Page 95 of Spirit Trials

She nods, a smile tugging at her lips. “It won’t.” She moves away from us over to the group without as much as a nod at me or an apology, for that matter.

Rysden turns his gaze on me, and I resist the urge to take a step back. I fully expect him to ream me out for following him, but he doesn’t say a word. Lox joins us. “Evening, Lady Mercy.”

“What else do we need to do here?” I ask Rysden.

“We’re leaving.” Rysden puts his hand on my back and all but propels me forward.

“You could ask, you know,” I mutter.

He makes a sound. “And you would listen?”

I open my mouth, but Solace beats me to a response.He’s right.I scowl but don’t respond. Rysden doesn’t say a word the entire time we walk back to the horses, nor does he say anything on the ride back to his home. Once we’re inside, I manage to make it two steps towards the stairs when his voice stops me.

“Is there a reason someone put a knife to your throatagainand lived to tell about it?” His words are dark and dangerous.

Chapter 48

I turn around with a sigh. “What did you want me to do, Rysden? Kill an innocent woman.”

“Yes.” He doesn’t even bat an eye. He stalks closer, and I hold my ground. “You kill any person that is ever a threat to you. Every single time.”

I stare up at him as he crowds my space. “She was just protecting her territory,” I tell him softly. “I would have protected myself if I needed to. Who were those women?”

He stares down at me, and I don’t think he’s going to answer at first. “They’re the widows of our warriors.”

It takes a moment for his words to register. “But that’s,” I pause, trying to find the right word.

“Terrible,” Rysden fills in for me. “Their husbands die fighting our battles, and we leave them and their children to starve to death.” His words are brutal, but his eyes tell a different story.

“So, you take food to them.”

He gives a short nod. “It’s the least I can do when my father has turned his back on them.”

“Why don’t they have anything? Surely, their husbands receive a stipend or something to fight for the king.”

“They do. All my father’s soldiers are paid well and given a house when they join the King’s service. But when they die, that home goes back to the king.”

I stare at him. “The women lose their homes and income?”

“Yes.”

“But surely they can do something to make an income.” I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this.

“Some do, but some can’t get on their feet fast enough. They make their way to where at least they have a roof over their heads, and they work with other women to try and make a go of it. But it’s a hard life.”

“I’m surprised your father even lets them stay there,” I mutter. The muscle in Rysden’s cheek clenches. “He doesn’t know,” I piece out. Rysden nods. “How can he possibly not know?”

“My father doesn’t leave his precious castle except for times like the trials where he can flaunt his power. Traveling inside his own kingdom, checking on his own people?” Rysden shakes his head. “He’s never done that.”

“What about the soldiers? Some of his soldiers must know about that area?”

“They do, but they’re the wives and children of their fallen comrades. They don’t help, but they don’t turn them in to my father.”

“What does your father think happens to these women and children?”

“I’m sure he’s never spent a moment dwelling on it.”

It’s my turn to shake my head. “Your father is evil incarnate.” He doesn’t disagree. I feel exhausted suddenly. “I’m going up to bed.”