Lilianna picked up the knife and sprinted after him.
“Ah, sweet Numenos’ tits,” Paric grumbled and ran after her.
Several minutes later they reappeared, Lilianna still carrying her knife, looking furious, and Paric wiping blood from his sword onto his tunic.
“I had him,” Lilianna was saying.
“Right. Like you had him before I arrived.” Paric shook his head.
“It’s none of your business.”
“I was given orders to keep you alive.”
“So you were following us, after all,” Coralie said.
Paric sheathed his sword. “This time, yes. Before, no.”
“Well, you can stop; we’re fine,” Lilianna said.
“Right. Except you’ve got no food and that guy would’ve taken all your money.”
“So you’ve been spying on us closely enough to know we’re out of food.”
“That’s not as close as you’d think. Do you know how much you’ve been shouting about whether you can eat various mushrooms?”
Coralie stepped between them. “Well, thank you for your help. We’d rather be on our way. Can we trust you to leave us alone?”
Paric crossed his arms across his chest. “Yes. My orders from Aron were to follow you until you needed help, but to leave if you told me to.”
“You expect us to believe that?” Lilianna asked.
“Hey, look, I don’t care either way. If you want to get robbed and murdered that’s fine. To each his own. I don’t judge Gird, either. But you should know you’re entering a bad area. Things aren’t going so great out there, and up ahead, things are, as Gird would say… unstable.”
Coralie glanced at Lilianna, whose stance was wide, her face defiant. Lilianna shot her a glance back. Something in her expression shifted when she met Coralie’s gaze. She narrowed her eyes at Paric, then turned and grasped Coralie’s arm, leading her a few paces off the side of the road. Her hand felt warm on Coralie’s skin.
“We’ll be right back,” Lilianna called over her shoulder.
When they were out of earshot, Lilianna looked at Coralie.
“What do you think?” Her hand dropped from Coralie’s arm and Coralie shook herself.
“About what?”
“Do you think he’s telling the truth about things getting worse up ahead?”
Coralie considered. Despite how crazy they seemed, she never sensed anything but complete sincerity from Aron and his servants. For the briefest of instants, her desire to be alone with Lilianna warred with her desire to tell the truth.
“Yes.” She swallowed. “I think he’s telling the truth. And… as strange as it seems, I think this is exactly what it looks like.”
“That they’re stalking us?”
“No. That they let us go, that we happened to run into them, and that Aron got worried and sent Paric after us, just in case. I mean, he’s made no effort at all to get us to go back with him.”
Lilianna scuffed her boot in the dirt. “Yeah… I guess that’s a reasonable interpretation.”
“I mean, I’m not saying I’m always the best judge of these things. You were right about the men by the fire.”
Lilianna shrugged. “It was still a good idea to talk to them.” She looked up at Coralie. “And I mean, regardless of who’s right, I like your version of the world. I’d rather live in that than mine.”
Coralie, taken aback, couldn’t think of what to say.
“I think we should go with them,” Lilianna said.
“What?”
“I mean, maybe they wouldn’t mind taking us to Kreiss.”
Coralie took a quick breath, biting back her immediate response. “Hmm…” she said, trying to buy herself time to think. Aron was charming and rich. On the other hand, if they continued on alone, they would probably die. It still took her a long time to decide. Lilianna was looking at her curiously.
“Not so sure they’re OK after all?”
“No, no… I think they’re fine. I just… nothing. Yeah, I think we should ask if they wouldn’t mind taking us to Kreiss.”
Lilianna nodded and sighed heavily, and Coralie’s mood lightened somewhat. That didn’t sound like the sigh of someone pining for a rich, charming man to solve all their problems.
They made their way back to the road to where Paric stood examining a bloodstain on his boot.
“Thank you again for your help,” Coralie said.
Paric looked up. “Sure thing. Stubbornly going off to your deaths, are you?”
“No,” Lilianna said, then took a breath. “Actually, we were wondering if Aron would mind taking us to Kreiss?”
