Page 14 of The Flame and the Forsaken

“Not now that I have to share a bed with him.” Mariel’s own grin faded into the gentle silence that followed. “I’ve been thinking about how I’ll leave this place. If I can’t get what we need, that is. Obviously I won’t stay here forever.”

“You’ll get it,” Augustine assured her.

“It’s happening soon. Any day now, but I... No one’s talking. Rylahn hasn’t even been joining us for meals. You know we have to time thisjust rightif it’s to work. Too soon and the gold won’t be there yet. Too late and the equivalent of an army will await us, alongside every damned baron in the Rutlands’ territory.”

Her friend grinned. “Maybe youshouldsleep with the princeling. I hear he gets loose lips when he’s consumed by his, eh, carnal desires.”

“I would never debase...” But she would. If she had to, she would. “Does he now?”

Augustine nodded from the shadows. “So they say.”

“Not loose enough that you’ve gotten wind of what we need though,” Mariel said, shaking her head. “I’m afraid time isn’t on our side anymore.”

“And you still think this...” She peered behind the curtain, into the hall dividing the balcony from the rest of the terrace, before continuing. “This auction will be enough? And then we can retire from all this?”

Mariel had never come out and said it like that. Not because she didn’t believe itcouldbe enough. The sheer quantity of gold that would be stored there would change the face of the Southerlands forever. Whether the money was thrown into the ocean, flattening the class structure, or redistributed to its rightful owners, the entire system would turn on its head. Upheaval would follow, but they’d be on the proper end of it this time.

But she’d never said it that way because the thought of Obsidian Sky disbanding—of their work no longer being necessary, of having to figure out what the hell todowith her days and nights—was gutting.

Mariel’s gaze followed the dark coastline. Dozens of ships lined the horizon, all part of the Rutland fleet. To the west, all the way in Devon, the modest ship she’d won in a billiards game, theMistwitch, was anchored at sea, waiting for her. She’d sailed her only a few times before her marriage, and none since. She’d had no formal training and wasn’t especially skilled with any of it, but she could manage well enough in the shallows of coastal waters. Often she dreamed of rowing out, climbing aboard, and navigating alone into the dark unknown. If not for Destin, she might have. “You should go before someone sees us talking.”

“I only came to ask if you’ll be able to slip out tonight. After the toast and dance, of course.”

“Tonight?”

“You didn’t forget. The golden egg?”

Mariel hadn’t forgotten, but the small, insecure side of her had wondered if they’d forgottenher.If they would just go ahead without her. She smiled to cover it. “Never.”

“And he won’t be a problem? The princeling?”

Mariel shook her head. “We have an understanding, as I said.”

“What does he get out of it, Mar?”

“Same as me. Freedom. Whatever he wants, really.”

“The one thing he truly wants is out of his reach, shacked up with a tree-dweller in the Easterlands.”

Mariel laughed. “She cannot beallhe wants. He’s weak, but he’s still a man. Still has needs.”

“You’re right. He also wants the Rutland admiralty, but whispers tell me his inability to domesticate his bride is forcing his father to consider alternatives.”

Mariel cocked her head to the side. “That cannot be true. The steward would be a fool to hand over their legacy to someone other than his only son.”

“Truth to a wraith extends as far as belief. I can only tell you what I’ve heard... what he tells the maidens he beds as he’s complaining to them about his impossible wife.”

Mariel considered the weight of that. It could work for or against her work. If Erran fell out of his father’s favor, an annulment, when the time came, would be a simple request. But if his father was so cross with him, then it was possible Erran would be left out of important matters, like the auction. And that couldn’t happen.

Each path ahead had been closing one by one, until only one was left for Mariel. She had to keep Erran in his father’s good graces and pray she wouldn’t need to keep up the act for long.

The thought filled her with a sudden fury, directed athim.If he’d only justliedto his father, like a normal son, there would be no disfavor. Now they were both crushed into a corner.

Butshewas the impossible one? What was he doing talking to his conquests about her anyway?

“You always know what you’re doing, of course.” Augustine’s fingertips brushed Mariel’s bare arm as she slid by. “I’ve heard naught but fair things about the princeling from the rest of the staff, but does that nay raise your suspicions even more? Is anyone so free of danger and darkness, Mariel? Or are some better at hiding it than others?”

Mariel left without answering.

---