Sin Eater's Daughter 2 - The Sleeping Prince Read Free Page B

expected to see her hiding there.
    “Not here?” he said, nodding towards the sun peeping through the trees of the East Woods. “But the curfew is barely ended. Surely I would have seen her had she just left.”
    “I can’t understand how you didn’t,” I said blandly. “She left a few moments before you knocked. In fact, I thought at first you were her returned, having forgotten something.”
    “Hence answering in a state of undress.” He leered at me, taking the chance to drag his gaze up and down my form again.
    I pulled my blanket cloak closer. I’d overheard enough gossip at the well to know Unwin has been in Almwyk a good twenty years. For all his veneer of respectability, the rumours say that he ended up here for the same reason we all did – he was out of options and unwelcome anywhere else. It’s said that he created Almwyk from the ruins of an old hunting village of the royals, and began to regulate it, first as a black-market hub, then as a village, to make it turn a profit for him. By the time officials came to investigate, he was doing his best impression of repentance and atonement, offering shelter to the needy for a pittance and keeping them in check. Justice of Almwyk.
    “I’m surprised you opened the door; I could have been anyone. These are desperate times, people with nothing to lose … soldiers miles from their homes, their girls. Refugees out for what they can get.”
    I said nothing. I couldn’t. But I suspect my face said everything I was too wary to say aloud.
    “You might feel full of compassion for these people now, but when they’re cold, and starving, and then night falls…” Unwin leant in. “You have no protection.” He looked up at the empty lintel of the door, before pulling a handful of berries and a gold disc from his pocket and holding them out to me. “Against mortal men, or the Sleeping Prince.”
    I didn’t believe that Unwin had faith in the idea of charms and amulets any more than I did, but I kept it to myself. “You’re very kind, but I wouldn’t like to leave you vulnerable.”
    “I’d be happy to come inside and wait with you until your mother returns; that way we can both benefit from the protection I’m offering.”
    It took a lot of effort for me to remain polite when I replied. “Thank you for such a generous offer, but I’d hate to steal your time and I have a few errands of my own to run this morning. In fact I really must get on. Goodbye, then.” I began to close the door, but he wedged his foot in the gap.
    His eyes narrowed further, until they were slits above his florid cheeks, and he put his amulet away. “Everything is all right here, isn’t it?” he said slowly. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything about your brother? You can trust me, you know. I am a friend to you. And your mother. I’d be happy to help, if you’d only ask.”
    “It’s fine, Mr Unwin. Everything is fine. My mother likes to keep busy, that’s all.”
    “Clearly. It’s surely weeks since I saw her last. Moons, even. Though I’m sure she’ll be eager to attend today’s meeting.”
    My stomach cramped with dread. “A meeting?”
    He clapped a hand to his forehead theatrically. “Have I not yet said? My, how you distract me! I’ve had word from the Council in Tressalyn. They’ve sent a messenger with an important announcement. I’m at haste to call everyone to the House of Justice to hear it.”
    “Then you must let me keep you no longer.”
    His face twisted into a grimace of annoyance and I knew I’d gone too far; I never have been much good at holding my tongue. But within seconds he mastered himself. The broken veins on his cheeks danced as he contorted his lips back into a grin.
    “You’re too kind. Too diligent by far; it’s unusual in a young woman. Perhaps not to everyone’s taste. I admire it, though. I find your directness refreshing. I’m sure you value it in others, too, so I shan’t beat about the bush or offend you by being