“Your blush runs all the way down to your breasts,” Cat said, tilting his head as if he was trying to remember every last detail. “It’s quite striking.”
“…Thank you,” Emily managed. She felt…comfortable. A man, a strong man, was sitting up in front of her…and she felt comfortable. They were both naked and she still felt comfortable, even though she was embarrassed. “I…”
She swallowed, hard. “How long until we should start panicking?”
“Jade knows better than to let himself be seen,” Cat said. “I think he’ll have found a safe place to doss down for the night.”
He swung one leg over her, leaning down to kiss her lips. “There are better things to do when we wake up…”
The door shook, then opened. Emily froze, torn between embarrassment and fear. It had never been a problem at Whitehall, where there were signs and countersigns to inform one’s roommate that one had company. But here…it had never occurred to them to put a sock on the door, not when they’d been undressing each other as they stumbled into the room. And Jade was standing there, staring at them.
She wanted to cringe into the bed, or run, or quietly cease to exist. Jade had seen more of her than she cared to admit, back in Martial Magic classes, but that…that hadn’t been when she’d been sharing a bed with his best friend. She was naked and Cat was naked and she wanted to run. Sharing a tent with five men had been bad, but…but this was worse.
Jade’s face darkened with anger. “What the hell are you two doing?”
Cat shifted backwards, his face darkening too. “What does it look like we’re doing?”
“Cat,” Emily started. “I…”
Jade spoke over her. “I spent the last seven hours running their men ragged, then sleeping in a ditch. And you have been here, acting like…”
His eyes slipped to her breasts, then looked away hastily. Emily swallowed hard, looking around for something to hide her nakedness. The blanket was out of reach, too far for her to grasp without using magic or dislodging Cat. She kicked herself, silently, for allowing herself to be caught in a delicate situation. Jade would never look at her the same way again.
“Like what?” Cat demanded. It took Emily a moment to realize he was drawing Jade’s attention to him. “Jade, you’re being…”
“My wife and unborn child are in prison,” Jade shouted. “We have to get them out before she gives birth! And here you are, playing around when you should be…”
Cat swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. “Jade, you’re being silly,” he said, sharply. “Grow up.”
Jade punched him, hard. Cat’s head snapped back, but the force of the blow wasn’t enough to stun him. There was an instant where time seemed to stop, then he hurled himself at Jade, knocking him to the floor. Emily could only stare in horror as they rolled around, trading punches as each of them tried to bang the other’s head off the ground. If the wards hadn’t been designed to ensure that no one could hear anything from their room, she was sure the innkeeper would want to evict them.
Or at least charge a higher rate, she thought, as she covered her breasts with her arms. And these two idiots…
She cursed under her breath. Jade and Cat were friends…had she ruined it? Or would they be the best of friends again, after they’d stopped trying to kill each other? Men were supposed to be simple, but she’d always found them a closed book. It hadn’t been particularly amusing to realize that men felt the same way about women.
Her patience snapped. She gathered her magic and froze them both in place, pushing down on the spell as they both tried to counter it. They’d succeed, eventually, but–for the moment–they would be quiet. She took a long breath as she summoned a towel and stood, wrapping the towel around her. Her body was still more exposed than she would wish, but at least it was something.
“You’re both being idiots,” she said. She could feel them both trying to cancel the spell, although their counterspells were accidentally cancelling each other. “We–all three of us–agreed that we would do everything in our power to rescue Alassa and we’re going to do it. I don’t think that…”
She shook her head as she stepped past them and walked into the washroom, closing the door firmly behind her. She just didn’t know what else to say. It wasn’t as if they’d abandoned their duties to make love, was it? Sergeant Miles would probably have knocked their heads together, or dragged the boys onto the track and forced them to run for miles, but she didn’t have the power or presence to do that.
Hanging the towel on a hook, she poured water into a basin, warmed it with a spell and washed herself down. It wasn’t a real shower, let alone a bath, but it would have to do. She inspected her body, noting that there were a handful of other bruises around her legs, then washed them with a little soap. The soap felt scratchy and old–she didn’t want to think what had been used to make it–but it was better than nothing. Midway through the third wash, she felt the freeze spell snap completely. A dull thud echoed through the air as the boys hit the ground.
She tensed, half-expecting them to break down the door and start throwing punches or hurling hexes at her. Men didn’t like having their anger cut off in midstream, perhaps especially when they were halfway to working matters out themselves. Sergeant Miles might have turned a blind eye, instead, if the boys had solved their own problem. He understood young men at a level Emily knew she couldn’t match.
Nothing happened. She allowed herself a moment of relief–at least they wouldn’t be screaming accusations at her when she was completely naked–and then dried herself thoroughly. It definitely wasn’t as good as a bathhouse, but it would have to do. She wrapped the towel round herself again, then carefully opened the door. Men could be dangerously unpredictable. Who knew which way Jade and Cat would jump?
Jade was sitting on his bed, looking pensive. Emily tensed, looking around the room, but there was no sign of Cat. His shirt and trousers were missing too, as was his sword; she guessed he’d gone out to calm down. And get food, she hoped. Her stomach rumbled, uncomfortably. She hadn’t eaten anything since they’d headed to the brothel.
“Emily.” Jade looked up at her. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry too,” Emily said, stiffly. She didn’t really blame Jade for being frustrated–he was under a lot of stress–but he shouldn’t take his feelings out on his friends. “We didn’t…we didn’t intend to hurt you.”
Jade colored. “I just thought you were wasting time. And I am sorry.”
“Good,” Emily said. “What happened to Cat?”
“He went out to check the streets,” Jade said. He looked down. “I hope the two of you will be very happy together.”
Emily sighed. “We will reunite you with Alassa,” she promised. “Whatever it takes, we will do it.”
“…Thank you,” Jade said. “But can we crack the wards?”
“There’s no such thing as an impregnable defense,” Emily said, firmly. Sergeant Miles had said as much, time and time again, and she believed him. “We just have to find the key to unlock the defenses.”
She found her clothes and started to get dressed, rapidly. “We’ll think of something,” she assured him. “What happened last night?”
“I did my bit to stir up the riot,” Jade said. He had his back to her. “A handful of soldiers got taken down, a handful of rioters had a little extra protection…it kept them busy long enough to keep them from chasing you.”
“They sent a small force after us,” Emily told him. “We didn’t make a clean break.”
She wrapped her hair in a headscarf as she told him what had happened, starting with Tam’s arrival and ending with their narrow escape from the guards. Jade listened quietly, asking a number of questions that surprised her. He’d never struck her as being politically aware before, although he was the Prince Consort. But then, he’d had plenty of reason to learn. His origins gave him a viewpoint–and an understanding–that Alassa lacked.