The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell Read Free Book Online Page B

ask all sorts of questions, won’t he, Alec? And we all know what will happen if Verin catches you with veesi again.”
    Alec’s pallor turned green.
    Renee’s eyes widened at the shameless lie. Alec hadn’t touched the stuff in years. “None will believe you,” she said, stepping next to her friend. “Our word will count over yours.”
    “Will it?”
    Alec cringed. “Tanil’s right. I’m the only one who’s ever been caught. They’ll never believe it wasn’t mine.” He lowered his eyes and added quietly, for Renee’s ears alone, “And I can’t have them search my room. You shouldn’t have pushed it.”
    Her stomach sank. “You promised me, Alec. Bloody gods. You promised.” She looked at him a few seconds longer, wondering how she could have missed the signs. Her ignorance stung as much as his lie. She turned toward Tanil. Her arm ached to punch his smug face. “Go.” She stuck her hands inside soggy trouser pockets. “Go care for your scratch.”
    Tanil collected his bag of filth and offered a mocking bow before departing.
    She stood silently, watching him disappear from view, then walked to Diam. The boy shivered, wet, sandy clothing sticking to him in patches. She needed to get him warm, to get them both warm. “Let’s go up.”
    Diam shook his head. “Khavi hurts.”
    On cue, the dog lifted his head and whimpered.
    “Easy, boy.” Alec crouched and ran his palm over Khavi’s fur, wiping away blood. “Tanil caught him with a stone.” He kept his head bent. “I’ll care for him.”
    “I know,” Diam said.
    The certainty in his voice made Renee stare at the strange little boy before holding a hand out toward him. He slipped his small, cold palm into hers and they picked their way up the trail, sodden boots squeaking with each step. They had almost made it to the pages’ wing when a familiar voice hailed them.
    “De Winter! Savoy! Stop. What happened to you two?”
    Renee froze and turned toward Verin. She didn’t see Savoy. “Ah, I don’t know where Commander Savoy is, Master Verin.”
    “I suggest you find him.”
    She frowned. “But, sir, you just said—”
    “He’s talkin’ to me,” piped the small voice beside her. “I’m Savoy. Diam Savoy. Why do we gotta find Korish, Master Verin?”
    Verin gave the boy a severe look. “So that he can sort out whatever mess his student and his brother got themselves into.”

CHAPTER 7
    B
rother.
Savoy’s little brother had heard the exchange at Rock Lake and now held Alec’s secret in his eight-year-old hands. Her eyes flickered down to where her fingers wrapped around Diam’s, and she fought off an impulse to jerk away. As if reading her thoughts, the boy squeezed tighter and tugged her toward the instructors’ quarters.
    The Savoy who opened the door to room fifteen scarcely resembled Renee’s training master. He panted, sweat dripping from his hair onto bare shoulders and sliding along muscle grooves. His worn-out breeches never belonged to a Servant’s uniform, and the blade resting in his hand voiced a threat so powerful that Renee took a step back before catching herself.
    “Ah, M-M-Master Verin ordered us here,” she stammered, justifying their intrusion.
    “I see.” Savoy swallowed, catching his breath. He rested his sword against the wall and reached for a discarded shirt. A tangle of long, thin scars crisscrossed his back. He dressed and stood aside, letting them in.
    The room was larger than a cadet’s, and seemed even more so owing to the exile of all furniture into a single corner, leaving a clear space in the middle. There were no pictures or mementos. Weapons hung on otherwise bare walls, and smells of oil, leather, and flint filled the air. A travel pack stood beside the door, like a saddled horse awaiting departure.
    Savoy cleared his throat, and the events of the past hour rushed back to Renee’s head. Her heart raced. She couldn’t tell Savoy anything, not without sacrificing Alec. What if Diam told?