by Sharon Shinn
Josetta took a deep breath. “Wonderful! I can hardly imagine what that will be like—not to be trailed by a dozen soldiers every time I take a step.”
Foley sent her a sideways glance. In the gaslights intermittently lining the streets, it was easy to see his amused expression. “Now you no longer have to keep him safe by pretending to be in love with him.”
That made her laugh. “What a relief that will be!”
There was a moment when the only sound between them was the light patter of their footsteps. “I think you are in love with him, though,” Foley said.
She couldn’t entirely read the tone of his voice, but he didn’t sound sad or bitter or lost or angry. He was merely making an observation. So she said, “I think I am, too.”
“And that means the task of looking after you falls to someone else now. Not me,” he said.
She came to a halt right there, one foot on an uneven section of brick, one on a carefully graded stretch of pavement. “You’re leaving the royal service? Or just leaving the task of guarding me?”
“It’s more complicated than that,” he said. “There’s someone else I need to watch over.”
She felt a complex surge of delight, curiosity, and the tiniest, smallest, least attractive tendril of jealousy. Foley had cared for her so long it was hard to imagine him giving all of his attention to someone else. “You’ve fallen in love? Oh, tell me about this person!”
He shook his head. “It’s not love. It’s—responsibility. I believe someone else needs me more than you do.”
She lifted a hand and pressed it against his heart. “Then whoever that person is, he or she will always be safe, because no one could be a better guard than you. I will miss you—but I am glad to see you moving on with your life.”
“We both are,” he said. “Everybody has to.”
• • •
Josetta was close to tears by the time she let herself into Rafe’s room. It was almost completely dark, with only a little light glancing up through the open windows from the gaslight below. She could tell by the even sound of his breathing that Rafe was already asleep, so she moved as quietly as she could while she readied herself for bed.
But when she lay down next to him, he stirred and came half awake. “All done with pomp and statesmanship?” he asked through a yawn.
“Yes, finally,” she said, snuggling against him. The room was warm but not unbearably so, and she wanted to feel his particular heat against her skin. She wanted to be reassured that he was alive, that he had survived yet another dire adventure. “How are you feeling?”
“Sore and headachy and a little dizzy,” he admitted. “But I’m not complaining! I could so easily be drowned. Or lying on the deck of a Berringese ship with my throat cut.”
“Don’t say such terrible things,” she begged, clinging even closer. “I’m going to have nightmares as it is. Every scene from this terrible day is printed on my mind like paintings on a wall. I’ll never forget a single one of them.”
He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms loosely around her shoulders. “I’m sure you’ll find plenty of other things to think about as the days go by,” he said comfortably. “So tell me if anything interesting happened since I left your side.”
She started shaking with laughter. Anything interesting! “The primes have decided to name Darien king.”
“Really? That seems like big news! Although as soon as you say it, it just sounds right. Of course he should be king.”
“Of course he should,” she echoed. “And Darien has called off all your guards because he believes Ghyaneth will leave you alone.”
“I know. I figured that out when I came back here and no one followed me. I can’t tell you what a relief it was.”
“I thought you might be nervous.”
“If I was going to be nervous, I’d worry about this blood knot your sister put in my head,” he replied. “I’d worry about climbing back into one of Kayle’s aeromotives. I can’t say I’ve actually gotten over my fear of death in the past quintile, but I’ve certainly faced it down a few times. I don’t think I can spend the rest of my life afraid of all the things that could go wrong. So I’m just going to go forward trying not to be afraid of anything.”
“That’s brave,” she said.
“It doesn’t feel brave. It just feels like—my new life.”
She sighed faintly. “There’s a lot of that going around these days. New lives.”
“I suppose so,” he agreed. “Steff’s. Darien’s.”
“Foley’s,” she said. “He told me tonight that he’s found someone else to guard with his full attention.”
“Really? That’s big news, too. Did he say who?”
“He didn’t. Foley was always devoted to the crown more than the person, so I think it might be Celia. Since the primes want to certify her as the heir after Darien.” Not me. Not Corene. She pressed her lips to Rafe’s throat. “And he seemed to feel that he could safely leave me behind now that I have you to watch over me.”
Rafe had become more and more awake as the conversation progressed, and now he returned her kiss with enthusiasm. “And I am far more devoted to the person than the crown,” he said. “May I show you how?”
She laughed at him, running her fingers through his hair and pulling him down for another kiss. “Oh, I wish you would.”
• • •
It was late the next morning when Josetta woke up, and then only because someone was knocking loudly. Rafe was already on his feet, cursing and stuffing himself into a pair of trousers. In the daylight, she could see that his torso was covered in scrapes and bruises; the straps from the flying bag seemed to have left permanent impressions in his skin.
“Josetta!” came Zoe’s voice from the other side of the door. “Are you up?”
“Just a moment!” she called back as Rafe crossed the room to hand her the tunic she’d worn last night. He looked around the room in a comically desperate way, as if seeking a place to hide.
“What are they going to think?” he whispered as she climbed out of bed and shrugged into her clothes.
“I don’t care what they think,” she said. “I don’t even know why she’s here. I told her I was returning to the shelter today, not going back to Darien’s.”
“She seems to believe there’s been a change of plans,” Rafe said, heading over to open the door.
It was something of a relief to find only Zoe on the other side, looking worried but hardly shocked. “Are you two really just waking up?” she demanded.
“It was kind of a long day yesterday,” Josetta replied. “Maybe you hadn’t noticed.”
“Never mind. Have you seen Corene?”
Josetta exchanged startled glances with Rafe. “Not since the dinner last night. She was upset, though, I told you.”
Zoe nodded. “I talked to her before I went to bed, and she said she was just tired.”
“She was acting like she wouldn’t miss Steff, but I think she was just pretending. Maybe she went to say goodbye to him.”
“Well, I doubt it, since the whole Malinquese fleet sailed out at dawn.”
“Give us five minutes to clean up, and then we’ll help you look for her,” Rafe said.
Zoe nodded. “I’ll be downstairs. Darien said he’d meet us here after he talked to the rest of Kayle’s servants. Surely someone saw her go.”
Josetta and Rafe hurried down the hall to wash up with great efficiency, though they took the time to put on fresh clothes before running down the stairs to find Zoe. The late morning sunlight was so determinedly bright, so jubilantly hot, that it took Josetta a moment to adjust to its weight and brilliance. She lifted a hand to shade her face as she gazed out toward the harbor. Zoe was right. All the Malinquese ships were gone. There were plenty of vessels flying foreign colors, but none of them boasted that bright red f
lag with the crossed swords and white blossoms.
“I have to admit I’m worried,” Zoe said.
Josetta didn’t answer because a small, private elaymotive was headed their way, bouncing too quickly over the uneven surface of the roads. The bad driving made her expect to find Kayle behind the wheel, but once the car squealed to a stop, it was Darien who stepped out. His face was set so hard Josetta couldn’t tell what emotion he was trying to keep in check. Fear, maybe. Anger. Bafflement.
“Did you find her?” Zoe asked anxiously.
His voice was cool and controlled. “In a manner of speaking,” he said, and handed her a folded piece of paper. Josetta crowded close to read over her shoulder. She recognized the large, well-formed letters of Corene’s handwriting, but she had trouble taking in the words.
I’ve gone to Malinqua with Steff and Filomara. Foley’s coming with me. Don’t worry. Corene.
