Free Death Sworn by Leah Cypess

herself.
    Sorin shifted his weight away from the wall. “He won’t hurt you. I won’t let him.”
    “Thank you,” she whispered, and then realized she shouldn’t thank him. He was following orders.
    “Try to make my task easier, by keeping your . . . opinions . . . to yourself. Especially about the master.” He lowered his voice as he mentioned his leader, reverence slipping into his cool tone. “You can’t say things like that. When you’ve been here longer, when you see how his plans unfold and realize what he’s capable of, you’ll understand why we follow him.”
    “Sorry,” Ileni said, before she had time to wonder whether she should. Even she could hear the lack of sincerity in her voice.
    Sorin’s long jaw clenched. “You asked, last night, if I am just his tool. The answer is that I am. We all are, and we’re proud to be. Whatever he demands, whatever he does, it’s worth being part of.” He did look at her then, and a self-mocking expression crossed his face. “Never mind. You don’t need to understand. You don’t need to know anything, really.”
    She slid across the wall, farther away from him.
    Sorin looked at her carefully, his face . . . not softening, exactly, but becoming a bit less harsh. “You don’t have to be afraid of me .”
    It would be extremely stupid to believe that, no matter how badly she wanted to. Ileni met his eyes.
    Sorin blinked. Then he held his hand out abruptly. “Here. A peace offering.”
    At first she couldn’t see what was in his palm. Something small and round and dark. She looked up at Sorin’s expectant face, trying to guess how that could be a weapon.
    “Dessert,” he said. She thought she read a challenge in his eyes.
    “Poison?” she said, as archly as she could. She wondered if her ward would react if it was. Probably not. He must know a dozen subtle ways to kill her without triggering the ward.
    Sorin snorted. “Your class wasn’t that bad.”
    What game was he playing at? She reached instinctively for magic, to tell her what he held, and the master’s voice whispered in her mind: You’ll need to preserve your power, won’t you? For as long as you can.
    Her stomach twisted into a knot. She reached out, plucked the ball from his hand, and popped it into her mouth.
    It tasted bitter and sweet, solid and melting all at once, and lingered in her mouth as if she would taste it forever. She gaped at Sorin. “ Chocolate?”
    “You like it?” Sorin said.
    This wasn’t a gift. It was a bribe—or a promise of future bribes. What did he want from her?
    She was sure she would find out soon enough.
    Ileni decided not to think about that, because the velvety taste was still lingering in her mouth, coating it with rich sweetness. She ran her tongue around the inside of her teeth. She had only had chocolate a few times in her life—it was made in the southern continent and was incredibly expensive. The few traders who ventured this far into the mountains rarely bothered to carry it.
    “Where did you get it?”
    He looked at her. She sighed. “Let me guess. This is one of the things I don’t need to know.”
    “You’re learning,” he said approvingly.
    Ileni crossed her arms. She didn’t need—or want—the approval of a killer. “And is this allowed? Should you be giving me . . . gifts?”
    “Definitely not.”
    “Then why are you doing it, if it’s against the rules?”
    “That is why.” The gleam was back in his eyes, this time accompanied by the hint of a grin.
    I don’t believe you. She turned away.
    His voice stopped her. “You really thought it might be poison, didn’t you?”
    Without turning around, she said, “Yes.”
    “Then why did you eat it?”
    She looked at him over her shoulder. “ You ,” she said, “haven’t learned anything at all.”
    He made no response. In the echoing silence, she started down the corridor toward the training cavern. She didn’t look back, and he walked in perfect silence, but she knew he