Beneath the Veil

by Megan Hart

  "Lir's your friend, too."

  His shoulders lifted in silent laughter as he tilted his head to look at me. "True. But there are things Lir can't understand, no matter how much he might try."

  That was true enough, and made me laugh again. We laughed together, two women in a man's world, one the master and the other...something else. Daelyn took my hands and we kissed and laughed and kissed some more simply because it felt good to do it.

  I don't know how long Lir had been watching us, but it must have been long enough. His gaze took in our linked hands, the puffiness of our lips, the way we had laughed ourselves breathless. I'm sure it looked like we'd been having ourselves quite a romp.

  "Sorry to interrupt." He didn't sound sorry.

  "Come over here." Daelyn let go of one of my hands to beckon to Lir.

  Lir didn't move. "I don't think so. I just came to see if Aeris intended on fighting today, or if you'd planned to keep him busy. I see I have my answer."

  This made Daelyn stop laughing as he looked from Lir to me and back again. "I have need of Aeris today. He's going to come with me to the tailor who will sew my costume for the Winter Revel. But I'm sure that later –"

  "Not necessary." Lir gave a half bow and a humorless smile. "I'd thought to ask him if he'd like to help me start training some of the wee lads, but if you need him to help you decide on your costume, don't let me keep you. I'll see you both anon."

  "Lir!" Dae's cry did nothing to call Lir back. The door shut behind him with a thud. Daelyn looked at me with confusion stamped all over his features. "What was that all about?"

  "I'm sure I don't know."

  Daelyn shook his head. "Never mind him. Let's go. I have an appointment with the tailor."

  I'd lied when I said I didn't know. I knew exactly why Lir was so upset. The problem was, I wasn't sure what to do about it.

  Chapter Forty-One

  I spent most of the morning with Daelyn, discussing costume possibilities with the tailor. By late afternoon, with a gray sky threatening more snow, I was more than ready to shed the packages and bundles of new clothes the prince had brought home. They covered the floor and chairs in his main chamber, and I winced at the thought of unwrapping and putting them all away.

  "You go on, Aeris. I'll take care of this. I want to look at my treasures by myself for a little while."

  "You're certain?"

  Daelyn looked at me as though he could see straight to my soul. "You've been itching to get down to the fight field since Lir spoke of it this morn. Get gone."

  I didn't wait for him to say it again. I was already dressed warmly, and I went on feet like wings down to the field. I'd missed the start of Lir's lesson to the sons of the lords of Daelyn's court. Today he taught the littler boys, most appearing to be around seven years old and very serious with their wooden swords and shields.

  I paused at the gate to watch him with the children without calling attention to myself. Lir moved along the line of boys, pausing to say something to each one. Hold your weapon higher, grip it not so tightly, relax your stance. I could easily imagine him with sons of his own.

  He made them hang up their weapons and dismissed them. As they ran across the frozen grass, released, whooping like small boys do, he caught sight of me. For a moment I thought he meant to snub me, to pass me by with as little attention as the river of lads pouring past me. Then he nodded, and I went out to meet him.

  "You're good with them." I turned for a moment to watch the last of them, hollering and cheering as they ran for their suppers.

  "I enjoy working with them. They're still so young. They haven't had time to be tainted yet."

  Lir rearranged some of the weapons on the rack and called for Ichabod to take it away. He didn't look at me. I wasn't sure whether to be upset or grateful.

  With Ichabod gone, there wasn't anything to distract us from each other. Still without looking at me, Lir moved into the first position of the Art. I followed. Side by side we went through the basic positions, then the next level and on to the advanced. We moved in perfect unison.

  Snow began to fall as we performed our exercises. Fat, soft, white flakes drifted from the sky and covered our heads, our shoulders, collected on our eyelashes and turned the muddy patches in the grass pale. Lir didn't stop, and neither did I. Now he'd moved into positions I didn't recognize and hadn't learned. I did my best to keep up, though by this time my breath had turned to fire in my lungs and my muscles burned just as badly.

  He finally finished. We'd ended up facing each other, coated with snow, our hands almost touching. Mine were trembling with exertion. His were not.

  Did he reach for me? Or I for him? In the end it didn't matter. Our fingers had just linked when Ichabod came running toward us, slipping and falling in the fresh snow.

  "My lords!" The small boy cried. "News!"

  I withdrew from Lir, glad for the chance to do so discreetly. "What's wrong, lad?"

  Ichabod took a deep, wheezing breath. Clearly thrilled to be the bearer of such news, he said, "The Book Monster – uh, begging your pardons, sirs –"

  "Never mind that, lad," Lir cut in impatiently. "We know what Rosten's called. What's he done?"

  Ichabod swallowed heavily and danced from foot to foot. "He's found the rebels! Found them preparing to take a group of follies away tonight!"

  I looked at Lir in stunned silence. His brief, guilty glance told me all I needed to know. He'd known about tonight's foray. I had not.

  "Where, Ichabod?" Lir asked the question gently in an attempt to calm the page. "Where did Rosten find them, and how did he know what they were about?"

