I didn’t say anything. But I felt like I’d given it enough time. I felt like I’d given it a world of time. I wanted to shake him, to see those eyes open, to—
I sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Jonas
was in here earlier,” Hildegarde informed me, without preamble. “Someone ratted you out.”
I looked up. “What did he want?”
“To know what happened to your war mage. To know what was going on. To ask us where we all went off to, and what we did, and what we knew—a thousand things!”
“We didn’t tell him anything,” Abigail said.
“Damn right.” Hilde’s silver curls bobbed angrily. “He knows better than to question an acolyte about a mission! That’s for the Pythia to tell him—or not—as she chooses!” She looked at me severely. “You’re going to have to rein him in.”
“I could use some help with that,” I said honestly.
Hilde looked pleased for a moment. And then she frowned. “It was quite exciting, I must admit. But this . . . frankly, it’s usually seen as a job for the young.”
“I met the young,” I said dryly. “They almost killed me.”
“Good point.”
Abigail was glancing between the two of us, but not looking like she wanted to volunteer. At all. They both looked like they’d had a bath and a meal, but her eyes were still wider than when I first met her.
Yeah, I thought.
This life does that to you.
“You have a family,” I remembered.
She nodded emphatically. “I really have to get back. But I could stay for a week or so, help you settle in?”
“You’ve done enough,” I told her. “I’m very grateful.”
She teared up suddenly. And then rose in order to drop the most perfect curtsy I’ve ever seen. “It is an honor to serve,” she whispered. And glanced at Hilde, who was looking off into space. And gave her a little kick.
“What? Oh yes. An honor,” Hilde said. “You know, the main problem with Jonas is that he’s simply used to too much access. Got spoiled, what with his relationship with Lady Phemonoe. He needs a few more degrees of separation, to remember that access is a privilege, not a right. . . .”
Billy made another yacking sound, and then a hurk. Abigail looked at him in alarm, and took Hilde’s hand. “Perhaps we could discuss this later?”
“Oh yes.” Hilde squinted at me and then patted my hand. “I’ll be upstairs, in case Jonas comes nosing about again, all right?”
I nodded. She appeared to be looking forward to it.
They left.
I looked back down at the bed, where Pritkin had yet to so much as stir. “The Pythias took his memories,” I told Rian. “They said they had to, or it would have changed time. But he’s supposed to get them back.”
“I’m sure he will.”
God, I envied her serenity! On a number of levels.
“I did have a question, if you feel like answering,” she said, after a moment.
“What?” I looked back at her. “Sure.”
I expected something about Rosier, because I knew they’d been close. But it wasn’t what I got. “Your ghost told me what happened. Well, some of it. One thing, though, I didn’t understand.”