Chapter Five
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“WHY DO WE HAVE TO LEAVE the palace again?” Roque asked from the other side of Dimri’s desk. He didn’t look happy, but then, he seldom did these days. At least he wasn’t complaining. He didn’t sound happy, but Dimri was pretty sure he’d follow his lead.
It was weird. Until the tavern, Roque had done everything he could to piss off Dimri, probably on purpose. Maybe he hadn’t realized how serious this was until they’d been attacked.
Or maybe he was just like that.
Be that as it may, Roque was taking it seriously now. He’d allowed Dimri to plan how they were going to deal with Abath with almost no complaints. As long as Dimri had kept him up to date, he’d been happy to let him do his thing.
Until Dimri had told him that they needed to leave the palace for a few days.
Now, Roque was confused. Leaving the palace meant that he had to take a step away from his job, which Dimri hadn’t expected him to be happy with.
That was why he had an alternative. “We don’t need to leave the palace.
I want to keep an eye on Abath when he’s not at work, though, which is why I booked a room in the tavern in front of his home.
I’ll be able to see his front door from the window and keep an eye on the people coming and going.
I don’t think he’s meeting whoever he works with there, but it’s worth a shot, if anything, to get a better understanding of his daily routine. ”
“You’re not doing anything on your own.”
Dimri glared. Roque didn’t seem to care. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared back, waiting for Dimri to argue.
The problem was that Dimri couldn’t. Roque was right. Neither of them should be doing anything on their own. Not only had Berith told them to work together, but it would be dangerous.
“I just don’t want to take you away from your job,” Dimri explained, reminding himself that they needed to compromise. He might not be used to it because he normally worked on his own, but he could do it.
Hopefully.
“I think Berith expected me to have to take a step back for at least a few days when he told me to work with you,” Roque said. “I’ll tell him that you have a lead.”
“You don’t want to stay here with him?”
“Of course I want to stay here with him. Keeping him safe isn’t just about being in the same room as him, though. If you think that spying on Abath will help us identify the spy, I’m all for it.”
“You still don’t think it’s him.”
“I don’t know what to think. The evidence you showed me is incriminating, but it doesn’t mean he’s the spy.
He does gamble, and he does have a lot of debt that he could easily get rid of if he’s being paid for information, but I still don’t believe he’d do that.
Spying on him for a few days will help you see that, and once you do, we can move on to the next suspect. ”
Dimri didn’t appreciate being told he was wrong, but he could admit it was because he wasn’t used to it. He was proud of his work and of how good he was at his job. He could admit when he was wrong, though. He just hoped he wouldn’t have to.
“All right,” he said.
Roque arched a brow. “All right? Is that all you’re going to say?”
“What else do you want me to say? I already know I won’t be able to change your mind.
I tried. If you feel that the best way to ensure that Abath isn’t the spy is to watch him for a few days, that’s what we’ll do.
We can go over the list of people you suspect while doing so.
That way, we can identify our next target. ”
Dimri briefly wondered if Roque was planning something or if Berith had a conversation with him. This felt too easy. “Are you sure you want to take time off work? Because you don’t have to. It’s not the first time I’ve done something like this, and I’ve always been fine without backup.”
“It’s a miracle that you have. I know how dangerous your work is.”
“I’m used to dealing with danger.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have to, at least not on your own. Everyone deserves to have someone watching their back, and since Berith ordered it, that someone’s going to be me. So, when are we going? I’ll need to talk to Berith so he knows what’s happening.”
“Today. We don’t have time to waste.”
Roque nodded. “Glad to hear that you can at least accept that. All right. Let me go to Berith’s office to warn him, then to my room to pack a few things. Should I meet you here in an hour?”
“An hour will be fine.”
Roque nodded and got to his feet. “See you then.”
Dimri watched him leave. He only relaxed when the office door closed behind Roque.
When he did, Dimri flopped back in his chair and tilted his head to look up at the ceiling.
This wasn’t going to be easy, was it? And it had nothing to do with the work and everything to do with the demon who’d just left the office.
They were going to have to spend a few days in close proximity, alone and with barely any distractions. What could possibly go wrong?
