idea of accepting that invitation teased his thoughts. It’d be nice to forget Yara, the emperor, and the suspicions of the team for a night. But he kept walking. There was too much at stake, including Sicarius’s threat.
Sighing, Maldynado passed the pair with no more than a nod. When the inviting woman’s smile turned into a disappointed pout, he almost changed his mind. He hated to be the cause of feminine dismay.
While he gazed back with those second thoughts, something else drew his eye. Across the street another pair of women had walked out of a single-story antique shop bestowed with mildew-covered shingles and a multi- paned window so old one would have to press one’s nose to the glass to see any of the wares inside. The structure seemed out of place on the street of sleek, modern buildings that overlooked the river, but that wasn’t what captured Maldynado’s attention. One of the women, the shopkeeper perhaps, withdrew a keychain and bent to lock the door. The second woman… was one of Maldynado’s cousins.
If he’d taken the time to think about it, he would have remembered that he had kin in Sunders City, but seeing her surprised him. Cousin Lita was his age and, with thick brown curls that tumbled about her shoulders, possessed the family good looks. She and her two brothers had come up to stay on the main Marblecrest estate a couple of summers when their parents had been traveling.
Maybe he should stop, say hello, and try to inveigle gossip out of her. When the emperor had suggested Maldynado might be a source of information, he’d balked at the idea of betraying his family, but that had been before he knew everyone was suspicious of him. Maybe a few choice tidbits about Ravido would placate Sespian and the others. Lita had always been a gossip and a chatterbox, so, if anyone had choice tidbits on the family, it’d be her. Of course, if Maldynado did extract and share crucial details, he’d have to live knowing he’d turned snitch on his kin. That didn’t sit well with him.
Before he’d decided whether to cross the street or not, Lita’s head turned in his direction. Her hazel eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open.
Maldynado lifted a shopping-bag-laden arm in a wave. After waiting for a group of young women to cycle past on elaborate tricycles burdened by baskets bulging with purchases, Maldynado crossed the street and bowed to the two ladies. Lita held a yellowing ivory box in her hands.
“Good evening, Lita, and… ” He gave his cousin a chaste smile, then offered the shopkeeper a sexier one. Though she was an older woman dressed in unrevealing clothing more appropriate to a dusty library basement than River Walk Street, Maldynado had long ago learned to be gracious to all ladies. Some of them were like rose buds, simply needing a little sun and encouragement to blossom into attractive flowers. And, those who weren’t like that… tended to know others who were.
“Ms. Pealovetch.” The woman looked him up and down, sniffed once, and walked away.
Then again, some women were simply grumps who weren’t worth the effort.
“Maldynado!” Lita blurted. “I’m surprised to see you here.” She eyed his bags. “Well, not surprised to see you shopping, but surprised to learn you’re in Sunders City. Did you take your father up on his offer?” She must have seen his brow furrow, for she added, “Or, if you’ve been out of town, maybe you haven’t seen him lately? Did you know about his offer?”
“I haven’t talked to Father in over a year. Is there something I should know?” Maldynado couldn’t ask for a better lead-in to family gossip.
“He’s been looking for you. Didn’t you hear? He wants to invite you back into the family.”
“He what? I mean, he was rather adamant that I’m a worthless leech who doesn’t deserve any portion of the family lands or money.”
“Yes, Uncle Brodis has always seemed… tough, but I heard he was willing to forgive you for past transgressions if you’d return home and help the family with, oh, I’m not sure what it was. A business endeavor perhaps? Your sister-in-law, Mari, has grown quite entrepreneurial of late.”
“Has she?” Since Mari was Ravido’s wife, Maldynado tucked the detail away for later examination. The news about his father interested him the most. Could his parents want help for Ravido? Were Father and Mother supporting his throne-usurping enterprise? Maybe Maldynado’s kin had learned that he’d gone from unambitious duelist to veteran warrior in the last year. Maybe Ravido wanted Maldynado on his team. Though it seemed unlikely. All of Maldynado’s experience suggested that, even if he single-handedly turned back a Kendorian invasion in front of all of his kin, they still wouldn’t believe him more than a dandy.
