“True words,” Aristede agreed grimly. “Still, we can hope.” He, too, finished the last of his meal, and stood. “Lock the door behind me. Don’t open it unless you hear three short knocks, followed by two long, and another three short. That will either be me or Eldris. For anyone else, have your friend Nyx speak to them through the door and send them away.”
“All right,” I said, hoping that nothing would disturb us for a few hours so I could get some rest.
Aristede peered out the window. “It’s not ideal, but in case of emergency, you can generally jump down from a second story window without injury if you hang by your fingertips first. If it comes to that, I’ll look for you in the alleys behind the abattoir. That’s an unpleasant enough area that the guards tend to avoid it.”
“Had a lot of experience jumping from second story windows, have you?” I couldn’t help asking.
“A gentleman never tells,” he replied.
I snorted. “Fine. Got it. And Aristede… thank you.”
Aristede smiled and brushed his knuckles along my cheek. The touch was so light it was barely there, but I had to suppress a shiver of reaction, and my eyes slipped closed of their own accord. This man should come with some kind of warning, like a red ribbon braided into a horse’s tail to tell other riders that it kicks.
“As I said,” he drawled in that honey-laced voice, “my morning just got considerably ore interesting. That’s a good thing… I don’t do well with boredom. Sleep well, Frella. I don’t expect you’ll be disturbed this morning.”
He gathered up his weapons belt and sent a friendly nod in Nyx’s direction before letting himself out of the room. Nyx hesitated for a moment before crossing to the door and locking it behind him.
“Frella,” he echoed, not turning around to look at me. “Is that your name?”
I blinked. Hadn’t I told him? Thinking back, I realized that I hadn’t. Clearly, desperate nighttime escapes played havoc with what few manners I possessed in the normal course of things.
“That’s me,” I said lightly. “And it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance properly. Now, I’m getting some sleep. This bed is huge, so you’re welcome to join me.”
“That’s… not…” Nyx stuttered, but I cut him off.
“Your virtue is safe with me, Nyx. Promise. I can barely keep my eyes open; I don’t really have the energy to ravish you.” I frowned. “Though I can’t guarantee I won’t snore. I never have figured out for certain if my brother was just teasing me when he told me that, or if he was serious.”
The mattress was beckoning—covers neatly made and pillows fluffed. I wondered if Aristede was a habitually early riser, remembering that he’d taken the last watch the night we camped by the dry riverbed.
It bothered me a bit to stick my dirty boots under the sheets, but under the circumstances, practicality demanded it. I refused to be stuck hopping around on one foot trying to get them back on if we ended up having to make a run for it. Leaving Nyx to wrestle with whatever misgivings kept him frozen across the room, I made myself comfortable next to the wall, turning my back to the room and leaving a large, unclaimed space behind me in case Nyx changed his mind at some point.
The bed was really, really comfortable. It took almost no time at all before I drifted off, waking only momentarily some time later as a weight settled on the other side of the mattress, shifting around a bit before growing still.
I smiled at the wall, not turning to look, and was asleep again a few moments later.
Chapter 10: Decisions
A PATTERN OF KNOCKS roused me from heavy sleep some unknown amount of time later. Three short, two long, three short. Nyx jolted upright next to me, but didn’t rise to open the door. I blinked the blurriness from my eyes and shuffled to the foot of the bed so I could get up without having to crawl over him.
“Coming!” I called, the abrupt awakening making me uncoordinated as I stumbled across the room. I threw back the metal latch and swung the door open to reveal a tall, broad form that nearly took up the whole doorway.
“Frella?” Eldris asked, surprise in his tone.
I grinned and threw my arms around him. “Eldris!”
It was, perhaps, an overly effusive greeting for someone I’d only known for a day or so, but Eldris merely chuckled and hugged me back, walking us backward a few steps so he could shut the door behind him. I freed myself, still smiling as I shoved the disastrous tangle of my hair away from my face.
“Hi,” I said, a bit sheepishly. “I came back. Still want to teach me those self defense moves?”
