"I know," he said. "We'll stop him."
"How?"
They were so close now. When had they leaned into each other? Their lips brushed.
"I don't know," said Lucius.
Lucius wrapped his arms around her, held her against him. She shuddered, not from the chill but the feel of his chest against hers. The words he'd said were the wrong ones, but her body didn't mind. The uncertainty of the situation didn't slow her rushing thoughts. Their lips brushed again. Then met. Then held. He squeezed and she squeezed, as if they could embrace into one person. When they pulled back to breathe, the world spun around her.
"This is a mistake," said Lucius. "We're setting ourselves up for a lot of pain if we do this and the marriage is off."
"Do what?" she said. She gave him a gentle push back as she smirked. "I'm not doing anything untoward until we're married."
"So the marriage is back on?"
"I don't want to discuss it," she said. "I don't want to talk about politics, or leadership. I don't want to think about the future. I just want to be up here, alone with you for a while. Can we just do that?"
Lucius smiled.
"What's that?" she said, running a finger across his lips.
"What?"
"That thing you did with your mouth."
Lucius chuckled. "Come on, you've seen me smile before. Laugh at least."
"Once. Maybe. You don't do it enough."
"I'm trying to get better."
Britta wrapped her arms around him. She rested her head against his chest, listening to the thump-thumps of his heart beneath the fabric. Any thought that rose to remind her this couldn't last – that they'd have to separate at some point and go back to being adversaries – she forced down.
"Remember the night of the riot? When you saved me from three of your father's guard?" She'd meant to go on about how he made her feel safe, but Lucius stiffened in her arms. She pulled back and looked into his eyes. He didn't return her gaze. Instead, he glared over the crenelations into the darkened streets at the spot where the attack had happened. "Dux Lucius?" she said. "What's the matter?"
"You reminded me of something Weboshi said when I was interrogating her." He grabbed Britta by the shoulders with such suddenness and ferocity, it scared her a little. But her fear vanished the moment she saw the expression of unmitigated joy etched across his face. "I think I can prove my father's the one who kidnapped her."
Before she could ask how, he kissed her again. And again. And again.
Chapter 22
The passages honeycombing the inside of the Governor's manse were dark and cramped. So cramped, it was nearly impossible to squeeze through them without making some sort of scratching noise like rats in the walls. Worse was the dust that stung Lucius's nose. He'd scratch, but it was all he could do to keep his hands on Britta. Between her ability to see in the dark, and Weboshi's knowledge of the secret passages in the city, the small party of cloaked sisters and soldiers navigated the twisty turns of the secret passages.
"Here," said Weboshi, her voice a whisper in the darkness. The party came to a stop, each person smooshing into the next. Weboshi cracked a panel in the wall. A dim light shown through, filtered through a cloud of dust motes. Lucius wished he could see more. Third in line after Weboshi and Britta, he didn't like stepping into an unknown environment, especially since Britta had to go out before him. As if sensing his hesitance, she squeezed his hand.
Weboshi stepped out of the slit in the panel. Britta released Lucius's hand then followed. Lucius slid to the side so that he was in the secret opening, staring out. He couldn't see past Britta into the room beyond, but he could hear the sounds of men snoring. He emerged into the room, hand on the hilt of his sword, as quietly as he could. Then Captain Marcus, then the handful of soldiers Lucius had had Marcus select for their stealth skills.
They crept through the sleeping men. This was a room in the Governor's manse, not a proper barrack, so the household guard slept four to a room. Lucius looked over each one, squinting in the vain hope it would help him see in the darkness. This was the third room they'd searched – he'd hoped they'd find their quarry on the first. As he went to one bed to look, Britta went to another. She bent over one of the sleeping men, then glanced up and shook her head at Lucius. Lucius took another look at the man in the bed he was next to. He looked familiar, but Lucius wasn't sure. He motioned for Britta. She gaped at the man and nodded the affirmative. It was, at least, one of the men who'd attacked her. Britta sneaked around the remaining two men, nodding at both at both.
