“We know their plan,” the king said, switching back to Kimisar for Alex’s benefit. “That means we are ahead.”
“Yes, but catching them in action only catches them,” said Lani. The princess’s Kimisar wasn’t quite as good as everyone else’s. “I think confession unlikely.”
“Then perhaps we should make Sinda think he has succeeded,” said Sage. “See how he acts and who he blames.” She looked to Banneth. “What would be the first steps after the murder of a king?”
“Besides shutting down the palace and searching for the culprit? The council would be called into session to declare the new ruler.”
“How soon?” she asked.
“As soon as the death is discovered.”
“Even in the middle of the night?”
Banneth nodded. “Even so, but I would think there would be no reason for my body to be discovered until morning.”
Sage bit her lip. “He will be prepared for that timing, so I say you should be found in the middle of the night. It gives us a slight advantage.”
“Agreed, but how do we do that? Have the guards hear a disturbance and investigate?”
Sage gave the king an odd look. “Perhaps I can discover it. That will play right into his hands. It could make him overconfident.”
Banneth threw a furtive glance at Alex before replying to her in Casmuni. She nodded, turning pink.
“Just a damn minute, Sage,” interrupted Alex in Demoran. A horrible suspicion was growing in his gut. “Why would you be in the king’s bedroom in the middle of the night?”
“I wouldn’t,” she answered quickly. “But if we tell Sinda at dinner that Banneth proposed to me, then I can legitimately discover the body sooner rather than later.”
A sound idea, but it had been thought of too quickly. “Did the king propose to you?”
Her face was scarlet. Though he wouldn’t have understood what Alex asked, the king answered in Kimisar. “I asked Saizsch to marry me two nights ago.”
Alex looked back and forth between the two of them. “And what was the answer?”
“It was no,” said Banneth.
*
After they’d developed a plan for that evening, Alex had to rest again, though he refused the healers’ strong recommendation that he take their formula to sleep better. Wonderful as that fog had felt, a clear mind was more important. He also suspected Sage hadn’t slept in weeks, and Alex convinced her she wouldn’t hurt him by curling up beside him. In truth, it was painful when she bumped or brushed against him, but having her close was worth it.
It was late afternoon when he woke alone. Everything hurt again, and his joints didn’t want to bend. Alex was used to injuries, though the last time he’d been nearly this bruised all over was during his early page days, when a squire had openly questioned Lady Quinn’s faithfulness to Alex’s father. Officially he’d been disciplined and had a talking down from Colonel Quinn himself, but unofficially, he and the boys who’d joined in to help him were given extra rations for a week.
He was stretching and working things loose when Sage came in from the garden, dressed in what looked like riding clothes with a Casmuni sword belted at her waist. She was sweaty and disheveled but cheerful, explaining she’d been learning some kind of fighting with Princess Lani, who’d needed to work off a lot of anger.
“How do you feel?” she asked, sitting on the bed and leaning down for a kiss. “A lot of the swelling in your face is down.”
“Better now that I’ve seen you again, but very sore,” he admitted.
Sage looked over some of his bandages, touching him more than she probably needed to, but he didn’t complain. “Do you want to stay here tonight? Banneth was worried you wouldn’t be up to it.”
“I think another bath will do me good.” He’d been unconscious for most of it, but last night they’d kept him in a medicinal bath for several hours.
She stood and began unbuckling her sword belt. “I’ll call for it, but me first. Even I can smell how bad I stink.”
Alex pushed himself upright as she headed toward the bathing room. “You know that tub is large enough for both of us,” he called.
“Don’t tempt me.”
An hour later, he was soaking as Sage prepared for dinner with the king and Minister Sinda. After Alex assured her he was covered, she walked in the room, wearing a forest-green dress with draped sleeves. The style hugged her slender figure and left much less to the imagination than the full, billowy outfits Demoran women wore. “Please tell me you’re bringing that dress with you when we return to Demora,” he said.
She smiled and sat on a stool next to him. The scent of orange blossoms and jasmine washed over him. Not the lavender and sage he was used to, but it didn’t bother him as much as he might have thought. “What shall I tell Banneth?” she asked. “Are you well enough to help? No one will think less of you if you aren’t recovered.”
Did she really expect him to hide in her room while assassins were in the palace? “I’m fine,” he assured her. She nodded and twisted her hands in her lap, biting her lip. “Trust me, Sage.”
“It’s not that,” she said. “It’s … well, it’s…” Sage took a deep breath. “Banneth wasn’t quite honest when he said I’d turned down his proposal.”
“I see.”
“But I hadn’t said yes, either,” she rushed to say. “I promised him an answer in a few days.”
“Sage—”
“He only wanted to assure our safety and force the council to talk to the Demorans when they arrived, rather than fight.”
“Love—”
“He doesn’t love me. It was purely political, for peace. He told me we didn’t have to have children.”
“Sage—”
“I only considered it because I didn’t want to go back to Demora if you weren’t there.”
Alex had already made peace with the idea, given that she’d thought he was dead. He sat up and brought his face close to hers. “I wouldn’t have blamed you for saying yes, Sage.”
She blinked, tears collecting in her lashes. “Is that truth?”
“Truth,” he whispered before kissing her long and hard. She looked like she needed it. Alex sat back, trying not to wince, and added, “If you’d still said yes after you’d found me, then I’d be worried.”
Sage wiped her eyes and laughed. Sweet Spirit, he’d missed that sound. He’d never do anything to make it go away again. “All right. I have to leave. The healers will bandage you this time.” She stood, and he was free to admire her again.
“You’re only wearing one knife,” Alex said, hissing in pain as his torn and bloody wrists slipped back into the water.
“Lani says two look ridiculous when wearing a dress.” She fingered the letters on the hilt. “It’s yours. No matter how much I hang on Banneth tonight, I’ve got your initials at my waist.”
Alex frowned a little. “But you normally carry two.”
“Yes, so?” She cocked her head to the side.
Realization dawned on her, and Alex nodded. “Maybe we should consider changing our plan slightly.”
97
SAGE WAS IMPRESSED by Lani’s composure throughout dinner. When Minister Sinda took her hand to kiss it in greeting, the princess traced her fingers over the distinctive stones he wore in his rings with a flicker of anger in her eyes, all traces of doubt swept away. After that she smiled and giggled through the first two courses, casting her eyes on him every few minutes and playing the giddy bride-to-be. The wine may have helped.
As for Sage, her anxiety wasn’t difficult to disguise as nervousness over Banneth’s coming announcement. Twice he reached for her hand, and she flushed and tried to look back doe-eyed. Sinda frowned slightly each time.