Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
The hearth crackles quietly as the languid canary and vermillion tongues flicker and dance in a froth of heat and light.
But its heat is almost forgotten as Idris and I sit side by side, leaning over my desk as we work on tactics to get the Holy States army to the ford.
My wooden desk is covered in papers, letters and ledgers.
The cold night sky hovers outside the steamy windows, but its presence is barely noticeable because of the warmth and light bouncing off every bright book cover on the honey-wood shelves.
Every hard-working candle stands proudly in bronze candelabras as they banish the shadows.
Idris leans towards the desk again, his knee brushing against my thigh. I take a moment, breath quietly hitching in my sore throat. I settle the warring, fraying nerves that are simultaneously enthralled and reviled by his barest, most innocuous touch.
Working with Idris feels so different from before.
No longer alone. I know I’m fighting with him by my side.
With a team, even when no one else is around.
I can dig into our bond and find the strength to keep fighting – to banish the thoughts of self-doubt and crippling self-loathing.
Rather than drowning in a mountain of work, Idris has stemmed the flood and now the water is much more manageable to wade through.
“Okay, so we send scouts to burn Acer Bridge,” says Idris, moving a figure on the map. “We send stonemasons to knock down Prarupta Bridge here. Then we have the two on their journey south.”
“We could leave Tebralas Bridge standing but make it unstable, so when they try to cross, men end up in the river in the ravine below?” I say. “Every little helps.”
“Perhaps it’ll be irritating enough to drive them down to the ford – and by then they’ll realise what we’ve done to impede their movements.” Idris nods in agreement. “Do you think the stonemasons could make it happen?”
“You’ll have to talk to Emilia about it – she’d know. But we must make sure no Halicians need to be present to make it collapse, like pull a rope or something. That would be too much danger to ask of anyone.”
“Agreed in principle,” Idris says, his counterpoint hovering on his tongue for a moment. “But we should leave a small force of people on the safe side to report on its success and mop up anyone that actually manages to cross – the number of which should be limited.”
“Sounds reasonable, so long as they really do keep their distance. We don’t want to engage the army there and potentially force the fight before it reaches Semita Ford,” I say as the gold door handle of my study turns.
The hinges groan softly as Giulia walks inside, carrying a tray of food and wine.
“I know you’re busy, but a break might help,” Giulia offers as she sets the tray down quite purposefully across all the maps and letters.
“Good idea,” Idris says, reaching for the bowl and a large piece of crispy ciabatta to dip in the thick red soup. The smell is heavenly, I will admit. I take my own bowl and a spoon, stirring until it cools a little.
“How are the accounts?” Idris asks after a mouthful. Giulia nods, easing into a spare chair with her own dinner.
“For Halice or the bank?” she asks, but continues without Idris’s answer.
“This total trade embargo for the Holy States is great for the city, but not so great for the Di Maineri wallet at large. But when you consider all the money we’re currently making from the Coari trade deal, it all balances out – roughly.
Or it’ll become more comfortable very shortly.
Soon all the other territories will start using our head office to trade down south and things will settle, maybe even flourish more than before.
Coari is a lot bigger than the Holy States and they’re hungry for lots of luxury goods. ”
“Halice is making money off the new trade too, right?” I say, knowing the trading taxes are well below what I’d like them to be in an effort to encourage people to really use this new avenue of commerce.
“Yes,” Giulia says. “But given we’re also at war, it’ll be a while before we end up in the black. I authorised a low-interest-rate loan to the city today, from the bank. It should make things even for the time being.”
“Can the city afford to pay it back?”
“I’ve factored it all in,” Giulia says in a tone that tells me to worry less. “Besides, if Halice falls we get nothing back and the bank will have other issues to worry about.”
That’s true.
I take a spoonful of my soup, enjoying the warmth as it trickles down my throat.
“Excited for tomorrow?” Idris asks and Giulia groans, her head tilting backwards so her blonde hair piles on the shelf behind. I frown.
“What’s tomorrow?” I ask, and both look at me like I’ve grown two heads.
“The party!” Giulia laughs. “The one Royah has organised for us all.”
“Oh, the plans she’s made…” Idris almost cackles with delight.
“Honestly, I don’t know what she’s saying to wind me up and what she’s serious about. I have no idea how she’s affording it. Seriously Idris, if she’s borrowed any money—” Giulia starts and Idris holds up a hand to stop her, wicked amusement spread across his face.
