Defiance (Rise of the Iliri Book 3) (45 page)

"Really?" Audgan asked, truly interested.

Sal nodded.  "Well have to stop by when we're in the area."  She looked at the young man for a long moment.  "You really ok with this, Zyrn?"

He edged his horse closer.  "Lieutenant, I joined the Black Blades because I wanted to make a difference.  My kind, we don't really live long enough to make much of an impact on the world."  She nodded at him, understanding completely, so he kept going.  "I knew that elites don't live long.  I figure it's a pretty good trade, ya know?"

"You said it better than I did when Blaec asked me.  But you've already changed the world."  He cocked his head at her slightly, wondering what she meant.  She jerked her thumb back to where Dom's tent had recently stood.  "The page?  He's probably going to become the heir to the Anglian throne.  At worst, I think he'll be a Marquis.  Every iliri in his realm will have an easier life because of you."

"And you," Audgan said.  "You did something amazing here, Lieutenant."

She dipped her head to catch his eyes.  "When do I get to be Sal with you?"

He glanced at her for a second, but when he looked away, it was with a smile.  "When you stop scaring the shit out of me?"

The men laughed, and Sal said, "I thought fear was your job, little brother."

Taking a deep breath, he tried again and this time met her eyes.  "Yeah.  I think it is, Sal."

Chapter 48

The trip back to Dorton was a long one.  Ilija, Dominik, and Rragri pulled themselves away from the rest of the army, and it was obvious they were working out the details of their new government.  On the second day of the trip, the spring rains made an appearance and followed them back into the capital.   Regardless of the soaking weather, the citizens greeted them on the fifth day as victorious heroes. 

The Black Blades had been assigned rooms in the palace, but none of them bothered to unpack.  They knew they wouldn't be staying long.  Across the continent, Terric was still moving.  The Conglomerate of Free Citizens was desperate – but not enough to overlook the liberties she'd taken on this mission.  The blue envelope, delivered to Sal the next morning, verified it. 

She read through the summons, again.  "Do I tell Dom?" she asked Jase.

He shrugged.  "He'll say it does na apply ta ya anymore.  Ilija will understand, though.  Trust him, kitten.  Ya owe him that."

She let out a frustrated breath.  "Yeah.  I do.  Think I'm going to be court-martialed or just reprimanded?"

Jase leaned over her chair and tilted her face up.  "Prolly court-martialed.  They do na like our kind lookin' good, but it will na matter.  They can na hold ya, and we will na let them."  He kissed her gently.  "Ya did the right thing here.  We're
doing
the right thing."

"I know.  I don't regret it.  It just feels strange, ya know?  I'm a Black Blade.  I did what I was ordered, and this is how they pay me back?  This is how they reward us for doing the impossible?"

"Yeh, but ya do na know what LT went through ta keep ya.  He fought for ya, kitten.  He is na about ta stop.  Go on, go tell Ilija.  I'll get yer uniform ready fer tonight."  Jase grabbed her hand and tugged her to her feet, turning her shoulders to the door. 

Sal grabbed the blue envelope, flapping it once at Jase, and smiled weakly at him before leaving.  She made her way through the halls and down the stairs, listening to the sounds of people excited about the evening's events.  Laughter was common, even on the lowest level.  The palace basement had changed almost as much as the rest of the country.  Now, it belonged to the Anglian elite soldiers.  Currently that was the Verdant Shields.  Soon there would be more. 

Reaching Ilija's door, she tapped gently on the thick wood, listening to footsteps move closer to the door.  The handle creaked as it turned, and the Colonel peered through a small crack.  Sal watched his gaze slide down until he met her eyes.  With a smile, he opened the door the rest of the way.  "Kaisae," he greeted her, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

"My turn, it seems," she said flatly, referring to his lack of clothing.

***

Hearing the tone of her voice, Ilija knew this was serious.  "What's up?"

She answered by passing him the letter.  His eyes scanned the words.  It wasn't at all what he'd expect an envoy to receive after everything she'd done.  This sounded like a recall for an escaped prisoner, not a military hero!  When he reached the end, she spoke. 

