Kingslayer (30 page)

Playing along, he gave both women a short bow. “Think nothing of it.”

“I cannot do that,” she murmured for his ears only. With that thrice-cursed twinkle in her eyes, she waved him back to his seat. “Let the dinner continue!”

Darius re-sheathed his sword before handing it back to Bohme and returning to his seat. As he sat, he looked at Amalah. She still seemed a little wide-eyed, one hand pressed to her heart. He knew the expression on her face well. “Heart still thumping?” His certainly was.

She swallowed hard before saying, “
That
was terrifying. I can’t believe you face men like him on a regular basis.”

“It’s a little different when you’re also armed,” he assured her wryly.

“I think I’ll take your word for it.” This time, when she smiled up at him, it seemed more natural.

Darius had this insane urge to put an arm around her and just hold her close for a moment. He couldn’t do that, of course. It would be wildly inappropriate if he did. But it seemed wrong, somehow, to expect her to act like nothing was wrong after being scared out of her wits. On the other hand, he could hardly say or do anything obvious with a roomful of gossiping witnesses.

Or couldn’t he?

The tablecloth draped a good distance over the edge, puddling in their laps. He glanced every direction but no one was paying attention to them now, as they were busy discussing what had happened. It should be safe enough. He carefully reached under the cover of the cloth and lightly gripped her hand.

She started slightly at the contact, eyes flying up to meet his. He saw it clearly then—she was still a little rattled and had put up a good front for his benefit. His grip on her tightened unconsciously, offering a comfort that he knew she needed but would never ask for.

Then, to his surprise, her fingers tightened over his as she whispered on the barest hint of a breath, “Thank you.”

“You know that I would never let any harm befall you,” he whispered back.

She rallied enough to give him a small smile. “If I didn’t before, I do now.” With one last squeeze, she let go and drew her hand back.

Taking her cue, he also withdrew his hand and resumed eating. Politics were expected at court, and power struggles just came with the territory, but Darius swore to himself that if those morons
ever
put Amalah in danger like that again, they wouldn’t live to see the next sunrise.

Shift to a wide stance, arms outstretched, hold. Darius kept his breathing slow and even as he moved through the forms of the Setting Sun. The sun had already started to beat on the garden and he could feel the heat building. Especially doing this form, the sweat had beaded on his skin long ago and trailed down his temples and back. It felt good, though, compared to the hours he’d spent in his office yesterday going through reports. Stacks of reports.
Too many reports
that he hadn’t finished going through which meant he had to face the rest of them today.

What kind of peace offering would it take to get Darr to stop torturing him like this?

He shifted slowly into the next form, knee up against his chest, arms up in a guard position. Of course, Sego chose to enter at this moment, with his balance at its most precarious.

“General,” the steward seemed fit to be tied as he stalked into the garden. “What’s this I hear about a martial arts display at the dinner last night?”

Darius gave him an incredulous look. “Good gods, man, breakfast hasn’t even been served yet! Don’t tell me it’s around the palace already.”

“Of course it is,” Sego snapped in exasperation, slamming his cane against the tile in a sharp
crack
. “The lead general of the country gets into a fight with one of the up and coming commanders of the army—”

Oh. Kurush had been a promising candidate for something? Oops.

“—and in the process of the fight protects a woman from getting seriously injured! Of course the staff is having all sorts of romantic flights of fancy right now. What did you
think
would happen?”

Obviously he wouldn’t be able to finish this form. Sighing, he relaxed the stance so that both feet were on the ground. “Might I point out that this is not my fault? The queen had this whole thing scripted out before I even entered the room.”

“No, the actual fight was well planned,” Sego denied impatiently. “It’s reaffirmed that you are a capable soldier and know how to fight.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Darius reached for a towel to wipe the worst of the sweat off, moving toward the cooler shade of his rooms.

“The
problem
is the woman you saved, Amalah Sebresos. There’s all sorts of rumors cropping up because of your actions last night. Especially since you sat next to her during the rest of the night. Her family is not happy that you are now linked to her in rumors.”

Hmm. True, he should have considered what would happen if he stayed next to her. It wouldn’t have changed his behavior any (he didn’t cater to people’s opinions) but he’d have thought to warn Sego so the man didn’t get blindsided like this. “Ahh. How powerful is her family, anyway?”

“Powerful isn’t the right word,” Sego denied in resignation. He apparently realized from Darius’s lack of concern that nothing he said would make much of a dent. “They’re a very old family, tracing their ancestors to one of the very first families to found Niotan. They’ve been granted land several times by the royal family over the generations.”

Interesting. Amalah had never said or done anything to indicate any of that to him. He stopped just inside the doorway and gave Sego a thoughtful frown. “I saved her from getting beheaded,” he pointed out with false mildness. “Surely they’re not
that
upset.”

Sego rubbed his forehead as if it were paining him. “They’re rumbling. That’s not surprising, considering. But General, I beg of you, stay away from the woman for a while and let these rumors cool off? Especially do
not
give her any more presents, no matter how lost you get.”

The advice was sensible. But he didn’t want to take it. Instead of promising anything, he slung the towel over his shoulder and headed for his bedroom to get dressed for the day. “I have reports to get through.”

