Read Online Guarded by Kim Fielding - Free Book Online Page B

unconscious the entire time. But now that night had fallen and the lanterns were lit, Volos sat on his pallet with a clay goblet of water in his hands and Berhanu lay awake, staring at him.
    “He sent you .” Berhanu’s voice sounded raw and painful. This was the first time he had ever addressed Volos directly, but the bitterness of his words hurt worse than any of the Juganin’s swords.
    “Yes, Your Highness.”
    Berhanu hissed at him. “Don’t call me that!” He shifted a bit under the blanket, perhaps attempting to sit up, but then moaned and went still. He looked terribly frail, as if he might fall apart at any minute, but his glare was strong. “Why only you? Did you convince him you were capable of taking on countless enemies by yourself?”
    “No.” Volos decided not to inform Berhanu that Volos himself had been fairly convinced his rescue effort would fail. “He said it’s a sensitive situation. The queen wouldn’t permit a… larger effort.”
    Berhanu seemed to consider this for a while. “But she did allow… you. Which means she didn’t command those bastards to… to capture me.” His voice wavered a little on the last words.
    “Your fath— The king told me these Juganin were rogues acting without her consent.”
    With a deep, shuddering breath, Berhanu seemed to shed some of his pain. “Then she may still listen to me? There’s still hope?”
    “I think so.”
    Berhanu pulled the blanket away, and this time his intention to sit up was very clear. “We have to go.”
    Moving more quickly than was prudent given the state of his body, Volos slammed down his cup and scurried to Berhanu’s pallet. He set a restraining hand on Berhanu’s shoulder. “Not yet!”
    “I’m not a fucking weakling!” said Berhanu, snarling and showing his teeth like an angry dog.
    Suddenly furious, Volos snarled right back. “You’re injured! It’s a long walk to Felekna and I’m in no condition to fucking carry you there.” He realized, somewhat belatedly, that yelling at a prince was a bad idea and bullying a man who’d recently been tortured was cruel. He modulated his tone to more reasonable levels. “A few more days won’t matter. Heal a bit first, then we can go.”
    “We?”
    Volos bit back more anger. “I’m sure as all hells not letting you go alone.”
    Berhanu narrowed his eyes and turned his head away. Staring angrily at the wall, he said, “It was stupid of you to come here alone.”
    “It was my duty,” Volos responded quietly.
    “Your duty almost killed you.”
    It was ridiculous. As angry and hurt as Volos felt, he had to fight desperately to stop himself from reaching out to untangle Berhanu’s hair with his fingers. From stroking his overly gaunt cheeks. From holding him tightly to assure them both that they were alive and safe. Abruptly aware that he was naked— that they both were— Volos hurried back to his pallet, where he pulled the blanket over his lap and picked up his cup of water. He stared into the clay vessel as if it were fascinating.
    Berhanu said nothing more. Perhaps he had fallen asleep.
    ****
    The next day, Mato brought clothing for them. Both sets of trousers were patched and the shirts were very plain, but everything was clean and fit them well. Volos had to help Berhanu get dressed, which angered Berhanu and made Volos blush and stutter like a schoolboy.
    Mato wordlessly handed over Volos’s sword and knife, as well as the cloak he’d abandoned in the stairway.
    Volos took the items and just stood there, chewing his lip. “Mato, you don’t—”
    “I’m an innkeeper. If I’m fortunate, I’ll never have to be a soldier. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be a little brave, now and then. And it certainly doesn’t mean I can’t do what’s right.” He sighed. “There were eight of them, Volos. You took on eight Juganin by yourself.”
    “Only because they were drugged.”
    “But you’d have gone in there anyway, even if they weren’t. Even if