Isiodore snapped his fingers. “Look at me, boy.”
Eli gritted his teeth, refusing to look up.
Isiodore gripped his chin, forcing him to meet his gaze. Eli clenched his fists on his knees. Isiodore still looked as imposing as he’d been when he’d sentenced Eli to death. While Rey’s magic had smoothed things over a little, it clearly hadn’t affected Isiodore’s natural dominance. Eli’s felt like a candle flame sputtering against the heat of a hearth fire.
“Public brawling is illegal, you know,” Isiodore said. He searched Eli’s face, grip firm on his chin.
“Your Grace has leave to punish me as you see fit,” Eli said.
“What’s your name?” Isiodore’s voice was quiet, pitched so only Eli could hear.
You danced with me at a ball when I was fourteen,Eli thought, gaze locked on Isiodore. Isiodore had only done it because Eli’s mother had insisted, and he’d spent most of the dance in silence, clearly uninterested in making small talk. He had probably known that Eli was part of his mother’s plans by then. Had he closed himself off so it would be easier to see Eli swing one day?
Did he regret it at all? Did he think about Eli when he met Sabre in the halls of the palace or at court functions, or was he content to spend time with the only de Valois worth saving?
I was a child,Eli thought, hands clenched so tight his nails bit into his palms.Why didn’t you help me? Why didn’t you care?Everyone spoke of Isiodore de Mortain’s great friendship with Arthur de Valois, but it meant nothing if he was willing to let Arthur’s child hang.
Isiodore de Mortain. He was supposed to be so clever, so wise, so good at figuring out the complex puzzle of court. Where had that keen mind been when Eli’s father died? Where had he been when Eli was practically begging for someone to see him through his mother’s mess of bows and diamonds and expensive dresses? Where had all his cleverness and wisdom been when Eli needed it, when he was left with nothing but a mother who didn’t want him and a brother who was too oblivious to notice? Wherewashe?
“You can call me Arthur,” Eli said.
Isiodore released Eli as though his skin were on fire. His unease was only apparent for a second, but Eli saw it, and despite the danger he’d thrown himself into by saying his father’s name, a small part of him reveled in the way Isiodore’s eyes widened before he gathered himself.
“Do try to keep your hired man from enacting vigilante justice while in Duciel, Melville,” Isiodore said, turning away from Eli as though he weren’t there. Eli stayed on his knees asReynard bowed and made the proper groveling promises, and watched Isiodore as he nodded to his guards and turned to go. The guards peeled away to see to the cart, and as Isiodore passed, a cold bubble of rage burst inside Eli. He raised his head to speak.
“I heard Your Grace is an expert with the sword.”
Isiodore stopped, his back to Eli. “Some have made the claim.”
“Maybe I’ll see you in action at the palace, if his lordship wants to visit. I doubt you duel commoners, of course.”
“I duel anyone who earns the privilege,” Isiodore said. A thrill ran through Eli, the same ripple of excitement he felt every time he loosed an arrow just right or struck a blow that turned the tide of a fight.
“Then perhaps I’ll see you there, Your Grace.”
“Perhaps,” Isiodore said, and returned to his carriage, leaving Eli on his knees in the road.
Rey pulled Eli to his feet as soon as the guards were out of earshot. “Stop antagonizing powerful men!”
“Maybe they deserve to be antagonized,” Eli whispered.
Rey dragged Eli to the cart. “I prefer you not to be sent to prison for needling the king’s consort! What in blazes did you do to him? He went from warm to cold in seconds.”
Eli sighed. He could sense the lecture coming. “I gave him my father’s name.”
“Your fa—you gave…” Rey covered his face. “Why? Why would you do that?”
“He was the one who sentenced me, Rey. He sentenced all traitors to the crown in King Emile’s day.”
“And you just—And that’s an explanation for nearly waving a sign that says,Hello, you tried to hang me once?”Rey clasped Eli’s face in both hands. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but perhaps for the first time in the history of the knownuniverse, someone is going to have to put a dominant on voice restrictions.”
Eli narrowed his eyes. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Then stop. Fighting. People.”
“Who knows what that man was going to do with the boy he abducted?” Eli crossed his arms over his chest. “Who else was going to notice?”
Rey opened his mouth, but nothing came out for a few seconds. “All right. Yes, I see that. But the rest of it was dangerous.”
