Shadow's Son (42 page)

As the last notes of the dirge died away, the guests began to file away
from the gravesite. Hubert offered his good arm to Josey, but she declined
with a shake of her head. Caim couldn't suppress a chuckle, appreciating
this new side to the girl he had risked his life to protect. Her performance
was flawless as well-wishers offered their condolences. By now the story
was known throughout the city, how a lowborn man had saved the longlost princess from traitors in the True Church and made the ultimate sacrifice in her service. If whispers arose of how attached the young empress
had become to her rescuer during their escapades, none could reproach
her. Indeed, they served to make her more accessible to her new subjects.
After all, weren't such romantic notions the stuff of bard's songs?

With a gesture for her attendants to remain behind, Josey wandered
among the headstones, head bent in quiet contemplation. As if by chance,
she entered the grove and stopped a few paces away from him.

He took her in and attempted to penetrate the layers of pomp and
regalia to find the young woman he had come to know. It wasn't easy. She
had already become the symbol of her office, the mother of a nation.

Then, her mouth contorted into a frown. The Josey he knew was back.

"You shouldn't be out of bed so soon. The doctors said it would be
weeks before you'd be well enough to move about."

Caim pressed a hand against his stomach. A dull ache pulled at his
muscles there, but something stronger pulled at his spirit. "I'm just here
to say good-bye."

Her bottom lip disappeared into her mouth. "You don't have to leave.
Hubert has an idea to change your identity. We could put you into some
better clothes, change your hair, and not even your grandmother would
recognize you."

"That would be curious, as I've never met either of my grandmothers."

Josey twisted her fingers, heedless of the fortune in sapphires festooning them. Her gaze had dropped to his chest, as if she couldn't bring
herself to look him in the eye anymore.

"I would be dead, if not for you."

"As I remember it, you were the one who saved me."

She shook her head. "When I was hanging in the dark, I couldn't see
anything. My hands were numb. My heart was numb. I started to give up.
Then I remembered the way you fought, how you never gave up-no
matter the odds. That gave me the strength to pull myself up."

She looked up with a new light shining in her eyes, a glorious flame
of pride. "Whatever comes now, I know I can face it. You did more than
save my life, Caim. What I'm saying is you could have a family here. You
and I ... we could be. . . "

He shook his head. She started to reach out, and he caught her hand
in a gentle grasp. Her nails had been cleaned of gutter filth and polished
with a bright indigo lacquer. Her perfume filled his head, weakening his
resistance.

"I can't stay. I've made a lot of enemies in this town. Anyway, it
wouldn't be proper for an empress to be seen in the company of assassins,
even if they're wearing silks and pomades."

He took her chin in his other hand. She moved closer until the hem
of her wide skirt brushed his boots. Their lips came together in a kiss. The sweetness of her taste lingered in his mouth for a long time after he pulled
away.

"I could come with you." Her eyes were cloudy with emotion. "Wherever you're going. I don't care."

Pulling away from her was the hardest thing he'd ever done. Only the
knowledge of what he was sparing her kept him from toppling back into
her arms.

"You have a lot of work to do here, Josey. Othir needs her empress.
Our paths lead in different directions. For now."

Her hands started to rise, but then dropped back to her sides. Moisture glistened in her eyes. He smiled with care, afraid even the smallest
gesture would crack the armor he had erected around his heart. He
wanted her badly, wanted to stay and protect her, serve her, whatever she
desired just for the chance to be with her. But they were as different as the
sun and moon. Forever bound together, forever apart.

"Where will you go?" she asked.

He turned his gaze northward. Somewhere beyond the trees of the
grove and the city walls lay the land of his birth. He didn't know what he
would find once he got there, but the need to know about his past
throbbed in him like a second heartbeat.

"I have questions that need answering and a long road to travel before
I reach my destination."

"What if the answers you want aren't there?"

"Then I'll keep searching."

Josey reached into a fur muff dangling from her sleeve and pulled out
a bundle of papers wrapped in black cord. "Take this. There's a writ of safe
passage inside, although I don't know how far that will extend. There's
been no news out of the northern provinces for weeks. I intend to send a
military detachment up there as soon as I can find the resources."

"You're starting to sound like an empress already." He accepted the
package. Nestled among the documents was a thin book, like a diary. He
started to pull it out. "And this?"

She put her hands over his. "Read it later, after you've left the city
environs. There might be information in there you can use. And, Caim, if
you don't find what you're looking for, promise me you'll come back."

Caim pressed his lips to her fingers. "I promise, my lady."

Then he turned and left before the trembling in his legs could betray
him. A breeze swirled through the trees and ruffled his hair as he trod
across the carpet of fallen leaves. The sky was deepening to purple twilight. Kit danced before him in the failing light, her hair flowing free like
a silver banner. He touched the golden talisman hung by a simple leather
cord around his neck. He wanted to look back and catch one last glimpse
of the woman he loved, of Othir's gleaming towers, of the life he was
leaving behind.

But he kept walking, through the gates and into the gathering
shadows beyond.