“What do you want to do?” Ari asked.
He glanced at the position of the moon. It had to be around midnight. “We’ll go back to the palace. I want to search Conditto’s office for the key so we can decipher the letter. It may provide vital information. As soon as we have that key, we leave this kingdom for good.”
“Tonight?”
He nodded. “The Russek man’s body will be found soon enough. We’d best be gone before the alarm is raised and the bartender from the inn can identify you.”
“I’m sure Princess Lareissa will be sad to hear you’ve left.”
“She tried to kill me once.” He chuckled. “I’m sure she was looking forward to trying a second time.”
“Kissing one moment, killing the next…” Ari teased.
“You understand that I only kissed her because I had to.” He did, however, want to kiss Ari.
“It seems like you kiss an awful lot of women out of a sense of duty.” Little droplets of water ran down her face.
He wanted to reach out and touch her cheek but feared she would rebuke him. “For once it would be nice to kiss someone because I want to.” Did she realize that he wanted to kiss her?
“When we’re back in Emperion, you’ll go your way and I’ll go mine,” Ari whispered.
If she meant it literally, Savenek didn’t like the idea of her traveling alone. However, she would be in Emperion where it was safer. If she was referring to a relationship between the two of them, just because they didn’t live in the same place didn’t mean they couldn’t carry on some sort of correspondence. “When we get back to Emperion, do you want to come to Emperor’s City with me? Once I report in, I can escort you to Lakeside.” Actually, he liked that idea. It would give Nathenek the opportunity to meet her.
“I need to return home as soon as possible so I can report my findings to the empress.” As always, she was being rational. “And what about your girlfriend?” Her voice indicated a genuine question without a hint of teasing.
“I intend to talk to her when I get home and tell her she isn’t the one for me.” He nearly cringed at saying that last part. It was so revealing. But he wanted Ari to understand that she could trust him.
She glanced at the shore. “How do you propose we get out of the water in our current state?”
“One at a time while the other doesn’t look.” Only, he wanted to look. He didn’t want to turn away.
Ari splashed him with water.
“What was that for?” he asked, splashing her back.
“You were looking at me funny.”
“Funny?”
“Like you want to kiss me.”
Because he did. “Is that a bad thing?”
She shrugged. “We’ll never see one another again. What’s the point of kissing or…falling for one another if our lives are taking us on two very different paths?”
He moved closer to her, the water rippling around their bodies. “I want to know what it’s like to kiss someone that I’m attracted to and genuinely like. I want to kiss you.” Bloody hell. He couldn’t believe he’d just said that out loud. Waiting for her response was torture. He’d rather face a room full of Russek men than admit his feelings like this.
“I won’t give my heart away to just anyone.”
“I’m not just anyone.” He reached out, finding her waist and holding firmly onto her.
Ari’s hands slid up his arms, resting on his shoulders. She blinked, droplets of water glistening on her eyelashes. “Falling for you would be so easy,” she admitted. “But I don’t want to move forward if it doesn’t mean anything to you.”
It meant something to him. But how to tell her that so he didn’t sound like a love-sick idiot? He could see marrying her, spending his life with her. He just needed Nathenek to approve. And how could he not? Ari was perfect.
Before Savenek could respond, she kissed the corner of his mouth. When she started to pull away, he leaned forward, not ready for it to end quite yet. Her lips parted, and he deepened the kiss, his hands moving to her back. He desperately wanted to take her shirt off. But she wasn’t the kind of woman who did that sort of thing before marriage.
She leaned back. “Now you know what it’s like to kiss me.” She quickly swam away, leaving Savenek standing in the water by himself. He swore right then and there that he would marry her.
“Our clothes will dry quickly since it’s so warm out and there’s a nice breeze,” Ari said, holding the fabric of her shirt away from her chest. “But if you don’t mind, I’d like to walk ahead of you.”
Savenek didn’t argue. Her shirt was soaking wet and practically see-through. He would have given her his shirt; however, it still had traces of the Russek man’s blood on it.
Ari led the way back to the palace, not once asking him for directions or getting lost. When they neared the wall, Savenek said, “There’s another entrance on the west side. It’s smaller and most of the servants use that one.”
Her shirt had dried so he stepped in line beside her, steering them toward the side gate. “You’re going in by yourself,” he said. “If they stop you and ask your name, tell them you’re Gretchen reporting for kitchen duty.” She had a similar shape and build as Gretchen, and if the guards didn’t look too closely, she’d pass.
“What about you?”
“Since I still have blood on my shirt, I’ll scale the wall farther down so no one sees me.” They parted ways. Savenek jogged fifty feet to the east and then easily climbed up and over the wall without being seen. He caught up with Ari just outside the servants’ entrance.
They made their way up the stairwell and back to their rooms without incident. Inside his bedchamber, Savenek quickly changed into the Emperion clothes he’d worn while traveling to Apethaga. He grabbed the sack he’d hidden, along with the supplies he’d managed to steal, and went to Ari’s room.
