Page 51 of The Assassin's Bride

“So you see,” Rilion continued with a wry smile, “my confusion was well-founded.”

One more laugh, then Gil wiped his eye. “Ah, Light's mercy. He thought I'd been bested,” he explained.

“How in all the One's glory did they decideshewas the assassin?” Rilion laughed too, though he turned the poster to examine it more closely now. He didn't go so far as to hold it up beside her, but it was obvious he compared the illustration to Thea's face.

Her cheeks burned. It made sense. This was why she'd run. But why was it only her? “He's not mentioned at all?”

“Not a word.” The prince's demeanor softened some as he tossed the poster onto the table. “They delivered it by hand, demanding my father turn her over if she appeared. At first, I thought it a ridiculous mistake, but when I went to Post...”

A quiver of uncertainty ran down Thea's spine. She'd expected to be a wanted woman in Kentoria. That whoever had taken control of the country might be able to seize her from within Ranor's borders had never crossed her mind. She'd thought she'd reached safety. Now, she wasn't so sure.

“The image does her no justice.” Gil drew back a chair and motioned for her to sit. The maid had vanished, but a rattle on the other side of a small door at the far end of the room explained where she'd gone.

Thea crept forward to take the offered place. Rilion positioned himself at the head of the table, and Gil put himself between the two of them. She only sat when both men had.

“I agree.” Rilion flicked the end of the poster and it rolled itself up again. “Now, introduce us, will you?”

“Of course. This is Thea, my Threadmancer, whose illusions kept anyone from noticing my resemblance to my wanted poster.” Gil's voice was thick with sarcasm. “According to her passport, her name is Theadora Emroth. Thea, this is Rilion, Third Prince of Ranor. But I suspect you already knew that.” He lifted his eyebrows as if to goad a reaction from her.

“Named after the hero,” she replied sarcastically, too.

“Ugh. Don't remind me.” Rilion made a show of rolling his eyes. “They should have given that name to my eldest brother. As it stands, I think they're expecting entirely too much from me.”

“But you are helping me,” Gil said. “That may be seen as heroic in time.”

Thea laced her hands together in her lap. “If I may, Your Highness, whyareyou helping him?”

Rilion rubbed his mouth. “Because I'm a fool. But truthfully, because we are friends.”

“I thought assassins didn't have friends,” she intoned.

Gil shrugged. “To be fair, I've never actually agreed with your assessment that I am one.”

She narrowed her eyes at his pedantry.

“I don't think that's an argument you're going to win,” Rilion said. “Everyone who has ever sat at my father's table knows what you do. You've just never been caught at it, and all that means is that you're very good.” He reached for his cup, then paused with a frown when he saw it was still empty.

“I am good at many things. There are just only so many places I can be at once, and that is why I am here now.” Gil leaned across the table to grab a dark bottle. Its cork had already been removed and stuck back in place, so it would be easy to pour when the time came. He pried it back out of the bottle and filled the prince's cup.

“You're not supposed to do that,” Rilion said.

“I'm not supposed to do many things. It's never stopped me before.” Gil smirked, but grew serious as he filled Thea's cup. He left his own empty. “But we've spent enough time on idle chatter. I am in need of a favor.”

“Another, you mean,” the prince grumbled.

The maid returned with a platter on either hand. She laid them both in the center of the table and busied herself with carving meat and filling plates.

Thea leaned forward to address her. “Could you bring a pitcher of water, please?” She tilted her head toward Gil's empty cup.

The maid nodded and bustled back to the kitchen, where the cook still rattled dishes.

“Yes, another.” Gil did not look Thea's way, but his hand brushed against her thigh beneath the table. She froze. He'd never dared touch her before—not like that. Her chest tightened and her heartbeat thumped in her ears.

Rilion made a show of leaning back in his chair. “As if I've not done enough for you already. What is it this time?”

“I promised Thea the opportunity to start over. An apology, if you will, for accidentally upending her life.” Gil's mouth tightened. “She will need to be granted residency under her new name. I have promised to pay for a building to help her establish a new business here. A Threadmancer's services will be useful to your people.”

The prince made a face. “You know my father doesn't allow women to lease or purchase property. Backwards and rotten old man. The only way she can hold a building is if she inherited it.”

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