LIII Rain
I listen to the rustling of sheets as he extricates himself. My mind is overwhelmed with my discovery, my body cold and numb, but I can’t ignore the oppressive, aching sense that something is profoundly wrong.
When the door closes with a click, I shove all my hurting mess deep down and roll out of bed. Magnar’s cum trickles down my thighs, and I ignore it, creeping closer to the door. The line of flickering light underneath it tells me our sitting room is well lit. I press my ear to the keyhole.
“This is suicide,” Raduna says, his voice calm but firm. “I cannot let you do this.”
“He’ll be fine,” Khay says dismissively, voice feverish. ”And I’m coming with. We’ll get it done in under an hour, and be back in bed by dawn.”
“No.” Magnar’s voice is heavy with authority.
“I’ll go alone, Khay. This is my condition.
You must stay and watch over Caliane. I’ll take ten soldiers, leaving twenty for you.
If anything happens, it must be clear I acted alone.
Do you understand? Caliane is innocent. She’ll be queen of Farneer even without me. She’ll be untouchable. Promise me.”
“I still say we should wait,” Raduna says stubbornly, but I think I’ve heard enough.
I go over to the bed, wrap a sheet around myself, and walk out of the room, feigning a yawn. My men freeze. Magnar, who was speaking, snaps his mouth shut. They watch me with wide, almost fearful eyes. I would laugh if I wasn’t so livid.
I yawn again. Magnar steps closer, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. “What’s wrong, love? Can’t sleep?”
I nod and drop my pretense, letting my emotions show on my face.
“No, I can’t sleep. I had a nightmare that my husband was plotting a stupid, suicidal mission without my knowledge. You must come to bed and comfort me. I’m sure I won’t be able to sleep a wink.”
He stares at me, confused. I see the exact moment when he understands my words are ironic. His face hardens, lips pressing into a line.
“I have to do this. It will be fine.”
“Sure. It will be perfectly fine. Until someone sees what you’re doing and shoots you with an arrow.
Those women are seen as wares, and what you’re trying to do will be considered stealing.
The merchants in the Citadel have the right to shoot thieves on sight.
I forget, are the Agnidari arrow-proof? Oh, right, you are not.
How many women and children are kept there? ”
I turn to Arvi, who watches me with a small smile. “Over fifty, my queen.”
I whip back to Magnar. “Fifty. Oh, I am sure no one will notice fifty people being smuggled out in the middle of the night in the seediest part of town where someone is always awake! Are you a fool?”
Khay stands between me and Magnar, his eyes burning with febrile energy. “Then what do you suggest we do? They are suffering!”
“I suggest we wait!” I grit out through clenched teeth, mindful of making too much noise.
No one will need a spyhole to eavesdrop if we’re shouting.
“You’re going to get Magnar killed and your family done for.
If this fails, and it will, they will be stuck here with no help coming.
Your sisters, your nieces and nephews, and then their children will be slaves in this brothel forever. Are you ready to risk it?”
“No more waiting! We’ve waited ten years,” Khay hisses, his jaw working, muscles tense. “If Magnar won’t go, I will! I will fucking free them alone if you won’t keep your word!”
He turns to Magnar, whose eyes go from Khay to me and back again, undecided, grim. Finally, he shakes his head.
“We can’t wait. They lied to me, Caliane. The brothel is owned by the Table of Kings. There is no owner to take it up with, only the people who will never let me have it. We must free them some other way, and this is our best bet.”
“You’ll play right into their hands,” I say, despair flooding my belly.
Oh, I know this face. Magnar has made his decision and nothing will stop him.
“Maybe. But I have to do this. I promised.”
“What about me?” I ask, stalking closer as my heart breaks. “You promised me things, too! You said you’d protect me, take care of me! You can’t do it if you’re dead!”
He looks away, his face stony, mouth flat. “You will be provided for. You will have your knights, men who love you, who you love. You’ll be safe.”
But I love you, too!
He looks at me with cold, sober eyes, and the confession dies in my throat before I can say it. Magnar watches me a moment longer, then nods as if I just confirmed something for him, something he knew all along.
“You’ll be fine,” he says again. “And I’ll do my best to be discreet. We won’t fail.”
I drop my sheet and turn to the wardrobe where my clothes hang. I get out my warmest set and start dressing.
“What are you doing?” Magnar asks, voice cold and angry.
“I’m coming with.”
“No, you’re not.”
“I’m a queen. You don’t get to tell me what I can and cannot do.”
