Free The Last Mortal Bond by Brian Staveley

mistaken.”
    â€œCaptain Simit,” Kaden replied slowly, studying the man.
    He made a point of carving a saama’an of every guard each time he ascended to the prison, comparing them week to week, searching for some change in the angle of the mouth, the tightness around the eyes, anything that might tell of a betrayal before it came. He had come to trust Captain Haram Simit—one of the three chief jailors—more than most of them. The man looked more like a scholar than a guard—thin-fingered and stooped, a haze of uncut gray hair gathered in a kerchief beneath his helm—but there was a steadiness to him, a deliberation in his actions and his gaze that reminded Kaden of the Shin. Kaden considered his face, comparing it to the various saama’an he had compiled over the previous months. If there was a change, he couldn’t find it.
    â€œYou have come to see the young woman?” Simit asked.
    He was careful like that—never the leach, or the whore, or even the prisoner —always the young woman .
    Kaden nodded. He kept his face still, composed. “Have the Aedolians been up here? Have you been notified of the attack below?”
    Simit nodded soberly. “Shortly after the third bell yesterday.” The jailor hesitated. “Perhaps it’s not my place to ask, First Speaker, but what happened?”
    â€œSomeone attacked three of Amut’s men. They broke into my study, then disappeared.”
    Simit’s face darkened. “Not just inside the Red Walls, but in the Spear itself…” He trailed off, shaking his head grimly. “You should be careful, First Speaker. Annur is not what it was. You should be very careful.”
    Despite the warning, relief seeped into Kaden like a cool rain into cloth. She’s still alive, he told himself. Unharmed. Suddenly, standing had become an effort. His legs were slack, whether with that same relief or simple exhaustion, he couldn’t say.
    Simit frowned. “I hope you didn’t feel the need to climb all the way up here just to check. I can assure you, First Speaker, that this prison is secure.”
    â€œI believe it,” Kaden said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
    Simit watched him for a moment, then gestured to a chair. “Would you care to rest for a moment? The climb is taxing, even for those of us who make it often.”
    â€œYou’re the second person who’s told me that in two days.” He shook his head. “If I start sitting I don’t think I’ll get up.”
    â€œWise,” the jailor said, smiling. “I’ll let the cage-men know that you’re here to see the young woman.”
    â€œThank you,” Kaden replied.
    Simit crossed to a discreet bellpull set into the wall beside the steel door, gave it a dozen tugs, some short, some long, then waited for the cord to twitch in response.
    â€œDifferent code,” Kaden observed.
    The guard smiled. “Most people don’t notice.”
    â€œHow often do you change it?”
    â€œDaily.”
    â€œAnd what would happen if I tried to go through that door without it?”
    Simit frowned. “I could not permit that.”
    â€œAnd what would they do below, at the cages? Let’s say the attackers from my study had come here instead. Let’s say they’d forced their way past you.”
    â€œWe have measures in place.”
    â€œMeasures?”
    The jailor spread his hands helplessly. “I’m not at liberty to say, First Speaker.”
    â€œEven to me?”
    â€œEven to you.”
    Kaden nodded. “Good.”
    *   *   *
    The main door opened onto a long, dim hall—steel ceiling and floors, steel walls punctuated by steel doors on heavy steel hinges. Kaden’s light slippers were nearly silent on the rough metal, but the guard who had come to escort him—Ulli, a younger man with a blotchy face and lopsided ears—wore heavy boots that