Behind him, Sego let out a growl of frustration and slammed his cane into the ground again.

~~~

Sego didn’t leave it there, of course. He kept hounding him about it, in a sneaky and sideways manner. As the first evening bell rang, Darius gave up and escaped his office for the quiet of the water garden he’d gotten lost in last time. Right now, he needed that stillness and relative seclusion from the rest of the world.

It was either running away or strangling Sego.

Once he reached the garden, he sank onto a bench with the writing tablet he’d taken with him. He had half a mind to write a letter to his family by moonlight but once situated, he couldn’t turn his mind to it. The burbling and trickle of the water in the fountains distracted him, as did the sweet scent of the jasmine trees, and the slightly cool breeze drifting over his skin. The evening seemed to draw him in so that his mind couldn’t focus on anything.

“Tell me, General—”

Amalah? Darius jerked around, head snapping up to see her. She walked slowly along the path toward him, the inevitable book in her hands, a soft smile on her face. Unusually, no one shadowed her footsteps.

“—how is it that we keep meeting here?” she asked with a timber of amusement in her voice.

“Probably because we come for the same reasons,” he responded, setting his letter aside and rising to meet her. “This is one of the few places we can retreat to when other people’s demands become too much.”

Her smile became more complex, as if part of her doubted his words. “But you love the company of people. I’ve seen the way you interact with them.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t need to escape now and again.” He gestured for her to join him on the bench, which she did, although at a frustratingly close but just-far-enough distance. “Especially when I’m trying to do something, and I can’t seem to find a moment’s peace to finish it. Today particularly,” he groaned in renewed aggravation. “It seemed like every time I turned around, Sego was pestering me.”

“We were all surprised by how much he’s taken to you.” Amalah set her book aside, shifting so that she faced him more directly. “Before, he seemed very…aloof.”

“Oh, he was like that with me at first,” he assured her. Mouth quirking up at the memory of those early days, he continued wryly, “But I don’t believe in working with people that you can’t be on good terms with. I had enough of that in the Brindisi Army. So one morning, when he came to meet with me, I offered him bread and had him join me.”

Her eyes grew wide, mouth dropping a little. “You shared bread…with a
servant
?”

“That was his reaction.” Darius chuckled, seeing with his mind’s eye that moment. “But simply having people around as servants is such a cold feeling. It’s much better when they are friends as well.”

“Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised since you eat breakfast with your bodyguards. But still, such a relationship is rare here. I am amazed you managed it with him. He’s from a family with a very established tradition of serving in the palace.”

He shrugged in a deliberately casual manner. “It only took about four pieces of bread to get it through his head.”

Startled, she dropped her confusion and laughed softly.

There
. That was the smile he had been working for. He wanted to ask why she was here alone. For that matter, he wanted to ask if he’d troubled her and if he needed to intercede with her family on her behalf, but he didn’t want that smile to disappear so he changed to a different topic instead. “Tell me, where are you getting all of these books to read? Every time I see you, you have a different one.”

“There is a book finder in town,” she answered with building enthusiasm. “He manages a sort of revolving library. You can borrow any book from him, for a monthly fee, as long as you return the volume within two weeks. It’s truly marvelous how extensive his collection is.”

That was a very good businessman to come up with such a system. Of course, he could probably only cater to the very elite and educated, but even they didn’t want to pay the hefty price a book would cost. Especially since they might only want to read it once or twice. “I don’t suppose you would introduce me to him?”

She blinked, caught off-stride. “You enjoy reading, General?”

“I do,” he assured her, a little amused at her surprise. “You actually have a great deal of time for it as an officer. Battles never happen entirely on schedule, you know. It seems like all you do on duty is hurry up and wait. Having a book on hand is a habit that I’ve developed over the years.” It would be especially good to read more Niotese considering his lack of schooling with the written language. If this country would truly have his tomb one day, then he needed to become as thoroughly comfortable here as any native. Reading more of their literature would be a good step to take in order to become that.

“Are…,” she hesitated, watching his expression carefully as she spoke, “all generals as educated as you are?”

“Heavens no!” he responded with a laugh. “Some of the worst half-wits I’ve ever met had the rank of general. Worse, I had to work with them. But you always have a few in any occupation that got their position through connections rather than ability.” Considering her question again, he added honestly, “And I’m not really that educated.”

She regarded him steadily, eyebrows furrowing a little. “You’re determined to throw one surprise after another at me today, aren’t you?”

He tried not to smile. “I suppose I have been, at that. Raja, you
have
heard that I’m a merchant’s son, haven’t you?”

“I have,” she admitted. Shrugging slightly she added wryly, “But I didn’t really believe it, not after having spoken with you. You seemed too educated for such a background.”

“My father traded information more than goods,” he explained, rather complimented that her opinion of him was so high. “My schooling was very haphazard, but thorough in its own way. I didn’t receive any formal education until I entered the military academy in Brindisi at seventeen. The only reason I know as much as I do is because I read whenever I can get my grubby hands on a book.”

She didn’t look like she entirely bought this story. “Just by reading? I don’t think I believe that. I’ve seen you ask many questions from everyone around you after all.”

That was the third time that she’d remarked on some habit of his with such confidence. Just how much did she notice about him? Was she observing him as closely as he did her?
I truly hope so.
“Do I? But then how else am I to learn?”

“You make it seem easy.” She reached out and with light fingertips stroked the hardcover of the book. “I rely on the written word.”

“Not true,” he denied, tilting his torso forward in order to catch her eyes and draw her back to him. “You asked me a great many questions when we first met, remember?”

She gave him quite the look. “
You
charmed me into talking to you.”