“And … you are?” he prompted, his gaze still trained on my sister.
“Inara,” she said, her name coming out short, almost clipped. The tension radiating from her only amplified my own; she was shaking so hard I almost took her hand in mine to steady her.
“I’m Zuhra.” It was so quiet in the courtyard … could he hear the thundering of my heart? “We’re Inara and Zuhra Montieth.” He’d told us his full name—was that what was expected? Mother had taught me needlepoint but failed to explain how to introduce myself. Montieth was her last name, from before marrying our father. She always told us she used her surname because he left us. But I suspected it was because he had no surname—no Paladin did, from what I’d gathered in my subversive research.
“A pleasure to meet you.” He—Halvor—inclined his head once more, his eyes still on Inara.
“Why are you here?” I knew it wasn’t polite, but my limited time with Inara was wasting away by the second. And he had yet to spare me a second glance.
“Zuhra…” Her fingers sought mine and I clenched them tightly.
“No, she’s right to be suspicious.” Halvor mistook Inara’s reaction as scolding, rather than seeking comfort. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” I echoed.
“I am going about this all the wrong way. You must understand how … unexpectedly thrilling this is, though.”
“Thrilling?” Stop repeating everything he says!
“After years of study and planning and traveling, I’m finally here. I made it. And not only did I find the Citadel of the Paladin … I found … well … you.” He gestured to Inara.
“You traveled for years to come here?” I tried to hide my shock at his casual naming of the citadel, but he didn’t even seem to hear me. So few wished to speak of the Paladin in any tone other than fear or anger—but he sounded … awed.
The way he looked at Inara went beyond wonder, however, his expression bordering on worshipful. “In all my preparations and hopes, I never dreamed … I mean, to find her—here—alive and in the flesh. I’m sure you’re accustomed to it, being her … governess?”
“What? No, I’m her sister.”
“Sister?” he repeated, eyes wide. “That’s not possible.”
“I assure you she is.”
“But … you’re a human. And she’s”—Halvor paused and looked to Inara once more—“she’s a Paladin.”
THREE
It took me two beats of my beleaguered heart to respond, but finally I bit out, “You’ve made a mistake. And now you must leave.”
Halvor reeled back as if I’d lashed out with my hands, not just my words.
Mother’s plan of marriage for me had always seemed ludicrous—impossible, even; but suddenly there was a real, live potential suitor standing in our garden. With a remarkably square jaw, and a shadow of stubble, and he was so much taller than me … But all of Sami’s warnings through the years echoed in my heart, beating next to my own memories of the times soldiers or mobs had attempted to break through the hedge, while we huddled together inside the citadel, praying for our captor to also be our protector.
I had to shut away my own hopes in order to protect my sister.
I turned away from Halvor to face Inara, who had cocked her head to the side in that birdlike way of hers, watching him appraisingly. Already her eyes had grown brighter. It was to be one of her shorter episodes then; our time was running out. And I didn’t dare let him see my sister descend back into her other world—the one where no one could reach her.
“Come, Inara, we must go inside. Sami is looking for us.”
“She is?” Inara turned to me, confusion flitting across her face. Was it because of the sudden claim or because I was losing her already?
My belly burned as hot as the fire in her eyes, fueled by frustration at this strange young man for showing up now, the first time I’d had my sister back in a week, stealing my preciously rare time with her.
“Please, forgive me. I am sorry if I’ve offended you somehow. Master Barloc has chastised me endlessly for my overeagerness, but—”
“You haven’t offended me, but we have to go,” I cut him off, without looking back.
“Zuhra … I don’t believe he intends us any harm.” Inara’s voice was quiet, too soft for him to hear.
“He will cause it whether he intends to or not.” All the years living sequestered in the citadel, just the four of us … what would happen now? It had been blessedly peaceful for almost eight years; no soldiers, no attacks on the hedge. But once he spread the word about what he’d seen, the rumors would flare up again, as would the alarm, the hate. Sami had warned me that the different peoples of Vamala believed the Paladin to all be gone from our lands—and they were glad for it. Better that they never learn of Inara’s existence, especially since we couldn’t leave the citadel regardless. Only the villagers of Gateskeep had any idea that there was possibly a half Paladin living at the citadel, and they kept it to themselves (so long as we kept to ourselves), wishing only for peace, according to Sami, and pretending we didn’t exist as much as they were able.
I took Inara’s hand in mine and tugged her away from the strawberries that were now lusciously fat on their branches, hanging low like a woman’s swollen belly just before her time. Like the pregnant queen I’d seen in the book of fairy tales we’d read as children, when she was lucid. Inara resisted, but only a little.
“Good afternoon!”
The pleasant call took us all by surprise and I whirled to see Mother striding toward us, what she clearly intended to be a welcoming smile wreathing her face. I hadn’t seen her smile in … quite some time. It didn’t look right, as if it had been so long since she’d attempted it that she couldn’t remember how to do it properly. Her lips stretched wide over her teeth, and her expression was eager, but her face lacked all the warmth of a true smile.
“Good afternoon, Madam. I apologize for my unannounced arrival, but we believed the citadel to be abandoned. To find it occupied has been a pleasant surprise.” Halvor bent into a bow once more, this time aimed at her. My gaze flashed from Mother, to him, to Inara, and then back again.
“That’s quite all right—we’re always happy to receive guests. Isn’t that right, my dear?” Mother looked to me with another attempt at a smile, but her eyes sparked dangerously. I understood her unspoken warning perfectly: this was my chance.
“Oh … um, yes … of course,” I stammered.
“What has brought you to our gate?” Mother turned back to Halvor. “I don’t recall you from the village.” This was a risk, as she hadn’t been to Gateskeep herself in at least fifteen years. But then again, no villager would have believed the citadel to be abandoned. They knew all too well that we lived here.
“I am a scholar, Madam, apprenticed under Master Barloc—expert on the Paladin.”
He was so eager to share his enthusiasm, he must not have noticed how my mother stiffened, her smile fading the moment he mentioned that forbidden word.