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“Maybe my dearest childhood friend has an assignment in Fort Lowsan. But, of course, House Santana would have been notified of your arrival, if that were in fact the case. And I would have been anxiously awaiting your beautiful blue eyes to walk through my gates.” Tess’s finger traces along the side of my face and across the stubble of my jaw, her hands as soft against my face as I remember.
I hold back a snarl rising in my throat. “A little bird told you we were here?” I eye her with a knowing skepticism. “Nobody here knows me but you, Tess. How did you spot us?” I get straight to the point, unwilling to play in her games.
“I do know you, Roan. Which is why I’m so hurt you didn’t plan to stop by and say hi.” Her voice raises a few notes, her bottom lip dipping in her feigned approach to being emotionally wounded. “How long has it been? Six? Seven years?
“Eight,” I reply, my voice stoic.
I’ve witnessed all the ways she tries to manipulate the people around her— used to getting what she wants from her performances. I’m confused that she hasn’t taken into account that I know the woman that exists under her dramatics, the glimpses of Tess that only a close few have ever had the pleasure of seeing.
“We are in a hurry— simply passing through. You know I would have stopped if time permitted,” I add, keeping my voice and breathing in a steady rhythm. It’s not a complete lie. But I’ve learned to be so precise with my time that I can always find more pressing matters than visiting Tess Santana.
“Such a hurry that you can’t come see an old friend? How I’ve missed my partner in crime theseeightyears.” She looks up at me from underneath her dark lashes, the corner of her mouth curved in one of her most alluring smiles. Luckily for me, I’ve become immune to her flirtatious charms.
Tess and her twin brother Liam came to visit Turin almost every year, tagging along with their father and his men to give the yearly reports from Fort Lowsan. Those few weeks every year were held with both dread and enthusiasm. Some of our best work happened when Tess came to the palace, leaving disorder and irritation in our aftermath.
Most of it was harmless— putting a few spoonfuls of dark pepper into the chocolate cake batter when the cook wasn’t looking, earning the choking coughs of everyone at the dinner table. We were only eleven for that one, and Evander tried his best to deter Tess and me from the antic. He ended up being the one to sneak into the kitchen, proof of how much sway and persuasion the girl was able to conjure up.
Turns out he was madly in love with her, but was, like most young boys, too nervous to speak up. I seemed to be the only one resistant to her glamour, and in response it spurred her into her own infatuation that, unfortunately, wasn’t toward a love-sick prince.
I lower my voice so only she can hear, which isn’t hard given how close we’re standing. “What do you want Tess? You know the quivering lip and contrived flattery doesn’t work on me.” I don’t hide my irked tone. Nothing has changed since I saw her last, and it’s in this brief indifference that her facade drops for only a moment, giving way to her displeasure.
“It seems your directness has grown even more as you’ve matured. How much that little talent helped you all those years ago.” She doesn’t lower her voice to keep with my own, talking loudly for everyone to hear. Typical Tess— always the flare, always the underhanded motivations. I can’t help but flinch at her remark, doing my best to hide the effect by bringing a hand behind my neck and rubbing at my tense muscles. I never wanted to hurt her, but I couldn’t pretend that I had felt for her what she had felt for me all those years ago.
She turns from me, walking over to Aiden with her same flirtatious edge. He’s new meat for her to sink her claws into. “Besides, it seems you’ve brought a few unfamiliar faces into my city. I do love getting to know a handsome stranger.”
Tess holds out her hand and Aiden snatches it up, placing a gentle kiss on its back as she sends a wink and wide smile to Otto. The old man shifts on his feet, while Aiden can’t take his eyes from her. I don’t blame him. If I hadn’t become unaffected by her polished grace as a young boy, it might be hard to look away from or ignore her awing effect, a glistening magnificence that hovers in the very air surrounding her.
An audible growl escapes from Ari, her heated glare directed toward the scene between Tess and Aiden. “And apparently,” Tess glances sidelong at Ari, “a girl who would’ve stuck a dagger in my back already if there weren’t twenty armed men surrounding you.”
Ari stands tall when Tess’s eyes move to her. She folds her arms, chin raised, all the charm from the Santana woman lost on this thief of Turin. “I’m no more agirlthan you,” Ari says, her upper lip curling.
Twenty men? I let out a huff of air as I look around. Sometime during her little speech, more Santanan soldiers crept up from behind, creating a wall around our retreat. My mind races, trying to come up with a plan, anything that will get all four of our group through the blockade of soldiers unharmed and as swiftly as possible. Lena’s life depends on it.
My determination is fortified at the thought of her, and I hold up both hands in a gesture of surrender, stepping inside Tess’s line of sight. “I will be passing through Fort Lowsan again soon. Plan on me staying a while— we can spend a few days together, learning what the last few years have brought. For now, we have urgent business that requires we leave, immediately.”
The woman moves away from an entranced Aiden still clutching her hand, reclaiming her intimate stance in front of me. Her tall frame leaves only a few inches from the ever-shortening string of my composure.
I hope the girl that once held affection for me is still in there somewhere. I rest my hand beneath her chin, tipping it slowly so Tess’s gaze reaches mine. Guilt tugs at me as I knowingly play against her emotions. “You know me, Tess. You know if I say I’ll be back, I will be. Please. We are on our way out and will do so peacefully.”
“What urgent business, Roan?” Tess plays back, pushing my hand away, knowing the upper-hand still lies with her.
I take a deep breath, my patience for her fraying at the edges. My eyes go hard, any softness from our past shriveling as I think of Lena getting further and further away.
“That’s for the Crown to know and their appointed captain to take care of. Or should I send word to King Cassus and Queen Amelia, telling them the Santanas stood in the way of their word and request being carried out?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Tess clicks her tongue. “No need to get worked up,CaptainMontgomery. I’ve learned so much in the last few minutes, and my interest is fully piqued. I’m sure a quick word with my father will clear this whole thing up. And you can be on your way.” She turns to walk toward the armed men in front of us.
“Tess, there’s no time for th—” I take a step after her, but my words are shoved back down, a sword drawn by the soldier closest to me. In only half a breath’s time, its sharp edge lingers only a hair’s breadth from my neck.
Another familiar face stands that sword's length between us.
“Liam,” I dare only one word, afraid any other movement will nick the blade against the soft tissue of my throat.
“Roan. You finally recognize me, eh?” Liam Santana lowers the tip of his weapon, just enough to allow me the range of motion to look him straight in the eye.
“Your sister likes to command all of the attention.” My remark only elicits a chortled sigh from the boy I once knew.
“She does, doesn’t she? We both know our strengths, and we use them well,” Liam states, his smug countenance floating between us.
