“I thought paradise would be different,” he said, offering his opinion. Glancing around, he saw that he wasn’t in a cot. Selene had gathered a collection of blankets and pillows from the gods knew where and constructed a somewhat decadent sleeping mound for the two of them. In fact, after a second glance, Will was pretty sure it wasn’t even his original tent, which was probably a good thing, considering all the blood that had been spilled in his.
“Are you disappointed?” asked Selene.
“No. This is better. Am I dreaming, or did I die?”
She gave him a stern look. “You’re alive for now, but that may change after I’ve heard the rest of the story from you.”
He remembered his old friend the rock and realized he had a lot of explaining to do. Then he wondered how long he’d been unconscious. How much did they tell her? “Do I get a kiss first?”
She seemed to consider the question carefully before eventually leaning over and meeting his lips. The kiss that ensued sent a delightful ache through his lips, to his heart, and then it continued on, sparking a fresh warmth in other places.
A sudden pain brought him back to his senses as Selene pulled on the hair at the back of his neck. “Ow!”
Her voice sounded dangerous as she asked, “Where’s Laina?”
“Well, about that—ow! Don’t pinch me!”
Selene’s eyes had narrowed. “She’s not supposed to be in Klendon. She’s supposed to be here, making sure you don’t get murdered.”
So, she’s had enough time to ask them some questions, thought Will. Damn.
“Where’s Mark Nerrow?” she demanded.
Will yelped, “Ow!” She had pinched him before he could answer.
“You decided to prioritize his safety over your own? Didn’t you?”
He clenched his jaw. “He’s my father.”
“Imagine how he feels then,” snapped Selene. “What you keep forgetting is just how much you mean to the rest of us—what you mean to me. I know just how badly you want to protect your family and friends, but we feel the same way. Sending away everyone who wants to help you isn’t smart.”
“I’ve been careful,” Will lied.
Selene’s eyes widened slightly, expressing shock. “Really? You’ve been careful? Is that why you decided to hold the gate open at Klendon all by your lonesome?”
Oh shit. How long had he been asleep? Will’s eyes roamed the room, scanning for weapons she might be tempted to use—or possible escape routes.
“What about your brilliant plan to take Maldon by blowing up the city gate—while you were standing next to it? Is that your definition of careful?” Her hand came up, and she caught his chin before turning his face back toward hers. “Stop looking for a way out of this. Tiny and Janice are outside, along with Barrentine’s company and several other mean-looking sorcerers. You aren’t going anywhere.”
Will let his body go slack, and he slumped to the floor. Staring up at the ceiling, he replied, “It sounds like you’ve heard a lot already. How long was I asleep?”
“Most of the day. The sun went down a couple of hours ago.”
“Did you hear about Eric?” he asked quietly.
He could hear a quick intake of breath. “No. I hadn’t heard.” Her hand snaked across and found his beneath the blankets. “I’m sorry. Want to tell me about it?”
“Not really,” he answered sullenly, but then he began talking anyway. His chest ached as he spoke, even though his wounds were fully healed. He kept the tale short, but it led to a dozen other things Selene should probably hear about. Will started with the first and worst revelation. “I killed Felix Lustral a few days ago—before I had even learned about Eric.”
“There was good reason to suspect him—” she began.
Will cut her off. “He was innocent. Bug brought me one of his notebooks right before trying to kill me. That’s part of the reason I was so distracted.”
A new growl emerged from Selene’s throat. “I wish I could kill him again.”
He draped his forearm across his eyes. “I’m pretty sure he was coerced. It sounded like someone was using his family against him.”
“I don’t care,” said Selene, practically spitting from the intensity of her anger.
Will looked at her over his arm. “You’re usually more logical about these things.”
Glaring at him, Selene moved suddenly, pushing his arm back and bringing her face down until it was inches from his own. He thought she was going to kiss him again, but when their mouths got close she nipped his upper lip—hard. “Don’t expect me to be rational about this. He tried to kill you. I’m not my father. I take things like that personally.” She finished with a real kiss.
