‘Did you never like her?’
‘No. You forget, I grew up with her. I knew her during my years of education in the Citadel, and she was a vindictive snake even then.’
Aurelia couldn’t help but feel sorry for Nepheli. Even with everything she was convinced the woman had visited on her, the decision to oust her from the marriage arrangements had been the Duke’s. She probably saw that without Aurelia’s presence it would never have happened, without her arguments about the need of defence for the city, the Duke may not have made the decision he did. She could see she was culpable in what Nepheli would see as her downfall. The girl had had her political power ripped away from her and she was understandably rebelling. Aurelia understood being a rebel.
Faibryn leant forward over the table and poured her a glass of wine.
‘Well my father’s decision means you are no longer a political prisoner. You are free to go anywhere you like.’
‘Yes, free,’ she scoffed, taking a sip of the drink. It was thick and dark blue and smelt pungently of alcohol. ‘I’m less free now than before. You try leaving the palatial grounds when you are the most hated demonic seductress in the city. I would get lynched in the street by a gleeful mob.’
Chrysaora piped up from across the room, ‘They would not get anywhere near you. I would stop them. But I advise against the Marquis’ suggestion.’
So, it was a Marquis. She made a mental note. Aurelia raised her glass to Chrysaora, but was looking at Faibryn as she said, ‘You’re doing a terrible job of pretending you aren’t listening.’
‘Trust me,’ said Chrysaora, ‘neither of us wants this. It makes me sick listening to you.’
Aurelia ignored her and addressed Faibryn. ‘Free to be chaperoned when I meet with my future husband.’
‘We both have that pleasure.’ He winked. ‘The perks of being young and powerful.’ He didn’t need to indicate his retinue of four guardsmen who ornamented the corners of the richly decorated receiving room.
That seemed like a good moment to tackle the question of his identity, but instead she looked at the drink again. ‘What is this stuff?’
‘I’m glad you asked.’ He held up his own tumbler. ‘This is Glaxnomian bean wine. I don’t know why it’s thick, probably the beans, but I like it because it is incredibly strong, so you don’t need to drink much.’
Aurelia nodded. She was starting to feel light-headed after only a few sips and resolved to set it aside when she next got the chance without seeming rude. She had things to talk to him about besides her week of backlash.
‘You said young and powerful. Now that I know you’re not a simple manservant called Marcus, you can tell me, why did you hide your identity from me?’
Faibryn sighed. ‘Why did you play along and pretend to be a sailor’s daughter called Liath?’
‘Tailor,’ she corrected automatically, but she decided to indulge the question. ‘Protection?’
‘Maybe you don’t know why you did it?’
Aurelia shrugged. ‘I want to know why you did.’
Faibryn’s expression turned pensive. ‘Tell me this. If you had walked into the city in your official capacity, and been introduced at court to the Marquis of Argentor, betrothed to Nepheli Opetreia, do you think we would have been able to get to know each other? You would have been the exiled Empress of Theris, completely unavailable. I would not have been able to see you without the chaperones we have now.’ He leaned in. ‘I’m very grateful we had a chance before everything became official. The stigma of position does not make it easy to learn about someone. Instead you got to be a simple sailor’s daughter, and I a simple manservant, two people able to meet in private, see the city, flaunt the rules.’
‘You are right, of course,’ said Aurelia. ‘Except it was a tailor’s daughter.’
‘I’m so sorry I cannot keep your entirely fictional story straight.’
Aurelia found she did understand. The persona of Liath allowed her freedom from the trappings of her station. She had used it to be free of her semi-incarceration here. Could she blame Faibryn for wanting to escape from the burden that power had put on him, even if just for a while? She remembered Chrysaora’s offer. Leave your life behind, and embrace a new one. What Faibryn had done was only a small step down that path, but so wonderful and freeing. Was it so bad to put down the mantle every now and again. She found she missed that day in the city, when she had just been Liath. When she was Liath she didn’t have to think about war, armies, politics, betrothals, or Medusi. It was more seductive now than when Chrysaora had suggested it.
