They probably cooked it for hours, just to make sure it was safe to eat, she thought. Sergeant Harkin’s lessons on outdoor survival hadn’t been remotely fun. She suspected the boys had gotten more out of them than any of the girls. At least I can eat it.
Sienna sat down, facing her. “Now, do you want something to drown your sorrows or are you up to being sensible?”
Emily took another bite of the food. “Sensible.”
“Glad to hear it,” Sienna said. She met Emily’s eyes. “We have one problem at the moment – Janus and his pet creature. I expect you and Caleb to work together without letting your emotions get in the way. Can I rely on you to do that?”
“I think so.” Emily looked down at the table. “I don’t…”
“He told me.” Sienna sounded as though she’d bitten into a lemon. “I don’t want to admit the possibility, but it does exist.”
Emily refused to look up. If she was right, Sienna’s daughter had – willingly or unwillingly – betrayed her family. And if she was wrong…she hoped, for Sienna’s sake, that she was wrong. The prospect of having to face an outraged mother across a dueling circle was terrifying, but so too was the thought of Sienna’s life being torn apart. She didn’t want to hurt any of them.
“We will hope it isn’t true,” Sienna said. “And yet, we will have to consider the possibility that it might be true.”
“Caleb hates me,” Emily said, miserably.
“He’s certainly not very pleased with you,” Sienna agreed. She sounded oddly amused. “Do you think you’re the first person to have romantic problems?”
Emily looked up. “No.”
“I’ve been a young woman, as much as my children might wish to disbelieve it,” Sienna said, wryly. “I have a mother, sisters, even aunties and female friends. And I happen to know more about Karan’s relationships than she’d be happy about me knowing. Fights between couples are not unique.”
She snorted. “After this whole…affair…is finished, you and Caleb can sit down and decide how you want to proceed. Believe me, I have had many arguments with my husband. We have often thrown things at each other.”
Emily sighed. “That isn’t reassuring.”
“I suppose not,” Sienna said. She rose. “You have work to do. I expect you and Caleb to concentrate on your problems afterwards, when the entire city is not in danger. If your relationship is strong, you’ll get through this and be all the stronger for it; if not, you’re better off finding out now than when you’re married and have three children.”
“I know,” Emily said.
“And if you decide not to continue with the relationship, cut it off cleanly,” Sienna said, firmly. “You’ll just make yourself and Caleb miserable if you prolong the agony.”
Emily looked up at her. “Did you ever accuse your husband’s sister of treachery?”
“No,” Sienna said. She smiled, rather dryly. “But, as disagreeable as that woman is, I never had reason to suspect her of being a traitor.”
Her voice hardened. “If Marian betrayed us of her own free will, I will take steps,” she said, coldly. Emily shivered, helplessly. She had no doubt, suddenly, that Sienna would kill her own daughter, if necessary. “And if she was enchanted into betraying us, I will do everything in my power to free her from the taint. She will be free, even if it costs me everything.”
She looked down at Emily. “And if you are wrong, Emily, I will know it wasn’t through malice,” she added. “I won’t hold it against you. The world would be a happier place, perhaps, if more people remembered that some mistakes are just mistakes.”
“I know,” Emily whispered. “Thank you.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
“THAT’S THE PLAN,” GENERAL POLLACK SAID. “Do you have any questions?”
Emily shook her head. The plan was simple enough, but she was all too aware of its weaknesses. If Janus knew more about sorcery – and the forces he’d unleashed – than she thought, he’d be able to deduce their plan. Indeed, it was the only plan that had a hope of both destroying Justice and rescuing Marian.
She glanced at Caleb. Her lover – her ex, perhaps – resolutely did not look back at her. His younger brother wasn’t so restrained. The nasty look he gave Emily would have scared her to death, five years ago. Now, after facing necromancers and dark wizards and all manner of strange creatures, it was no longer so intimidating. She resisted the urge to sneer back at him as General Pollack fielded a couple of questions. Markus and Harman were laying plans to take control of the city after Justice was destroyed.
And they’re being a little premature, Emily thought, as she glanced down at the staff in her hand. We haven’t won yet.
She tested the staff, remembering lessons she’d taken with Sergeant Harkin. Staff-fighting wasn’t her forte – she’d reluctantly come to admit that she had no talent for weapons at all – but the staff felt right, like the staves she’d trained to use. Hopefully, Janus and his comrades would overlook it. They’d assume the resistance would resort to non-magical weapons, knowing magic was unreliable near Justice. And yet…she reached out mentally and felt the spell embedded in the wood. It had taken nearly three hours to make staves for everyone, even though – technically – any piece of wood should have sufficed. The charm at the end of the staff alone had taken nearly two hours.
It would have been completely impossible without Sienna and her contacts, Emily thought, sourly. Too many secrets had leaked out over the last few days. Someone with an imagination could probably put the pieces together and work out how to create their own entity, if they were foolish enough to try. And even with the staves, this is still a gamble.