“Consider it a wedding gift. Besides, I’ll get my money’s worth,” Idris says as he stirs his soup. “This night is going to generate some wild stories for me to enjoy.”
I sit up, setting my dinner to the side.
“I should’ve been more present for the planning Giu, I’m sorry. I could’ve tempered Royah—”
“You? Temper Royah? You two would’ve egged each other on and you know it.” Giulia snorts, waving her spoon at me. “Besides, it’s fine. You and I can have a spa day when all this is over.”
“Oh yes!” I say, a plan already forming in my mind. “We can go to Elisii Aquas, that gorgeous cliff top vineyard that overlooks the ocean. The one with those beauty treatments and massages, and we can take the girls with us—”
“See what I mean,” Giulia says, laughing. “You and Royah would egg each other on making it bigger and bigger!”
“And after this war we will all have earned it,” I point out. “You deserve nothing but the best, Giulia.”
“Well tomorrow is starting with dress shopping for the bridal party. Michelle can’t decide on a colour palette,” says Giulia.
“I don’t mind what it is, all the options will be beautiful, but by the end of the night we need a colour palette.
That’s your mission for the evening: get her to make a decision. ”
“Understood, boss,” I say with a chuckle. I lean back in my seat, and the warm wood creaks softly.
“Right, well, I’ll leave you to it,” Giulia says, getting up now her bowl is empty. She walks to the door and offers a world-stilling smile. “Enjoy.”
“Bye,” calls Idris as he sets down his empty bowl on the tray. His eyes drift to my soup and he raises an eyebrow at me. I scowl, but pick up the food again.
“Okay, where were we? Oh yes, bridges,” Idris says, bending over the maps again as he pours us both glasses of wine. I eat my soup, mind churning, looking at the mountain of work before us.
“Should I go tomorrow?” I ask Idris quietly. Idris pauses as I set my wine to one side.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’m the Maestrus. Royah has clearly gone all out for this celebration.
Won’t it look in bad taste if I’m out there enjoying myself while the city is in such peril?
When people are potentially about to lose so much.
Isn’t it selfish?” I set down my soup, my stomach suddenly full of cotton wool and stones.
Idris sighs and his hand falls to my knee, scattering scorching embers through my silk skirts, dancing up my leg to nestle in my abdomen. He leans forwards, his large, muscled frame impossible to ignore. Those gorgeous, agonising eyes are locked on my face.
“You have been working so hard these last few weeks. You deserve to have one night to celebrate something wonderful that’s happening to someone you love. Besides, Giulia deserves to have her sister there, celebrating her love and happiness.”
He’s right. Giulia should have everything. She should be able to relax and celebrate surrounded by everyone who loves her.
I nod and take a deep breath.
“Okay, but won’t people think—”
“We can manage what people think,” Idris answers, a sly glint entering his eyes. “It’s not like it’s your party. You didn’t arrange anything. You’re just an invited guest.”
“I suppose.” I chew my lip. Idris leans closer, and every thought in my mind stops. His lips hover by my ear, before pressing a searing kiss into the joint of my jaw. I let out a shaky breath, closing my eyes to fight the wholly dirty groan that threatens to spill through my lips.
“You’re allowed to enjoy yourself,” Idris whispers as he presses a kiss to the sensitive flesh of my throat below my ear. The explosion of his teeth gently brushing my sensitive flesh turns me to a needy, molten puddle in this chair.
“It’s important to release stress and tension.” Idris is almost purring as his hand slowly slides up my thigh. The blazing, maddeningly slow path of his hands is devouring me, his fingers exploring the journey upwards with blistering glee.
The air between us is thick and hot. My breathing turns shallow and pacy as his sizzling lips brush across my jaw.
My fingers are quivering, my abdomen clenching as his fingers reach my hip.
He slips his hand back down to my now bare knee, letting his fingers run slowly up the sensitive, soft flesh of my inner thigh.
Moving with deliberate slowness, he is driving me to insanity.
My hands fly to the back of his neck as I turn my face to his, destroying the space between us with a heated, punishing kiss.
Idris meets my fury with his own. Both hands leap for my hips, fingers digging into my body as his tongue spars with mine.
I grip his face to mine, battling my lips over his, my hot breath mingling with his.