“Well, we told him he couldn’t do it.”
“You told him that. I wouldn’t presume to tell the emperor what he can and can’t do.”
She rolled her eyes. “You told him that you wouldn’t be traded.”
“That’s true.” He’d been used by Simon, and he wasn’t about to allow himself to be used anymore. He wasn’t a commodity, he was a man. A powerful man. He relished that.
“Well, he left.”
“What?”
“Gabriel. He went to negotiate. He didn’t listen to us. He decided that Ezekiel was more important than you.”
Darius grimaced. “Of course he would think that. He’s never liked the idea of us being together. And he’s right, I suppose. We don’t exactly have a healthy relationship.”
“Would you stop it? We belong to each other. You are mine, and I am yours, and that’s more than I can say for most marriages.”
He sighed.
“I always thought I was going to have to marry some stuffy nobleman and share him with two other women,” she said. “I thought the only people I’d ever love were my children. And now—”
“Now, you can’t even have children. At least not with me.”
“I don’t care about that.” She stuck out her chin. “I love you. I adore you. It feels like we complete each other, and you worry about stupid trivial things like a little bite on my lip.”
He gave her a dark look. “You don’t understand what I could do to you, do you?”
“Of course I do, but that’s not the point. I’m trying to talk about Gabriel.”
“What does it matter?”
“If he tries to force you to go to these gypsies, you’ll resist him, won’t you?”
Darius considered. “I suppose so. I hadn’t really thought about it. I’d hoped he’d simply let it be when he knew my position. But if he pushed, I suppose I’d have to push back.”
“Well, he will. He left to negotiate, and he’s going to send you away.”
“I won’t let him.” He squared his shoulders. “I’ll take an army of revenants with me, and I’ll go into the wilderness.”
“And what about me? What if I don’t want to live in the wilderness?”
“You stay here,” he said. “Safe from me.”
“I’d rather die than live without you.” There was a sob in her voice.
He dragged a hand over his face. “I don’t see how I could stay here after I opposed the emperor himself. He’d have me killed.”
“How would he do that?”
Darius raised his eyebrows. She had a point. “I suppose he’d have problems forcing me to do anything, wouldn’t he?”
“He would,” she said. “And when you resist him, it will go badly fast. It might start as a battle of wills between the two of you, but it could become a real battle very easily. An army of men against your revenants. Who do you think will win?”
There were so many revenants. They never tired. Never needed to stop to eat or drink. Never needed to relieve themselves. They were hard to kill. “I have the upper hand.”
“You do,” she said. “But when it gets to that point, many, many people will die.”
“That’s why I should go away to the wilderness,” said Darius.
“No, it’s why you should strike first.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Listen, Gabriel is gone. It would be easy to take the mansion. Once we had it, it would be easy to hold. And when Gabriel returned with his demands, well, we’d just tell him his word didn’t have any weight, because he wasn’t the emperor anymore.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You aren’t saying…?”
“This way no one has to get hurt. It would come down to the same thing anyway. When you beat back Gabriel’s army, you’d become the emperor. So, you might as well just make yourself emperor now. Before it gets ugly.”
Darius rubbed his chin. “Michal, what you’re saying is treason.”
“I know.” She peered up at him earnestly. “But we don’t have a choice. And I won’t lose you.” She reached up to touch his face. Then she pulled him down to kiss her.
He folded her soft, sweet smelling body into his arms. He didn’t want to lose her. God help him, he wasn’t good for her, but he couldn’t give her up.
* * *
Gabriel had no idea what was going on, but it was becoming fairly clear that Nathaniel was actually the father of Leah’s child. So Nathaniel was the man that had abandoned her to climb over the wall and look for abortifacient herbs. That fact tended to lower Nathaniel in Gabriel’s esteem.
Nathaniel sputtered, seemingly unable to put words together.
“You wretch,” said Gabriel in a low voice. “Do you have any idea what you’ve put this poor woman through?”
“Stop it,” said Leah to Gabriel. “Leave him alone.”
“Wait, you’re defending him?”
“Of course I am.”
Nathaniel dragged a hand over his face. “What do you mean ‘pregnant’?”
Leah snorted. “You’re not familiar with the term?”
Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “You abandoned her. Guess where I found her. Guess what she was trying to do.”
“Pregnant,” said Nathaniel, shaking his head. “But you were… you were dead.”
“I’m not dead,” said Leah.
“So,” said Gabriel, “I assume that if you’d been aware she was alive, you would have been there for her in her time of need?”
Nathaniel rubbed his forehead. “I…”
“That’s what I thought,” said Gabriel. “You would have left her regardless. You treated her like dirt. You used her and disappeared. You’re the worst kind of rogue. I can’t believe—”
“Now, hold on,” said Nathaniel, turning to him. “I never said that I would have left her. And furthermore, I don’t understand how she’s your wife.”
“When I found her outside the wall trying to find herbs to get rid of the problem that you gave her, I couldn’t leave her there, could I?”