Faibryn was gazing down for a moment, but lifted his eyes to meet hers. The emerald green of them was piercing. ‘I wouldn't want a noble arrangement like that,’ he said.
Aurelia choked on the grape she had just that moment popped in her mouth, and coughed. His meaning was clear. She was reminded of the marriage negotiations she had engaged in with Lepitern and Stauros. Lepitern had been arranging a political marriage, just the type that Faibryn didn’t want. Stauros had been the passionate one, interested in her as a woman with a body that could give pleasure and bear heirs before he cared about her status. Faibryn was like that; he hadn’t been coy in describing his affections so far.
And that kiss. Aurelia caught herself looking at his full lips and wondering absently how they would feel brushing hers again. She smiled.
‘What is it?’ Faibryn asked.
‘I just realised I’m starting to like you.’ I really am, she thought. She wasn’t just miming her way through a political confrontation. This was different. Softer, more intimate. She found herself leaning forward.
He smiled back. ‘I like that you don’t play those same games Aurelia. I apologise for doing so, but I am not sorry for the result.’ He was so close, if she had lurched a few inches their lips would touch.
Then Chrysaora cleared her throat loudly and deliberately and ruined the moment.
Faibryn glared at Chrysaora and reclined again on his cushions and soft fabrics. He was suddenly all business, recovering himself. ‘Terietta informed me that you met with a representative of the Citadel. A Harold Vingian?’
‘Yes, the Premier spokesman.’
‘And what did you and he discuss?’
‘I asked him to rally support in the council of Premiers for aiding me with use of their militia.’
‘The Primes? They are notoriously insular about the use of their private army.’
‘But if it was used against the Order…’ she left it hanging. She was suddenly far more comfortable talking politics, something she knew well. A place she could never truly relax. To relax was to let your guard down. Was that one of Ennius’ lessons or something of her own?
‘And were you successful?’ he asked.
‘Not in the slightest.’
Faibryn chuckled, and tipped his head. He seemed somehow glad that it hadn’t gone well, but maybe she was seeing something that wasn’t there. Maybe he was just trying not to say I told you so.
‘Well you don't need their army now anyway.’
‘How so?’ It was more than she had hoped for, that he might commit the army to her so soon.
‘Once we are wed, we can discuss your use of the Argentor army,’ he said, noncommittal. That wasn’t what she had expected. Duke Lepitern had made it seem like a done deal, but then she had managed to convince him, and maybe she hadn’t yet convinced Faibryn. She would need to work on him again.
‘And when is that? Soon I hope.’
‘Soon,’ he said. How frustrating, she thought. He had clammed up for some reason, uncomfortable talking about the army with her.
She decided to make it explicit. ‘Will you help me retake Theris? Regardless of my reasoning I would think it was relatively simple to rally the same nobles who forced your father’s hand, and then deliver the city they craved so much. It would be yours to rule as my husband.’
‘We will discuss it only after the wedding. I am not going to be forced into committing fo
rces without any concessions from you.’
Concessions? ‘Like what?’ she said incredulously.
‘We will discuss it after the wedding. I can’t be much clearer, Aurelia,’ he said with finality.
She sat up straight. She did not like to be stonewalled, and it suddenly felt like the relationship would be unequal. For all his professions of love, was he going to make it difficult? Was he maybe intimidated by a strong woman? Aurelia was not going to be overruled in a marriage.
She tried to claw back some control. ‘I still intend to convince the Premiers if I can. Numbers play a major role in battle, I don’t care what the strategists say.’
‘Do what you must.’ He stood abruptly, and offered his hand. ‘Come with me onto the balcony. I need a little air. And let us change the subject.’ Had he realised that he’d affronted her? Aurelia stood, smoothing her long skirts and followed him. Chrysaora and three of the guardsmen fell into step, the fourth had dashed ahead to vet the area.
