Bound by Blood and Sand Read Online Free PDF

little still sloshed inside the skin, but the rest puddled and spread across the garden path. The Closest froze, still clutching the skin, then dropped into an awkward bow, shoulders hunched and gaze cast downward.
    “Jae!” Shirrad shrieked, and pushed past Elan. “All that water! Blood and bones, how could you be so careless?”
    Elan’s vision had finally adjusted enough for him to see the Closest more clearly. He’d never seen one so closely before. Her hair was cut short, close to her scalp, and her clothes were filthy. “It was an accident, Lady. I was watering the garden….” She trailed off, looking down at her muddy footprints.
    “You never should have left that open!” Shirrad yelled. “And now it’s all wasted.” She turned to Elan, eyes wide and glistening as she said, “I’m so sorry, Grand Warden. We are
never
this careless with water. Please believe that.”
    The Closest girl had sharp features and dark skin. Elan couldn’t make out the color of her eyes, but her mouth hung half-open and her hands trembled. Shirrad raised her arm, and the Closest tensed, eyes screwed shut. The sound of the slap echoed through the courtyard, a sharp noise like a thunderclap. The Closest didn’t react except to quiver in place, but Elan’s gut twisted with horror. Back home, they’d never dream of striking one of their servants—but then again, they’d also never have a Closest inside the house or on its grounds. Their servants were all well paid. Some of them were even Avowed, working not for money but for a chance to impress the Highest families.
    Lady Shirrad raised her hand again, and Elan reacted without thinking, grabbing her arm to stop her. She whirled around to face him, her lips twisted in an angry sneer that turned to shock when she remembered herself. She dropped her hand quickly and asked, “Highest?”
    “What is she even doing inside like this?” he asked.
    Shirrad shifted awkwardly, and finally explained, “With the drought being what it is…the servants have mostly left. I know it’s…it’s unusual to allow the Closest into the household, but…”
    “I see,” Elan said.
    “But I promise, I will see her punished for that waste,” Shirrad finished, her voice growing a little stronger as she spoke.
    The Closest girl’s eyes shut for a moment, and she looked away, defeated, silent. Something in Elan’s gut twisted unpleasantly, and he said, “No, that’s not necessary.”
    “But we never waste water like that,” Shirrad insisted. “You
must
understand that. We—”
    “I do understand,” he said. He was a water warden, after all; he knew the difference between waste and an accident. But Shirrad still looked nervous, so he sighed and said, “I’ll take care of this.”
    Shirrad glanced at the girl, then nodded. “Very well. Jae, go wait in His Highest’s room until he’s ready to deal with you.”
    The Closest girl fled.

    Jae felt as if she’d eaten a bowl of sand: her throat was dry, her stomach hurt, and she wanted to throw up. She sat on the windowsill and hunched over, her arms wrapped around her stomach. She’d spilled water in front of a grand warden, a member of one of the Highest families. The Highest had no mercy, and there was only one reason he would choose to discipline her in his quarters.
    She sank into the bench at the windowsill, waiting, trying to calm down. It wasn’t as if it mattered anyway. In a matter of weeks, maybe days, the Avowed would abandon Aredann and leave the Closest for dead. No punishment would compare to that, but she still couldn’t stop shaking.
    Long minutes later, his Highest walked in. Jae swallowed, tasted acid, and stood so she could bow as protocol demanded. Or maybe she should have knelt. The Curse didn’t demand it, since it was only tradition, but she probably should’ve erred on the side of caution, shown extra deference.
    Lord Elan threw her an unreadable glance, but if she’d broken with the protocol he expected, he