“Who has said such things?” I asked.
“A few of the guards,” he told me, and my stomach sank even further. “I didn’t believe them at first, to be honest.”
I schooled my features. “Well, you should’ve stuck with your initial reaction. They’re mistaken if they think I would commit outright treason against the Crown.”
His gaze flickered over my face. “Didn’t I just tell you that I was a good judge of character?”
“So?”
“So, I know you’re lying,” he replied. I wondered what exactly made him believe that it was me the guards had been talking about. “And I understand why you would. Those men speak of you with such awe that before I even met you, I half expected you to be a child of the gods. They would never report you.”
“That may be the case, but you heard them talking about it. Others could hear them, as well.”
“Perhaps I should be clearer in what I said about hearing rumors. They were actually speaking to me,” he clarified. “Since I too have helped those who are cursed die with dignity. I did so in the capital and do so here, as well.”
My lips parted as my stomach steadied, but my heart flipped and flopped around like a fish out of water.
“Those who come back cursed have already given all for the kingdom. Being treated as anything other than the heroes they are, and being dragged in front of the public to be murdered is the last thing they or their families should have to go through.”
I didn’t know what to say as I stared at him. He was speaking my own thoughts, and I knew there were others out there who believed the same. Obviously. But to know that he was willing to risk high treason to do what was right…
“I’ve kept you up long enough.”
I arched a brow. “That is all you have to say about me being on the Rise?”
“I ask only one thing of you.” He rose, and I prepared for him to tell me to stay away from the Rise. I’d probably tell him I would. Of course, I wouldn’t, and I didn’t think he’d believe me. “The next time you go out, wear better shoes and thicker clothing. Those slippers are likely to be the death of you, and that dress…the death of me.”
Chapter 18
Hawke hadn’t reported my presence, but he did tell someone.
I discovered that when I woke up only a few hours after he’d left and went to see if Vikter was up for training. There wasn’t a single part of me that was surprised to find him waiting for me and more than ready to get physical. I’d wanted to talk to him about what had happened with the Craven reaching the top of the Rise.
Vikter wanted to talk about what Hawke had told him. Apparently, after he’d left my room, he went straight to Vikter. I wasn’t exactly mad about that. Mostly just annoyed with Hawke feeling the need to tell Vikter anything. But it confirmed that Hawke figured Vikter would be aware of my presence on the Rise, or at the very least, not surprised or angered by it.
Hawke had miscalculated the whole not-being-angered part.
Vikter frowned as he prowled around me, eyeing my stance. He was checking to make sure my legs were braced, and my feet were planted shoulder-width apart. “You shouldn’t have been on the Rise.”
“But I was.”
“And you were caught.” Vikter stopped in front of me. “What would you have done if it had been another guard who discovered you?”
“If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t have been caught.”
“This isn’t a joke, Poppy.”
“I didn’t say anything funny,” I said. “I’m being honest. Hawke is…he’s fast, and he’s very well trained.”
“Which is why we’re working on your hand-to-hand combat.”
My lips thinned. “My hand-to-hand fighting skills aren’t bad.”
“If that was true, he wouldn’t have caught you. Go,” Vikter ordered.
Keeping my chin low, I threw a punch. He blocked with his forearm, and I pulled back, looking for an opening, though not finding one. So, I made one. I shifted as if to kick, and his arms dropped a fraction of an inch. My opening appeared, and I swung, slamming my fist into his stomach.
He grunted softly. “Nice move.”
I dropped my arms, smiling. “It was, wasn’t it?”
Vikter smirked, but it faded quickly. “I know you’re probably tired of me saying this,” he started, “but I’m going to say it again. You need to be more careful. And you’re throwing punches with your arm instead of your core.”