* * * *
“THERE’S ONLY ONE BED,” Roque said, sounding like an idiot as he stared at the room he and Dimri had just walked into.
There was a flicker of a smile on Dimri’s lips before he schooled his expression. “Your capacity for observation astonishes me.”
Roque glared at him. “Why would you get a room with only one bed?”
“I got the best room to watch Abath’s house from. I didn’t really care that it had one bed, and I still don’t.” He pointed at one of the two windows. “That’s where we’ll spend most of our time, anyway. We can take turns sleeping if it makes you feel better.”
Roque wanted to say yes, but not because it would make him feel better about the mess they were in.
No, he wanted to say yes because it would be better for them not to share the bed.
He had no idea if he’d be able to stop himself from reaching for Dimri if they did.
Even if he didn’t do it consciously, he was a cuddler.
He always slept wrapped around the people in his bed, no matter who they were.
He was pretty sure that Dimri would stab him in the heart if he tried that with him, unfortunately.
The next few days were going to be hell. Roque and Dimri would be stuck in this room together, watching the house in front of the tavern. They usually started bickering as soon as they spent more than five minutes together. How were they going to survive this? Were both of them going to survive it?
Roque grumbled and dropped his bag at the foot of the bed.
He eyed the wide mattress again, then decided that there was nothing he could do about it, so why argue?
If this was the only room that had a good view of Abath’s house and front door, Dimri had been right to book it.
They were both adults. They could deal with sharing a bed.
“I didn’t realize you liked your comfort so much,” Dimri gently teased. “But I guess you’re used to living in the palace.”
“This has nothing to do with living in the palace.”
“Doesn’t it? I know this isn’t as comfortable.”
“It’s fine. Besides, I wasn’t born Berith’s bodyguard. I know what life outside the palace is like.”
Dimri’s expression softened. “I’m sure you do.
Well, Abath’s at the palace at the moment, so we can take a few minutes to settle down.
I’ve already talked to the tavern owner.
I mentioned that we were newlyweds, so they won’t disturb us, and they agreed to bring up three meals a day.
I hope it’ll be enough food for you, but just in case, I packed snacks. ”
Roque stared at Dimri. He had no idea where to start. “You told the owner that we were newlyweds?”
“What better explanation for the fact that we won’t be leaving the bedroom?”
He wasn’t wrong, but thinking about someone believing the two of them were together made Roque’s stomach squirm.
Was it easy to believe? Or had the tavern owner wondered what a demon like Dimri was doing with someone like Roque?
Not that she’d gotten a good look at Roque.
He’d stayed a few steps away from the bar while Dimri talked to her, and his head had been covered with a hood, which thankfully wasn’t an unusual sight in Hell.
They wanted to avoid someone recognizing him after what had happened with Medea.
Things were a little awkward, but then, Roque hadn’t expected anything different.
He and Dimri weren’t friends. They were barely more than acquaintances, even though Roque wished things were different.
He’d always noticed the spymaster, but he’d never dared go anywhere near him.
Dimri was on another level than Roque. Roque loved his job and wanted to continue doing it for decades to come, but he knew some people thought he was stupid because he was there to be the muscle.
Dimri had never treated him like that, though.
Even when he was annoyed with him, he’d always treated Roque with respect, and that meant something.
It meant a lot, actually, which was one of the reasons Roque was here. He wanted to protect Dimri.
They took a few moments to settle into the bedroom, taking turns in the bathroom.
Dinner was delivered about an hour later, with Dimri opening the door and talking to the tavern owner as if they were friends.
Roque watched all of that, relieved that he didn’t have to be involved.
Dimri was behaving as if all of this was perfectly normal and like the two of them really were together.
It made Roque wonder what would happen if he tried kissing the spymaster.
Would Dimri stab him? Probably, but Roque could dream that Dimri would kiss him back.
“You should go to bed,” Dimri said after they were done with dinner.
“We’re supposed to watch Abath.”
“I’ll watch him for now. I promise that I’ll wake you up if he does anything, but I’m pretty sure he’s not going to leave the house again tonight.”
“How do you know that?”
“I just had to watch him undress and put on his sleep clothes.”