He laughed aloud at that, a booming noise that made something twist pleasantly in my chest. “I’d love to, sweet thing,” he said, before his eyes moved over my shoulder to Nyx. “Now, who’s this, then?”
I followed his gaze, expecting to see Nyx frozen with fear in the presence of the massive, dark-skinned Kulawi warrior. To my surprise, though, he looked wary but not paralyzed.
“I’m Nyx,” he said in that quiet voice. “I’m… with her.”
“Yes, he’s with me,” I confirmed. “I… kind of sort of got kidnapped into Prince Oblisii’s harem after a royal audience with him, and Nyx helped me escape from the palace.”
Eldris stared at me for a beat. “You’re a trouble magnet, you are,” he said. “Should’ve put a bell on you when I had the chance.”
I flushed a bit and cleared my throat.
“Where’d Ari get to, anyway?” Eldris asked.
“I gather he’s out plying the local gossipmongers, trying to find out whether Oblisii’s coming after me or not.”
Eldris nodded. “Makes sense.” He shot a wry smile at Nyx, who still hadn’t moved from his perch on the edge of the bed. “Thanks for bringin’ our girl here back to us, mate.”
“It was more a case of her bringing me,” Nyx said under his breath, and Eldris snorted.
“That works, too,” he said, and stretched, shoulders popping. “Any of that mead left?”
“A bit,” I told him, “and some bread from this morning.”
He helped himself and flopped into a chair. It creaked a bit under his powerful frame. Even seated, he didn’t have to lift his gaze very far to meet mine, his eyebrows quirking. “Right, Trouble Girl. While we’re waiting for Ari to get back, I want to hear this story from the beginning.”
* * *
When I finished recounting the story a second time, Eldris shook his head at me. “Good goddess, woman.”
I pursed my lips. “I can’t help it if the prince of Utrea is a lecherous creep. All I did was tell him that there are bandits on the trade road with his mark on their saddle blankets.”
Eldris sobered. “Wasn’t trying to blame you, sweet thing.” He sighed, long and low. His next words were almost as soft as Nyx’s murmured speech. “Sometimes I hate this place.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
He tried to smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “People acting like they can own other people. ’S not right.”
Nyx shifted on the bed.
I nodded. “My brother and his bondmates fought a war on Eburos to free all the slaves. What Oblisii is doing isn’t quite the same, but in the end it’s just as bad.”
“He’s going to come after you,” Nyx said. “You mustn’t let him take you back.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I’ve no intention of letting him take me back. As soon as Aristede gets here, I’ll figure out where to go next. I’d hoped to spend more time in Safaad, but there’s nothing tying me here.”
Eldris gave me a cheeky wink, his brief black mood giving way to what I suspected was a naturally happy temperament. “Aww, now you’re just hurting my feelings, Frella.”
And… it was true. I might have meant the words as I said them, but I would be sad to say goodbye to Eldris and Aristede. I wondered if Nyx, at least, would want to come with me? I hoped so.
The smile I mustered for Eldris felt a bit wistful despite my best efforts. “Everyone leaves sooner or la
ter, big man. That’s just life.”
If I’d learned one lesson in my twenty-two years, it was that.
“I hope that’s not the case,” Eldris said mildly. “There are some people I’d be loath to give up.”
This was a subject I found more than a bit uncomfortable, so I let it slide. Eldris cocked his head, and the faint sounds of footsteps in the hall reached my ears a moment later.
“Sounds like Ari’s back,” he said, and rose to open the door without waiting for the prearranged series of knocks.
Indeed, Aristede entered, sparing Eldris a smile and a tip of the chin as he passed.
“How did you know it was him?” I asked, my brow furrowing.
Eldris shrugged a brawny shoulder. “Spend a few years with someone, and you start to recognize their tread. Also, the dagger loop on that damned weapons belt is too close to his sword hilt. It makes noise when he walks.”