“We’re happy to pay,” Coralie added.
Paric rolled his eyes. “Have you seen how much money he has? And no, I am sure he doesn’t mind at all.”
“Well, thank you,” Coralie said. “We’d appreciate it. And thanks again for rescuing us.”
“We were fine,” Lilianna shot back. Coralie could tell it was just a reflex, and by the looks of it Paric could, too.
“Glad to hear it.” He looked up at the sun. “Well, let’s get going then.”
He set off at a quick pace, his long legs stretching out over the ground gracefully, and Coralie broke into a jog to keep up. Lilianna strode along easily at her side.
“How far is it?” Coralie asked casually.
“Don’t know,” Paric said without breaking his stride. “He said to head for the shore and he’d meet us.”
“Wait, us?” Lilianna asked, grinding to a halt.
“Zastros’ balls,” Paric said, running a hand across his forehead and turning. “I meant me. Sweet Numenos, will you relax?”
That was the first time Coralie sensed a lie. It didn’t necessarily mean anything bad, though. Just that Aron had expected them to join him. Which wasn’t an unreasonable thing to expect. She didn’t say this to Lilianna, though. She only slipped one of her daggers into the secret pocket she had sewn into the sleeve of her dress.
When they arrived at the shore, they began making their way down the beach. Not even a few hours later, Aron’s boat appeared on the horizon.
“Hello again,” Aron said, smiling as he helped them up onto the deck.
“They want you to take them to Kreiss,” Paric said, heaving himself onboard.
“Er, we were wondering if you wouldn’t mind,” Coralie corrected him, pulling the coin purse from her bag. “We can pay.”
“No need,” Aron said. “Happy to.”
“No, really, we’d like to pay,” she said, handing him four silvers.
He shrugged, took the coins, and dropped them into a full, heavy purse at his side. Then he grinned.
“Welcome aboard.”
28
Lilianna
Lilianna stood on deck, the wind lifting and tossing her hair, the sails flapping above, the joists creaking below. She balanced her elbows balanced on the rail, watching the last sight of shore fade into the growing darkness. Coralie came up behind her and hesitantly took her hand. Her fingers were rough and cool, and Lilianna gripped her hand tightly without looking at her.
“Everything’s ready for you below,” Aron said, coming up behind them.
Lilianna dropped Coralie’s hand and turned. Aron held an oil lantern, the warm yellow light illuminating the underside of his face, making heavy shadows on his cheeks, but he smiled warmly.
“Thanks for your help.” He’d been nothing but nice, and she wanted to trust him like Coralie did. But she knew other people who’d been nothing but nice. It was hard to predict when it would turn.
She and Coralie followed him down into the hold, which was a different place now that the ship was under sail. It was loud, with creaking timbers and the crash of water against the bow. The floor pitched and heaved under them and Lilianna realized she loved it. It was a perfect, wild chaos. Even though she was yet again dependent on someone else.
“I’m sorry; we had to make do with what we had,” Aron said, opening th
e door that had, the last time Lilianna had been there, contained nothing but a moldy hammock.
Now the walls and floor were scrubbed clean, the hammock was gone and a simple wooden bedframe, bolted to the floor, had taken its place, with a brass-bound trunk, also bolted down, sitting at its foot. A thick wool rug covered the floor, and an oil lamp to match his hung from the ceiling.
“This was what we had lying around.”
Lilianna barely paid attention. Her mind was on her corner of the floor in her father’s cottage, and the dirty pile of blankets. Of course, that was all gone now.
“Thank you so much,” Coralie said. “It’s so generous of you to help us like this. We really appreciate it.”
The warmth of Aron’s smile was dazzling. “It’s the least I could do.”
Across the hall was Coralie’s room, similarly arranged, but slightly smaller.
“If there’s anything you need, just ask,” Aron said. “We should be in Kreiss in about four days. Good night.” He bowed and left them staring at each other across the hall.
