to the dam supports and threatened to set off an explosion and drown the town below it. The dam was very old, almost labyrinthine, and everyone who knew its layout was inside, being held hostage. My friend went in because he was a changeling. He could rely on his sense of smell, and our superiors counted on his logic prevailing if he had to make a morally difficult choice. He was told that if the situation put the lives of the hostages against the security of the dam, he was to place greater importance on keeping the dam intact. If the dam had failed, the potential loss of life would be much greater than the deaths of the six people trapped inside.
“He tracked down the hostages, but the criminals had quarreled, and one of them set off the charges. My friend had a choice: he could go after the charges or he could save the hostages. He had what he called an attack of humanity and rescued the hostages. The dam burst, flooding the town. The flood didn’t result in any deaths, but the financial damages were staggering. He was court-martialed.”
“Why? For saving people?”
“For disobeying an order. He was sentenced to death.”
“But nobody was hurt!”
“It didn’t matter.” Declan’s face was merciless. “You see, they wanted to kill him not because he disobeyed the order but because he was a changeling who was judged unstable. They had turned him into a lethal killer, and they were happy to use him as long as he did exactly as told. But now they could no longer predict his actions.”
“They were going to put him down like an animal? What kind of country would do that?”
“He was a ward of the realm, and the realm was afraid of what he might do next. They didn’t want the responsibility of keeping the public safe from him.”
“Did you try to help him?”
“Yes. I left the military and assumed the title, because my status as a peer would give my words greater weight. I petitioned, I lobbied, I argued that if an ordinary soldier were in his place, he wouldn’t have received the death penalty.”
He’d abandoned his career to rescue his friend, and he said it without any bravado, like it was the obvious logical thing to do, not even deserving a second thought. Ten years of his life, and he’d turned his back on it for the sake of another person. Not many people would do that. She wasn’t sure she could’ve done it. That was admirable.
Rose bit her lip. “Did you save him?”
“No. I failed.”
He’d said it with such bitterness. His eyes had turned distant and mournful, as if dusted with ash. She wanted to reach out and touch him. To somehow make it better.
“At the last moment, Casshorn, the brother of the Duke of the Southern Provinces, adopted my friend, assuming complete responsibility for his actions. Because Casshorn was childless, and a high peer, he claimed the bloodline privilege. Basically, my friend was his only heir, and as such, the realm couldn’t kill him. Casshorn paid an exorbitant sum for his release.”
“That was very kind,” Rose said.
Declan gave her a flat look.
“What did I say?”
“Casshorn is a brigand. He’s a slimy stain upon the honor of the Duke’s house. He didn’t adopt my friend out of kindness. He adopted him because that was the only way he could’ve saved him from execution. See, my friend is lethal with a blade, and he hates—”
A clammy touch of foul magic brushed her. Rose froze. She didn’t really believe they had killed all the beasts, but she had hoped. Apparently, she was wrong.
“Keep talking,” Declan said. “I doubt the creature understands what’s being said, but it’s likely sensitive to the tone of our voices.”
“Where is it?” she asked lightly.
“On the left, near a small shed. Let’s get up and stroll a bit.”
He rose and offered her his hand. She took it mechanically, before realizing she had done it, and they walked side by side, wandering toward the road. Her hand rested in Declan’s calloused fingers, as if they were a couple of teenagers going steady. He was building his magic for one hell of a flash, his whole body wound tight, full of barely contained violence. It was like walking next to a tiger who decided that he liked you: Declan held her hand lightly, but he wasn’t about to let her get away.
He squeezed her fingers. In that moment Rose felt a connection between them, an alarmingly intimate bond. She glanced at him to reassure herself she was imagining this and saw the same thought mirrored on his face: he had her hand and he liked it.
She turned away.
“A little closer.” Declan applied subtle pressure to her arm, but didn’t let go of her hand.
The creature crouched in the myrtle by the shed. To see it out like this, unafraid in full daylight, was eerie.
Declan’s voice was steady. “When I say duck, you—”
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“I don’t want you to kill it. You’ll do your big kaboom thing and blow my shed to smithereens.” And Grandpa Cletus with it. She didn’t even want to think what it would do to Georgie.
He glanced at her, indignant. “I don’t go kaboom.”
“Tell it to Amy’s roof.”
“That kaboom is the reason all of us are still breathing.”
The creature watched them, making no move to advance.
“I’m not saying it wasn’t necessary. But that was her house. She isn’t a noble swimming in money. She can’t just wave her hand and get another roof. You didn’t even warn her first. People need to have a moment to prepare for that kind of shock.”
Declan halted, and so did she. They stood entirely too close. Her back was to the creature. Its magic dripped onto her skin, squirming along her spine in a slippery trickle.
Declan locked his teeth. It made his jaw even squarer. “That hound is less than two feet away from the shed. There’s no way I can strike at it and not singe the shed. It’s physically impossible. And I’ve left my swords inside.”
“That’s why you should let me take care of this.”
“How, pray tell, will you manage that?”
“Like this.” She spun around and whipped a blindingly white line of magic at the beast. The flash snapped, slicing the beast’s head off its neck like a giant razor blade. The headless torso froze in a half crouch for a long moment and toppled over. The oppressive magic vanished.
Declan stared at her, openmouthed.
Rose smiled.
Declan released her fingers and strode to the headless body. “Hmm,” he said.
“Hmm back at you,” she told him and went to check the brush for signs of other beasts. She didn’t feel any, but it didn’t mean they weren’t there.
They searched the bushes, but no other beasts were in attendance.
“Where do they keep coming from?” Rose wondered. “And why?”
“Why is simple. They hunger for the magic.”
“I guess I better get a shovel. We should bury that damn thing.”
“Who taught you to flash?” He said it like he expected her to lie.
“Nobody taught me. I practiced for years. Several hours a day. I still do, when I have time.”
Declan’s face reflected disbelief.
“Don’t look so surprised,” she told him. “I’m the Edger girl who flashes white, remember? The reason for your trip to this horrible, awful place where you have to mingle with unwashed commoners.”
“I knew you could flash white. I didn’t know how precise you are.”
“You’re precise. You knocked aside my bolt.”
“Yes, but I didn’t aim for the bolt specifically. I just sent a wide pulse of magic from the front of my body, like
