The Marshal Is My Mate novel · Chapter 5 of 24

Chapter 5: The Chair

That night the glass in Lucan's new window began to hum.

He sat up in bed with the Bureau's summons on the table beside him.

The hum climbed through the floor and into his teeth.

It was not Perrin.

Lucan pulled on his coat and went into the corridor.

Corin Lothian stood outside the Marshal's door in his shirtsleeves, with his back against the wall.

"He locked himself in an hour ago," Corin said. "Everyone has orders to keep away."

"Rule one says nobody goes in without being asked," Lucan said.

"That's the rule."

"Then I'm asking myself."

Corin looked at him for a moment, and then he tapped a code into the lock.

"It's the date of the Battle of Carrow Reach," he said. "Please don't die, Your Grace. I've only just started to like you."

The door slid open.

The room was bare and dark, with a single bed and a table.

Every piece of furniture had been pushed an inch toward the walls.

The Marshal sat on the floor with his back against the bed and his gloves off.

His bare hands lay open on his knees, and they were shaking.

"Out," Garrick said, without raising his head.

"Rule two," Lucan said. "Touch is allowed when a storm needs settling."

"This isn't a storm. It's the gate. I spent too much."

"That's a storm."

Garrick laughed once, harsh and short.

"You're stubborn."

"You haven't seen anything yet."

Lucan knelt beside him on the floor.

He laid his palm on the back of Garrick's neck, where it had rested that afternoon.

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