Page 86 of The Sun King's Noon

“Soaked clean through,” another of the men echoed, and there was a short laugh shared between the two women.

Richard frowned, unsure what he had stepped into. Had he been too forward?

Best to soften their guard. Lead them somewhere easier first.

“It is no matter.” Richard scraped back his fringe and scratched at his collar. “I had only wondered about Jeya. Why she lost her arm?”

The pierced woman’s expression softened. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and her pupils—Richard noted with mild bewilderment—were blown wide.

“Ah, the wee lass.” She tutted. “Jeya’s a sad tale, that one. Her mothers were pretty things. Parvati sang like a thrush, and Maple’s dance won awards. They raised Jeya together from a babe. Two years past now, weren’t it, Talia?”

“Two years come autumn.” Talia nodded in unison with her cat tattoo. “We’d camped in the old wood at the Sylari border—shouldn’t have, in hindsight, but the road was washed out and we’d no choice. Something came out of the trees in the night. A chimaera, the beast-master reckoned afterwards. Lion’s body, goat’s head, a serpent at the tail. Attacked Parvati and Maple in their tent. Jeya was sleeping by—woke to their screams.” Talia grimaced. “Twelve years old, and she grabbed her ma’s blade and swung at it. Cut its flank, even, but it caught her arm in its teeth. Tore it clean from the shoulder.”

“Boris and a few others got there to drive the chimaera off,” the pierced woman said. “But Parvati and Maple were long gone. Jeya almost joined them, but our snake-keeper saved her. Snake venom helped stop the bleeding. We managed to get Jeya stitched up after.”

Richard exhaled slowly. The Sylari border was the most guarded border of Ardenia. Lady General Ivelle worked hard to ensure creatures could not creep past. And yet, tragedies were always bound to occur.

“Jeya wanted to be a knight,” Talia said, quieter now. “From the time she could toddle, that was her dream. Wooden swords, leaping off wagon roofs. Right-handed, she was, but now she’s got only the left. What knight would ever take on a one-armed squire? She’ll not get her dream now, the poor lamb.”

The barrel-chested man hummed in agreement. He had inched closer, only a hair’s breadth away.

“Dreams die hard in young ‘uns,” the man rumbled. “Even in us lot. Sometimes, we ache for a kindlier comfort to bear it. You strike me as the kindly sort, friend. The sort who knows how to soothe.”

“He has the look of it, doesn’t he, Talia?”

“Oh, he does. He surely does.”

“A gentle hand.”

“A talented one, I’d wager.”

The pierced lady leaned forward to pinch Richard’s shirt. She tugged it away from his stomach with a click of her tongue.

“Will you not catch a chill in this, friend?” she said, peering up at him from beneath her lashes. “We’ve a brazier in our wagon. Talia and me. Plenty warm. Plenty of room, too, if a man wanted to be rid of his wet things.”

“Ben’s not too keen on men, but Lamrod would not mind,” Talia said with a glance to the barrel-chested man, who grinned.

“Lamrod would not mind at all.”

Richard blinked. He felt, distantly, that some piece of this conversation had escaped him, but he could not quite locate which.

“I suppose we can continue to converse there?” He mimicked the friendly smile Kaelen usually wore to others.

“Converse?” Lamrod chuckled. “Yes, friend. Plenty of opportunity to waggle our tongues.”

Richard’s smile widened. This was a good opportunity to delve deeper and gain more information not only about the circus’s route but also about his new charges. “Then, by all means, lead the way?—”

“There you are, handsome.”

Flint slid into the cluster smoothly, his hand landing on Richard’s elbow and his grin sweeping the gathered six.

“You menaces. Trying to poach my wagon-mate already? On his second night? Have you no shame?”

“None whatsoever, Silex,” Talia shot back, laughing. “We thought we’d offer the man a warm bed. Yours seemed crowded.”

“Crowded and contented.” Flint’s bangles clinked as he wrenched Richard backwards. “Find your own pretty thing, the lot of you. Off with you. Shoo.”

There was good-natured grumbling, a wink from Lamrod, and a kiss blown by Talia. Flint steered Richard away, weaving between two wagons towards his own. His smile dropped once they were out of sight.