Coralie picked at the doorframe. Lilianna rolled her eyes, grabbed Coralie’s hand, and pulled her into her room. She flopped onto the bed, pulling Coralie down with her. She felt Coralie’s body tense up, so she let go of her hand and moved to lean against the wall. Without looking at her, Coralie joined her.
There was a long silence during which they listened to the creaking timbers and watched the shadows sway and the lantern swing back and forth on the overhead beam.
“Do you think this was a bad idea?” Lilianna asked.
“No,” Coralie said. “I think it was the best option we had.”
“Me too.” Lilianna laid her head on Coralie’s shoulder and closed her eyes. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Lilianna could hear Coralie’s heart beating in her chest. It was a comforting sound.
29
Coralie
The wind came up the next morning, tossing the sea, and Paric, Gird, and Aron had their hands full fighting the swells all day. Coralie sat at the stern, gripping the railing and leaning over the edge every so often to throw up into the wake. Lilianna patted her back comfortingly.
“Don’t worry,” Paric told her with a grin. “It’ll pass.”
Coralie, green-faced, shot him a dark look and he left her alone. Gird showed her where the galley was, and she made the tea her grandmother had given her for seasickness. After throwing up six cups immediately after drinking them, she was finally able to keep one cup down, and after three more she stopped throwing up all together.
That evening, the wind calmed and the sun sank in a blood red sunset that set the smooth surface of the ocean on fire. The five of them sat below deck, eating the simple meal of biscuits and soup that Aron had made. The only sound was the creak of timbers and the scraping of spoons against bowls.
Coralie glanced at Aron, who was looking down into his bowl. He looked up and she blushed and looked away, only to find Gird’s eyes on her. He looked down and Coralie resumed eating her soup, pushing the beans around while she chewed. She looked over at Lilianna, who was poking unenthusiastically at her bowl.
“That’s it,” Paric said, dropping his spoon. “Enough. You’re all as bad as Gird.”
Gird sniffed but didn’t say anything.
Paric stood, dumped his bowl into the bucket that functioned as their sink, and rummaged around in a cabinet until he pulled out two dusty green bottles, which he clunked down onto the table.
“Someone tell me your favorite drinking game, or I’m picking.”
“I’ve been sick all day,” Coralie said. “I’m not sure I should—”
“You’ll be fine.” He looked around the table. “No ideas? OK. We’re playing I’m the Best.”
“Paric,” Aron started. “The last time we played that—”
“Yes, I know, but this time we’ll go out on deck so there won’t be any mice.”
“How do you play?” Lilianna asked, leaning forward. Paric grinned at her.
“Follow me,” he said. They followed him up onto the deck. Aron hung a lantern from the main mast, and Gird collected some cushions for them to sit on. “The rules are simple,” Paric said, splashing some liquid into each of the five cups he’d brought. “We take turns picking something we’re good at—and it has to be some random talent you have,” he looked at Coralie, “no fashioning swords or crap like that. If anyone can beat you at it you have to down your drink. If no one beats you, everyone takes a drink. I’ll go first. I’m the best at handstands.” He settled his drink on the planking, placed his palms flat on the wood and kicked his legs into the air. Several small knives and a dagger dropped out of his pockets.
“Come on,” he said. “You’re already behind.”
Gird took a long, melancholy sip and settled further into his cushion.
“You picked the wrong skill,” Lilianna said, planting her palms and kicking up. She gripped her dress with her knees to keep the skirt from falling.
Coralie reluctantly made a few half-hearted attempts and then gave up. Aron did a little roll on deck and thrust his legs into the air, pushing up into a handstand.
“Drink, missy,” Paric said.
“I only have to drink if you win, right?” Coralie said.
“You can put it off if you want, but you’re gonna have to drink eventually.”
“I’ve seen Lilianna do handstands before.”
Aron’s breath was beginning to hitch, and he rolled back down, returning to his cushion and massaging his chest. The three of them watched Paric and Lilianna, their faces growing red. Lilianna’s was a mask of complete calm, her hair dangling down to her hands. Paric stepped from hand to hand, shaking out his wrists and craning to look at her every so often. Several minutes passed.
