Bound by Blood and Sand Read Online Free PDF Page B

didn’t say anything about it. He shut the door behind him and undid the cord at the neck of his robe. He tossed the robe off thoughtlessly, leaving him in only a long, vivid green shirt and loose pants.
    “Cursed heat, I don’t know how anyone stands it out here,” he said as he sat on one of the cushions—or lounged, really, completely at home among the freshly cleaned pillows.
    He gestured her back to where she’d been sitting, then tilted his head and looked her over intently. Jae crossed her arms over her chest, her heart beating too fast, wishing she could sink into the floor and disappear. But all she could do was wait.
    Finally, he finished his examination. “What’s your name?”
    “Jae, Highest,” she murmured, not sure he’d be able to hear her from so far away. She glanced up to make sure he had, then went back to staring at the floor near his feet, then looked farther away. She didn’t dare look any closer. She was already in trouble; she didn’t want to make it worse.
    “Jae,” he repeated. “It’s so bizarre to see a Closest inside like this. It isn’t done back home.”
    She kept her gaze steady on the floor. He didn’t sound particularly angry, but he could cause her just as much trouble in a good mood.
    He gestured at the stone cistern at the edge of the room. “I’ll have a drink.”
    The Curse nudged her, and the base of her skull suddenly ached as if something had hit it, the Curse pain starting more quickly than it ever did with Lady Shirrad’s orders. Especially tiny, flippant ones like that. Jae rushed to fill a mug and brought it to him, kept it clenched tightly until he took it, willing herself not to shake. She was here to be punished, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing how much she dreaded it.
    He nodded at her and drank, then settled back down on the cushion, holding the mug lightly in his hand. She tried not to stare at it. Her throat was dry, and she’d barely had a drink all day.
    She looked down at the floor again, thinking of Tal instead of Lord Elan. Tal would know what to do here—he’d silently smile, relax, somehow put Lord Elan at ease, make him think they were friends. Jae just had no idea
how.
She could never do that, not when all she wanted was to run for her life.
    Lord Elan held the mug out to her, and she took it to pour the rest of the water back into the cistern. But she’d barely taken a step toward the tank when he said, “You may have the rest, if you want it.”
    She turned to stare at him sharply. It didn’t sound like he was joking, and he wasn’t smirking at her. He just looked a little bored, as if he really didn’t care whether she drank it or not. As if
any
Closest would turn down even a few mouthfuls of water after a day of work. But why would he offer her a drink if he intended to punish her? Lady Shirrad would never waste water that way, and he was a water warden.
    She didn’t give him a chance to change his mind. She drank, and the water soothed her throat, if not her nerves. She set the mug down by the cistern and waited. Now when she watched him, it was with curiosity. He tossed his head, shaking black curls out of his eyes, and sighed. “If I miss my servants for anything, it’s chatter. I’ve heard people say ‘as quiet as the Closest’ before, but I never realized how cursed silent you really are.”
    She waited for him to ask her a question, something she could answer, and he frowned at her.
    Then: “Oh!” and laughter. “If I give you permission to speak, then can you?”
    “Yes, Highest,” she said.
    He nodded. “Then fine, speak if you want to. I hate the quiet.”
    She nodded but had nothing to say. She shrugged helplessly at his expectant look, and finally managed to whisper, “Thank you for the drink, Highest.”
    “What was that?” he asked, squinting at her as if that would let him hear better.
    She cleared her throat and repeated herself, surprised at how loud she sounded. She wasn’t