The Third Scroll by Dana Marton Page A

he cared not about some foreign healer. “What now? We must be quick.”
    Disappointment brought a bitter taste to my tongue. “We must chance it.” We had to cross between the kitchen and Maiden Hall and pray that Kumra would not see.
    Only a short distance separated the two buildings. We would be in the open the whole time, and Kumra could step from the kitchen at any moment. And Keela too could easily see us, on her way back from the latrines.
    Could they stop him? They could call the guard and claim he was delirious from his illness, have him carried back to his chamber. He did look pale and weak. Kumra could force her potion on him and gain control of him again.
    My gaze darted around the courtyard.
    Lord Gilrem nudged me from behind.
    “Keep your head down, my Lord.” I stepped away from the doorway.
    We hurried through, paying little mind to the servants who bustled about. The air filled with their voices and the sound of hammer striking metal that came from behind Servant House, the blacksmith crafting more swords.
    I could smell meat roasting in the kitchen as we neared, my heart beating faster when we came to the open door. Kumra threw one order after another at Talmir, her back to us. We sped our steps and came out behind the kitchen and Maiden Hall at last. I glanced briefly to the left in the direction of the women’s latrines. I did not see Keela among the people there.
    We hastened to the War Gate.
    Lord Gilrem moved in front of me once we neared. “You best stay for now. The guards might question if I take a maiden who has not been given to me.” He strode through the gate without looking back. The guards stood at attention as he passed.
    For the first time since we had stepped outside, I noticed the bite of the cold and shivered. Lord Gilrem turned toward the port and strode out of sight in a few steps. Free. My throat burned with longing to be on the other side of that gate.
    A sudden gust of wind pushed against me. I blinked hard and hurried back to the guest quarters and was cleaning the inner chamber by the time Keela returned.
    “Where did he go?” Confusion widened her eyes when she realized Lord Gilrem no longer lay among the tangled covers.
    I kept my head down. “He wished to leave.”
    A brittle, hard silence followed, the room growing cold around us. I glanced up at her face, distorted by hatred and outrage.
    “You let him go?” She closed the distance between us and slapped me across the face, then flew out the door, wailing.
    Running would have done me no good, so I stayed in place until, in a few moments, Kumra rushed in with Keela on her heels. She glanced around the room as if not believing her daughter, then grabbed me by the hair.
    “You stupid murna. You will regret your disobedience.” She spat the words into my face, the look of hatred that distorted her beautiful features identical to her daughter’s. They had never looked more alike than at that moment.
    Pain spread through my scalp. I pressed my lips together.
    She dragged me through the courtyard to the flogging post next to Servant House and tied me herself.
    She screamed for a warrior, but suddenly none seemed to be in sight. So she tore the whip from its peg on the side of the post and shoved it into the hands of one of the male servants who came around at the commotion.
    “Whip her!”
    The first strike did not hurt at once. The pain was such a shock, a moment or two passed before my body caught up with it. But fast enough came the second and the third, and I felt the clothes rend first; then my skin split. My knees gave; only the rope held me up, tearing my shoulders.
    And the whip kept coming.
    Pain such as I had never felt before seared through my body. The courtyard swam before me. A few warriors gathered around, then more and more. I prayed to the spirits to allow me to faint. I thought of Igril’s brother who had been beaten to death at this same post and wondered how long he had been able to bear the