"It's today.  We're riding out this evening."

He read through it again.  "Sal, this sounds like..." he let the words trail off.  She already knew.  He didn't need to make this worse.

"I'll probably be court-martialed.  I may be stripped of my rank and position, possibly even jailed.  It's unlikely they'll sentence me to execution."

Like fuck they would.  "And you're going?" 

She nodded.  "We have to."  Sal rubbed her hands against her thighs.  "Mind if we sit?"

"No, no.  Shit, Sal, no," he muttered, as he escorted her into his rooms.  "There's more?"

She sank heavily into a chair.  "You trusted me so many times.  Now, it's my turn, and I have a couple of big favors to ask."

"Anything."

"I need another pair of mules or pack horses.  We prefer mules.  If there's any way you can get some common clothes in our sizes, that would be wonderful.  Worn, used, stained.  The more typical, the better.  I need a set of manacles, too." She paused thinking.

"Got it.  Disguises.  Who do the manacles need to fit?" 

"Risk."

"Ok."

"That's not all, just the easy ones.  I'm going to rip Ricown wide open.  I need to give our history to someone, and he's going to be out for a few days afterward."

"We'll work around it, Sal, plus we have the grauori, now.  What else?"

Sal looked at the ceiling and blinked, sucking in a shuddering breath while shaking her head.  "You can't tell Dom.  Not until the morning.  We'll need the lead on him or he'll try to stop us."

"What are you doing?  This," and he held up the envelope, "doesn't sound like a pleasant invitation."

"It's not," she said, meeting his eyes and holding them.  They were so white, like all the rest of her.  Pure in a way that pierced right through him.  She didn't even blink.  "We're going rogue, most likely.  That's why you can't tell Dom.  He
can't
be tied to us, Ilija.  We'll go play the part and, depending upon my sentence, decide what comes next.  If they do more than demote me, we're cutting ties and ending this.  Either way, we're
ending
this.  We'll make sure Anglia is safe."

"This?" he asked. 

"Yeah.  The Archduke gave us what we need.  We know where he is, how to get in there, and we have the skills to do it."

"But you're not coming back."  It wasn't a question.  He knew.  Jase had already made that clear enough.

"No.  I doubt we'll make it back.  That's why I need Ricown.  Someone needs our history."  She looked down and rubbed her hands on her thighs again.  "Here's the part that you can feel free to refuse.  If we don't come back," she blinked quickly, "I was hoping you'd let Rico rebuild the Blades.  We all agree.  We'd like to know that it continues beyond us."

He reached across the space between them and grabbed her hand, holding it tightly.  "If it comes to that, Sal, yeah.  I'll promote him to it and give him free rein for what he needs.  I'll give him Jarl, too.  I know what your blade means, Kaisae, and he's seeing the future.  If we have to start over, I'm behind it.  I swear.  I'll make damned sure that the Black Blades always follow the old way, even if I have to learn them all myself."

She hadn't expected that; he could see it on her face.  Sal gasped a shaky breath and nodded.  "He'll be the King.  Jarl.  Don't throw him into it unless it calls to him, ok?"

"I won't, Kaisae.  I'm going to let him choose.  There's one thing I can't promise you, though."

Slowly, she raised her eyes, and Ilija understood what Jase meant about the torture of not crying.  She was so small.  If he didn't know better, he'd say frail.  Everything about the little bitch sitting across from him made him want to protect her.  She was like a wildflower daring to peek through the snow to bloom.  Without thinking, he caressed her cheek, jerking his hand back when he realized who he was touching.  For the first time in his life, he understood what Jase meant about the vis.  Sal wasn't just a soldier.  She was his, and Dom's, and all of Anglia's.  That simple fact tied them all together and made her so much more than anyone would expect from one tiny little girl. 

He cleared his throat, trying to get back on topic.  "I can't promise that I won't try to change things.  You've meddled in all of our lives for months now, Sal, and I'm going to pay you back."

She shook her head.  "You can't.  Anglia has to stay above this.  What we did here?  This is why we do this.  This is what we'd
always
hoped for, seeing humans and iliri," she chuckled, "and the grauori.  Seeing all of us together,
peacefully
.  Equally.  If you do anything to ruin this, it wastes all that we've done."

