The Shadow's heir

She drank some of the water and used it to wash the crusted blood off her face and bathe her swollen eye. Her jaw still hurt badly-she was fairly sure she had at least one broken tooth, and another one was threatening to fall out. And her eye was swollen so much it was almost completely impossible to see out of. The guard must have had a very strong arm.

She was too frightened to spend much time feeling sorry for herself. Lacking anything else to do, she paced back and forth in her cell and agonised. Had the King got bored with her? Was this some cruel game he was playing with her before he disposed of her? Was she going to be executed-or tortured? Would they break her fingers, too?

But why would he do this to her? He’d made her one of his subjects, she’d started learning so many things on his orders-why would he suddenly change his mind?

Yorath.

That was why. It had to be. He must have found out that she’d shared her bed with him, and that must have made him angry with her. Maybe he was jealous. . Maybe he didn’t want a half-breed dallying with one of his people. . Maybe she’d broken some Northerner rule she didn’t know about. But how had he found out? Had he been watching her? People said he could make himself invisible. . hide in the darkness. .

Or had Yorath told him? Gods forbid, had he betrayed her?

Laela slumped onto the bench, face in her hands. Oh, help me.

She lifted her head. “Help me,” she said aloud. “Please, help. Help me get out of this, please. .”

Silence answered her, and she stared into the darkness. Who had she been pleading with? Who was she praying to-Gryphus, or the Night God?

Her eyes gleamed.

“Night God,” she said aloud. “Scathach. Can yeh hear me? I’m Laela. Laela Redguard. I dunno if yeh know about me. I’m a half-breed. My father, he was a Northerner. They told me that means I’m a Northerner, too. Yesterday I saw visions in the water, an’ they say that means I’m one of your people, too. I ain’t never prayed to yeh before. I always prayed to Gryphus. But he never did answer any of my prayers. Maybe that was because I’m a darkwoman. Didn’t want t’think of myself that way. But maybe I should. I’d like a god of my own. Just t’know who was watchin’ over me, if anyone really was. I prayed to Gryphus, but he never helped me. So I’ll tell yeh this-Night God-I’ll believe in yeh. I’ll pray to yeh. Just help me. Protect me like they say yeh do. Stop them from hurtin’ me-get me outta here, an’ I’m yours. That’s a promise, like.”

She nodded to the invisible presence and lay down to try and get some rest.

Maybe she slept-she was never sure about that-but it felt like almost no time later when her cell door opened and a guard came in. He was carrying something, which he put on the bench before backing out of the cell and closing the door again.

Laela sat up and reached for the thing he’d left-it was a small loaf of bread, and she bit into it immediately.

“Eat that fast an’ smarten yerself up,” the guard said brusquely. “Lord Torc is comin’ here to see ye.”

Laela swallowed quickly. “Who’s that?”

The guard had already gone. But his message had given her some hope, and she ate the rest of the bread and did what she could to neaten her hair and clothes. If the person coming to see her was a lord, then she’d have to look as tidy as possible to make a good impression on him. It couldn’t hurt.

She’d retied her boot-laces and used some of the leftover water to flatten her hair when she heard the jangle of keys outside her cell and looked up as a guard called to her.

“Get away from the door, half-breed-sit at the end of the bench an’ stay there.”

She did it straightaway, and waited tensely while the door was unlocked and opened to let someone through. The someone stood by while the guard came in with a torch and put it in a holder on the wall. It lit the cell quite well, and the guard bowed to the visitor, and then left.

Laela looked at the man she could only assume was Lord Torc, trying to get the measure of him. He was in his thirties and not very tall, but he had a wiry look to him. He had a neat beard, and his clothes were fine but plain.

“Ye’re Laela?”

She debated whether to stand up and decided to stay where she was. “Yeah, that’s me. My lord.”

He looked her up and down, unreadable. “I’m Lord Torc,” he told her. “Master of Law. Do ye know why ye’re in here?”

“No,” said Laela. “Look-my lord-just talk to the King. He can tell yeh I’m allowed t’be in the Eyrie an’ that-he gave me a home here. We’re. . well, he trusts me. Just tell him I ain’t done nothin’-let me talk to him, I can tell him. .”

“Ye won’t be talking to the King,” Lord Torc said coldly. “And he won’t be talking to ye, either.”

“But look, I ain’t done nothin’!” said Laela. “Please, just tell him-”

“Can ye tell me where ye were last night, Laela?” he said, cutting across her.

“What? I was in my room,” said Laela. “Where else would I have been?”

“I’ll ask the questions, thanks,” said Torc. “Can anyone confirm where ye were?”

“I-” Laela hesitated. Her instincts told her that bringing Yorath into this wouldn’t help her. “I dunno,” she said lamely.

“I see. Ye didn’t see the King, then?”

“Just once, in the morning, real quick,” said Laela.

“Ye didn’t see him any later in the day?”

“No.”

“Are ye sure?”

“Yeah, of course I am!” said Laela. “The King ain’t someone yeh just forget about. Why does it matter, anyway?”

“Considering ye’re his mistress, I would’ve expected ye to be with him last night,” said Torc.

“Well, I wasn’t,” said Laela.

“Can ye prove that?”

“I dunno. Wouldn’t someone’ve seen me go in his room?”

He didn’t react to that. “Had ye seen anything in the Eyrie that was odd? Strangers? Anyone acting differently?”

“I’ve only been here a week or so,” Laela countered. “I dunno much’ve what goes on around here. What looks odd t’me might be totally normal to you.”

“No strangers, then?”

“Not that I saw.”

“Ye haven’t been talking to anyone different?” Torc persisted. “Anyone who wasn’t one of yer tutors, or one of the servants?”

“No,” said Laela.

“So I take it ye don’t know anything about what happened last night?”

“I doubt it, because I got no damn idea what that was,” Laela said flatly.

He leant closer. “Last night, the King vanished out of his bedroom. No-one has seen him since. Every guard and griffin in the city has been looking for him, but so far none of them have found a thing. And so far we don’t know of anyone in the Eyrie who could have had something to do with it. After all-who here would want to harm the King?” He paused. “But the thing is, there is someone in the Eyrie who might want that. Someone who came from the South, where everyone hates our ruler. Someone with every reason to resent us and want revenge. Someone who just so happened to be in the Eyrie last night, with no way of proving she wasn’t anywhere near the King when he went missing.”

Laela’s mouth had fallen open. “I-”

Torc straightened up. “I suggest ye think hard, half-breed. Because unless ye can come up with some way of proving ye were in yer room all last night, then I’ll have no choice but to assume ye know more than ye’re saying, and then ye’ll face the same thing all traitors face.”

“Death?” Laela managed.

“Of course not,” said the Master of Law. “If ye are guilty, then ye know where the King is, and we must find out, and soon. By any means necessary.”