“So, you married her out of the kindness of your heart? How do I know that she’s not pregnant with your child?”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” said Leah. “Gabriel and I have never been together like that. He doesn’t even like girls.”
“Don’t try to worm out of your responsibility,” said Gabriel.
“My responsibility? If you’re married to her, it’s your responsibility,” said Nathaniel. “In fact, I think I might understand exactly why you married her. It was convenient for you, so that you could have a nice woman-fucking image for the public, so that no one would know what you get up to behind closed doors. I think maybe I did you a favor.”
Leah was either furious or devastated. “Nathaniel, why are you saying these things?”
Gabriel shook his head at her. “Leah, he’s not worth it. Forget about him.”
“Forget about him? Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for him.” She turned to Nathaniel. “I lived in the emperor’s mansion. Anything you need to know, I can tell you.”
“What does that matter?” said Gabriel.
“He’s not worth negotiating with,” Leah went on. “He didn’t bring the necromancer. He has nothing to offer you.”
“Leah, why would you tell him that?” Gabriel glared at her.
She pointed at herself. “Because I’m on his side. I believe what he believes.”
“Stop it, Leah,” said Nathaniel. “You don’t even know what I believe.”
“Of course I do. You told me.”
Nathaniel snorted. “You’re nothing but a silly little girl. I doubt any of it stuck.”
“I’ve been working behind the scenes to find information for you.”
“Stop it, you couldn’t even tell me what I believed. Just try and sum it up.”
Her nostrils flared. “The empire is corrupt, and it needs to be torn down. You want to stir up the common people and when the time is right, lead a revolution to overthrow the
government.”
It was quiet.
Gabriel eyed Nathaniel and Leah.
The other gypsy cleared his throat. “That’s excellent, Nathaniel. Your little trollop has just given the game away. How likely do you think it is that the emperor will negotiate with us now?”
“Shut up, Zachariah,” said Nathaniel. He whirled to face Gabriel. “It doesn’t matter. We didn’t bring your lover either. We would have turned him loose if we had the necromancer, but it wouldn’t have mattered, because we would have had you both eaten by revenants.”
Gabriel shook his head. “Why? I thought I explained to you that I want things to be different. I thought you…”
Nathaniel looked away.
Gabriel addressed Zachariah. “I know things are bad. I know that the empire has been run badly for hundreds of years, but I want to change things. I want to bring back technology and freedom and rights for everyone. I want to usher in a new Renaissance—”
“A new what?” said Zachariah.
“I had to make a choice,” said Nathaniel. “I had to choose my companions.”
“You didn’t choose us,” said Zachariah, “you just betrayed us.”
Nathaniel turned to the other gypsy. “No, I stood with you. I did what you—”
“You ruined the negotiation.” Zachariah took Nathaniel by the arm and dragged him out of the pavilion.
“Wait. Nathaniel!” said Leah.
Nathaniel tried to extricate himself from Zachariah’s grasp, but he didn’t manage it.
“No one wants you around, bitch,” Zachariah threw over his shoulder.
They disappeared through the canvas flap.
Gabriel watched them go, feeling queasy.
He turned to look at Leah.
She wouldn’t meet his gaze.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Darius clung tightly to Michal’s hand. They walked together in the center of a horde of revenants. Around them, the revenants hobbled and stumbled along, blank and quiet. Darius radiated his desires out to them, and they did as he asked. They belonged to him. They were extensions of his own will.
With Michal at his side, his empress, and with the revenants surrounding him, he felt powerful indeed. He was the lord of the dead. He was the necromancer. No one could stop him. He didn’t know if it was wise to take the empire this way—by force. But he did know that he could do it. Since being changed, he had become a different man. He was no longer just an average man, toiling away for a pittance of pay. Now he was formidable, married to the emperor’s daughter, looked up to by an entire empire—fear by all, respected by all. In his other life, he’d never have had a chance to do something like this. But in this life, this half-life/half-death, taking over the empire was logical. Natural, even.
The revenants surged up the steps to the entrance to the mansion, and Darius followed them.
On his command, the revenants opened the doors. They flowed inside, moving together like a wave on the ocean.
Indeed, Darius felt almost like a force of nature.
When the people inside the mansion saw the revenants, they screamed and ran away.
Darius raised his voice. “Offer no resistance, and you will not be harmed!”
Some of the people turned to look at them, confusion on their faces.
But then the guards arrived. The emperor’s guard was made of loyal soldiers who pledged to keep the emperor safe. Darius wouldn’t need them, since he had his revenants. They would keep him safe. He could have had his revenants engage with the guards, rip them to shreds, but he didn’t.
The guards were rushing for the revenants, swords at the ready.
Darius had the revenants stand still as he made his way to meet the guards, Michal at his side. “Wait!” he called. His voice boomed out and echoed in the foyer of the mansion.
The guards looked up, as if they expected the voice to have come from the ceiling.
Darius held up his hand. “There is no reason for fighting.”
The guards all focused on him, fear in their eyes.
