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after the dinner hour. It would help if you can convince the guards only one needs escort you.
The other will grow suspicious when we don t return, Sidonie observed.
I know. I nodded. I ll take care of him, too. But it will be easier to take them one at a time.
Can you? she asked.
I understood the question. I d killed men before in self-defense. This would be different. If I were
quick and lucky, it would be outright murder. Yes.
Good. She was pale, but her face was resolute. You d best go. I ll see you tomorrow.
I nodded again. If things go awry
Just know I love you, Sidonie finished the thought for me. Always.
There wasn t anything else to say. I kissed her quickly and left to take up my post outside her
door, fearful that if I lingered, it would be too agonizing to part. I didn t have to explain it to Sidonie. She
understood.
That night, it was I who dozed under the watchful eyes of her Amazigh guards, my head propped
against Sidonie s door. I d kept their secret, so I reckoned they d keep mine. And I would need every
ounce of energy I could hoard to make it through the following night.
In the morning, Sidonie and I went through our cordial routine, both of us achingly aware that it
could be the last time we saw one another alive. And then I took my leave of her once more, feeling
lightheaded and hollow, as though I d left the better part of myself in her keeping.
I went to the harbor to inform Captain Deimos that we would be sailing on the morrow, as early
as was humanly possible. He heard me out in laconic silence until I finished. Care to tell me what this is
about?
I glanced over at Kratos, who was keeping watch. No one else was in earshot. Even so, I
lowered my voice further. Rescuing the heir to Terre d Ange.
Deimos stared at me, a muscle in his cheek twitching. From what I hear, the lady in question has
no wish to be rescued.
Your information is wrong, I said. Ptolemy Solon sent me to break the spell that bound her to
Astegal. It s done. Now we re both in danger. So I will ask you one last time, will you do this or not?
His look turned hard. I told you, I m no oath-breaker. But I won t sail until I hear it from her
own lips.
I nodded. Done.
After that, there wasn t much to be done except wait. I sent Kratos to procure clean bandages
and a healing salve at an out-of-the-way chirurgeon s shop, worried about Sidonie s injury. I mixed
grease and ashes from the hearth, testing it on the skin of my hands, until I had obtained a mixture that
darkened my skin enough to permit me to pass as Amazigh, at least on brief, dimly lit inspection. I
practiced tying the head-scarf and swathing my features. I practiced telling the hours. I packed the few
items that mattered to me into a single trunk. I tried to sleep, and failed.
Waiting was always maddening, and this time it was compounded by a sense of helplessness.
That day dragged onward like no other I could remember. But at last the daylight began to fade. Kratos
and I dined in our quarters. I hadn t dared risk a meal in the great hall since I d known myself. Astegal,
with his eternal revels, would have noticed my absence; luckily, Bodeshmun hadn t cared to continue the
tradition.
Once we d finished, I dispatched Kratos to keep an eye on Sidonie s door. This was the first
step in our end of the plan, and the most dangerous one for him. Her quarters and Bodeshmun s were
both on the second story of the palace; ours were on the ground floor. There was no reason for Kratos
to be lingering upstairs, but he had assured me he could manage it, and I had to trust him. I simply
couldn t do everything myself.
I darkened my face and hands, donned my Amazigh garb over enough of Leander Maignard s
clothing to maintain both guises.
An hour passed, and then another.
I was beginning to feel a quiet sense of panic rising when Kratos finally returned, red-faced and
panting so hard he could barely speak.
What s wrong? I asked sharply.
Nothing, he wheezed, bending over and bracing his hands on his knees. I let him catch his
breath, swallowing my impatience. At last Kratos straightened. Sorry. I started to get suspicious looks.
Had to pretend I was running the stairs to work out leg cramps. Good cure, you know.
I made a concerted effort not to shake him. Sidonie?
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