The receiving room backed onto a terraced balcony similar to hers, lit and warmed in the orange afternoon glow, though the view from this side of the palace was across the hills to the southeast, in the direction of the Cartracian mountains far in the distance. She could just see the tip of Cartracia itself breaking through the sparse clouds, and was that the Floating Islands arrayed beside it. She thought of Cassandra and Totelun making their way up that cold snow-covered mountain; would Totelun make it back to his home, as was clearly his aim? Was her sister safe? She would speak to Cassandra when she next got a chance, and try to understand their progress.
The balcony was large and stretched along the side of the palace for much further than one room. The first guard was striding down the length of it making sure no assassins lurked in the shadows of the late afternoon. Just as Aurelia was turning back to Faibryn, she heard one of the other doors crash open along the balcony; a woman emerged, spotted them at the far end and made a beeline for them.
‘Oh dear,’ said Faibryn behind her.
It was Nepheli Opetreia. She was visibly upset, her eyes wet as well as sharp and angry, her hair a tangle. She was brandishing a finger at Aurelia as she approached, the guard running to catch up. He managed to get in front of her just as she reached Aurelia.
‘How could you do this to me!?’ Nepheli shouted.
‘My lady, please,’ said the guard, standing between them. He was trying to hold her back without manhandling a lady of the court.
‘I thought we were friends. I was trying to help you get the army you needed.’
‘Nepheli,’ said Aurelia.
‘And here you go behind my back and just remove me from your path. You are ruthless, like they say. A ruthless witch under the influence of the Medusi.’ She gestured at Chrysaora.
Aurelia didn’t know what to say to that. ‘You have this all wrong, Nepheli. This was the Duke's call, not mine.’
‘It was you. You betrayed me!’
‘No, listen. I knew nothing about it. It was as much of a surprise to me as you.’
‘Oh, don’t give me that crap, darling. You arranged this.’
She’d been accused of far worse in her young life, but somehow it was the distinct unfairness of it that got to her. If she’d done what Nepheli claimed she could have taken anything she threw at her with an upturned chin. As it was, ‘You are like a child,’ said Aurelia, suddenly unwilling to keep attempting to placate her. ‘You sent me rotten food, locked me in my suite. You put a dead pig’s head in my bed! You have turned the entire court, the entire city against me. When we need them most!’
‘Oh, poor Aurelia,’ said Nepheli sarcastically. ‘The only person ever to have their circumstances changed against their will.’
‘All I did to you was an accident,’ Aurelia said, by the flames of her anger were already dying.
Nepheli looked past her at Faibryn, still unable to get by the struggling guardsman. ‘The only reason she is interested in you is your political power,’ she called to him.
‘Nepheli, you are making a scene,’ said Faibryn. It was true. Her shouting had already drawn a small crowd of onlookers below the balcony, looking up and pointing.
‘Don’t you care? It’s not real.’
Faibryn shook his hand. ‘Of course it’s about political power. So what?’
‘It was different with us,’ Nepheli wailed.
‘Do you honestly believe that? Our own betrothal was only ever about money for the army.’
‘Money you will sorely miss with this insult!’ she shrieked. She stopped struggling with the guard, batting his hands away and taking a deep breath. Aurelia thought for a moment she was done, her anger spent. But she fixed her with a stare of hatred.
‘I will make sure you regret what you’ve done, Aurelia. This is not over. I will find a way to bring you down, so far down that when you look up, all you will see is the heel of my boot, kicking you in the face.’
From Nepheli, it didn’t seem an idle threat, and it hung in the air like an omen of things to come.
*
I feel bad for her, Aurelia told Cassandra later that evening. Faibryn and her conversation had been stilted and awkward from that moment onward, maybe earlier if she was honest with herself; he’d made his excuses and left. I mean it’s clear she loved him in her way.
Maybe so, intoned Cassandra. She had been glad as always of Aurelia’s communication. But it sounds like her way of loving was brutally one-sided and Faibryn thought her capable of this type of behaviour for some time. It’s hard to build a real relationship with someone who can change so dramatically at the click of a finger.
