Read Online Cast In Courtlight by Michelle Sagara - Free Book Online Page A

pristine surface. When she saw his face, she thought briefly of putting the cloth
back
. Unfortunately, he’d seen her.
    “Where the hell were you?”
    “Out.”
    He snorted, but there was a little less edge in the sound. He knew what she did when she was off duty, even though it was technically both illegal and impossible.
    “You’ve got a meeting,” he growled.
    “When?”
    “A half an hour ago.”
    Some days it just didn’t pay to be alive.
    “How important is this meeting?”
    “It depends.”
    “On?”
    “On how much you like wearing the Hawk.”
    She groaned. “Stall for me?”
    “I have been,” he snapped, exposing the full line of Leontine teeth. They were really impressive teeth, too. “And Kaylin?”
    “Yes, Marcus?”
    “I’m not enjoying it.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Get your ass into the office.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “ NOW .”
    She broke contact. “Don’t laugh,” she said to Severn, who was, in fact, chuckling. “You’ve got beat duty, and if you’re here, you’re not there.” The smile didn’t fade. “I’m not you, Kaylin.”
    “Meaning what?”
    “I cover my ass.” He reached into the folds of his uniform – he hadn’t even bothered to remove it – and pulled out a curled piece of paper. She really hated paper. “The Hawklord’s orders.”
    “He
told you
to babysit me?”
    “I don’t believe that was the term used, no. But my duties this Festival are somewhat elastic, owing, no doubt, to my inexperience.”
    “Meaning?”
    “You don’t have time for the explanation.”
    She tossed him out into the hall and dressed.

Chapter Four

    “What are you not going to do?”
    “Severn, I
don’t have time
for this!” Although Kaylin’s apartment was close to the midwives guild, close to the Ablayne, and reasonably close to the poorer market, it was not all that close to the Halls of Law. Close to the Halls was about three times farther than her lousy pay could stretch; she’d settled for what she could.
    “Let me try that again. What are you
not
going to do?”
    “Breathe anymore, if I don’t get there quickly!”
    “Third time lucky,” Severn said in a tone of voice best reserved for truculent children. Kaylin bristled.
    “I’m
not
going to offend the Imperial mage. If that’s what’s waiting. I was
supposed
to have a few days free.” She kicked a rock. It hurt her toe. The hopping around on one foot after the fact didn’t do much for her dignity, either.
    But she was off her stride; Severn in the morning, Severn in her small bed, Severn by her side – it was too much to take in with good grace. And as Kaylin and good grace were often on opposite sides of the city, she struggled not to be exceptionally cranky.
    But not too hard – cranky was better, in Kaylin’s books, than confused. She was damn tired. If Marcus had half a heart, she’d still be sleeping off the night’s work.
    She was dressed in a wrinkled surcoat; she looked like Hawks might if they’d been involved in breaking up a bar brawl. She’d left her best pants in the damn Castle, and her second best, at the moment, had holes in the leg. Which wasn’t her fault; someone trying to cut her knee off could be considered damage taken in the line of duty.
    The exceedingly stingy man often referred to as the Quartermaster had other ideas.
    Severn frowned. He had a way of moving that suggested violence without descending to it, but the sudden glint of steel in his hands was not a comforting sign. Rocks and temper forgotten, Kaylin stilled instantly, her hand dropping to a dagger hilt.
    “What?”
    “Barrani,” he said quietly. She squinted. The sun was just too damn bright, and her mouth didn’t feel much less like she’d eaten a dead mouse. But as she eased into a fighting stance, she saw the man Severn referred to. Wondered how damn tired she must be to have missed him in the first place: he wore red.
    And not a little red; it covered him from shoulder to foot in a long, expensive drape that