Chapter Thirty-Four
I found Talib in his office. Only the manners that had been driven into me by Admon made me lift my knuckles to give a sharp rap against the wooden frame of the dark painted screen before abruptly sliding it open.
Talib sat behind his desk, looking just as rumpled as usual in his dark robes. The fingers that rested around his quill were ink-stained and a lock of his salt-and-pepper hair had drifted across his brow. He brushed it aside and looked up at me with a calm wariness as I barged in. I strode across the room to stand in front of him, kicking one of the worn seating cushions out of the way as I went.
“I see you have heard Akil’s terms,” he said in a dry voice.
“Why didn’t you wake me?” I almost shouted the words. How could he have let me sleep while the entire