Aristede unbuckled the belt in question and set it aside, throwing Eldris a smirk as the larger man returned to his chair. “At least it saves me having to knock when you’re around,” he said.
He tossed me something wrapped in cloth and I caught it out of reflex.
“Food,” he said by way of explanation.
I unwrapped the round of dark, grainy flatbread and went to perch next to Nyx—pleased when he didn’t cringe away. I tore off a quarter of the loaf for him and a quarter for myself before tossing what was left back to Aristede.
“Thanks,” I told him. “So, what’s the news? Anything?”
Aristede put the bread on the table and wandered around to stand behind Eldris’ chair, leaning his forearms casually on the high back. “Palace guards have been out in force this afternoon, I’m sorry to say. They haven’t been giving out details, but it’s fairly obvious they’re searching for someone.”
I sighed. “I suppose it was inevitable. I guess he doesn’t want to advertise that he lost a concubine.”
Aristede tipped his head in agreement. “I expect not. At any rate, the guards will show up here at some point. There are only so many inns and rooming houses to search.”
He was right, of course. “I guess I’ll need to find some transportation out of the city. Can you help with that?”
He nodded, not moving from his slouch against the back of Eldris’ chair. “Probably. Though it depends very much on where you intend to go.”
I thought about it for a bit. “Kulawi,” I decided. “It sounds like a much nicer place than Utrea.”
Eldris seemed to be looking very intently at me. “You think so? It’s a long way from here, you know.”
I stared right back at him. “And… your point is what, exactly?”
“I’m just sayin’.”
Nyx had gone very quiet again since Aristede’s return, but I turned to him. “What about it? Any interest in seeing what lies across the Great Southern Desert?”
He blinked, as though the question had taken him by surprise. “I… don’t know.”
It occurred to me that while there might not be anything holding me here, that didn’t mean Nyx didn’t have ties to Safaad that would make him want to stay.
“Do you have family here?” I asked, more gently.
But he shook his head. “No. I’m not from here.”
The conversation was interrupted by a flurry of knocks at the door. I tensed, but it certainly wasn’t the sort of knocking you’d expect from a serious-faced guard. More what you’d expect from—
“The boy,” Aristede said.
“What boy?” Eldris asked.
“Our hastily acquired lookout,” Aristede explained. “I told him to come back if anyone from the palace started snooping around.”
“From the sound of it, any guard worth their salt will have noticed him rushing up here and followed him right to our door,” Eldris grumbled.
“Yes, well,” Aristede sighed. “You two—under the bed. Don’t make a sound, and leave this to me. Eldris, deal us some cards.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know the drill,” Eldris said, pulling out a deck of marked playing cards and dealing them out on the table.
I stared between them, Nyx frozen beside me. “Wait, what?” I asked.
“Coming,” Aristede called to the frantically knocking boy, lowering his voice to hiss. “Under. The bed. Now.”
Somewhat to my surprise, Nyx grabbed my arm and more or less dragged me down to the floor. I eyed the space under the bed. A heartbeat later, a surprisingly strong grip had me on my back, staring at the leather straps holding up the mattress less than a hand’s breadth above my nose. The bed was definitely more comfortable when you came at it from the other direction.
Nyx and I shuffled as far underneath it as we could get, until he was right up against the wall and I was pressed next to him, shoulder to shoulder. I held my breath as the door opened.
“I, uh, brought you some more mead,” said the child from earlier. His voice was breathless and high-pitched—the exact opposite of casual.
“And it’s about time, too,” Aristede said sharply, and I had to appreciate his quick thinking in providing a reason to any listening ears for why the boy might be in such a hurry.
“Stop snapping at the boy,” Eldris said patiently, as though he didn’t have a care in the world. “Give ’im a copper and send ’im on his way. I’m winning this hand.”
“Yes, fine,” Aristede sighed. “Oh—hallo there. Can I help you gents?”
“King’s guard,” said a deep, no-nonsense voice.
I froze, breathing shallowly, aware of Nyx trembling where his arm pressed against mine.