"I know," he assured her.  "But trust me for once, Kaisae.  I may not be able to get the revenge we all want, but I'm about to have control over the largest and now probably the most powerful military on the continent.  It doesn't have to be a black or white thing.  I swear to you, I
will
keep Anglia honorable – and still do my damnedest to make sure you all come back alive.  Ok?"

She nodded.

"Dom got one of those too, you know." He said, passing the envelope back.  "There's a meeting to form an official Alliance of Nations, and they politely requested that we come."

"Shit," she whispered.  "Already?"

His eyes narrowed.  "Why?  What's wrong."

Sal groaned and flopped back against the chair.  "Dom's going to be there for the trial then, isn't he?"

"Knowing that," Ilija gestured at the letter, "yeah, I'm gonna make sure of it."

"Don't.  It won't help and will only make things worse."

"Why?" he insisted.

With both hands, she pressed her ears against her head, smoothing them back.  "You ever wonder why he inherited the throne?  Think about it, Colonel.  What do Jase and I do?  There was a long line between Dominik Jens and the throne of Anglia."

Contagion, heart failure, animal attack... No assassin could do those things!  Except the Blades.  His eyes grew wider as the reality sank in.  "Fuck, Sal.  How'd you pull that off?"

"Have to know the right drug for the right effect – and get enough dirt to understand what people around them expect.  Fulfill the predictions they've made a million times over, and no one will think it's anything but fate."

"We didn't even suspect a thing.  Shit.  You gonna tell him?"

Sal shook her head.  "No.  That's why I don't want him there.  Not to mention King Jensen."

"We caught the assassin for that."

"No, you just thought you did.  Why do you think I had the walls so heavily manned and his windows grated?  Jase had company up there.  The stupid bitch was a junker, too.  They told her to kill the King, and she couldn't make the shot."

"Jase did," he said, understanding.

Sal dipped her head, unwilling to meet his gaze.  "Yeah.  He took the shot and tossed the girl from the wall.  Hwa trailed her as a dog and called out when the guards nearly lost her.  Jase made sure she died before she could be interrogated."

Leaning over his knees, Ilija cradled his head in his hands.  "That's a lot to take in, Sal.  Why?"

"Officially?  Dominik was the only possible heir who might form an alliance with the Conglomerate.  Well, we were supposed to see if the Jonkheer of Eriwald had any leanings because he was also considered acceptable."

"But you didn't."

"Kinda.  Only Dominik had any sympathy to iliri.  The rest were known separationists.  My orders were to instill a king and gain his confidence.  By assigning me to his side, we wanted to form an alliance who would help the iliri as much as the Conglomerate."

Ilija huffed out a breath.  "It will be a long time before we can tell him that, I think."

"Yeah," she agreed.  "Make sure he doesn't blame the rest of them, ok?  Tell him when you get the news of us.  It'll make him hurt less."

"No.  You're coming home, Sal.  I can't keep that secret from him forever, but when you come home, you can explain it all to him then, ok?"

She chuckled.  "Sure.  Or tell him when you get the news.  Ilija, we know what we're going into.  We're good.  We're
damned
good, but we're not that good.  This is a one-way trip.  We're looking at nearly two hundred men to each of us.  We can get in, but we won't get out."  She sighed.  "One more thing?"

"Anything.  I mean that, Sal.  Anything."

"Risk's lover, his name is Ahn Tilso.  He's as human as Dominik.  His sister will be arriving with a string of horses in early summer.  Arianna Tilso.  The horses are for Dom and the Shields.  Most are young, but they're worth the wait.  Tilso will be bringing Roo and the pups back.  Take care of them?"

"Is the, uh," Ilija faltered, "
man
a soldier?"

"No.  He's also more of a boy than a man.  Twenty-one I think.  He knows horses, though.  Everything there is to know about a horse, he knows it.  He's shy, and he won't want to say much, but he'll need someone to talk to.  Losing Risk is going to tear him apart."