The kiss went on for several moments, but eventually she pushed his hands away. “This interrogation isn’t over yet.”
“Damn it.”
Selene let her breath out in a great sigh. “It’s not so bad. I think I’ve already found out about your worst transgressions, and I don’t give two figs about Felix Lustral.”
“He’s not the only one,” admitted Will, before proceeding to tell her about the commander of Maldon’s peremptory execution.
She listened but showed no sign of discomfort. “If anyone else had done it, it might have been a problem, William, but not you. Father won’t hold it against you.” She waved her hand in a wide circle. “Besides, you’ve all but finished taking Darrow. From what I heard about the last battle, the Patriarch has practically nothing left. You even recruited some of his army.”
He said nothing for a moment.
“The king can’t argue with success,” she added, then she noticed the look on his face. “What? What else is there?”
Will debated with himself about what to reveal. In the end, he settled for explaining Grim Talek’s visit, but he avoided mentioning what the goddamn cat had told him. If it was true, then they had practically no chance, but he couldn’t bear to rob her of whatever small hope she could find. Even so, the news was extremely grim (pun intended), but Selene took it surprisingly well.
“So, you think Myrsta is full of demons,” she summarized.
He nodded. “And Madrok himself, and possibly a spell-engine meant to slowly destroy the world.”
Selene met his gaze evenly. “Sounds like fun.”
“You aren’t coming with me,” he pronounced firmly.
“The hell I’m not,” she replied calmly.
Will glared at her, and Selene glared right back. After thirty seconds, he had to admit she was better at it than he was, but he still had no intention of changing his mind. “You can’t use magic—”
“Didn’t you see what happened today?” she countered. “That wasn’t a fluke. It started a week ago. I wanted to surprise you. I’m drawing turyn in faster and faster with every day that passes.”
He couldn’t help but feel proud. His wife had become the second third-order wizard in modern history. Now that she was beginning to actively absorb turyn, she was bound to steadily improve. “Congratulations,” he said sincerely. “You’re a wizard.”
“Don’t look at me like that,” she protested.
“I mean it,” said Will. “You’ve accomplished something I thought might be impossible, but if there’s a spell-engine in Myrsta then the area is going to be flooded with void-turyn.”
Her jaw firmed. “I’ll use the demon-armor spell.”
“You have to sustain it,” he returned. “It’s a constant drain on your energy, and if you don’t, you’ll soon be drowning in demonic magic. It’ll kill you.”
“But not you?” she shot back.
Will shook his head. “I’m at a point now where I don’t even really need the demon-armor spell. I can absorb and convert it quickly enough that it will hardly even be an inconvenience for me.”
There were daggers coming from her eyes. “You always have an excuse, don’t you?”
Sitting up, he started to put his arms around her. “Not in Barrowden, remember? We walked into t
hat insanity together.”
“You didn’t even know my name,” she protested, pushing his arms away. “You still thought I might be planning to betray you.”
“Did not,” he lied, trying again to catch her in an embrace.
Selene ducked and scooted farther back. “You’re not going to Myrsta alone. There’s no way you can do it by yourself. I absolutely know you’re planning to take help with you.” Her eyes narrowed. “And if you tell me Janice is going because you’ve found some special way for her to survive, you’re going to regret it.”
In point of fact, he had no such plan. He had no plan at all. He’d only learned the bad news the night before, after finding out his cousin had died. During the morning, he’d started to think things over, but nearly being assassinated had scattered his thoughts. There was really no way he could take anyone with him. The army, his sorcerers, Tiny, all the rest—they could only accompany him up to the point where the void turyn was present. Tailtiu might be able to get farther than that, but even she had limits. Without being a wizard like her mother, Aislinn, she too would begin to sicken in the toxic environment.
