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Benedikt looks unusually pensive. “We can’t be sure, though. Before we potentially put a weapon in our enemies’ hands, we should ensure it won’t do any significant damage.”
“If Ivy says this is the safest way, we should trust her,” Alek says, a little too quickly. When Benedikt casts a puzzled gaze his way, maybe wondering why the man who’s normally the most cautious of us all is advocating for jumping in feet-first, the scholar recovers as well as he can. “She’s the one who spoke to them. She has a much better idea of the situation than any of us.”
Benedikt glances at Stavros next, probably thinking the former general will back him up, but Stavros simply grimaces in resignation. “The thief does also have plenty of experience with trickery. If we give the sorcerers any indication that she’s tipped someone off, our whole stratagem falls apart.”
The furrow in Benedikt’s forehead deepens. “There must be some subtle way we can—”
“She follows through with the orders, and we keep our eyes open as we have all along,” Stavros interrupts brusquely. “Don’tyougo tattling to anyone at the palace, unless you want to go to the king with total failure of the mission he assigned to us next.”
Benedikt shuts his mouth. The bewilderment in his eyes wrenches at me, but I don’t know how to reassure him.
I’m going to have to share my secret with him eventually, aren’t I? How long can we keep going like this?
But just imagining confessing to him makes me queasy.
“I won’t jeopardize the mission,” Benedikt says quietly after a moment, with a tip of his head to me that’s almost apologetic. He squares his shoulders. “I’ll do whatever I can to help without getting in your way.”
I offer him a grateful, guilty smile. “Thank you.”
“Did the conspirators give any indication of when they’d reach out to you again?” Alek asks.
I drag in a breath. “No. I’m assuming they want to wait until they see what happens in the next couple of days, and then I may receive another invitation.”
Or another knife in my back, depending on how they evaluate my performance.
Stavros claps his hands. “All right. That aspect is settled. Has anyone else made even a sliver of progress toward unraveling this conspiracy?”
Each of the men has a little to say about gossip overheard or purchases of supplies, but nothing that gives us solid evidence. Always more threads to follow up on, which seem to wind onward and onward without ever reaching a useful end.
Maybe once I’ve found out more information directly from the scourge sorcerers, we’ll be able to stitch all those scraps together into a clearer picture.
Stavros declares the meeting is over with a thump of his boots as he steps back from the table. “It sounds as if we’ve covered everything. You all have lives to get back to. Well, for the most part.” His gaze flicks to me.
All at once, I balk at the thought of trudging back into his quarters and then spending the rest of the day tagging along at his classes while he offers more warm congeniality to his students in a minute than he has to me in weeks.
The words slip out before I’ve totally thought them through. “There’s a book of records in the storage room that I wanted to consult with Alek about. I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes.”
Stavros’s jaw clenches, but after he left me and the scholar alone for hours last night, he must feel he’d look more odd arguing than not. “I’ll need you for my cavalry class at the next bell. Make sure you’re not late.”
“I would never miss a chance to commune with the horses,” I inform him tartly, and usher Alek over to the side room.
The scholar comes along obligingly and turns to scan the shelves of supplies once we’re through the doorway. “What book did you find in here? I didn’t think—”
I tug him farther out of view. “There’s no book. I just wanted to do this without an audience.”
I tease my fingers into his thick hair and bob up to claim a kiss.
Alek makes a soft, urgent sound in his throat that makes me quiver in delight and kisses me back. One of his hands comes to rest on my hip while the other cups my cheek.
For a few moments, nothing matters but the heat of his mouth and the lean strength of his body aligned with mine. I want to stay right here, wrapped up in the heady pleasure of his affection, where no conspiracy or sneering nobles can reach me.
Unfortunately, I can’t escape my responsibilities for very long. I settle for hugging him tightly to me through one more lingering kiss before easing back.
We did have one bit of audience I couldn’t remove us from. Julita makes an awkward coughing sound.Ah, if this is going to continue, I suppose I should…
I give my head a subtle shake to tell her there’s no need for her to vanish herself and smile up at Alek. He’s gazing down at me with so much delight of his own that an uncharacteristic giggle bubbles up from my chest.
“Very sneaky,” he says.
