by M. J. Scott
His brows drew down. “You’ll have to pardon me for not rolling over and dying.”
“You didn’t have to roll over, you just had to lie still,” I pointed out.
He snorted but his lips curved. “I’ll remember that next time.”
“There won’t be a next time.”
“You’re not the only assassin Lucius employs,” Simon said, humor vanishing. “Once you give your testimony, then I’d imagine he’ll be after your head too. Which means there’s a high chance I’m going to encounter more of them. Besides, Lucius isn’t the only danger we face.”
More chills ran through me. He was right. Lying in the sun with this man thinking I was safe was an illusion. The reality lay below in those treacherous streets of the Night World. Danger. Death. Or even, I realized, in the cool gray rooms beneath our feet. The Templars hadn’t come to any sort of official decision about me. They didn’t have to keep me here, regardless of what I agreed to do.
And by staying here, I was making things worse for Simon. I shouldn’t have slept with him. It would’ve been easier to walk away before. Before I knew how easy it was to let him hold me.
“You should let me go,” I said. Before he got too used to saying “we” when he should be thinking of his own safety. My pulse started to pound as I spoke.
“You’ve changed your mind?”
No. Though it was tempting at this point to just run and Lady take the consequences. “After I do what you want, it would be better if I left.”
“Go where, exactly?”
“Away.” Away from the City. Far and fast. Even though I didn’t believe I could really outrun what I’d be leaving behind.
“Lily, what makes you think you’ll be any safer anywhere else?”
I scowled at him. Idiot man. He needed to learn how to take the opportunity to retire safely from the field when it presented itself. “I might not be. But you will.”
One of his dimples flickered. “You don’t know that. Lucius was trying to kill me before you, after all.”
“Because of what you’re doing down there.” I jerked my chin in the direction of St. Giles.
“Maybe.”
“Definitely. What you’re doing could change everything.”
“If we ever find a cure,” he said shortly.
“Why do it at all?” I asked. “Last night it seemed as though you think the blood-locked deserve the consequences of their decisions.” Had I misjudged him?
“No one deserves that, no matter what they’ve done. And regardless, I took an oath to heal.”
“No matter what?”
“Yes.”
I really didn’t think I would ever understand him. Why help those you despised? But even though it baffled me, it also gave me a tiny sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe, if he ever found out about me, he’d be able to see past my addiction. “So you’ll keep working even though Lucius is threatening your life.”
“Yes. Besides, we don’t know why Lucius sent you.”
“What other reason does he have to kill you? You’re a sunmage and Guy’s your brother. You’re too well connected for him to try for you without a very good reason. The question is, who was it that told him what you were doing?” I said seriously. Someone had to have betrayed the secret. I didn’t see any other way for Lucius to have found out.
“Very few people know. And I trust them all.”
“One person can keep a secret,” I said. “After that, it’s almost impossible. You only need one person to be curious about what’s in that tunnel, the same way I was.”
“That tunnel has some pretty strong ‘don’t notice me’ magics,” Simon said.
“That wouldn’t stop a Fae. Might just make them more curious, in fact.”
“They’d have to be strong to get past the iron. Besides, the wards are only keyed to a few people. I’d know if anybody else had been down there.” He frowned as he spoke. Perhaps not quite as confident as he sounded?
“They wouldn’t necessarily need to breach the wards. They could just watch and listen. See who comes in and out of the tunnels. Put the pieces of the puzzle together that way.”
“You think a Fae would betray us to the Blood? The Fae who work at St. Giles are not the kind to side with the Night World.”
“If the informant is Fae, then you don’t know what game they’re playing.” The Veiled World wasn’t called that just because it kept itself hidden. Part of the name came because of the almost impenetrable web of politics and family alliance, of feud and counterfeud, of social climbing and maneuvering of alliance and patronage that wove together the Fae Families. With such long lives, they could afford to set plans in motion that would take decades or longer to come to fruition. Who knew what one of them might do?
Simon looked unconvinced. “What do the Fae have to gain from war between the humans and the Blood?”
“Some of the Families would like nothing better, I’m sure. Just because the queen currently supports and enforces the treaties, it doesn’t mean everyone agrees with her will. No more than all humans do. Or all of the Night World.”
“No one can be stupid enough to think things were better the way they were.”
I didn’t find it hard to imagine any number of people in the Night World being precisely that stupid. “Not everyone is good, Simon. I keep telling you that.”
“You really believe someone is giving information to Lucius?”
I nodded.
“It seems ridiculous.” He tugged at the collar of his shirt irritably. “But ignoring your instincts would be foolish. How would you go about trying to find out who?”
“If someone is lurking in shadows, I would start by doing some lurking of my own,” I said. “After all, I’m the expert in that area.”
“That would only work at night, wouldn’t it?”
“Not so far underground. The lamps aren’t sunlamps, after all.” It occurred to me that whoever had sold Simon out could well be long gone. On the other hand, if I could convince Simon that it made sense for me to spend time in the tunnels, then I could probably arrange some time alone with Atherton.
“Of course,” I said casually, “if you want me to do this, then you will have to convince Guy and the others to set me free for a while. They don’t seem overly trusting. Do the Templars even know what you’re doing down there?”
