Falsified (Tarnished Book 2)

8 Dusk & Dawn

"Dane," Mara called me by name, and I neglected it.

Crows, all of them are his pawns just as I have become.

"Is there something the matter with you?" she asked while I took a deep breath.

I heard Gavin curse under his breath while I sat here lying against the wall. I could visually see each of their auras drawing closer to touch the wounds I sustained. Those auras a lavender around Mara and a vibrant orange around Gavin. I scoffed a little and their concern was void.

"Are you mad or an idiot?" Gavin asked.

I opened my eyes. "Neither, of course. I'm more rational than you. A thought merely popped into my head." I could see them standing over me and I pressed my back to the wall. Standing back up, I used the wall for support. "Guess, I overexerted myself running all the way to the palace. Talk about foolish, I'd wasted so much energy and burned out my candle last night."

"You mean to say you didn't sleep the night before and ran to the palace this morning?" Mara eyed me searching for how it was possible.

I merely smiled.

Gavin's eyes were also scanning for how I had not perished before now after all the mayhem in the courtyard on top of it. "What in the underworld did you do any of that for?"

I waved him off. "My secret," I grinned at them. If they knew my physical endurance came about with all the training I had in Pythagoras, it would give me away. I ran circles around the Tyrant's guards many times and avoided capture. Of course, I only built that strength from years of honing the weakness that others belittled me for as a child. I stood tall and firm with my footing. "I live a rough life. I research long into the night hours with my findings and cannot help but read more on the discoveries. In fact, it was like that the first time I guided His Majesty into the grove."

The guards were wide-eyed. To sum it up, they were all staring uncertainly how I was able to fight in my condition.

Gavin grinned. "Sir knight, you're a mystery as Mara put it. No one is mad enough to expend so much energy without taking care of his physical needs. That's not a customary practice in Ravela," He gestured with his hand to follow him. "Let's get you to bed before you collapse out cold."

He took me further down the hall while the other guards watched my back. They have zero ideas on how this was possible because they did not train the way I trained my body to sustain strain and force it to act in desperate moments. Gavin paused by an ash oak door and pulled it open. He walked in the threshold and I followed.

My eyes widened at the sight of my new lodgings. A small desk sat off to the far-right corner of the room with a large bookcase next to it. It had bare shelves, but it had a few things on the middle shelf such as a stone grinding bowl and a few empty glass vials. If that were not enough, a modest-sized silk sheet bed sat opposite the desk and bookcase. Dark black sheets and an outfit laid out on top with similar attire to Gavin's only less like a rogue.

"Hope it doesn't go to your head, sir knight," Gavin quipped. "You're still new around here, so it won't be long before others take notice of how His Majesty spoiled you."

I gulped unsure how to digest what the Old Crow set up for me. He gave me a room to myself, and a place to research if I had the time.

"Oh, by the way, training starts at dawn." I heard Gavin's voice veer away from me and to the door. "Get some rest and forget about the discoveries tonight. Your candle won't be the only thing burnt out," The door shut and with that Gavin was gone.