From what Arrogan had told him, it would be nearly impossible for anyone or anything to approach the area, aside from… Will’s eyes went wide as an important realization hit him. Lunging forward, he grabbed Selene’s head between his hands and kissed her despite her evasive tactics. “No. I’m not going alone,” he told her with a smile. “But Janice can’t come with me either.”
His wife wiggled and let out a strange squeak before finally escaping. “What? You have an idea?”
He nodded.
She glared at him suspiciously. “Are you going to tell me? Or do I have to get rough?”
Will agreed immediately. “I’m going to tell you, but first let’s get rough.”
She tried to escape, but he caught her ankle and dragged her back. “This isn’t what I meant,” she protested. “I want to hear the plan first.”
“Afterward. I haven’t seen you in forever,” he responded, his voice deepening.
Selene launched a counterattack, rolling him over until she could press his shoulders down into the pillows. “Only if I approve of the plan.”
There was a hungry light in her eyes that matched his own. “I need you to help me create something,” he responded, running his hands up the outside of her legs.
She frowned. “You don’t mean…”
“No!” he laughed, guessing her thoughts. “A spell.”
Selene hesitated. “We probably shouldn’t waste any more time. A spell could take a while to sort out properly. Why not tell me what you’re thinking first—”
He shook his head. “This won’t take long,” he said earnestly.
She snorted in an entirely unladylike fashion. “So romantic—who could resist such charm?” Selene’s eyes were filled with mischief, however and she leaned in to kiss him once more.
As her lips descended, Will managed one last sentence. “I meant the spell…”
Chapter 52
As so often happened, Selene proved him wrong. Weeks of celibacy made their initial liaison much briefer than usual. His extended abstinence also left him with plenty of energy to argue his point again, but Selene stopped him.
“There’s a world to save,” she reminded. “Much as I want to, you need to tell me what you’re thinking. Sometimes you’re overly optimistic. This spell might be harder than you realize.”
“Much harder.”
“Stop it,” she said, remonstrating him with a sympathetic grin. “I kept my part of this devil’s bargain. Spill it. What’s your plan?”
It actually wasn’t a plan at that point, but rather a couple of inspired ideas held together with glue and twine. After he’d shared his thoughts, Selene wasn’t too shy to give him her opinion. “That’s it? I can’t believe I slept with you! I want a refund.”
“No refunds,” he responded immediately. “But if you like, I’ll be happy to work off the debt.” His fingers crept stealthily along her leg.
She smacked his hand away. “Enough of that. This is serious. I think there’s some promise in what you’re thinking, but it needs a lot of refinement.”
That got his attention. Anything that might improve their odds was worth considering, and Selene was one of the few people he considered capable of thinking up a miracle on short notice. “What do you suggest?”
“Your spell idea is really clever,” she began. “I don’t think it will be easy to do it that way, though, not with the time we have, but if we make a few changes we can do something really similar.”
“I’m all ears.”
“First, we need to divide up the labor. Let me figure out the spell. Janice and some of the more talented students can help if I have any problems. That will take a few days even with my changes. Meanwhile, you can work on the other problem.”
He looked at her doubtfully, finally willing to express his own fear. “Do you think I can really do it?”
She blinked and looked away for a second, momentarily overcome by emotion. When her eyes returned to his, they were calm and confident. “Of course, you can. I believe in you. I’m sure I’ve told you this before: my husband is not your usual idiot. I know you’ll succeed. Besides, who knows what other help might appear. That cat of yours usually shows up when demons are involved.”
Will pressed his lips together and nodded. After a second, he stood and started to dress. “I’d better get moving.” They had a lot to do. Orders needed to be given and powers consulted. Between the spell design and Will’s task, it might take them a week to prepare.
Selene pulled the covers around herself self-consciously. “Do you think you could find me something to wear?”
“What happened to the dress you were wearing?”
“Well, to begin with, I got mud and blood on a considerable portion of it—”
He waggled his brows. “I know the perfect spell for that.”
