A Country Falls (Greatest Thief 3)

Chapter Thirty-Five

I wasn't invited to those conversations about details and conditions, and I was glad. Even though the monarchs had been happy to listen to me in a private room, in large meetings about politics I had nothing to say, nor the right to speak up. Besides, being around Kassia was draining, and much to Tannix's dismay she was attending the meetings as Valkiros' advisor.

Over the few weeks that followed, more of Deorun's higher ranking nobles or advisors were found in their hiding places throughout the city. They started to attend meetings, and Valkiros began to form his own council. My understanding, picked up in bits and pieces whenever Tannix felt like talking, was that things were going relatively smoothly. That information was enough to satisfy me. I had smaller, more personal concerns.

I spent most nights in the castle with Tannix, but during the day tagged along with whichever knight was spending the day with Jalor. With reluctance, the medics had let him move back to Tannix's tent, as long as he promised to check in with them daily. Mayah had been given her own tent and assigned a small group of Navirian guards, but she was rarely away from Jalor. More often than not, her guards could be seen standing outside of Tannix's tent.

He slept a lot, but the physicians assured us that it was a normal part of healing. When he was awake, he gradually got used to his missing arm. Or he pretended to get used to it. Mayah and I spent most of our time trying to distract him. Mostly he quietly watched us, but sometimes Mayah managed to coax him into joining a game of Stampede. Sometimes Mayah would read to him, or, if Jalor dozed off, she would make me practice.

When I wasn't with Mayah and Jalor, I was with Castin and Kovin. Castin was released from the medic's tent after only a few days, Kovin after little more than a week. They weren't given any new orders, so Castin decided to continue acting as my guard. Kovin was given papers saying he was on leave while his arm recovered, so with nothing else to do he hung around Castin. It was nice having them nearby, if only so I could see that they were doing well. Even if they both refused to step foot back inside the city.

It was almost two weeks to the day later when Mayah stopped reading and sighed heavily.

I had been comfortably lying on my back nearby, enjoying the history account she was reading. I propped myself up to see the reason she had stopped—Jalor was asleep. That didn't explain her sigh.

"Is something wrong?"

Mayah looked at me, her eyes glistening with tears. "I am glad that he's alive." She daintily wiped her eyes with a bit of her sleeve. "But I'm worried about him. How do you think he's doing? Honestly?"

I sat up properly and crossed my legs. Jalor was laying between us. He looked peaceful while he was asleep, and the blanket tucked around his left shoulder made it easy to forget his missing arm. "I think..." I had thought a lot about this very question. "I think he's coping as best as he can," I said. "I think he's devastated, because he's a knight. He's probably worried about what comes next."

She reached out to touch the stubble on his cheek. He insisted on shaving himself, even though Mayah and I had both offered. "Do you think he doubts how I feel?"

"No." I shook my head. "How could he doubt it?"

"I don't know." Her eyes darted to his left side. "My feelings haven't changed. He is every bit as handsome and kind and brave as he always was. I'm worried he won't see that."

"We'll help him," I said.

"What if..." Mayah paused, her gaze landing on mine for a moment. "You're a very good friend, to him and to me, so I know you'll tell me the truth. Do you think it would be fair of me to ask him to be Lord East Draulin? What if he needs to be with the knights?"