Page 22 of The Witch who Trades with Death

Chapter Twenty-Two

Rest days were only restful in theory. No drills, no training exercises, a day for them to spend time with families and relax. But, in Haz and Khana’s case, it was a day to get caught up on chores at the inn. Khana spent all morning repairing torn sheets and dining room cushions and was grateful for something to do that let her sit down by the fire in the empty room. The warmth did little to sooth her sore muscles, but it was still nice.

It would have been far nicer without Bhayana.

She strolled into the inn like she owned the place, fine black cloak wrapped around her slender frame. With Haz upstairs, Amati resting, and Heimili busy elsewhere, she went up to Khana. “Death-bringer. Where’s Haz?”

“I don’t know,” Khana lied, concentrating on her work.

“ Recruit . Where is Hasyamin?”

Khana paused in her sewing but kept her eyes on Bhayana’s boots. They were a very nice black leather. “I don’t know, midya.”

She huffed. “In that case, get me some tea.”

Khana hesitated. She knew what Bhayana was doing: she was going to stay here until Haz showed himself and then use whatever power she had over him to make herself feel better, and him feel weak. Serving her would make Khana complicit.

On the other hand, she was Khana’s commanding officer.

Bhayana snatched her sewing away before Khana could make up her mind. “Are you deaf, recruit? I said I wanted tea.”

Khana swallowed, heart hammering. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You’re not commander of our house, Bhayana,” Haz said, coming down the stairs, his face cold.

Bhayana smiled sweetly at him. “Shouldn’t you be calling me midya?”

“Not here. Officers have no legal right to order their recruits around in their own homes, especially on rest days. I checked.”

“Well,” she huffed, sitting down on the nearest cushion. “Be that as it may, I would like a cup of the finest tea in town, if you please.”

“It doesn’t please me. Get out.”

“Haz, really. I’m a paying customer.”

“Baba and Mimi banned you. And the chief ordered you to stay away.”

“Because of lies you told them,” Bhayana said, pouting prettily. “Honestly, I know break-ups aren’t always pretty, but did you have to spin such stories?”

“Spin such stories?” he echoed. “You broke three of my ribs.”

“You fell down some stairs.”

“Because you pushed me.”

“No, you tripped. I do believe you also hit your head, which is why you don’t remember it correctly.”

Khana stood silently and joined Haz. She couldn’t fight this battle for him – didn’t even know where to begin – but she could at least give her friend some support.

His back straightened, just a little. “Why are you here, Bhayana?”

She glanced at Khana. “May we speak alone?”

“No,” Khana and Haz said at the same time. She squeezed his shoulder.

Bhayana sighed. “Fine. I’m here because I regret how our relationship ended. Since we’re going to be working together for the foreseeable future, I wanted to clear the air.”

“Really,” Haz deadpanned.

Khana tightened her grip. She’d seen this type of behavior before. Yamueto never did it, as he didn’t have to. But his princely sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons would often try to re-write their own history with their wives, mistresses, and children. They would insist that they had never been cruel or abusive, that their families were lying or misremembering. Then they’d act sweet and adoring, often showering their loved ones with gifts to lure them back. A little while later, the bruises re-appeared.

Bhayana gently smiled. “Come now, Haz. We had fun, didn’t we? And we did love each other.”

He hesitated.

The front door swung open. Sava stomped the snow from his boots, stepped inside, and froze, taking in the scene.

His eyes hardened on Bhayana. “What are you doing here?”

She shifted, ever so slightly. “Trying to enjoy a cup of tea. Not that the service is particularly great today.”

“You need to leave. Now. That was part of the agreement.”

“Oh, Sava. That was ages ago–”

“Now.”

She gave a dramatic sigh but stood and made her way out of the inn before calling, “See you tomorrow, Haz,” over her shoulder.

Sava slammed the door behind her.

Haz sagged. Khana led him to a cushion and set him down. “I’ll get you some tea.”

“Thank you,” he mumbled.

She busied herself in the kitchen, grabbing a pot and three cups. When she returned, Sava was sitting across from Haz. “…hoped that more exposure to Reguallians and Tlapharians would inspire a bit more respect for them, if not compassion. Clearly that’s not happening.”

“I just want to know why she’s bothering me at all,” Haz grumbled, accepting his cup when Khana poured and handed it to him. “I’m not Old Family. I’m connected to the town witch, but they already have Khana coming over to heal her grandfather whenever they want.”

“Since the exact details of your relationship came to light, Bhayana has been unable to find another suitor.” Sava’s face got caught somewhere between smug and apologetic as he accepted his own cup of tea. “Not even from other Old Families. And, more importantly, the scandal is why she’s leading a Red Company rather than one of the more ‘respectable’ ones, like Blue or Yellow.”

Khana paused. Obviously she didn’t know all the details, but it was clear that Haz’s relationship with Bhayana was similar to Khana’s relationship with Yamueto. That wasn’t a shock; people in power had done far worse. But they always got away with it.

“She… actually faced consequences?” she asked.

Sava choked on his tea. “Do they not in the Empire?”

Haz tipped his hand in a so-so gesture. “It’s usually husbands beating their wives, because they have the added bonus of patriarchy. But if it’s a high-ranked person beating another? That never gets punished, or even reported.”

“It might even be encouraged,” Khana added darkly. “You have to put such unruly people in their place, after all.”

Sava swore. Haz smirked. “It’s not like that here. Not really. I only hesitated to report Bhayana for so long because she got in my head, even threatened to go after Baba and Mimi. And sometimes, yes, Old Family members can get away with things that the rest of us can’t. But this idiot” –he nudged Sava with his foot– “realized that something was wrong and kept bugging me about it, so I told him and practically dared him to do something.”

“She has a permanent strike on her record, she’s banned from visiting Haz’s home and is unable to vote in any election or take advantage of any Old Family privileges for seven years,” Sava told Khana. “That means she can’t inherit, she can’t order the family guards around, and she cannot take any rank above midya for another four, almost five years. The military also barred her from serving in the full-time, more ‘respectable’ battalions, which is why she’s stuck in Red. If you retracted your statement, that would be grounds to reverse her punishment, which is probably another reason why she bothered you. Sorry.”

Haz shrugged. “Not your fault. You wanted her banished.”

“To the tundra?” Khana gasped.

“Ma and I both fought for at least a one-year exile, preferably seven,” Sava confirmed. “But we couldn’t get enough of the Old Families to sign off on it. So here we are.”

That was leagues better than what would’ve happened in Regualli. And the fact that Sava had fought so hard for harsher justice made her want to kiss his cheek. She drank her tea instead.

Haz drained his cup, stood and yawned. Encounters with Bhayana always seemed to drain him. “I’m going to take a nap. Don’t burn the place down.”

“Very well,” Khana replied dryly with a smile.

“I’d better report this nonsense to my mother,” Sava said with a sigh, getting to his feet.

Khana hid her disappointment. Damn porcupine.