Beneath the Veil Read online

  I was so happy to see him, I didn't even get angry. "I know."

  He looked around, then pulled me into the darkness of an alley. "This is dangerous."

  "No more for you than for me."

  He nodded and kissed me again. "By the Arrow, I'm glad to see you. It's been a hellish few weeks."

  "Are you all right? And Dae?"

  "I'm fine. She's fine, though the burden of her pregnancy is starting to get to her. She says she doesn't get tired more easily, but I think she's lying. She entered Alyria three days ago with about eight men who were dancing to her every whim. I got word she's taken herself to the hidden bath house."

  "She'll find a lot of company there." I leaned into his warmth. "I missed you."

  We took to the streets and made it home before dawn. Galya grumbled sleepily when we came back into the room, but when her eyes fluttered open and she saw Lir, she sat up.

  "Where's Dae?"

  "In the hidden bathhouse," Lir told her, and Galya didn't even wait to hear anymore before she was up and dressed. Her kedalya fell in a puddled length around her feet, and she snorted with frustration as she tugged it off and tossed it at me. "Here. Yours."

  "It will be hours before you're allowed on the streets," I pointed out.

  She shrugged and tugged her follyblanket over her head. "I want to get to Daelyn. I'll find a way."

  "She will, too," Lir remarked when Galya had gone from the room.

  Then we were alone, and we used our time wisely.

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  "The coronation's in two days." Daelyn addressed the bathhouse, which was filled to overflowing. The bath had been drained to provide a place for the men from Elitan to train and sleep, and the furniture removed. "The ceremony's going to take place in the ballroom, with invited guests only. The rest of the city's going to have to stand outside and wait for the announcement it's been done – if any of them care."

  Dae gave a wicked grin. "Something tells me those who didn't get an invitation from the Lord Regent are not going to be waiting with bated breath for him to get his crown."

  She paced the tile floor. She'd chosen to clothe herself in a tunic and trousers while in Alyria, but still wore her bulging belly with pride. She'd tied her hair back from her face with a ribbon that was a far cry from the circlet of gold on her head the first time I'd seen her. Had that only been a year ago?

  She continued. "Rosten will take his throne just after the first course of dinner has been served. Give them time to drink some wine. Move among them, hidden, and when Rosten stands to take the crown from Sinder's high priest, we'll strike."

  "How many men will he have there?" called out one man.

  "Our sources say he'll have most of his men stationed around the edge of the city in preparation for our attack." She gave a low chortle. "The others, the ones he trusts most, will be covering the doors in and out of the White Palace. Closest to him will be his lords and inner core of guards, the ones who attend him wherever he goes. They're also the ones who are of a mind with him, and will fight the hardest. Keep that in mind. When we've done here, we'll dispatch a messenger to the rest of the army to tell them to stand down."

  "And if they won't?" called another man.

  Daelyn took the time to cross to him and meet his gaze, though she stood a good four inches shorter. "If they don't, we'll have to be ready for them. But I think they will. Every account has it that most of Rosten's forces would be only too happy to be retired with a pocketful of gold for their services, which is what I'll give them if they lay down their arms. Without Rosten to threaten them, I do believe a good number of them will stand down. But if they don't, I'm willing to fight them."

  There was much rumbling and muttering at that, which Daelyn bore with a grace and patience I was unaccustomed to seeing. Finally, she held up her hands to address the crowd again. "If you are here today, it's because you don't believe in oppression. Those of you from Elitan can choose to go home now, back to your queen who rules you all with grace and compassion, regardless of your gender. Those of you who are Alyrian can choose to leave the place of your birth and find a new life elsewhere. I choose to fight. I would rather die than see Joffsen Rosten rule this country."

  It seemed as though every eye in the room had turned to her belly. One young Alyrian woman got to her feet. "What about the children?"

  Daelyn looked down at her. "We'll bring them to the bathhouses. They'll be safe until the battle is finished."

  The young woman nodded and seemed pleased. Daelyn addressed the crowd again.

  "If there are any of you who wish to leave, do so now. Otherwise, we have two days to prepare ourselves."

  Nobody left. Daelyn nodded. "Good. Let's get started."

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  There hadn't been a coronation in Alyria since Daelyn's, and that had been a simple ceremony with little fanfare to name dead King Harrigan's last child Prince Regent. It seemed Rosten planned something a little more exciting. Daelyn and I watched from across the street as wagons full of produce and meats arrived from the warehouse district. The White Palace swarmed with activity. Daelyn spotted her personal tailor, arms overflowing with bags of fabric, stagger through the front gates.

  "Bastard," Dae muttered. "New clothes for his party, I see."

  "Hey, you follies. Move along!" called out one of the guards, and we had no choice but to comply.

  "You couldn't have paid him enough gold coin to appear fashionable," Dae said later, when we were in the hidden bathhouse going over the tactical plans. She swiped at her hair, which wasn't quite long enough to braid and consequently kept falling in her face. "Now all at once he's using my tailor – mine! To outfit him. What a bastard."

  "Don't get yourself so worked up," Galya soothed. "He's not worth the anger."

  Daelyn's fists clenched. "I want him out of my house!"

  Galya and I exchanged looks. Daelyn's outrage wasn't humorous, but we still shared a quick grin. Much may have changed, but Daelyn certainly hadn't.

  "I should think what Rosten wears would be the least of your worries," Lir put in. He handed me a lightweight sword I recognized as one from the weaponry.

  "How...?" I began to ask, then stopped. It only mattered that I had a weapon, not how he came by it. "Are there others?"

  From behind Lir stepped a familiar small figure. "I brung others, my lord."

  "Ichabod," I greeted the boy, then couldn't stop myself from hugging him. "It's good to see you."

  Ichabod suffered my embrace and gave Lir a look. "You was right, my lord. He is a lady now."

  I bit my lip to hold back the smile, then knelt and looked him in the eyes. "I'm still the same Aeris, Ichabod."

  He nodded shyly and reached to touch the ragged edges of my shorn hair. "I seen what the Book Monster did to you, sir. I brung the weapons here for you to use against him tomorrow. Me and some of the other boys, sir...we don't like the way he treats people. There's an old folly in the kitchen, sir, and she always makes sure us boys get somewhat to eat, even if we've missed our supper. Rosten had her beat, sir. She was bloody." His small voice broke, and he squared his shoulders with a visible effort. "She was my folly, sir. She was nice to me. He can't keep doing stuff like that to people, sir."

  "You're right, Ichabod. And I'm very proud of you for seeing that. I'm sorry he hurt your friend." I gave his shoulders a squeeze but refrained from hugging him again. "You know you'll have to stay here from now until after this is over, don't you? You can't risk going back and having anyone find out you stole the weapons."

  He made a stubborn face. "I can fight! We been practicing, even with Lord Akean gone, we been working hard!"

  Lir and I exchanged glances over Ichabod's head. "I'm sure you have. But someone has to...someone has to supervise things here. We need a few good, strong, older boys to make sure the younger children and the women who will be watching them are safe."

  He didn't look convinced. "You want us to watch over babies?"