“No,” Simon said.
I looked at him, surprised. “Not at all? Not even Guy?”
“No,” he said shortly, looking away. “Saving the blood-locked is not one of their priorities. They’re more focused on stopping the Night World luring more victims. Besides, they’re not healers. They couldn’t help.”
“I see.” Presumably that meant the fact of Atherton’s existence was unknown as well. I studied Simon for a moment. I might not understand him but I needed to remember that he was more than he appeared.
“Master Healer DuCaine?” There was a discreet cough behind us. I recognized the voice. Liam.
Simon looked up, frowning. “Yes?”
“The Abbott General sent me to find you. He requests that you attend him, if you have finished what you need to do here.”
With another deeper frown, Simon rose to his feet, then offered me a hand up. “Yes, yes. We’re done.”
I brushed dust from my trousers, trying to ignore the sudden knot of nerves in my stomach. Why were they summoning Simon? “I’ll go back to my room.”
Liam shook his head. “The request included you too.”
Chapter Fifteen
The Abbott General’s office was no more richly appointed than the rest of the Brother House. His furniture was the same simple style as the furniture in my small room. Only an elaborately carved cross and a tapestry of the order’s coat of arms hung on the walls.
Guy was already there when Liam showed Simon and me in. He was alone.
“Morning,” he rumbled. His hand scratched at a stubbly chin. I wondered if he’d been to bed at all. If he hadn’t, had he and the Abbo
tt General stayed up all night discussing me? My hand strayed to check my dagger.
“Good morning,” Simon said. “Where’s Father Cho?”
“He’ll be along.”
“Why are we here?” I asked. If Simon hadn’t yet told the Templars that I was willing to give them the information they wanted, then I wasn’t sure what other reason there could be. Which left me little option other than to follow Simon’s lead and hope no one was about to try to kill me.
“I think I’ll leave that to Father Cho to explain.” Guy nodded at me, looking slightly amused. “Did you sleep well, Lily?”
“Perfectly well, thank you,” I lied. Did Guy know about Simon and me? I decided to ignore that possibility. “Being locked up must agree with me.”
“You weren’t locked up,” Simon said. “You can walk through walls.” His tone was sharp.
Was he angry? With me? With Guy? Whatever was bothering him, I didn’t have time to work it out. The large doors opened again and this time, Liam saluted as Father Cho came in.
I knew him by reputation, of course. The Abbott General of the Templars is somewhat of a feared figure in the Night World. I’d expected an older, battle-scarred version of Guy. But the man who walked through the door couldn’t have been more different.
Slimly built and shorter than any of the men in the room by half a foot, he wore a simple white tunic with the red Templar cross splayed across it over breeches rather than armor. His hair was cropped close to his head in the same style as Guy’s, true black frosted with silver, and he had the golden skin and angled eyes of someone born in the Silk Provinces. Far from home if that were the case. More likely, he was descended from those who’d made that long journey several generations back.
But for all his un-warrior-like appearance, he exuded command. When he took his place behind the desk and motioned us all to sit, it was hard not to obey instantly. But I waited to take my place until the others were seated.
Guy and Simon took chairs to either side of me, leaving me directly in front of Father Cho. His dark gaze fell on me, and I resisted the urge to look away. Luckily my practice in staying stoic under scrutiny was vast.
“So, you are Lily?” Father Cho said. His voice held no hint of the Silk Provinces.
“Yes, Father.”
“And what Brother Guy has told me is correct? You were formerly a member of Lucius’ Court?”
Nerves dried my mouth and I swallowed once before answered. “Yes, Lucius owned me.”
“I’m also assured that you have had a . . . change of heart?”
“A change of heart?”
“You’ve seen the error of your ways?”
“Oh. I see.” I looked at Simon for some clue as to whether I was meant to tell them that I’d agreed to testify. His face remained blank. “You mean, now that Simon and Guy stole me from Lucius and he seems to want to kill me, I don’t want to go back to him. Yes. That’s correct.” I couldn’t help the slight snap in my voice. I was growing tired of being questioned and manipulated.
The Abbott General smiled sharply. “You would return to Lucius, if he didn’t wish you dead?”
That was a leading question, if ever I’d heard one.
Simon gave me the faintest of nods. Time to tell the truth. I had the feeling that Father Cho was fairly astute at sorting fact from fiction anyway. “No, Father. No. I would not choose to go back to him.”
“Or do what you formerly did?”
“No, Father.” I breathed deeply, not wanting to remember what I had done. All those dead faces. All those bodies. Too much death and blood at my hands. I spoke the truth, I realized. I didn’t want to go back to that. “No, I would rather not return to the Night World. I do not agree with Lucius’ . . . tactics.”
Father Cho’s gaze sharpened. He steepled his hands, head cocked. “What does that mean?” he asked. “That you do not like what he does or that you want to stop what he does?”
“Both,” I said shortly. “I will give the evidence you need against him. I will tell the Fae he sent me to kill a human.” Then had to stop as a wave of fear iced my skin. I’d done it now. Taken the step that couldn’t be taken back. For a moment the room seemed to shrink around me, caging me in. The carving on the arms of my chair dug into my palms as my grip tightened.
