Page 99 of Crewel (Crewel World 1)

‘On Wednesday?’ he asks, calling my bluff.

I stuff the suits in with my other dresses and slam the doors to the wardrobe closed. Taking a deep breath, I whirl around to face him. ‘Can I help you with something??

?

‘No,’ he says with a shrug. ‘It occurred to me I’ve never seen your quarters.’

‘Here they are.’

‘Amazing what technology can do,’ he murmurs. ‘Did you know that each room in the high tower is woven to appeal to the Spinster assigned to it? It’s very time-consuming to do so, but we want you to be happy here.’

‘I love my room,’ I tell him, and it’s the truth. The cosy room with plush, oversized cushions is my home. It’s the first place that has ever belonged only to me. But I would trade it for the cramped bedroom I shared with Amie in a heartbeat.

‘It’s nice,’ he says, glancing around him. ‘Not my taste exactly. I tend towards a more modern look.’

He drifts over to sit on the edge of my bed, and I make a mental note to send for fresh linens as soon as he’s left.

‘Can I order something for you?’ I ask.

‘Martini. Neat.’

I repeat this to the companel – having no idea what a neat Martini is – and make sure the kitchen staff knows it’s for Cormac. Then I wait by the door for it to arrive. It comes with the customary speed of anything meant for an official, and I let the valet bring it to Cormac.

Taking a seat in a chair by the hearth, I start counting each breath I take and release. I get to twenty before he speaks.

‘No doubt Loricel warned you about the remap,’ Cormac says, but he doesn’t wait for me to confirm this. ‘I want you to know there are other options.’

‘And the price?’ I ask, keeping my eyes level with his.

‘See that’s what I like about you – all business.’

Something in the way he says ‘like’ sends me recoiling back into my chair, but I keep my mouth shut.

‘The Guild needs to know that you can be counted on to serve the people of Arras,’ he says, setting his drink on the tray. ‘Right now your loyalty is debatable.’

‘I haven’t done anything to make them question me,’ I say in a voice that dares him to deny it.

‘You ran,’ he reminds me.

‘My parents forced me to run, and I was scared enough to listen to them.’

‘So otherwise you would have come here and been a good girl?’ he asks with a smirk.

‘I guess we’ll never know.’ It’s true I didn’t immediately go to the door when they came, because I expected my father to. I thought they’d cry, and I’d look scared, but I was planning to leave with the retrieval squad. There was no other option in my head until I was pushed into that tunnel.

‘You were never meant to fall in line,’ Cormac says, standing and walking to the fireplace, which is steps from my seat. Leaning on the mantel, he hovers over me, and I shrink further into my chair.

‘So how do I prove myself?’ I ask. Or at least buy myself some time?

‘Do you know yet why a Creweler is so integral to the continuation of Arras?’ he asks.

I’m confused by the sudden shift in conversation, but I regurgitate what I’ve learned from Enora and Loricel.

He puts up a hand to halt my description. ‘Yes, that’s what a Creweler does, but why we need her is something else entirely.’

‘To protect the innocent,’ I murmur.

‘Yes, but such a concept is vague to someone too young to know true tragedy,’ he says.