She’d also changed into the clothes she’d worn on the journey to Apethaga. After lacing up her boots, she said, “Let’s go. I’m ready to get out of this place.” She grabbed her sack and slung it over her shoulder.
Since the soldier standing guard in the hallway had just changed shifts, thus allowing Savenek and Ari to sneak into their rooms, the soldier wouldn’t change shifts again for almost an hour. They didn’t have that much time to wait. “Can you climb?”
“How far?” she asked.
“One level to the room directly above yours. There’s no one in it.”
“Okay.”
Going over to the window, Savenek pushed it open. While there weren’t any sentries patrolling below, they still needed to be fast and efficient in case one randomly strode by. “You go first. I’ll help push you up.”
“What if the window is locked?” she asked, climbing onto the window ledge.
“It’s not. I’ve been in the room a couple of times.”
Without hesitating, she stood and reached up, Savenek supporting her legs. When she had a good grip, he lifted her. She was just shy of being able to reach the window ledge above. Once she got her right foot on a stone, she climbed the rest of the way on her own. Savenek watched her open the window and disappear inside. He quickly climbed the palace wall and entered the room, joining her. After closing the window, he went over to the door and listened. Not hearing anything, he opened it. No one was in the hallway. He crept out, slowly making his way to the servants’ stairwell, Ari right behind him.
They went to the wing of the palace where the offices were located. This part would be a little tricky since Savenek had to get to Conditto’s office, unlock it, and then he and Ari needed to enter without being noticed by the soldier standing guard at the end of the hallway.
It was a good thing he was trained for this.
He held up his hand indicating that Ari should wait in the stairwell. She nodded and positioned her body against the wall so she could easily see Savenek down the hallway. Somehow, having the knives on his body made him feel more secure with this task. It was a false sense of secu
rity, but he’d take what he could get right now. Staying close to the wall, he edged along the hallway to Conditto’s office. He picked the lock. Thankfully, it didn’t make a sound. Then he waved to Ari who quickly came toward him. He opened the door, and they both went inside the office.
“What will the key look like?” he whispered.
“It’ll have a list of the alphabet with either symbols, letters, or numbers next to it.” Ari started checking the papers on top of the desk.
Savenek pulled out the drawer where he’d previously found the correspondence from Russek. Off to the side, there was a piece of paper sticking out. He pulled on the corner and examined it. The paper listed each letter of the alphabet and then had a different letter next to each one. “Is this it?” He held it up to show Ari.
She glanced over her shoulder and nodded.
Instead of taking the time to decipher it, he folded the key and stuck it in his pants. “Let’s go.” He opened the door an inch and listened for footsteps. Not hearing any, he and Ari slunk into the hallway, sneaking toward the stairwell.
Savenek hadn’t bothered to re-lock the door—it would have taken too much time, and he wanted to put as much distance between themselves and the palace as possible. The need to hurry was crushing him, making his heart race. On the first floor, they took the servants’ passageways until they reached the exit. Not seeing any soldiers nearby, they ran straight to the wall.
They jogged until the gate was in sight. Twice the number of soldiers stood guard. That was not a good sign. A few men shouted in the distance, and then several dogs barked. The Russek's body must have been discovered. It was only a matter of time until someone figured out Savenek and Ari were missing. He pulled out the key and handed it to Ari. “Decipher the letter. Now.”
She knelt on the ground, both pieces of paper in front of her, as she tried to read the letter.
Savenek opened his sack and removed the rope he’d found earlier. “I’m going to climb to the top of the wall and hold the rope. Then you’re going to grab it, and I’ll haul you up.”
She nodded.
He put the rope over his shoulder, secured his sack, and scaled the rough wall. At the top, his fingers stung, but he didn’t care. He held onto one end while letting the rope uncoil down to Ari. She shoved the papers into her pants, clutched onto the rope, and started climbing while Savenek hoisted her up. When she neared the top, he reached down and grabbed hold of her, lifting her the rest of the way. They both huddled on the top of the wall, breathing heavily.
“You’ll have to go first,” Savenek said. Then I’ll climb down after you.”
She grabbed his wrist. “I deciphered the letter.”
“Tell me what it says later.” They were running out of time.
“You need to know in case something happens to me. I can’t be the only one who is aware of this secret. It’s too big.” Her eyes were wide with panic.
“What is it?”
“It’s from Prince Patteon to King Drenton. It says the weapons have been made with the requested modifications and sent on the ships as discussed. The other item Drenton wanted has been made as well and is being sent in barrels from the Kepper Mines through Telmena next week. Payment has been received.”
Savenek cursed.
“That’s not all.” She took a deep breath. “It says that Drenton should test the lethal combination first so he understands its potency, and Patteon agrees that Melenia is the perfect target. Once Drenton uses it on Melenia and achieves the desired results, he should march on Emperion.”
There was going to be a war. Savenek had to warn the Brotherhood. Ari had to tell the empress what they were up against. All those weapons they’d hoped to secure were now on their way to Russek. And if the Kepper Mines produced what Savenek thought they did, then that meant large doses of the powdery red poison were making their way north to Russek as well.
