Wrath of the Storm (Mark of the Thief 3)

My hand was loosely around her waist for balance. She brushed her fingers over mine and sighed. Hadn't I just said that I wanted her happiness? Why did she seem so sad?

"You must live," she murmured. "Of all the promises you've made, keep that one."

I looked down, unable to answer. When I did, for the first time I noticed a bracelet on her wrist, gold and in the shape of a coiled snake.

I gestured toward it and asked, "What is that?"

She shrugged. "A gift from Crispus, as an apology for trying to bargain me away last night."

Suddenly, I wondered if I should've gotten her a gift too, or at least if I should've apologized. Well, I wasn't going to. I hadn't done anything wrong, at least as far as I knew. Besides, I'd already apologized for tricking her in Radulf's home today. Couldn't that apology count for last night as well? Probably not. Anyway, that was Crispus's gift on her wrist, and not mine.

Luckily, Aurelia had already moved on to other thoughts. "So where will you go now?"

"What do you mean?"

Then I understood. An hour ago, exploding Radulf's home hadn't seemed like such a terrible idea. Livia and my mother were already on their way to Britannia. Once I got Radulf free, he'd immediately go to Britannia too. But I wasn't going to Britannia, which left me with the problem of a big hole in the ground where my bedroom used to be.

When I explained this to Aurelia, she said, "Let's go to my father's home, on the condition that you won't destroy it too."

"That depends," I warned. "Is Sal still there?"

Back when I had worked at the mines, Sal had been my master, and my choice as the worst person ever to roam this earth. Making my life miserable had been a game for him. Making his life worse than mine had been my daily goal. However, shortly before Aurelia's father died, Sal had gotten himself named manager of her family's estate. According to her father's will, Aurelia would need to marry someone soon, or else she would lose her entire inheritance to Sal. Since she had already mentioned it, I figured that inheritance was our reason for going to her home.

"Sal is still there, and in fact, he's the one I need to see." She glanced back to look at me. The expression in her eyes wasn't quite disapproval, but it was close. Maybe she knew that I still relished the idea of ruining any day of Sal's life. "I don't think I can trust you. Stay outside. I won't be long."

"Has he taken your inheritance? Has he stolen from you?"

"No! And please don't ask me anything more. Just wait here."

The road in front of her home was relatively quiet today, but she still led me and Callistus through a back alleyway, out of sight. We weren't particularly worried about being attacked here -- certainly I could fend off anyone who came along -- but it also didn't seem wise to advertise the unicorn more than was necessary.

Once we were in that alley, Aurelia stood to face me, shifting the weight on her feet more than could possibly be necessary for her comfort.

Finally, she said, "You told me that none of what Brutus offered you was a temptation. Is that true?"

The tone of her voice confused me. Only minutes ago, she had been angry with me for listening to him. Now she seemed frustrated because I had not listened carefully enough.

"None of it tempted me," I told her, just as I had said several times before. "It was only a trick."

"None of it? There was nothing he offered that you want enough to have considered his offer, even for a moment?"

"Everything he offered was a lie," I said. "He can't give me anything I want."

"But if he could --"

"He can't! Making a Jupiter Stone --"

"That wasn't my question! I only wondered about what you really want for yourself." She flashed me a glare, daring me to answer her question.

"Freedom," I said. "That's all I want."

"Is it? That's all?"

"Maybe some food to eat, if you have anything here." I winked at her.

Instead of returning my joke with one of her own, her expression soured. "Wait for me. And don't explode anything."

Before I could ask her another question, she swerved on her heel and left me alone with Callistus. Still confused, I brushed a hand across his neck. "What was that about?"