The Born Queen

"My sisters would not believe me, and so they died, along with the order we founded, or at least most of them. Your Alis was once one of ours."

"She knew who you were."

"When she saw me, yes. Not before."

"How did your sisters die?"

"That's complicated, too. A

"How did you escape?"

"I withdrew from the Ambhitus and hid. I abandoned my role as a Faith and dedicated myself to correcting our mistake."

"And now?"

"As I said, A

"If the law of death is mended-"

"Yes. Robert will die."

"Let's do that, then," he muttered.

The moon set, and stars jeweled the sky. They moved from canter to trot and back to delay wearing out their mounts.

Bri

"Hold on or you'll fall off," he said.

"I wish…" she sighed.

"What?" He managed to croak, though he knew he shouldn't.

She didn't answer, and behind him she felt even more rigid than when she first had been placed there.

"I said there were three reasons I risked having you brought up from the dungeons," she murmured.

"Yes. You said the third didn't matter."

"I said it didn't matter then," she said. "I never meant it didn't matter. Do you remember the first two reasons?"

"You said that you didn't believe I could be an assassin and that you thought we could help each other."

"You have to understand my world," she said. "The way I lived. Four attempts that I know of were made on my life; one was by one of my own cousins, who was afraid I would see that he was cuckolding my father. A coven-trained assassin sent from Crotheny when I was ten. I don't know who sent her. A Black Talon killer from the dark forests of Vestrana came closest. He actually had the dagger to my throat. I want you to understand all of that because although I didn't want to think you would kill me, part of me still thought you might."

"Then why? What was the third reason?"

"The third reason was that I was willing to risk death to touch you again."

The horse thunked along in silence as a great bloody moon sank toward the dark sea.

"I love you," he said.

He felt her soften, then mold against his back, and her arms were suddenly comfortable and familiar around his waist. He couldn't, didn't dare turn around to kiss her, but it didn't matter. It was the best thing he had ever felt in his life, and for the next few bells nothing, not his failure, not his grief, not even his thirst for revenge, could distract him from the woman who had her arms around him, from the mystery and wonder of her.

CHAPTER FIVE

CAZIO STROKED Austra's face, then gently prized open her lips and dribbled some watered wine between them. After a moment her throat worked, and the liquid went down.

He regarded her still features, trying not to let the strange panic rise.

She's still alive, and so there's hope, he thought.

"A

The carriage rumbled on for a moment.

"We might not even have to go all the way to Eslen," he told her. "We'll be at Glenchest by this afternoon. Probably the duchess can help us."

Austra, of course, said nothing.

They ran into a knight and his retainers about half a league from Glenchest, one Sir William, a servant of the duchess. He escorted them back to the rather baroque and defenseless mansion. The duchess did not meet them, which was rather uncharacteristic, but after the men were settled in quarters in the village, Cazio received an invitation to dine with her. He took z'Acatto and Austra in the carriage.

Elyoner Dare was a petite woman whose demure composure gave little immediate hint of her deep satisfaction in the pursuit of vice. One usually discovered her pleasantly wicked nature early in conversation, but this day she was very different from the last time he had seen her. She wore a black dress and a black net on her hair, and her courtiers and servants, usually quite colorfully attired, were also dressed in muted tones.

When they entered, she rose and offered her hand. Once they all had kissed it, she bent and kissed Cazio on the cheeks.

"It's good to see you, mi dello," the duchess said. "All is dark, but you are still a light to these eyes."

"Duchess Elyoner, I would be pleased to present my swordmaster and mentor-" He realized he did not know the old man's real name. Z'Acatto was the family nickname and simply meant "the cursed."

"Acmemeno d'Eriestia dachi Vesseriatii," z'Acatto said. "At your service, Duchess."

Cazio blinked, trying not to show his surprise. The duochi of the Vesseriatii were some of the richest, most powerful men in Vitellio.

Elyoner kissed him on the cheeks as well.

"Austra is with us," Cazio said. "She isn't well. I was hoping your chirgeons could help her."

"Austra? Ill? Of course we shall do what we can." Her forehead puckered in a small frown. "How is it you were not with A

"She sent us away, to Dunmrogh," Cazio replied, then caught Elyoner's tone.

"When what?" he grated.

Cazio sat on the very bench where he first had kissed Austra and took a deep pull from the carafe of harsh red wine. He glanced at z'Acatto as the old man came up and then handed him the stoneware jug.

Oddly, the older man hesitated, then took a drink.

"Anything else you have to tell me?" Cazio asked, trying to work up some anger and finding he couldn't. "Are you actually a duoco? Or perhaps meddicio of z'Irbina?"

"My brother is duoco," z'Acatto said. "I assume he is. I haven't seen or heard from him in years."

"Why? Why did you live in my house as if you were my father's servant? Some vagabond soldier he dragged back from the wars?"

Z'Acatto took another drink, then another.

"I always told you I did not know the face of the man who killed your father," he said.

"Yes."

"I lied."

Cazio stared at the old man, and his life seemed to stretch out behind him like a rope he was trying-and failing-to balance on. Was anything he knew true?

"Who killed him?" he demanded.

Z'Acatto squinted off into the middle distance. "We were in a little town called Fierra, in the Uvadro Mountains. They make a fortified wine there called uchapira. We were drinking a lot of it, your father and I. There was a man; I don't even remember his name. Turned out I had slept with his woman the night before, and he called me to steel. Only I was too drunk. When I got up to fight, my legs failed me. When I awoke, your father was out in the street with him. I was only out for a few moments, so I was still drunk and mean. I only meant to fight my own duel, but when I came screaming out of the tavern, Mamercio was distracted, and the man stabbed him right through the spleen." He looked back at Cazio. "I killed your father, Cazio. My drunken stupidity killed him. Do you understand?"

Cazio stood jerkily. "All this time-"

"I did the only thing I knew to do," he said. "I took his place, raised you."