Chapter 16
Leila
Light poured from Leila’s palms, cauterizing Tobias’s ribs.
His wounds were foul, enough to worry Her had it not been for the promise of Her holy bidding.
He’d walk away from Her touch haggard and sore, but his marks would heal in two days’ time, maybe less.
He shouldn’t be marked at all. Leila grumbled under Her breath.
Tobias’s journey into town had been impulsive, even reckless, and without Her blessing, he was lucky to be alive.
Leila shook Herself. He was alive, and that’s what mattered. Danger was inevitable in their conditions. Her concerns were better directed elsewhere—not toward Tobias’s torn flesh, but the Kovahrian guard he’d procured along the way.
Enzo didn’t look quite as Leila remembered from the tournament.
His body was just as thick with musculature, his frame short but wide with sinewy strength.
But his formerly bald head was covered in a layer of cedar-brown stubble, and his slate eyes and pinkish complexion were no longer his most unusual features.
Silver rods, hoops, and baubles decorated his face and chest—piercing the center of each of his eyebrows, lodged through the septum and bridge of his nose, monopolizing his ears, and hanging like door knockers from his nipples.
At first She wasn’t sure why he was shirtless at all, but the sweat dripping down his back was a fierce reminder of his frigid homeland, as were the flaking red patches on his shoulders.
“How long have you been searching for us?”
Leila opted to end the silence, as Tobias was busy clenching beneath Her touch and Raphael was donning that skeptical expression he often wore.
They circled the foreign guard, waiting impatiently as he devoured an entire roasted hen.
Enzo sat with his legs spread wide, speaking between loud, gargantuan bites.
Kovahrians weren’t particularly known for their manners.
“Since tournament end.” Enzo paused, sucking his oily fingers one at a time. “I think, men follow Savior. I follow men. I find Savior. Easy peasy.”
“You’ve certainly traveled quite a way from Kovahr in such a short time,” Raphael said, eyes narrowed.
“I saw you in town, following me along with the coverts.” Tobias winced as Leila’s light intensified. “Why’d it take you so long to help me?”
Picking meat from between his teeth, Enzo shrugged. “I was distracted.”
“What kind of distraction could’ve been that important?”
“I had to shit.”
Tobias started. “I almost died because you were taking a shit?”
“What should I do? You want me to shit myself while I kill these men? You would allow me such disgrace?”
“All right, let’s talk about something other than shit,” Raphael said. “You’re here to aid our endeavor, yes?”
“What is this question?” Enzo scoffed, waving a chicken bone like a sword. “I kill this soldier. I kill much other soldiers. Pah, of course I come to save.”
“It was you.” Leila’s voice was soft, Her mind turning over Her sister’s claims from just days ago. “You’re the one who’s been killing Brontes’s units.”
“Your father’s soldiers, they very rude.” His greasy hands fluttered as he spoke. “They search for Savior, then go to town, drinking and fucking. Frighten the people, take their coin.” A grin split his face. “So, I spill much blood. Hapa!” He pounded his chest. “It warms the belly.”
Raphael leaned back in his seat, looking Enzo over with an assessing gaze. “Well, it’ll be good to have a warrior on our side.”
“I think Leila and I have been serving us well thus far,” Tobias said.
“I mean an actual warrior.”
“Do you have any comprehension of how long Leila’s been fighting—?”
“What did you have in mind?” Leila spoke swiftly, eager to end an argument before it began. “For saving us, as you put it. What is your plan?”
Enzo sucked a bone clean, then tossed it aside. “It is simple. I take You to Kovahr. Bring You to my queen. She will be much pleased. You will be safe. It is, uh, how you say . . . good for both.”
“Mutually beneficial.”
“Yes. That.”
“Does your queen know you’re here?” Tobias said. “Does she know we’re coming?”
“She will welcome holy queen of Thessen with much honor.”
“Brontes plans to kill Me and frame your realm.” Leila abandoned Her perch at Tobias’s side, no doubt to his relief, and stood before Enzo. “He aims to incite war—to blame your queen for My death, then attack Kovahr and the other ally realms one by one. Does she know this? Your queen?”
“She does not say.”
“Do you think that’s why she sent you to the tournament? Did she suspect something?”
Enzo offered another shrug. “I am not told.”
Not one waft of color, not even a scent.
Leila could touch him and remove all doubt, but She resisted.
She hadn’t known Enzo well or for long, but their poignant moment together in the labyrinth replayed in Her mind, as did his forthcoming vulnerability.
It wasn’t like Her to trust, but Her gut was in rare form, urging Her to accept him as he was.
What other advantage could he possibly gain from Her company?
“If she supports our cause,” Leila began, “allows us command of the Kovahrian army, unites with us as one, we can save your realm along with Mine.”