“You must realize that if you take on me and my revenants, you’ll never be able to win.” Darius lowered his voice, making it soothing. “I have a never-ending supply of them. If you kill all these—” He gestured. “I’ll summon more. I’ll summon more and more until everyone opposing me is dead.”
Michal looked up at him, her eyes shining. She was beautiful.
The guards all looked terrified, but they were still holding up their swords, ready to engage.
“Drop your weapons,” said Darius. “Let me pass. I will not forget your loyalty.”
The guards wavered, each looking at the other.
But then one guard slowly set his sword down on the floor.
And the others all followed suit. The swords clattered against the ground, a cacophony of metal striking stone.
“Very good,” said Darius. He moved forward. The revenants came behind him.
Ahead of him, everyone shifted out of the way to let him pass.
* * *
Leah couldn’t believe it. She felt as if the world had turned inside out, and that everything she’d believed was true had proved false. Nathaniel hadn’t reacted the way she’d hoped. He hadn’t wanted anything to do with her, even when he knew about their child. She couldn’t understand how this could be. She knew that Nathaniel loved her—at least he used to. There was no way he could have been lying when he spoke to her at the beginning. She felt the sincerity in him back then. He loved her before. But now…
Now, she wasn’t sure.
And it was tearing her up inside.
She was supposed to be with him, but instead, she had been left behind, and she was stuck here with Gabriel. How had it all gone wrong?
“Leah,” said Gabriel, for maybe the fifth time.
She was ignoring him. She couldn’t speak to him. She was trying to think. She had to figure out what she was going to do. All her plans were ruined, but she’d think of another one. Any second, it was going to come to her. Any second.
Gabriel took her by the shoulders and shook her. “Leah, look at me.”
She struggled. “Let go.”
“I don’t think so.” His voice was cold. “You said a lot of strange things just now, and I want to know what you meant by them.”
She shied away from him. This wasn’t good. Gabriel, no matter how dull and stupid he’d always been, had always been kind to her. She’d counted on his kindness. But now he knew the truth. He wouldn’t be kind anymore, would he?
“Leah,” he said. “Explain this.”
“I… I don’t know what you mean.”
“The gypsies want to overthrow the empire, and you knew this.”
She cringed. “Maybe.”
“You said that you’d been gathering information for them.”
“I…” She wouldn’t look at him. “Well, I really didn’t get much. I was going to go exploring, but then I started getting nauseous all the time, and I didn’t really leave my room.”
“But you intended to gather information for them.”
She didn’t say anything.
He let go of her in disgust.
She massaged the places that his fingers had dug into her arms and cowered. She’d been hit by a man before. Her father had done it when he was drunk. Even the tavern owner she used to work for sometimes used his fists if his words didn’t seem to be getting the message across.
“And you told them I didn’t bring Darius. You sabotaged the entire thing.”
“Were you really going to give them Darius?”
“Of course not. He made it clear that he wasn’t to be traded and sold. Besides, I’d be an idiot to trade away a necromancer. But I wanted to know what they wanted.” He laughed helplessly. “I guess you helped me figure that out.” He shook his head. “I wanted to know what they wanted. I hoped if I understood, I could give them something else to appease them, to get them to release Ezekiel. I should have known that people with good inten
tions don’t ask for a necromancer.” Gabriel sunk both hands into his hair. “But you knew all along what they wanted, and you didn’t tell me. You’ve been taking my hospitality and plotting against me.”
She winced, backing away. Now the hitting would happen, wouldn’t it?
“After everything I did for you, I just don’t understand it.” Gabriel shook his head.
She waited, but he wasn’t even advancing on her.
“Well,” he said. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
Think, she urged herself. Tell him something that will make him be kind to you again. But she couldn’t think of anything to say. There wasn’t any way to spin it. He was angry, and he had every right to be. She shook her head.
He sighed. “Leah, I can’t trust you after this. How can I take you back to the mansion with me, knowing that you might be working behind my back? I have an empire to protect, and you don’t want to protect it at all.”
She looked down at the ground. Maybe he wasn’t going to hit her after all.
“Unless…” He peered at her. “Tell me that it was only because you were lovesick over that man. Tell me that now that you see his true colors, you’re done with him. Tell me you take it all back.”
“I…” She hugged herself. Nathaniel hadn’t behaved like she’d thought, but maybe she’d only misunderstood him. Maybe he still wanted her but not this way. Maybe he’d been too shocked by the news that she was pregnant and married to Gabriel to know how to behave. She couldn’t give him up, just say that she’d never love him again, that she’d never help him again. That was a lie, anyway. No matter what Nathaniel did or said, she was devoted to him. She loved him.
“Never mind,” said Gabriel. “I don’t know if I’d believe you even if you did.”
She knew she should say something now, some version of what Gabriel wanted her to say, or perhaps just tell him that he’d been good to her, and that she was grateful, and that she was sorry. But she didn’t say anything.
He rubbed his face. “I don’t know what to do with you. I can’t leave you out here in the wilderness—”
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