  "He had guards set up on the outskirts of town, by the garden district. By the gates. They picked up a man named Barnabus lurking around the gates when he oughtn't, and he told them he was supposed to be bringing a group of follies and their get later tonight, to be taken away across the mountains!"

  "Go on inside, lad, you're fair to freezing." Lir reached in his waist pouch and pulled out a wrapped sweet or a coin, I couldn't tell which. "This is for your troubles."

  "Oh, thank you, my lord! Thank you! May Sinder's blessings be upon you!"

  Ichabod ran out of the fight field and left us alone. I set my feet to follow him without another word to Lir. Tears stung my eyes and froze on my lashes. They'd known, they'd planned, but they hadn't told me.

  "Aeris!"

  "Bugger off," I muttered.

  His grip grabbed my shoulder. "Wait."

  I whirled to face him. "You don't mock me? You don't laugh at me, eh? No. You and Daelyn just don't trust me."

  "Aeris," he said warningly, but I shook off his grip and stalked off the field.

  The courtyard outside the weapons room and the entrance to the main kitchen was deserted. The cobblestones were slick from the newly falling snow. I slid and went to my knees, then got up before Lir could reach me. I hadn't counted on him trying so hard.

  He grabbed the back of my cloak and yanked me, then slammed me up against the wall surrounding the field. His dark eyes glimmered in the light from the oil lanterns hanging in the courtyard. He pressed against me, face so close to me he could have kissed me, had he wished.

  "You act without thinking. You leap into decisions that would be better served by patience. You act from your heart, and not your mind. It’s no wonder Daelyn chose not to tell you there would be another escape tonight. Especially when he knew Galya would be involved."

  "Galya!"

  Lir's fingers bit into the flesh of my upper arms as he pressed harder. "Hush! Yes. We felt she was ready to act for us, and she did well."

  "And what of Barnabus?" I tried to get him to loosen his grip, but his fingers stayed tight.

  "Barnabus was well-paid to keep his mouth shut, and kept from further escapes. Only the Invisible Mother knows what he was doing by the gate tonight, or how he knew there was to be an escape. Lucky guess, most likely."

  I pushed at him to no avail. His fingers were like bands of iron
on my arms. "You should have told me."

  "Why? So you could insist on joining in? When Rosten's men are all over this city, stopping and pawing anyone out past curfew? When you, my delightful little fetchencarry, are one of the most visible servants in this whole fucking city? Don't you know what sort of risks that would be taking?"

  He emphasized each word with a shake that rattled my teeth and knocked my head against the wall. "Let me go!"

  He pressed his body to mine. My breath felt squeezed from my lungs at the contact. His lips hovered over mine. "What if I don't want to?"

  "Don't, my lord."

  "No?" Closer. His tongue came out to flick across his lips, and in doing so, flicked mine. "Why not? You weren't so shy before. Why aren't you willing to give me what you give to Daelyn? When I can see in your eyes you want me, Aeris. You offered yourself once to me before. Why not let me take it, now?"

  "Because you don't trust me," I managed to say. "Because when I offered myself to you before, you told me you only wanted what I offered if it was what I also desired. Because you can go and have your choice of any lord, lad or woman in this entire city."

  He let me go and moved away from me so fast it was though I'd burned him. "Apparently, I do not have that choice."

  "My lord –"

  "You can't even use my name." His voice went cold and hard like the ice beneath our boots. "I thought at least we were friends."

  "Friends trust each other!"

  "Really?" He looked me up and down. "You make such an issue of my trust in you, but what of yours for me? Do you trust me?"

  I should've told him the truth then and there. Given him my secret self. I wanted to. But the cold, public courtyard with snow falling all around us was not the place I wished to reveal my truth. I opened my mouth, searching for the words, and when I met his eyes I saw the same frustration in his gaze I felt in mine own.

  The stomp of boots in the courtyard stole my chance. Moments later Rosten, flanked by a triad of his security officers, tramped through the outside gate and toward us.

  Lir stepped away from me, but not so fast Rosten couldn't see we'd been standing so close. The Book Monster smirked and brushed the layer of snow from the brim of his hat before speaking.

  "Don't let us keep you," he said with a snide grin. "By all means, continue your liaison. We're just on our way to find the Prince Regent and inform him of some great news."

  "I think we've heard your news already, Rosten." Lir shook his own cloak. The sky had opened more, with snow falling so thick it began to obscure vision. "It travels fast."

  "Then you know we've apprehended one of the main culprits behind the recent exodus of our follies from Alyria." Rosten was like a child, gleeful. I half expected him to clap his hands together and jump up and down with joy.

  "We'd heard you found a man who claims his purpose was to take women from the city, yes."

  Rosten actually laughed. The sound made my skin crawl. "Oh, more than that. That man took us to their supposed safe house, where the vermin were hiding, waiting to leave tonight. He gave them to us, along with the folly rebel who was taking them."