“It’s perfect,” Raphael said. He turned to Enzo. “Your queen will agree, will she not? Otherwise Brontes will destroy Kovahr.”
Enzo barked out a laugh. “No one destroy Kovahr, realm of warriors.”
“Brontes has the entire Thessian armed forces plus countless sellswords—an army unmatched in size.” When Enzo didn’t react, Raphael continued. “He plans to win with numbers. To dwarf your military and swallow it whole.”
“If he dishonor Kovahr, I slit his throat and bathe in blood.”
“It’s a bit more complicated than that—”
“Do you think she’ll align with us?” Leila’s sharp tone revealed Her impatience. Managing bickering men felt an awful lot like wrangling children, and She had no desire for motherhood yet. “Naturally, the Kovahrian army is unmatched, but we offer vital information.”
“Not to mention magic,” Tobias said.
Enzo tossed the last of his bones aside, wiping his hands on his pants before standing upright. “You see? Good for both. We go to Kovahr. We crush sovereign. We drag his corpse through road until snow is red with—”
“Blood, yes, we know.” The skepticism had disappeared from Raphael’s eyes, replaced with the blankness that came with his approval. “So, this is it. A proper plan. Coin is no longer an issue because we haven’t a need to purchase an army.”
“I’ll give Enzo the gift of shadow walking,” Leila said. “He’s lived in Kovahr his whole life. He can see it in his mind’s eye. We can arrive there in moments.”
“Eh, shadow walk?” Enzo raised an eyebrow. “I do not know this—”
“Will your queen allow for the safekeeping of My staff?” Leila spun toward Enzo. “Not too many. Just forty or so.”
“Forty?”
“They’re in dire need, I assure you.”
He let out a laugh. “One thing at a time, eh?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Did you hear Me say they’re in dire need?”
“It’s fine,” Tobias cut in. “They can stay here at the brothel. In time, I’m sure we’ll be able to take them to Kovahr. Even if his queen resists, we can likely sway her. She seemed to like me enough.”
“So, it’s settled.” Raphael stood, dusting his hands off on his pants. “Call for Yucana and Naomi. We’ll gather our things and leave now.”
“Now?” Leila scoffed, thrown by his words. “You can’t be serious.”
“Clearly we can’t stay here,” Raphael said. “Coverts came to this town, and now they’re dead. What if more follow their trail, or soldiers hear of their disappearance?”
Leila resisted the urge to curse aloud. He was right, and Her nerves skittered beneath Her flesh. “I gave My staff three days to organize.”
“They can organize while we’re safely in Kovahr.”
“No.” She shook Her head. “I won’t leave without first knowing they’re safe. I refuse.”
“Eh”—Enzo glanced between the three of them, eyebrows knitted together—“I am confuse.”
“We haven’t the time.” Raphael turned to Leila, his voice low and placating. “I know You aim for mercy, and it is noble indeed.”
“Condescension will get you nowhere,” She growled.
“There are six dead coverts buried in the woods!” Raphael flung his arms overhead. “I am not aiming to offend, but we have to be realistic. This brothel isn’t home for us any longer—”
“We free them tonight,” Tobias said.
The room fell silent. Enzo remained a vision of utter bewilderment, beady eyes flitting from face to face, but Tobias stood tall and assured.
“I beg your pardon?” Leila said.
“We can’t leave the staff under Brontes’s control. It’s inhumane.” He held Leila’s gaze with a commanding look. “But each second we stay here is a second closer to the grave. We have to leave as soon as possible. By the morn, ideally.”
“That’s what I was saying,” Raphael mumbled.
Tobias came in closer, and Leila was suddenly starkly aware of his size, as if he’d grown in height and breadth in that very moment. “We save Your family first. But as soon as they’re settled here, we leave for Kovahr. It’s the only way.”
“I told Delphi three days,” Leila said. “There isn’t enough time.”
“In three days, this brothel could be filled with coverts or soldiers.” His blackish eyes became penetrating. “No one is searching for servants. Your staff will have no trouble blending in with the courtesans. But You and I don’t have that choice.”
Raphael cleared his throat, glancing between them both. “He’s right.”
“You’re meeting with Delphi at sunset, yes?” Tobias said. “You can tell her then. Plans have changed. We free them at nightfall.”
“So, between sunset and nightfall, My sister needs to alert the entirety of My loyal staff to gather their things and prepare for escape,” Leila groused.
“It’s our only option.”
“And if some of them are forgotten? Lost amid the madness?”
“I’d argue a few lives lost isn’t nearly as costly as losing them all,” Raphael said.
Leila shot him a glare. “Thank you for your valuable contribution.”