An Aimless War (Greatest Thief 2)

Chapter Three

Tannix exchanged a few words with the innkeeper while I finished eating. I expected him to loop the rope around my wrists again, so I was pleasantly surprised when he just waved for me to follow him upstairs. His room was sparse, just a large bed, a small table, a chair and a chest to place some personal belongings in. There were a mattress and a pile of blankets tucked under the window. I eyed the mattress, but what I really wanted was to curl up on the bed and go to sleep.

Tannix had a different idea. He lit the candelabra on the table, then pulled the chair to sit in front of the chest. He sat down and gestured at the chest. "Take a seat so I can look at your wrists."

"They're fine," I protested. I didn't want him poking at them, and they really did feel better.

Tannix undid the clasp on his cloak and tossed it onto the bed, then began to roll back his sleeves. "Finagale."

There was something about the way he said my full name that made it hard to keep arguing. With a somewhat grumpy sigh I walked across the room to sit on the chest in front of him. The rings on his fingers caught my eye. The two rings on his right hand were thick and gold. The Order ring had a round black stone surrounded by an engraving I couldn't read. His crest ring had a rectangular blue stone, intricately carved with his family's coat of arms. The new ring, on his left hand, was slimmer. The gold band was narrow. Instead of an inlaid stone or gem, there was a bar of white stone attached to the top of the ring.

"Can I see it?" I asked. When he glanced up, one eyebrow cocked in question, I clarified. "The new ring."

"Oh." He slipped it from his finger and dropped it into my palm. "We've done this before. All right, give me your other arm."

I held out my left arm, as I stared at the ring in my right hand. Tannix pushed back my sleeve and gently twisted my wrist, so he could get a better look. His touch was almost enough to distract me from the ring. He gave me a moment to switch hands before pulling over my right wrist to inspect.

"They don't look too bad, all things considered."

"I stopped moving as much," I replied distractedly. "So the cuffs stopped rubbing. What is this?"

"Marble."

It took me a moment to realize that he meant the stone. "No, what's the ring for? They always mean something, don't they?"

"Oh. It's—" There was a knock on the door. "Come in!"

I pulled my arm away from Tannix just as a servant walked in, carrying a bucket of water and pile of clean cloths.

Tannix stood up and stepped closer to the door. "Thank you, I'll take those." He tucked the cloths under his arm and took the bucket awkwardly with the same hand. The puzzled look on the servant's face shifted to surprise when Tannix pulled a few coins from his pocket. He dropped them into the man's hand.

"Thank you, my lord," the servant said, ducking his head in a quick bow before leaving.

Tannix settled down on the chair again and put the bucket down between us.

"Most Telts wouldn't pay a servant," I said.

"I'm not most Teltans." Tannix dipped one of the cloths in the water. Without any prompting I offered him my arm again. I liked the way he held my arm steady as he carefully wiped my raw skin.

"The ring?" I prompted, still needing a distraction.

"Right. Well, it's called a champion ring. It's awarded to people who have done a great deed for the kingdom. The marble is from the Cliffs of Loth. Honestly, you deserve it more than I do." He dipped the cloth in the water again. "There was a whole ceremony. The king made a speech about how I saved his life. Even the princesses spoke. The whole time I just thought about how you deserved it. Without you the king would have died. Princess Esmeranda actually took quite a liking to me after that. There were a few rumours that I was going to break off my betrothal with Lady Mayah. Not that I would have. Not for..." He trailed off and glanced up. "Not for Princess Esmeranda, at least."