Still I can't escape

It happened like it did before; he bled, he slept, and then he was awake again, feeling so alive that he wanted to continue on with his day, but they had already cancelled everything for him. Aurora was appointed his second in command, taking over when he fell unconscious. He hadn’t expected to, but he was careful now, and remained in bed. The room was warm and he was naked but for the bandages, a red sheet pulled up over his legs and stomach. The servants brought him wine and fruit, a table pulled up alongside his bed where they sat the platters. He picked from it, drinking more than he ate. Candles were lit, keeping the light dim and red.

A chair sat beside the table and bed, high-backed and velvet cushioned. Stelon sat there, her hands clasped in her lap, staring down at them. For ten minutes, at least, she sat and waited for Larkin to say something to her. Every so often she’d glance up when she felt he wasn’t looking, try and open her mouth to say something, but did not. Larkin watched her squirm uncomfortably, swirling the wine and trying to figure out what it was that he needed to do with her. The servants had cleaned her and dressed her nicely, in a white dress that fit her wonderfully. The white distracted him and his hand kept going to the lace, thoughts trailing away.

They were not alone. Ten men stood at different places in the room, one directly behind Stelon’s chair. She had been, after all, an ally of Miraye’s, and Larkin already knew that the innocent could be deceiving. The men’s’ uniforms were different from what the other guards commonly wore. These had no indication of rank or decoration. The outfits were solid black, fitted loosely. They carried no staves, but on a strap around their waste was a shining, metal thing, and beneath their clothes, an assortment of other weapons. These men were the best, not one of them a fool. Their eyes watched everything at once, and they were ready. On guard for the Shrike.

“You were there to help her kill me,” he finally spoke. He watched her face closely, waiting for an indication that this was still her intent.

“No!” Stelon gasped, looking up with tears in her eyes. “I didn’t know she was going to do that. She tricked me, she told me…”

Larkin narrowed his eyes and Stelon trailed off, closing her mouth and fighting back the tears. He watched her lift her chin, swallowing. She would not meet his eyes. Hers were glassy, violet. He hadn’t recalled them being that color. Maybe it was a trick of the light. She blinked rapidly to get rid of the tears, and Larkin emptied his glass of the wine, reaching over and setting it on the table. A servant scampered out of the darkness and filled the glass again.

“She told you I was a murderer.”

“Yes. She told me we were to rescue a boy. I didn’t know who you were.”

“Do you know who I am now?” Larkin took the wineglass and drank, looking away from Stelon’s eyes.