  Rosten gestured to his soldiers and made to head through the courtyard to the hall entrance. He stopped and gave one backward look. "I'd finish up your fucking, if I were you, fetchencarry. Your lord and master is going to need some assistance, I think."

  I watched his back, my fists clenched. When he had gone inside the White Palace, I began to walk after him. Lir tried to stop me with his hand on my shoulder, but I slapped away his grip. When he tried again to stop me, I slid into Twisted Serpent and punched at his face. He didn't even flinch, though I stopped my blow at the last second.

  "You don't want to hit me," he said.

  "Oh yes. I very much do." Then I left him behind as I headed for Daelyn's chambers.

  I found the prince already dressed and listening to Rosten's crowing. When I entered the chambers, Lir close on my heels, Daelyn looked up with a look of extreme boredom. He flicked his fingers toward me.

  "Lord Rosten, my humble servant, tells me he's discovered the secret behind these nasty escapes we've been having."

  "All the parties have been apprehended, my lord prince." Rosten's sallow face actually bloomed with color. "They've been taken to the prison to await questioning. I've put triple guards on them this time, so there can be no chance of what happened last time repeating itself."

  Daelyn raised his eyebrows. "You can spare enough men to triple guard these people? What of your patrols?"

  Rosten waved his hand dismissively. "My lord prince, I've taken full advantage of the leeway you've granted me. I've recruited many new soldiers, sent the draft around for others to fill the spots I couldn't fill with eager and willing volunteers. You'd be surprised how the threat of retribution can encourage even the most reluctant citizen to prove his loyalty."

  "Actually, Rosten, I don't think I would." Daelyn covered a yawn with the back of his hand. "But what exactly is it you wish for me to do? The evening has already grown rather late."

  "I thought you might wish to view the prisoners, my prince." Rosten gave a glance of pure, unadulterated elation around the room.

  Daelyn yawned again. "There's time enough for that tomorrow, isn't there? Don't you plan on questioning them tonight?"

  "Why, yes –"

  "Then go to it." Daelyn gave him a stern look. "What nonsense were you thinking of, Rosten, coming here like this? I thought I'd made myself amply clear. I care little for this silly 'revolution' as you insist upon naming it. I gave you leave to perform your duties the best you can. Beyond that, I need not hear of it."

  Rosten gave Daelyn a bow so formal it became almost mocking. "I see, my prince. I merely thought you'd like to be told –"

  "Of course. You told me. Now you can go."

  Rosten straightened, and as he did, I saw the glint of anger in his brilliant green eyes. "As it pleases you, my lord prince."

  He left the room without bidding us good night, and as soon as the door had closed, Daelyn was on his feet. He paced furiously, his amber hair whipping behind him as he turned at the end of the room and walked back. Lir leaned against the wall, arms crossed, silently watching him.

  I hung my cloak over the drip pan next to the fire, and went to Daelyn's wardrobe. I pulled out warm pants, shirt, vest, hose, all in dark colors. I hung them on the warmer. I bent and reached for a pair of waterproof boots, undecorated and unfashionable, but perfect for weather such as was outside. I found and filled a traveling wine skin, then placed that also by the fire to warm it for the evening ahead.

  "What by the Blessed Balls are you doing?" Daelyn snapped finally when he noticed my preparations.

  "I'm getting you ready for tonight," I replied calmly. "You will be going to get them out, won't you?"

  He stopped his pacing. "What say you? Are you out of your fucking mind? Didn't you hear Rosten say he's got triple guards?"

  I looked at Lir, who remained implacable. He'd taken off his own cloak but left it in an untidy pile on the floor, where it created a slowly spreading puddle. I'd be damned before I cleaned up after him, so I tossed him a towel, instead. He didn't use it.

  "I know you've been planning other escapes. I know Galya and the women they caught tonight can't be the only ones. It would be the perfect time for you to take the others. Rosten won't be looking for any more, not tonight." I paused, my hands needing work to keep me from giving in to the anger and grief. "And then you'll find a way to help Galya. Won't you?"

  "Aeris is right about the others," Lir muttered.

  I ignored him. "Daelyn. You'll get Galya away from him, won't you?"

  Daelyn bit at his fingernail and started pacing again. "There are others, you're right. They hadn't planned on going tonight, not with this weather, but they could be made ready. Moravian and Gilder can lead them. I can lead the other. And Lir, you can find the third."

  "And me?"

  "What about you?" Daelyn stalked toward the pit
cher of wine and poured a goblet, then drank it down. "You're too impulsive, Aeris. Look what happened with Vermonte."

  "It's different, and you know it." I refused to look at Lir. I stepped in front of Daelyn to force him to meet my eyes. "I helped you before. Why won't you trust me, Dae? Why trust me with your deepest secrets, but not this?"

  He shook his head. "No. You're too young. You're not trained enough."

  "I can fight! Ask Lir!"

  Daelyn shot Lir a glance, who said nothing. "I know you can fight. I meant training in other ways. Evasion. Not getting caught. You're a liability, Aeris. I'm sorry, but you are. Besides, I need you here in case the Book Monster comes back."