“Also, it said the four kingdoms will be united.”
“Four?”
“Prince Kerdan will sign the marriage agreement with Princess Conditto thus aligning Russek and Apethaga, Princess Larissa will marry the prince from Telmena thus aligning Apethaga with Telmena, and Princess Shelene from Russek will marry Prince Odar of Fren thus aligning Russek with Fren. Fren and Telmena already have a marriage alliance in place. The four kingdoms will be united together—against Emperion.”
And if Russek invaded Melenia, those five kingdoms combined would be able to pose a serious threat to Emperion. Savenek and Ari had to get to Emperion as fast as possible to warn them. These political maneuverings must have been in place for quite some time.
Ari took hold of the rope. She placed her feet against the wall and started to descend. Savenek wrapped the rope around his wrists, trying to alleviate some of the pressure on his stinging hands while he supported her weight.
How had Russek managed to negotiate all of this without Emperion knowing? The purpose of the Brotherhood was to stop a war before it started. If the Brotherhood could send one of their members north into Russek to assassinate the royal family, Emperion’s problem would be solved.
Ari reached the bottom. Savenek dropped the rope and climbed down the wall, his already worn hands throbbing. Back on solid ground, he shoved the rope in his sack and scanned the area for threats. They needed to take the most direct route to Emperion, which was west. Using the stars as a guide, they started jogging. Savenek wished they could move faster; however, it was dark and he didn’t want to risk one of them tripping and falling. Neither of them could afford an injury right now.
After about thirty minutes, he stopped, observing the valley before them.
“What are you waiting for?” Ari asked.
“Something is wrong.” They’d been running past dense vegetation for the past two miles. It was as if they’d come to a line and everything on the other side of that line was gone—all the trees, plants, and forest animals. About a mile away, there was another line, and the trees and vegetation returned. “We can’t cross here.”
“Why not?”
He squatted and observed the ground in the dim light of the early morning dawn. There was only one thing growing. “It’s a deathtrap. The valley is covered with those poisonous red flowers.” He cursed. That was probably why security at the palace had been so lax.
“There has be to another way,” Ari said, her voice laced with growing panic. “We’ll head north and then when we’re past the poisonous flowers, go west.”
Savenek knew that this one-mile wide valley probably circled the entire capital. This had to be why they’d been drugged when brought to the palace—so they’d have no idea how to navigate around the deadly flowers. With no other feasible option, they headed north. The sun started to crest the hill in the distance.
“How far do you think we’ve gone?” Ari asked.
“Four miles.” As predicted, the valley showed no sign of ending.
“What are we going to do?”
Maybe they should risk crossing. They each wore sturdy boots and pants. If he put his shirt over his nose and mouth, maybe that would help protect him from the poisonous flowers. “I’ll go. You stay here. If I make it across and nothing happens, then you can cross.”
She paced back and forth, her hands on her hips. “And if you die?”
“Then it’s up to you to find a way to Emperion to save everyone.”
“There are bones,” Ari said, coming to an abrupt halt and pointing ten feet in front of her at the flowers.
Savenek looked closer. Sure enough, there were bones. And not just human bones, but animal bones as well. He walked south twenty feet and examined the area. Again, bones were scattered in the flowers about ten feet away. That was all it took. Ten feet and he’d be dead.
Ari pulled him back, away from the valley. “It’s not worth it. We’ll find another way.”
In the distance, Savenek heard dogs barking, people shouting, and horse hooves pounding on the ground. “We can run,” he said, “but I don’t
know where we’d go.” They were trapped by this circle of death.
“We have to try,” Ari said, frantically looking around as if another route would magically present itself.
“We’re going to let them capture us.”
She stilled. “Are you insane? If we do that, they’ll kill us.”
Possibly. “First, we’ll be thrown in the dungeon. At least there we might be able to bribe someone into telling us how to get out of this town.”
“Let me get this straight,” Ari said, her words clipped. “You want to let them capture us so we can bribe a dungeon worker into not only telling us how to get out of Apethaga, but to let us escape? Are you mad?” She pointed at Savenek as she spoke, her eyebrows scrunched together. Man, she was beautiful when she was angry.
“I know it won’t be easy, and they could kill us at any time. However, this might be the key to our freedom.”
She shook her head and started pacing again. “I’d rather go down fighting.”
“I’d rather not go down at all.”
“Easy for you to say, you’re an assassin.”
Savenek reached for Ari, and she let him pull her to him. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
“I promise to protect you.”
“It’s not your job.”
“I know. But I want to.”
She leaned back, looking up at him, her eyes glassy. He brushed his lips against hers, silently swearing to protect her with his life.
“I take it you’re not brother and sister,” a cold voice said.
Savenek reluctantly released Ari, turning to face King Theon sitting astride a large stallion, a dozen soldiers behind him.
“There’s nowhere to go,” the king said. “The entire capital is surrounded by keppers.”
Oath of Deception Page 19
