We went to sleep without another word, but as I lay there in the dark, I replayed our earlier conversation in my head. She had hit every note when she explained her decision to marry the Komizar: the resignation, bitterness, throwing my own words back in my face, the regret, the glistening eyes, every single note as if she was singing a practiced song. Her performance was near flawless, but it had none of the genuine weariness that I had just seen now. I’m not going to lie, Kaden.
But she had. I was certain. I remembered her bitter words to me as we left the vagabond camp when I said she was a poor liar. No, actually, I can be a very good one, but some lies require more time to spin.
And now, as I retraced the past days, her claim of trying to build a new life here, her kiss, I wondered … just how long had she been spinning one?
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
RAFE
“Have you taken leave of your senses?” I hissed.
I sat in a dark storeroom off the kitchen that smelled of onions and goose grease. Calantha had left me here to wait while the cook boiled up a poultice for my wound.
“It was an opportunity that dropped into our laps. We can’t all show up as patty clappers and emissaries. How’s the shoulder?”
I pushed his hand away. “It’s crazy. How long can Orrin play the mute? What were you thinking? And who are all those other soldiers that showed up with you?”
“Terrified boys, mostly. As far as they know, I truly am the new governor of Arleston. We ambushed them on the road. Easy pickings. The governor was as soaked as a fish. Nasty fellow. Barely knew what hit him. His so-called guards fairly handed us their weapons in one breath and pledged their new allegiance in the next.”
I shook my head.
“Come on, boy. This is a plum position. I don’t have to slink about, and I can carry weapons without raising a brow.”
“And spit in my face.”
“On your boots,” he corrected. “Don’t malign my aim.” Sven chuckled. “I thought you were going to choke when you saw me.”
“I did choke. I still have a piece of apple stuck in my throat.”
“Most of our way here, I wasn’t sure we’d even find you alive. I prodded that Assassin for miles, but he’s a tight-lipped fellow, isn’t he? Wouldn’t let loose with anything, and the soldiers with him weren’t much better. I finally overheard one of them talking around the campfire about the foppish emissary of the prince.”
Orrin, standing by the door to the kitchen keeping an eye out for the cook, whispered over his shoulder, “That Assassin is the first one we’ll take out.”
“No,” I said. “I’ll take care of him.”
Sven asked about the details of my arrival, and I told them about my proposal to the Komizar, and how I had played on his greed and ego.
“And he bought it?” Sven asked.
“Greed is a language he understands. When I told him our stake was a port and a few hills, it rang true.”
Sven’s expression darkened. “You knew about that?”
“I’m not deaf, Sven. It’s what they’ve wanted for years.”
“Does she know?”
“No. It doesn’t matter. I’d never allow it to happen.”
Sven peeled back the blood-sodden tear in my shirt and grunted. “It was a stupid move you made tonight.”
“I pulled back.”
“Only thanks to me.”
I knew he’d point that out. Watch your step. If they suspected I was anyone other than who I claimed to be, it wouldn’t bode well for any of us—especially Lia. We’d end up dead, but she’d end up married to one animal and serving another at his bidding. The wedding was three days away. We had to move fast.
“Where’s Tavish?” I asked.