She rolled her eyes. “—and I cut parts of it up to try and staunch your bleeding.”
Will frowned. He already knew she’d given him a regeneration potion, otherwise he wouldn’t have slept so long—and he would still be injured. Then he remembered that she had taken the regeneration potion herself. “Where did you get the potion to heal me?”
Selene wasn’t the type to be easily flustered, but she blushed suddenly. “After cutting up my skirts, I ran out and yelled at anyone and everyone until I found proper help.”
He glanced around until he spotted the remains of her dress. It was hanging up on one side of the tent, and the skirt was entirely gone. He tried not to smirk as he imagined Selene running around a military camp bare-legged.
“Fortunately, Tiny had the potions you gave him. You need to replace his regeneration potion, by the way.”
Will nodded, beginning to chuckle.
“Careful what you laugh at,” she warned.
Will got up but continued to snicker. “I guess we really should get to work.” He began dressing, and once that was done Selene helped him with his armor. It felt nostalgic, having her diligent hands helping to adjust and settle his mail and breastplate. Ordinarily Lieutenant Renly performed the task, and while the man did a perfect job of it, it just wasn’t the same. He could feel Selene’s seriousness as she tried to ensure everything was snug and in place. More than anyone, including himself, she wanted to be certain he would be as safe as possible.
She finished and glanced up at him. “Are you crying?”
“No,” he lied before attempting to wipe his cheeks with one forearm. Mail was ill-suited to the task though, and the new beard on his cheek was immediately caught in the metal rings. “Ow, ow!”
Selene caught his arm before he could tear the hair out, keeping it still. “By the Mother!” she swore. “Hold still.” After a short search, she returned with a straight razor from his kit and somehow cut him free without damaging his beard too badly. Then she kissed his cheek. “You’re such a baby. What did you
do before I got here?”
Will grinned. “I definitely didn’t cry as much.” He rubbed his cheek with one hand. “You probably should have shaved it off. What do you think?”
She shook her head. “Keep it. It looks good.”
“You didn’t like it last year.”
“It’s gotten thicker. Last year, it looked like you were trying to compensate for being young. It suits you better now.”
“I guess that settles that,” he remarked. “I’m going to call a meeting, and I’ll leave immediately after that. Do you want to be in—”
Selene waved her hand dismissively. “Just send Janice. I don’t have time to play war with you. Make sure she knows I need to borrow some clothes, too.”
“Play war?” he cried out in mock outrage.
“Shoo! Get out. This spell isn’t going to design itself.”
She made motions to try and hurry him from the room, but he caught her hands and gave her one last kiss. “See you in a few days.”
“Be careful.”
“I’ll be perfectly safe,” he told her. “I’m the Grak-Murra, remember?”
***
The senior officers’ meeting got off to a rough start, as Will had to explain both his relative absence for the past day as well as the new information he’d gained from his meeting with Grim Talek. The day’s assassination attempt and the sudden appearance of Terabinia’s Crown Princess only served to throw additional fuel on the fire of an already chaotic meeting.
“Where is Her Majesty now?” asked Commander Lambel. “Will she be assuming command?”
Will fought to keep his irritation from showing. While Lambel was earnest and hardworking, in Lustral’s absence the young commander had shown an annoying tendency to ask an abundance of questions. “No. She will be busy with another project, although if she asks for anything, I expect you to provide it immediately.”
“Won’t you be here?” asked Lambel, quickly catching the subtext of Will’s answer.
“I have something pressing to take care of.” He looked at Sub-Marshal Nicht. “I want riders sent to Klendon and Maldon. Bradshaw needs to be kept informed. I want Sub-Marshal Nerrow to leave one regiment in Maldon and bring the rest of Fifth Division here to increase our strength. Fulstrom, you’ll be in charge until he arrives.”
Disciple of War (Art of the Adept Book 4) Page 46
