Gavin headed over to the bed, sat in a nearby chair, and examined the child. Erica had said he was ten, and the boy’s thin face reflected his youth. He had long wispy hair and a sharp nose. Freckles on his cheeks made him look even younger. When Gavin had first scooped him up, he had thought that the boy was underfed, but maybe that was just his body. He was sleeping soundly—or seemingly so.
“You can open your eyes,” Gavin said.
“He’s sleeping,” Jessica said.
“He’s not sleeping. He wants us to think he is. Look at the breathing pattern. It’s too irregular. When someone’s asleep, they breathe regularly.”
He watched the boy, holding the dagger out.
“I’m sleeping,” came a murmured reply.
Gavin smiled. “People don’t often answer questions in their sleep either.”
There came a soft curse. The boy opened his eyes and looked at him. Dark pupils stared up, reflecting the faint lantern light in the hallway. “Are you going to stab me?”
There was less fear in the boy’s voice than what Gavin had expected.
“I didn’t plan on it, but you never know. It depends on what you do. If you give me a reason to, perhaps I will.”
“Why would I give you a reason to stab me?”
“I don’t know. Why would you?”
“Gavin—” Jessica started.
He glanced over at her and shook his head.
“Who are you?” Gavin asked, leaning forward and holding the dagger pointed at the boy. He tried to look casual with it, not wanting to appear overly threatening, but at the same time he wanted it to appear somewhat so. He needed the boy to know that he was someone not to be trifled with. He realized he hadn’t asked Erica the boy’s name. That might have been a mistake. How would they know they had the right person?
“My name is Alex.”
“Alex?” Gavin leaned back, frowning. “How did you end up at the fortress?”
“What?”
“The Captain’s home. How did you end up there?”
Gavin was convinced the Captain wasn’t related to Alex, but he wanted confirmation. He wanted to hear it from Alex that the Captain wasn’t his father.
Only then would he be willing to send word to Erica.
“I was taken when training.”
“Training?” Jessica asked, stepping forward. “What sort of training?”
“Training,” Alex said.
Gavin smiled. It was almost an admission of sorcery, but the boy seemed to recognize that admitting such a thing was dangerous.
“How did you learn to attack me?” Gavin asked.
The control and skill used to pummel him when he was leaving the Captain’s fortress had been considerable. If Alex had that level of control, then Gavin wanted to know more about that type of sorcery to make sure he was prepared for it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the boy said.
“See, I think you do.” Gavin leaned forward again with the dagger. Gavin tried to keep from looking too terrifying but wasn’t sure if he managed. At the same time, given how dark it was in the room, it was possible that Alex wasn’t able to see anything.
He sat back, still holding the El’aras dagger in place. Alex’s gaze lingered on it, staring at it almost as if he recognized it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Alex said again.
Gavin needed him to know his mother had sent them after him, but he still didn’t know for sure. Something felt off. Gavin trusted that instinct.
Now wasn’t the time to tell Alex that his mother had sent them.
Not until he knew more about Alex and his magic.
“If that’s the way you want to play this out, then that’s fine. But you’re here, and I’m the one who broke you out.” Gavin waited to see if there was going to be another attack, but he didn’t feel anything. “And if you try to use magic on me, I’ll know. And you should also know that I was able to withstand the last attack.”
Alex watched him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Gavin could only smile. At least he was consistent. “I hope not. If there’s any evidence of magic while we’re here, we’re going to have trouble.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
“Go to sleep, Alex. We’ll talk more when you wake up.”
Gavin stood and headed toward the door, and he pulled Jessica with him. He waited outside the room for a moment, lingering with his hand on the door. He felt no sense of magic, and the El’aras dagger didn’t start to glow. If Alex attempted to draw upon power, he couldn’t feel it. It was possible he wouldn’t even be able to detect it.
“I don’t know much about that boy, but he’s hiding something,” Gavin said, turning to Jessica.
She watched him, frowning deeply.
“What is it?”
“You’re right,” Jessica said.
“Right about what?”
“They’re hiding something.”
Gavin nodded. “That’s what I just said.”
“But you’re not right about what they’re hiding.”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s not a boy. That’s a girl.”
Chapter Eleven
The street was dark, and Gavin paced slowly with his hand on the hilt of the El’aras dagger. He was prepared, should anyone appear, though mostly he was concerned about Erica. She had deceived them, though Gavin should’ve expected it. It happened often enough that he was accustomed to it.
Besides, why hire someone like me for a task like rescuing a child?
Gavin wanted answers. Until he had them, he wasn’t going to release the boy—the girl, he had to remind himself—back to her.
There were shadows along the street, but he didn’t see anything. He hated the darkness, and his eyesight had never been good at night. He didn’t want magic around him, but he was actually thankful when the El’aras dagger glowed because it gave him some light in situations where he wouldn’t otherwise have it.
Gavin searched for signs of movement, but there wasn’t anything. He continued pacing back and forth along the street. At one end, a small group of people made their way up the street. He could smell the ale drifting off of them, and from the way they staggered and stumbled, he suspected that they