“You’re not coming. Knights, I need you to hold her back.”
I whip around, leveling Raduna, then Arvi, with a hard stare. Khay is a lost cause in this, but their minds are clear.
“You will not dare.”
Arvi folds his arms on his chest, and Raduna turns to Magnar and salutes. My heart sinks. Oh no.
“My king, I heard your order,” my oldest knight says in a calm, quiet voice. “And I heard my queen’s order. I am her knight just as I’m yours. I cannot act against my queen.”
Magnar grabs a crystal vase and flings it against the wall. It shatters into a million shards that glitter in the gold light of the lanterns. His teeth are bared, shoulders heaving.
“Then you are not my knight!” he growls, stalking Raduna.
Hurt flashes across my knight’s face, but he calms almost at once, raising his empty hands to show Magnar he’s unarmed.
“I live to serve you, my king. This is the service you require, whether you want it or not.”
Magnar stops in front of him, his fingers tense and twitching, his teeth bared. Raduna doesn’t move, watching Magnar calmly, and the king growls.
“I think he’s not scared of you,” I say, rolling a stocking up my leg. Oh, I’m sticky. No time to wash. “Either brawl or let it go.”
“You can’t come,” Magnar turns to me, despair glinting in his eyes. “Please, Caliane. I need you to be safe. None of this will be worth it if you’re not safe!”
“I go where you go. Here is an idea: don’t go into places that are not safe for me.”
“You don’t understand.” He drops to his knees in front of me and takes my face in his shaking palms. “I read the Eleven’s law handbooks.
I know the rules. If I die, you’ll be the sole queen of Farneer.
You will be protected. Our baby will be protected!
But if someone sees you there, if they have a shred of proof that you are complicit, you will go under trial!
You must stay here. In fact, go visit with someone.
Be seen. Make it clear beyond a shadow of a doubt you know nothing of this. Please. I beg you.”
I look into his wide, pleading eyes. It hurts to deny him. But Magnar has made it clear he doesn’t intend to come back. He’ll sacrifice himself out of guilt.
“So what will you do?” I ask softly, kissing his forehead. “When they shoot at you, will you just avoid the arrows? Or when someone calls the Citadel guards when they see you? You can fight, but if you attack a Citadel guard, this will be all over. This is such a stupid plan.”
“It’s the only one I have.”
I press my forehead to his. “All right. You were planning to go now?”
Magnar clears his throat. “Yes. I’d wait with the soldiers for the brothel to close and start then.”
“Guilt makes you stupid,” I say with a sigh.
“Wait at least an hour. Start at five. And send a few soldiers in as clients tonight. Make them spread the word so the women are ready. They’ll help you and make less noise if they know what’s happening.
Now, how did you want to get them out of the Citadel? ”
“Kill the guards manning the gate,” he mutters.
“Ah, yes, and be chased down the main road. Good one. There’s a path down the cliffs. It’s dangerous but not well-known. It will lead them out of the city and into a forest, where they can hide. My father drew a map in one of his journals. I’ll show you.”
“Thank you. Will you stay behind if I do all that?”
I snort. “No, I will not. My best advice is still to wait. But if you can’t, I’ll give you every advantage I can, and then I’ll follow you. Right now, you intend to sacrifice yourself. I need you to know that if you fall, I’ll fall with you. I need you to focus harder on surviving.”
Arvi whistles softly. “Damn, you’re callous. Just look at her. So cunning, and only half-dressed. I think I fell in love again.”
Magnar’s eyes are flinty with a challenge. “Fine. But you’ll stay hidden in the abandoned tavern opposite. You won’t come with. All three knights will stay with you. Khay, I mean it.”
“Only if you’ll vow that you’ll do everything in your might to survive this,” I counter. “Whatever it takes. You’ll live.”
He watches me for a moment, finally heaving a sigh of surrender. “I swear it.”
I examine his eyes, his face, the set of his mouth, and finally nod. “Good. Then I’ll hide.”
The knights make preparations, and I wait, watching Magnar like a hawk in case he decides to leave me behind at the last moment. But my husband is dependable, so when we ride out together in a hired carriage, I sit among them, squeezed tightly from both sides.
We settle in the tavern opposite the brothel. The knights have made holes in the planks boarding up the windows earlier, and we watch what happens on the other side of the street. It’s busy here, just as they said.
The sign above the door depicts a bare-breasted Agnidari woman. My stomach turns every time I catch sight of it.