“To rise through the ranks like a shot,” Kass filled in for him, thankfully. “Of course. Your brother here is their ideal of a guard—you should see how he gets made into an example for all the others.”
“I get more credit for Kass than I should,” Hendrik admitted, though the praise flushed him with warmth. Kass had always been an easy charge, even at his brattiest. Some of the other guards had much more difficult charges, without nearly as many ways of convincing them to cooperate as Hen had with Kass.
“Alara says you’ll be a priest guard,” Kajja reported.
Hen shrugged. He didn’t need to decide anything, he just needed to be prepared for whatever. That would have to be his focus, going forward. “If that’s where they put me.”
“But what do you want?” Kajja asked.
Hen frowned.
“Oh, Kajja, Hendrik only wants what’s best for the City,” Kass said with a laugh.
“That’s not—always true,” Hen protested.
“Really?” Kajja leaned forward, her hands on her knees now, her gaze sharp and icy blue. “I wish I knew you better, Hendrik. Then I could tell.”
“I’m telling you,” he protested, flustered and uncertain why. “It’s not always true. Sometimes I want things. I just—I don’t really mind where they put me, as long as I can be useful.”
“See,” Kass said through a mouthful of pickled hot peppers. “He’s perfect.”
“A perfect soldier,” Kajja said thoughtfully.
“Mmm,” Kass hummed a little too enthusiastically, shooting Hen a hot look.
Hen ignored it and cleared his throat. “What about you? What about this wedding?”
Kass took the bait immediately, chirping, “I hear he’s blooded.”
Kajja rolled her eyes. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you two about, actually.”
“Marrying into the Blood?” Kass made a face.
“No—though, actually, if you have any advice on that, it could come in useful.”
Kass shook his head. “I only know what people say, so that’s about as much as you, probably. My father’s family has been blooded for generations, is all I know. I’m the third chosen to be a Child of the Blood in his line.”
Kajja squinted. “What about your mother?”
“Merchants, I think. Or maybe some kind of artisans?” Kass shrugged. “I don’t really remember either of them, and Marek never said.”
“That’s your brother?”
Kass nodded and popped another pepper into his mouth. “These are so hot. My mouth is on fire.”
After a little laugh, Kajja seemed to remember herself and said, “No, but—I wanted to ask you about marriage. I don’t have much experience with boys, is the thing. Of course, I’ve read all the books, and Alara showed me birth control and all that. But I mean the actual doing of it.”
Hen wasn’t surprised; Kon and Alara kept a tight watch, monitoring Kajja’s studies and friends closely. Mid-District households and families on the rise had far more to worry about, when it came to the behavior of their children, than those of the blooded or otherwise rich.
“And I wondered if you could take me into the Tavern District someday. Specifically, to the Red Lantern—I hear that’s the best sex house.”
Kass nodded seriously. “Smart. I always thought getting married blind would be terrifying.”
“It is,” Kajja confessed, looking relieved.
“I’m not sure,” Hen said. “You’re just barely old enough for the reputable places like the Lantern. And sometimes even those can be a little rough, with all the taverns nearby.”
“But I’ll have you two,” Kajja reasoned, her eyes wide and smile sweet. “I’d definitely be safe with you.”
Hendrik rebelled internally at the very idea. Kass was his charge, and though he’d rarely had to pull a sword on his behalf, even on the most raucous evenings in the Tavern District, it still happened. To be responsible for both Kass and Kajja—who he didn’t know could be trusted not to do anything stupid and put herself in harm’s way? That was not his job.
“Please, Hen,” Kajja continued when he didn’t reply. “You have no idea how nerve-wracking it is. And I can’t ask Alara or Kon, but I know if you took me, they wouldn’t mind.”
“Come on, I bet Jak could show her what she needs to know,” Kass added.
Hen all but recoiled. “No. Not Jak, Kass, what are you thinking?”
“Why not? Who’s Jak?” Kajja was on the edge of her seat again.
Kass snorted inelegantly. “What, just because we—?”
“Kass!” Hen cut him off, not wanting to have that discussion with Kajja. Not that he was embarrassed or thought Kajja would try to get them into trouble. Just…because. He looked from one of them to the other. “Let me think about it?”
“Kids in the mines and the fields get to learn about sex with whoever they want,” Kajja muttered. “And so do the blooded kids. I’ve heard stories about the parties up here in the High City.”
Hen said, “Well, you’re not in the mines or fields, and you’re not blooded.”
“Well my husband is, and he probably knows what he’s doing. And I don’t, so I’ll feel stupid and hate it, and that’s an awful start for a family,” Kajja practically spat. “What if he makes fun of me or expects me to be good at it or doesn’t like what I try? What if he doesn’t know what to do, either, but he thinks he does? Boys are like that.”