“Indeed?” Aristede said. “Come in, come in—both of you. What can we do for you today?”
I had to press my lips together to hold in an outraged squeak. He was inviting them in? I altered my opinion of Aristede from dangerously attractive to dangerously insane. Beside me, Nyx’s shaking grew more pronounced. I wondered if he was claustrophobic, or just worried about getting caught. Without thought, I brushed my fingers against his and tangled our hands together. A moment later, he squeezed back hard.
His trembling grew less noticeable, though.
“We’re searching for a woman,” one of the guards was saying.
Eldris grunted. “Yeah? Well, if you find her, send her our way. It’s been a while.”
Someone snorted, though I couldn’t tell whether it Aristede or one of the guards. My vantage point meant that all I could see was boots, and craning my neck to see even that much tugged painfully on a hank of hair trapped under my back. I held onto Nyx’s hand and tried to tell myself that the dust we’d disturbed wasn’t making me want to sneeze. The careful way Nyx was breathing through his shakes made me suspect he was telling himself the same thing.
“As you can see, we’re sadly lacking in women at the moment,” Aristede said. “Anything distinguishing about her? We can keep an eye out. Especially if there’s a reward involved?” His voice trailed off hopefully.
“No reward,” snapped the first guard, who seemed to have a stick lodged more firmly up his ass than the second one who’d spoken. “She’s a foreigner. Pale skinned, with blue eyes and golden hair.”
“Golden hair?” Aristede mused thoughtfully. “Well, at least she ought to be easy to find. I’d remember something like that, I expect.”
“I should say so,” Eldris agreed.
“Interesting,” said the no-nonsense guard, “since one of the wenches here told us that a woman of that description followed the guest with a white streak in his hair upstairs to his room this morning.”
My heart lurched and started tripping frantically. Damn it. I’d always hated it when women tried to visit petty revenge on other women they considered competition. I hated even more now that I was the target and the revenge was far more than petty.
Aristede only laughed, even as Eldris said, “What the fuck? You brought a woman up here and didn’t even wait for me to get back? Selfish twat. I’ll do more than take your damned money at cards!”
“I would have waited,” Aristede defended. “Don’t glare at me like that, you great oaf—I would have! Look, you two… that’s not exactly what happened. This serving girl. Is she buxom, with a slight gap between her front teeth?”
“Yes, that’s right,” said the second guard.
“Ah. I imagine she’s a bit cross with me, and thought she could stir up trouble.” Aristede sighed audibly. “In fact, she was the one I brought up here. Only to discover after a few minutes of play that, while she seems an open-minded and fun-loving girl, she also has a case of the pox bad enough to fell a horse. I’m afraid I bundled her out of the room as soon as I laid eyes on all the, uh… all of the weeping sores. I’m sure you understand.”
From his tone, he might’ve been confessing to a priest at the temple rather than lying through his teeth to a palace guardsman. I changed my estimation from dangerously insane to just plain dangerous.
The second guard—at least, I assumed it was him—stifled a chuckle. Badly.
“Feel free to take a look around,” Aristede went on. “Can I offer either of you a drink, now that the boy finally got around to delivering it?”
“Oh get over yourself, you posh bastard,” Eldris grumbled. “They don’t wanna stop for a drink when they’re working. And you’re just trying to put off the inevitable thrashing at cards that I’m about to dish out.”
“No need to rub it in,” Aristede muttered. “That’s almost a week’s earnings on the line, you know.”
“Come on,” said the guard with the stick up his ass. “We’ve wasted enough time here.”
“You’re certain you won’t stay for a drink?” Aristede asked, the words accompanied by the sound of the door opening. “No? The mead is quite good…”
The door closed.
“Ah well. Back to our foolish gambling it is, then.”
“Too right,” Eldris agreed.
Once a few moments of silence confirmed that the guards were gone, I let Nyx go and scooted quietly out from under the bed. Nyx followed a bit less quietly, and with a bit more desperation. So—claustrophobia after all, apparently.
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