“Well, this is fun,” Gird drawled.
“Where’re you hiding those arm muscles, girl?” Paric grunted, his arms beginning to shake. Lilianna, absolutely steady, didn’t answer.
Several minutes more and Paric was breathing heavily, his arms vibrating with effort. Finally, he collapsed. Shaking out his arms, he downed his drink, then looked at Lilianna admiringly. She was still perfectly vertical.
“This just something you do to pass the time?” he asked.
“You started before me,” Lilianna said, not answering his question. “Have I won yet?”
Paric laughed. “Yes, you’ve won, you’ve won. I’ve drunk my drink in shame.”
Lilianna dropped her feet smoothly to the deck and returned to her cushion, curling her long legs under her. Paric shook his head, still laughing. “All right, Gird, your turn.”
Gird sighed. “Very well. Master de Tamley, might I borrow some coins?”
“Not again,” Paric muttered to himself. “Why?”
“I do not wish to drink. This is the thing I am the best at.”
Aron pulled out a bag of coins and dumped it in the middle of the circle.
Gird took a handful. “I will be fitting the most of these into my mouth,” he said. Lilianna giggled.
“What?” Coralie asked, but Gird had already begun. His mouth was wide and frog-like, and the coins disappeared into it as if they were falling into a well. Eventually his cheeks started to bulge, but he just kept stuffing them in.
“We don’t have to use the same coins, right?” Coralie asked, and Paric fetched more bags from down below.
Lilianna was already cramming coins into her mouth, but Paric just took a drink.
“There’s no way to beat him,” he said. “Look at that mouth, it’s like a pit. It’s like he unhinges his jaw or something.”
Lilianna started to cough, and a spray of coins clattered to the deck. She spit the rest out into a bucket. Calmly, after it was clear that he had won, Gird carefully removed the coins one-by-one.
“You’re cleaning those,” Paric said.
“Naturally,” Gird replied.
“Not the word I would use,” Paric muttered. “All right everyone,
drink.”
Lilianna took a long swig; Coralie took a careful sip, then coughed. It burned her throat on the way down, but her stomach and face heated pleasantly.
“Your turn,” Paric said, lifting his cup to her.
Coralie’s mind raced. What was she even good at? Identifying blades, but that didn’t count, and Paric might be good at that, too. She knew the most about Lilianna, but that seemed like cheating, too. And more importantly, Lilianna might not appreciate it. Then she had it.
A game her grandfather had taught her when she was little. “Aron do you have any dice? And a piece of paper?”
The supplies were fetched, and Coralie rolled the die. A four.
“OK, you write that down, and don’t show it to me,” she said to Paric.
“Why me?”
“Because you’ve already had three sips of your drink since Gird won. You don’t need any incentive to drink, so you can be our record keeper. You write down the numbers. Every time I roll the die, I’ll say all the numbers in order. If I’m wrong, we stop.”
She rolled another four. “Four, Four,” she said, and rolled again. Paric dutifully made a mark on his paper.
Several minutes passed, and the group grew more and more silent as they watched in awe.
“Four, Four, Two, Three, Six, Three, Five, Four, Three, One, Five, Two, Six, Five, Four, Two, Three, One, Five, Two, Four, Two, Three, Six, One, Five, Four, One, Six, Five, Six, Four, Three, Two,” Coralie said, catching her breath. She was about to roll the die again when Paric stopped her.
“Just out of curiosity, how long is this going to go on?”
Coralie shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Paric looked around the group. “Anyone feel like challenging her?” No one said anything. Gird took a long drink. Lilianna raised her glass to Coralie and took a long swig. “My turn!”
Lilianna glanced at Paric. “I could have picked hair braiding,” she said, eyeing the three men with their close-cropped hair.
“Gird’s actually not bad at that,” Paric said.
Death of the Immortal King Page 16
