The room was full of Defenders, officers, every one of them. Tarja saw at least four men he knew well at his first glance. Fortunately, R’shiel’s blue cloak gave the impression she was a Sister, so their entrance was unremarked upon. Tarja hid behind the small barrel, wishing it were large enough for him to crawl into completely.
“May I help you, my Lady?” Affiana asked as she approached them, her eyes widening as R’shiel lifted her head and stared at her. “I have private rooms that will be more comfortable,” Affiana added, barely missing a beat. “Have your man come this way.”
R’shiel followed the innkeeper through the taproom, her whole body as tense as an overtightened guy rope. Tarja followed, trying to stoop as much as possible. As they moved into the hall and through to the private dining room he dropped the barrel heavily, weak with relief.
“By the gods!” Affiana declared as she closed the door behind them. “Where did you two come from?”
“It’s a long story,” he said, as R’shiel threw back the hood of her cloak. “How long have the Defenders been here?”
“A few days. I get the officers. The enlisted men drink in the taverns closer to the docks. Are you all right?”
R’shiel nodded. “We’re fine. Is Mahina still here? And Sunny?”
“And Dace, too,” Affiana told them. “When he’s in the mood. Mahina’s been keeping to her room, and nobody has seen her, but Sunny’s been out working the docks.” She glanced back at Tarja with concern. “I heard you’d been hanged. Then I heard you killed a couple of rebels and escaped.”
“Almost accurate. How can I get to Mahina’s room without being seen?”
“You can’t,” Affiana told him. “I’ll bring her down. You two stay here and keep the door locked.” The innkeeper slipped from the room and Tarja locked the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, R’shiel came to him and lay her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her and held her wordlessly for a moment.
“I think walking through that taproom was the scariest thing I have ever done in my life,” she said.
Considering what R’shiel had endured recently, that was saying something. He kissed the top of head, then her forehead, and then she was kissing him hard and hungrily and he was startled to discover how quickly things could get out of hand. He pushed her away with admirable self-control.
“There is a room full of Defenders out there who would very much like to kill us both. Maybe we should wait until a more appropriate time?”
She sighed and pulled out of his arms, crossing to the window to stare out into the yard. “When will that be, Tarja?” she asked. “When you’ve faced the rebels? When you’ve confronted Jenga? When you’ve brought down the Sisterhood? When you’ve fought off the Karien invasion?”
He shrugged. “I’m a busy man.”
She stared at him for a moment, and then suddenly her mood changed and she laughed. “Well, you may just have to wait until I have time for you. I am a personage of some note among the heathens, you know.”
“Forgive me, Divine One,” he said, wondering what had made her suddenly admit to her demon-child status. She had seemed singularly unimpressed by the news up to now. A faint knock sounded at the door, and he unlocked it, opening it a fraction to look outside, then swinging it wide to allow Mahina and Sunny in.
“By the Founders!” Mahina declared. “We thought you were both dead!”
“Not quite.”
“Where have you been?” Sunny asked. She glanced at R’shiel who stood by the window, her blue cloak pushed back over one shoulder. She frowned at the close-fitting leathers. “Interesting outfit,” she remarked, before turning back to confront him. “We were worried sick! First you disappear, then we heard that you’re dead! Then that other fella left us stranded here. Now here you are, large as life, like nothing’s happened!”
“We had an encounter with the Karien Envoy,” R’shiel said, glancing at Tarja. With that look, he knew she wanted him to skip the details. There was no need to tell them of Elfron, or the staff. It was enough that they know of Pieter’s death and of the threat of invasion from Karien. She did not want to relive the nightmare for the sake of a good narrative.
“What sort of encounter?” Mahina asked suspiciously.
“The fatal sort,” Tarja told her. “We... er... met some Harshini, too.”
They stared at him openmouthed. “Harshini?”
“Have you been drinking?” Sunny asked.
“How in the name of the Founders did you stumble across them?” Mahina asked, clearly not believing a word he said. “They’re supposed to be long dead.”
“The Harshini came to us. It seems R’shiel is a Harshini princess.”
Mahina and Sunny both turned to look at R’shiel. Mahina suddenly laughed. “And Joyhinia passed you off as her own child? Oh, that is just too much! The Quorum will have a collective fit! The Karien Envoy must have been apoplectic!”
“The Karien Envoy is dead,” Tarja told her.
Mahina turned back to him, her laughter fading. “How did it happen?”
“The how doesn’t matter,” he said. “The important thing is that it did.”
“And the Defenders are here in Testra,” Mahina added, understanding the situation immediately. “Or headed this way. What are you going to do?”
“I have to warn Jenga,” he told her. “If I can get to him before Joyhinia arrives. I’m going to create a diversion using the rebels.”
“A diversion?” Mahina asked skeptically. “You’ll need more than a handful of farmers to distract the Defenders, Tarja. Besides, aren’t these the same rebels that tried to hang you only a few weeks ago?”
“I’ll convince them of the truth,” R’shiel said.
“You?” Mahina said with a raised brow. “I’ll admit that your outfit is distracting, R’shiel, but I hardly think it’s going to turn the rebels’ mind from reality for very long.”
R’shiel took a deep breath before she answered. “I am the demon child.”
Mahina looked as if she was going to laugh at the notion, but a glance at Tarja and R’shiel stayed her mirth. “Founders! You’re serious!”
“I am the half-human child of the last Harshini King, Lorandranek,” she said. To Tarja, it sounded as if R’shiel were trying to convince herself as much as Mahina. “The heathen rebels will listen to me.”
Mahina turned to Tarja. “And you believe this?”
Tarja nodded. “It’s why the Harshini sought us out.”
Mahina sank down onto one of the carved dining chairs, as if her knees would no longer support her. “Founders! I never thought to hear this in my lifetime. It’s... I... I’m... speechless...”
“Imagine how I feel,” R’shiel remarked wryly.
“It’s so...” Mahina began helplessly.
“I need information,” Tarja interrupted. He didn’t have time for Mahina to come to grips with the truth about R’shiel.
“What sort of information?” Sunny asked. She stood behind Mahina’s chair with wide eyes, staring at R’shiel.
“I need to know where Jenga is staying.”
“I suppose I can find that out,” she offered. Tarja was wary of Sunny for some reason he could not pinpoint, but he pushed aside his unease. The woman was a barracks
“As soon as it’s dark, we’ll ride for the rebel stronghold. If all goes well, we’ll be back by midnight. The off- duty troops should be well into their cups by then. The remainder, except for the lookouts, will be asleep. Can you find out where the rest of the Defenders are quartered, too?”
“Aye,” she agreed. “I’ll do that for you. It may take me some time, though. What if I meet you on the south road at midnight? That way I can let you know exactly what’s happening.”
Tarja nodded at the generous offer. “Thank you.”
Another knock sounded impatiently at the door, and Dace was in the room before Tarja had time to realize that he had forgotten to lock it. The boy flew at Tarja and hugged him soundly, before treating R’shiel to the same exuberant welcome.
“I knew you weren’t dead!” he declared. “Didn’t I tell you they weren’t dead? Didn’t I?”