Breathe.
I tried to slow the racing of my heart. The three men stayed silent as I concentrated on drawing oxygen into my lungs.
Finally, “Will you swear to that?” Father Cho asked.
“Is there an oath I can give that you would value?” I asked. “I don’t believe in your God, Father.”
“What do you believe in?”
Right now I wasn’t at all sure. “I offer you my word,” I said. “It’s up to you if you choose to accept it.”
He smiled at me suddenly, the creases at the corners of his eyes deepening. “You are not what I expected,” he said.
“You’re not the first person to say that to me.”
His smile widened. “I expect not. All right, then. I will take you at your word. You are granted Haven here at the Brother House until such time as your testimony to the Fae can be arranged.”
“How long will that take?”
“A few days,” Simon said. “The council will have to be told of our plans and then they’ll liaise with the Speaker for the Veil.”
“That’s a lot of people,” I said. The Speaker for the Veil was supposedly the sole voice of the Fae queen, but in reality he had a retinue of aides and bureaucrats. The human council had twelve members of itself and the human government only spread from there. Too many tongues that could wag. “What if Lucius finds out?”
“We can take steps to prevent that,” Simon said.
Like he’d taken steps to keep his work with Atherton secret? But I couldn’t bring that up as an objection. “And afterward?”
“I would imagine that you will need protecting until after the negotiations,” Father Cho said. “You will stay here.”
My heart sank. They were going to keep me locked up—or try to. “What if I don’t want to?”
The three of them looked at one another. “Let’s not borrow trouble, child,” Father Cho said eventually. “The most pressing matter is to get your testimony to the Fae.”
The stone walls seemed to press in on me as my stomach churned. I’d made my choice. Now I had to live with it. I made myself relax, taking another deep breath.
The room smelled faintly of incense but mostly of cool air and the three men around me. Those three and many more, I realized. Other fiercely masculine scents hung in the air. Traces of sweat and leather and smoke. It made me want to breathe deeper still. My stomach tightened at the thought. Was that the need talking? I clasped my hands tightly together in my lap, studying them for a moment.
It couldn’t be the need. I wouldn’t let it be.
“Which rather leaves the question of exactly what you are to do for the next few days,” Father Cho said.
I raised my head. I hadn’t thought about that. I could help Simon search for Lucius’ source, if he would let me, but I couldn’t tell the Templars that. “Perhaps I might help Simon at the hospital, Father.”
It was the best I could do. We needed them to be willing to let me move freely if I was going to hunt a spy. Otherwise I would be limited to what I could do at night. Limiting my hunt to half the available hours of the day would hardly be helpful.
Father Cho looked to Simon. “Would that be acceptable to Lady Bryony?”
Simon’s mouth went flat. “Leave Bryony to me.”
He shifted in his chair and his leg brushed mine. Heat flared through me. Hunger for him or something else? I dropped my gaze to my hands again, not wanting my expression to betray me. Were they shaking? Apart from the hunger for pleasure, the need brought with it tremors and cramps and other unpleasant symptoms if it wasn’t fed. I thought last night that it had been more than sated. Was I wrong?
Hells, I needed to talk to Atherton again.<
br />
As we left Father Cho’s office, I stayed silent, thankful to be leaving under my own power and with some degree of freedom. Guy didn’t leave us as we walked and we’d gained an additional escort in the form of Liam. I was still all too aware of the scent of healthy males around me. It wasn’t quite the burning of the need. Not quite, yet it still unnerved me.
Though not quite as much as what I had just agreed to do. Contemplating that particular folly made the rest of my surroundings fade into the distance somewhat.
“I think we should move Mother and Hannah,” Simon said to Guy. “If word of this gets out . . .”
“Yes,” Guy agreed. “I’ll do that. Saskia should be safe enough at the Guild Academy.”
“I’ve already sent a message to the Master of Iron that there may be trouble. He’ll take appropriate action.”
That got my attention. Simon’s sister was a mage too? Or one in training? A metalmage from the sounds of it. Who was at risk now, because of me. Much like the rest of his family.
Another weight to bear if something went wrong.
I shook my head to chase away the thought, as my nails dug into my palms. I needed something to work off some of the confusion of nerves and fear and anger I was carrying. “Where are we going?”
“I’m headed to the weapons hall to drill the novices,” Guy said. “You could come along.”
Weapons hall? Where I’d be surrounded by Templars with lots of naked steel in their hands? Not exactly the sort of exercise I’d had in mind. “I really think—”
Guy grinned at me. “Scared, are you? I was hoping you could assist. I’d imagine you’ve got a few tricks up your sleeve the puppies won’t have seen before.”
Beating up novices. Perhaps that wouldn’t be so bad. In fact, it held a certain appeal, I realized as my stomach suddenly steadied. Training was something familiar. And a smart fighter never passes up an opportunity to study the technique of a potential foe. I hoped I would never have to fight a Templar, but who knew what the Lady might bring? I brushed a strand of hair back off my face. “I’m not scared of baby knights,” I said.