I agree, I just feel so guilty. Aurelia sat on her own terrace, basking in the cool evening breeze and watching the sunset.
Cassandra sounded exasperated. Yes, but like you said to her, the Duke made this decision.
I can admit to you that I coaxed him into it. I changed his mind.
About the army, not about who was marrying his son. That was all his own doing.
Her sister was right. It had been Lepitern. Aurelia was trying to be a good person, like Chrysaora had asked her to do so long ago. Earn your power. She had earned a great deal of this good fortune, but she didn’t need to take responsibility for things that had not been her fault. Part of her new attempt to earn Chrysaora’s loyalty was about understanding the other side of a situation. She could be guilty of forging her own path at the expense of others, but as long as she was aware of it she felt she was making progress. She just felt like she had been making a friend, and now for the sake of politics she had lost them.
Your new status worries me, sent Cassandra.
Why? asked Aurelia, but she found she was growing tired of Cassandra’s omens. They had already been proved to be tenuous; sure, they could come true, but they could also not.
This marriage, Faibryn Argentor himself.
You think Faibryn means me harm, intoned Aurelia incredulously. He gets a new wife out of this arrangement. What possible reason could he have to hurt me?
Don’t be naive. Until a week ago, you didn’t even know his real name. He could be hiding anything.
I hid my name too. It was innocent. Clearly if someone means me harm its Nepheli. She’s the one I’ve slighted.
Nepheli could take this further, Cassandra agreed. She has a powerful father who could make the Duke and Marquis’ lives difficult. She has a lot of money and a lot of friends. I’d be surprised if her family has not used the services of an assassin or two over the years. Knowing Argentor, there’s probably a guild for that. She paused before adding. But Faibryn worries me also. He seems too good to be true.
Maybe you should just leave me alone. I can’t deal with these ill-tidings all the time. Aurelia meant to leave the conversation then, standing up from where she’d been staring absently across the city’s rooftops, but Cassandra wasn’t finished.
Someone is after you, Aurelia. I can still see the figure hunched over your dead body. It could be one of them.<
br />
Aurelia wasn’t interested. But it could also be neither. It could be anyone. I have been in Faibryn’s power multiple times, especially when he took me into the city. He could have done away with me at half a dozen different times. She just could not accept that he meant her harm. Not after the kiss, not after the way he looked at her. He saved my life from Medusi. We were completely alone and he saved my life. Now, Nepheli. She I will believe capable of anything at the moment.
It could be her just as easily, admitted Cassandra.
That seemed to be it, and Aurelia walked back inside. The air had been getting chill as she listened to her sister’s fears. She saw Chrysaora stretched out on a sofa with a man’s cap over her face and didn’t wake her.
I’m sorry, she sent Cassandra. She didn’t like arguing with her sister, and preferred to apologise now rather than not talk for a week. If anything it was because she realised she should always trust that her sister was telling the truth. At least here in this world of thought they shared. But it isn’t objective truth, she thought, but didn’t send, it is what she thinks is the truth. It was closer to belief. They could only say what they believed was the truth. But again they had no basis in knowledge, just their own experience.
So am I, her sister replied a minute later. I don’t want to scare you. I just want you to be cautious. I worry. You are my only sister, adrift and alone in a foreign land.
Yeah, well you are halfway up a mountain, intending to go to an island that floats in the sky. Who should be more worried?
She contemplated going to sleep but a thought stopped her as she was beginning to undress. She went back to the lounge and found Chrysaora in the same position.
‘Chrys?’ she said. ‘Wake up.’
Chrysaora yawned and stretched. ‘What is it?’
‘I need you to do something for me.’
Her bodyguard stood up, fully awake. ‘You sound serious.’
Aurelia nodded.
Cassandra was right. Belief or not, she saw visions and it was possible they could come true. She would be a fool to ignore them. She also realised she had the resources to prove it one way or another. Was Faibryn too good to be true, or was Nepheli the shadow looming over her in the dark?
Embrace of the Medusi (The Overlords Trilogy Book 2) Page 28