Daughter of Ice and Fire

Thirty-Six

"It's Sir Rillson, isn't it?"

Averit looked up in surprise. Lihleih stood before him, looking like she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. He supposed he probably looked the same since that held true for him as well. But, he was sure, the reasons were totally different.

"Yes. How did you know?" He patted the space next to him, inviting her to join him on the log he had been occupying since before the sun came up. Her bow rested next to him, but it didn't appear she had seen it yet.

She stared at the space for several minutes before finally sighing and taking a seat. He noticed she stayed as far away from him as she could and felt a stab of disappointment. Despite her willingness to talk, the relaxed atmosphere had disappeared.

"Imril, the man I was working for, told me Sir Rillson had the King's ear. It's why I was at the party that night. I was getting information from Sir Rillson."

"You've been acting as a spy since you escaped?" His eyes widened slightly, and she detected a hint of amusement.

"Not a spy. Imril would ask me to get a certain bit of information from a specific person. But that was all I did. I only met the person once, got what I needed, and then gave the information to Imril. It was never mentioned again, and I was never asked to follow up or find out more than one thing."

Averit was suddenly very interested in this Imril person and his reasons for asking for information. And about the information he was sending Lihleih after. He thought he knew all his father's spies, but the name was unknown to him. After considering it for a moment, he realized Imril wasn't working for his father. The man was gathering information on people close to the King if what Lihleih said was true. If he was working for his father, there was no way he could have hidden her from the King if he was even inclined to do so.

"What did he ask you to get from Sir Rillson?" He looked at her searchingly, his eyes probing hers.

She looked back, brows knitting. Why did he care? He was going to ask her to kill the man anyway. She wondered if she should tell him. Imril had made it very clear she wasn't supposed to tell anyone who she met or what they talked about. Even if she never saw the man again, he had been good to her. Telling Averit seemed like a betrayal.

"I swore I wouldn't repeat it to anyone but him," she finally said.

Averit cursed under his breath, then hissed in exasperation. "If Imril is looking for information on Sir Rillson, then he's no friend of the King. Anything I can discover about the man will help stop what my father plans."

Two spots of color appeared on her cheeks and her eyes blazed. "Selfish bastard. You ask me to break an oath just so you don't have to marry a girl you don't want to?"

"No, I'm not asking you to break an oath just to save myself," he sighed. "I'm asking because I'm concerned about what else this man is planning. I don't trust him. As much as I would rather someone else was ruling the Kingdom, my father is still better than Sir Rillson."

"What guarantee do I have that you won't look for Imril?" she demanded fiercely, "Take him in and interrogate him? Treat him as I was treated?"

"You don't," he admitted. She was taken aback at his answer and peered closely at his face. "You have no reason to trust me, and I'm not surprised you don't. But I'm not asking for me, Lihleih. I'm asking for everyone in Crusseria. I can only give you my word that I only want to know what he had you ask Sir Rillson and what the answer was."

She chewed her lip, debating. Coming to a decision, she looked at him steadily. "Swear to me you won't take him in. On the graves of your ancestors."