A muscle bounces in his cheek. He takes a knife from his belt, buries it in the birch next to my two, and then walks away.
I huff. At least he doesn’t need throwing lessons. “Why didn’t he blind the Giant?”
“He got the other eye.” Flynn shrugs. “And I needed the practice. You shouldn’t goad him, you know.”
I snort. “It’s the only fun I have.”
Flynn sighs, a gusty sound full of censure. “You helped us with the Giant. You’re teaching Kato and me to throw. You’ve told us things about magic and the north, things we never would have known. You’re part of this team now, and half the time you even act like it, whether you mean to or not. It’s not a bad place to be. We watch each other’s backs.”
“I watch my own back.” I always have.
“It’s better to have friends doing it,” Flynn says.
“I have friends! They’re at the circus.”
His lips mash together. He can’t argue with that. “You’re not a guest, that’s true. Whether you’re a friend, though, Cat…that’s up to you.”
My whole body goes still. My heart rate accelerates. Flynn is extending an olive branch. I can practically see it in his hand. I can also think of about a hundred nasty things to say, but they just won’t shove past the lump in my throat. Gods, I’m such an idiot.
“We worked hard and fought bloody battles to be where we are,” Kato says. “People will be jealous of how you just danced into the inner circle.”
“I didn’t dance here. I was dragged.”
He hands me a knife, grinning. “I keep forgetting that.”
Even if it’s a joke, his lie still ignites an inferno in my bones. Pain roars through me, and I shudder. Hiding it seems pointless now.
“Sorry,” Kato murmurs, frowning at the blast of internal fire he knows he inadvertently caused.
I shake off the burn and throw the knife, hitting the target again.
“You’re an asset,” Flynn continues, sweeping his big hand toward the knot with my blades dead center. “Good for more than just your magic.”
He’s pointing to the target, but I get the feeling he’s talking about knowledge as well as knives.
“And you won’t believe the riches and luxuries in the castle. You’ll think you’ve died and gone to the Elysian Fields instead of the Underworld.” Flynn’s deep, animated voice reminds me of a rumble of thunder in the north. Something about him puts me in mind of home—the good parts—even though he’s a southerner to the core. Maybe it’s his size. Everything is big in the north: big lakes, big mountains, big Oracles, big magic. “You can have a room filled with gold furniture, the finest linens, gowns, and feather pillows.” He chuckles. “You can lounge around drinking wine and eating sugared fruit all day long.”
I look up at him, confused. What makes Flynn think I’ll be in the castle when both he and Kato have talked about living in the barracks? Anyway, locked up is locked up, even if it’s in a gilded cage. “The Elysian Fields are reserved for those favored by the Gods, and I refuse to be a drunk with rotten teeth.”
Flynn laughs, smiling broadly before his expression turns unnervingly serious. “You’ll be protected.”
“Protected?” My eyebrows nearly shoot off my head. “Who will protect me from Beta Sinta?”
Flynn’s eyebrows nearly shoot off his head.
“Oh, never mind,” I mutter. “I’ll protect myself.”
He frowns, shaking his shaggy auburn-haired head. “You haven’t realized it yet, but you’re part of Griffin’s team. He won’t let anything happen to you.”
A disconcerting wave of warmth rolls through me. “He’s the problem. And for the rest, he can’t control everything.”
“Don’t tell him that,” Carver says, ambling over. Carver hasn’t shown any interest in target practice. He’s been polishing his sword until the long blade gleams like frost on a frigid dawn.
“Don’t tell him what?” Beta Sinta asks, startling me. The man moves like a shadow, despite his size.
I turn and scowl at him. “That I’m not an actor in your Sintan tragedy.”
He gives me his hard stare, widens his stance, and crosses his arms. Apparently, he’s here to stay.
“If you’re loyal to Griffin,” Flynn says soberly, “he’ll be loyal to you.”
“And what’s more important than loyalty?” My tone mocks Beta Sinta’s at the circus fair.