Page 40 of Four Ruined Realms (The Broken Blades #2)

Tiyung

Idle Prison, Yusan

The stranger in my cell gets to his feet as the door closes behind him. Like me, he’s unchained. I fumble to light the lantern. As the flame spurts to life, he looks at me warily, keeping his distance. He’s around my father’s age, a little younger maybe, but this man is far different from Seok. He’s a fighter, with a scarred eyebrow to prove it. He’s probably been a long-term soldier from how he carries himself. And now he’s a prisoner like me.

He’s assessing me the same way I look at him. I keep my hands loose at my sides as I search for the glimmer of a weapon. I don’t see one, but his shirt and pants are relatively neat, and he is clean-shaven. He must’ve recently arrived in Idle. The man has dirty-blond hair and light-brown skin. He takes in my soiled dress, but he stops and squints at my face.

“You’re a nobleman,” he says. Then he takes a quick look around the cell.

I nod. “Are you here to kill me?”

His eyes land on mine again. “Not that I know of.”

A feeling of familiarity washes over me. He reminds me of someone, but I can’t place whom.

We still eye each other, but with slightly less suspicion than before. I’m not what he expected, and he’s not what I thought, either.

“Why are you here?” I ask.

“At the king’s request,” he says with a slight bow. “Same reason every guy is in here, I imagine.”

“I meant in my cell.” It comes out far more pompous than I meant. I hear my tone and internally cringe at sounding like my father.

The man sniffs. “Didn’t see your name carved on the door.”

I sigh and raise a palm.

The man focuses to my side, where there’s the lantern and notebook, along with the sack of food I keep wrapped up. He has a certain sharpness that makes me rethink my guess of soldier.

“I don’t know,” he says. “The guards threw me in here. They didn’t offer a choice of lodgings, my lord.”

“You are not a nobleman,” I suggest, but it comes out arrogant. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. There’s no status in the Tenth Hell. And my pretentiousness is making this man actively dislike me, which could result in him murdering me even if that wasn’t his mission. But I suppose I’m falling back on what I know.

“No, I was in the king’s guard,” he says.

Hmm, so my initial impression was correct. A small dash of pride runs through me at still having some of my wits.

I decide that it’s best to stop talking. I let him get adjusted, but I keep one eye on him at all times. It seems too convenient that this man showed up on the day Hana didn’t appear. It would be an easy excuse to tell my father they had no hand in my death because another prisoner was responsible.

But then again, they could say that with no one in my cell. So what game are they playing and why?

Time passes, and the man stays to the other side of the space. I had been rationing the lantern oil, but I keep it lit to observe him.

Mealtime comes, and they deliver two trays. The soldier takes his and says thank you to the guards. Those are manners I’ve already forgotten.

We both linger by the door. The meal is bibimbap with bread and water. It smells decent, but I know it is not. The man sits on the ground with his tray and lifts a spoon.

“You don’t want to eat that,” I say.

“No?” He stares at me with challenge in his eyes. The look seems so familiar. I really wish I knew who he reminded me of.

I actually have a lantern, so I hold it up over his meal. It takes a moment, but then maggots wriggle in the rice. My stomach turns at the knowledge that I ate the same or worse my first meal. My mouth waters, and I swallow my nausea.

He clears his throat and puts his spoon down. “Bread and water it is.”

I get it. I was hungry enough to consider eating congee, even after the first meal of stew made me so ill I prayed for death.

I reach into the sack Hana left and extend a chunk of cheese and a bit of sausage to go with his bread.

The man eyes me, confusion flashing on his face. I reach over and rest the food on his tray so he doesn’t have to take it from my hand.

He stares at me and then at the food without touching it. “Why…why give this to me?”

“I don’t know.”

It’s the truth. I don’t know why I just did it. He’s a stranger, and I don’t know if or when I’ll see more food from Hana. My father certainly wouldn’t have given him anything. He would’ve called me a fool for this. And maybe it’s foolish to not hoard every crumb. But the man seems hungry.

I shrug. “I suppose it’s how I’d want to be treated.”

He nods. “What’s your name, son?”

“Tiyung,” I say.

With some effort, he rips a chunk off the stale bread. He turns it over in his hand. “Should I ask why you’re in here?”

“Same as you—at the king’s request.” I offer a rueful smile.

He raises his water bowl and drinks to me.

I like him, but he’s still too casual, too clean for me to trust him. It’s too convenient that he was put in here today. I decide to appeal to his mercy.

“If you’re going to kill me, please do it while I’m awake,” I say.

He pauses, slightly confused, but he nods. “Seems like a reasonable request.” He takes a bite of the cheese. “Thank you for this, Tiyung.”

I forgot to ask his name. My mother would be so disappointed that I forgot my manners this quickly.

Don’t be noble in title only , she used to say.

“What is your name?” I ask.

“Ailor,” he says. “Nice to make your acquaintance.”