hurt.

Anya hung her head. "I'm sorry." She wondered how many times she had repeated those words in recent days. It was not as if she could say it often enough to repay the things she had done and tried to do.

Jim shook his head. "I know. I heard you after you attacked me."

His face was a grim mask. Anya could feel tears pushing at the back of her eyelids.

"Why did you do this?"

"I really want to tell you," Anya said, plunging ahead. It was truth with an ulterior motive. When had she learned to be so manipulative?

"Then tell me."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because... Because there's more at stake."

Jim's eyes fixed on hers. "What is at stake?"

"I can't tell you. He might find out." She thought of how she would feel if she were really betraying the mastermind behind everything. She would be afraid for her helpless siblings.

"Who?"

"I can't... I wish that I could explain. Truly I do." Anya wondered if Thorne would consider her sharing suspicions of spies as betraying him. He had not told her not to. It would validate her story. "I think he has people in this castle. Or perhaps uses magic, as you can."

Jim looked at her silently until she felt like she would jump out of her skin. "I can create a shield that I am reasonably certain magical spying will not penetrate. As for spies..."

Jim stood up and went around the corner. "Samson. Go and fetch Sir Thomas, if you please."

"Oi, sir."