Lita released her box with one hand and gripped his arm. “I do hope you’ll consider it, Mal. I know your parents are strict and hard to love, but it’s been fifteen years since Tia… passed on. Your mother has forgiven you, and your father… I’m not sure he’ll ever forgive you, but I think he forgets sometimes.”
Mother had forgiven him? Since when? Maldynado found that news harder to believe than the rest of it, and, for the first time, he eyed Lita with suspicion. Even if she did live in Sunders City, what were the odds that they’d randomly run into each other here, in a town of fifty thousand?
Perhaps noting his suspicious mien, Lita shrugged and said, “Is it so hard to believe? They can’t hate you forever. Old wounds may always ache in bad weather, but sometimes you forget there was a time when you didn’t have them, and you lose your bitterness over the cause. The dull ache becomes a part of your life.”
“I guess,” Maldynado said neutrally. Nothing about Lita’s face or words seemed duplicitous, but he’d known many women with a knack for convincing fibbing.
Lita squeezed his arm and let go. “If you prove to the family that you care, that you’re willing to help out, they’d be more amenable to you. Especially your parents. I’ll be the first to admit that some of your brothers are nettlesome and perhaps not worth the effort.”
Maldynado snorted. Yes, Lita had suffered numerous dunkings in the lake at the hands of her older cousins. And they hadn’t even disliked her. They’d been worse to Maldynado, but that was the nature of older brothers, he supposed.
“All you’d have to do is talk to your father and let him know you’re interested in taking some responsibility.”
Maldynado lifted his arms skyward, bags rustling. “What is it with women? Always nattering in a man’s ear about responsibility.”
“As a warrior-caste scion, you’re expected to-”
“I know, I know.” Maldynado stretched his hand out, palm facing her. “I’m just feeling set-upon by your sex of late. The only woman who doesn’t-” He caught himself. He was supposed to be getting details, not giving them. She didn’t need to know about Amaranthe, though an uncomfortable lump formed in his throat at the thought of her. Lita was the only woman who simply accepted what he was willing to offer without making extra demands on him or bemoaning the fact that he wasn’t “responsible.” Cursed ancestors, he hated that word.
“It’s just that they had such high expectations for you, Mal,” Lita said when he didn’t continue. “Aside from Ravido, most of your brothers had respectable but not exemplary military careers, and even he, I’ve heard, used bribes and favors to ensure he eventually advanced to general. For another family, respectable sons are fine, but for Marblecrests? For a family with a history full of fleet admirals, legendary generals, and even Turgonian emperors?”
“It’s easy to get buried under that much history,” Maldynado said.
Lita sighed at him, as if they were speaking in two different languages, and she couldn’t get him to understand. “If you’d had mediocre talent, it would have been one thing, but you were so good with a blade. And, when you were younger, your grades were all above average, especially when it came to military studies. Uncle Brodis was sure-”
“I know what he was sure of.” Maldynado noticed his shoulders were hunched up to his ears. He hated talking about this stuff. He’d wanted the family’s current gossip, not a rehash of old history. His earlier suspicions that Lita had been planted in his path disappeared. She wouldn’t be nagging him if she wanted to talk him into something. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not interested in reuniting with them.” Maldynado tipped his hat. “It was good seeing you, Lita. Give my good regards to your brothers, please.”
“Mal, wait.” Lita must have forgotten she’d been holding the ivory box, for, when she stretched out with her hands, it slipped from her grip.
Maldynado squatted and caught it before it clunked onto the cobblestones. The lid flopped open, and a small black sphere fell out. It took another quick snatch to keep it from falling to the ground and rolling down the street. Maldynado gaped at the cool, smooth object. Utterly devoid of symbols, it appeared to be made of the same material as Sicarius’s knife. And, if Sicarius was right, that’d mean it was made of the same material as that flying craft too.