Using the same concoction of puffer fish toxin Weboshi had used on Ava, the soldiers dribbled a touch on all four men's lips. When the men's breathing slowed, Weboshi gave a little nod telling Lucius it was safe to move them. His soldiers trussed up the three responsible for Britta's attack, but left the fourth alone. It would be tricky enough escaping the manse with three men bound and dead weight, no reason to molest the fourth. Weboshi lead the way back out. Lucius held his breath the entire time, waiting for the inevitable accident – like one of his men making a sound and alerting the entire manse to their presence, but no alarm was ever raised. When the party and their unconscious hostages emerged on the other side of the wall outside the manse, Lucius finally let out his breath. They weren't safe yet, though, and everyone else seemed to sense it because no one spoke. The soldiers stuffed the unconscious guards in large sacks, and threw them over their soldiers. Still looked damned suspicious, Lucius thought, but not quite so. They hustled through the streets, back to the garrison. When they arrived, he had Weboshi administer an antidote to one of the men.
"I hope this works," said Weboshi as the first guard began to stir.
"If it does, I'll write you a pardon."
Weboshi glanced over her shoulder at him, casting him a doubtful eye, then went back to tending to the hostage. The guard woke slowly, grumbling aloud as he tried to remember where he'd been and what he'd drank the night before. It took him a few moments to realize he was bound. When he did, it was like someone had splashed water in his face. Wide eyed and gaping, he sputtered at Weboshi as he tried to kick away from her.
"I was just following order!" He said as he tried to scurry away. "Please don't hurt me! It was the Governor's doing!"
Lucius nudged Weboshi out of the way as he loomed over the prisoner. "That was a lot easier than I expected it to be. Thought I'd have to interrogate you and your pals, but here you go, just blurting your guilt out." That wasn't strictly true – there were legal formalities that would have to be seen to, but it was enough to get the point across. "Captain Marcus, I think you can handle it from here. I'll send the clerk to write down the prisoners' confessions."
"Where are you going?"
Lucius wrapped an arm around Britta's waist and pulled her towards the door. "I'm going to spend some time with my future wife."
***
"What happens now?" Britta said as they stood on the parapets of the garrison. He was behind her, arms wrapped around her hips, chin on her shoulder.
"I have to arrest my father."
"You'll try him?"
"No." Britta felt his sigh in her bones. "I'll send him, the guards and their confessions to the nearest imperial court. Let them hash it out. Obviously, I can't try my own father."
Britta suppressed a giggle.
"What is it?"
"If there's one person who could be impartial at their own father's trial, it's you."
"That's why he never should have requested me for this post. Anyway, it wouldn't look proper, even if I conducted it fairly."
"Of course."
"What are you going to do about Weboshi?"
Britta stiffened as she tried to make sense of what he'd said. "What do you mean?"
"I told her I'd pardon her, and I will. She did wrong, but she made it right. Reconciliation. That's what this process has been about, hasn't it?"
"So when you sign the papers, she'll be my problem?" She rubbed her head again
st his to show she was kidding. "I'll send her away. Not as punishment mind you, but on a mission. I'll have her search out my real mother. Doesn't that seem fitting? To have the woman who raised me search for the woman who gave me up? Of course, not until after the wedding."
"The wedding's back on?"
"Of course it is – after your father is in chains."
"Shrewd political move," he said.
"Yeah, I know. Turns out I'm really good at this."
Lucius laughed.
"'Reconciliation,' you said." Britta pulled away from Lucius to face him. "It's more than that. Together, we're going to make Ankshara better than it was before. Hand in hand, we're going to build something great."
Lucius took her face by the cheeks and pulled her in for a kiss. "We've already built something great."
Together, they watched the sun rise over the city, triumphant.
END
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In Her Shadow Page 14