When Cuauhtemoc had asked the gods for a sign of what he should do, he hadn't expected something so firm and obvious, and now he felt foolish for letting a dream make him second guess his own good sense, and Malinali's intentions. She was what the empire needed right now...and what he needed.
The morning sun was well above the bath yard wall, but Malinali remained curled up against his side, her head tucked under his outstretched arm. Today the lords of Tlaxcala were debating and discussing the peace treaty, so he and Malinali were free to do anything they wanted, but after the late feasting and another lovemaking session in the early hours, he thought it best to let her sleep. He was ready to rise, but he didn't want to disturb her and so lay staring up at the sunlit ceiling, working up a plan to convince her to come home with him once this diplomatic mission ended.
You could actually name her your next Cihuacoatl; there isn't any law against it, and she's already convincing people of it. She would make an excellent one. She would need her noble title returned to her; he could confer a noble title on anyone at any time, but it would be better to return Malinali's rightful throne to her. Then she could bring her village into the empire and perhaps convince the neighboring villages to join her. Her mother and stepfather had to be brought to justice for their part in her enslavement.
But he'd also have to convince the Triple Alliance Council that she was the best choice for Tenochtitlan's Cihuacoatl; he could theoretically choose whomever he wanted, but his choice could lose him the support of the Council, so he needed their approval. She's convinced three Tlaxcalan lords—the fourth is beyond convincing of anything positive about her—so certainly she will impress the Council too. He could count on Ixtlil's vote—he'd been the one to suggest it after all—and hopefully he could rely on the other cihuacoatls to help convince the remaining Council members that she was worthy.
Cuauhtemoc drew his arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. She stirred, and when she raised her chin, she slowly smiled. He kissed the top of her head. "Sleep well?"
"Exceedingly." She stretched catlike, splaying her fingers across his chest, sending a desirous shiver through him as he feathered his gaze over her naked body. For a breath he contemplated pulling her back down and making love to her again, but she soon rose and disappeared behind the wooden screens of the bath yard. When she returned, unabashed by her nakedness as she leaned over her wicker clothes chest, he propped himself up on his side. "What if I asked you to really become my next Cihuacoatl?"
She paused, her dress suddenly forgotten in her hand. "Can you do that...I mean appoint a woman?"
"I can appoint whomever I want, and I want you." He left the bed to hug her from behind, and she arched her back against him, hiding her chest behind the dress, a flush to her cheeks that made him smile. "I'll have to convince the Council to accept you, but that's only a minor detail. Once they see you in action, there will be only one question: do you want the position?"
She hesitated—making him fear she was having second thoughts—but then she returned his smile. "You really think I'm the right one?"
He kissed her neck. "It's the title you were destined to hold."
¤
They spent the morning in bed, but after the noon meal, Cuauhtemoc suggested a cool bath to wash away the day's heat before attending a ritual ball game with the other members of their delegation.
Malinali had never been to a Tlachtli match, for Tecuichpo hadn't held any interest in such sports, so Cuauhtemoc spent the first few moments explaining the rules and commenting on the skills of the players. Eventually his attention focused on the game, so she watched for a while as the men below her bounced a maroon rubber ball off their knees and hips, doing their best to avoid fouling by touching it with their hands or feet. They kept trying to bounce it through the stone ring at the top of the wall below the royal box where the Triple Alliance delegation sat, but Malinali eventually tired of the spectacle and turned to talking to Xochitli while her friend kept her cup full of water to stave off the heat.
"I haven't much love for the game myself," Xochitli confided to her when she accompanied her to the bath yard reserved for the game's royal attendees. "My father was an avid watcher and he lost a lot gambling on the games. He owed a great deal to a merchant who supplied the huey tlatoani's featherwork, but he had no need of more slaves so he sold my father's debt to Cuauhtemoc, and that's how I ended up serving in the palace."
"Your father should have been the one working off the debt," Malinali told her as she washed her hands in the bowl of flowered water.
"I'd rather my father remained free to support the family, so my mother and my younger brother don't go hungry. I wish I got to see them more often though; they left Tenochtitlan two years ago."
"They left you behind?"
Xochitli shrugged. "If it keeps my father from gambling, then it's a good move. I know where they are, so I can find them once I've finished paying off the debt."
"I couldn't imagine ever going back to my parents, but then they never intended me to come back."
"What do they matter anyway?" Xochitli dried off Malinali's hands for her. "You have a new family."
Malinali cocked her head, confused. "New family?"
"Cuauhtemoc, I mean." Xochitli glanced around, checking to make certain they were still alone. "It's one thing for a man to fool around with his slaves, but a completely different matter for him to take a free woman to bed. You're going to join his household now, aren't you?"
"We haven't discussed it."
"Perhaps you should bring it up."
Malinali shook her head. "I can't be a concubine, not even to a huey tlatoani. Not that there's anything shameful in being one, but...once I officially take up the mantle of the Cihuacoatl, that would completely undermine my power and influence, not only with the Council, but with the very people I serve. I'm taking a man's position, and no man would tolerate being one of many kept men in a woman's household. If I want to be taken seriously, I can't accept that either."
"Well, then maybe you could marry him—"
"He's already betrothed, and there's no way he would break faith with his best friend over me."
Xochitli nodded sadly. "It's a pity, for his daughter adores you."
Malinali hadn’t thought of Achicatl since the first night's feast, or her promise to speak to Cuauhtemoc about a betrothal. "She is a dear thing," she conceded.
When she returned to her feathered mat in the royal box, she leaned towards Cuauhtemoc. "There's something I need to speak to you about."
"Oh?" He didn’t look away from the game though until she mentioned Achicatl. "What about her?"
"Lady Izel brought up the prospects of a betrothal, between the princess and her son, as part of the peace process. I told her I would discuss it with you."
He didn’t say anything as he turned his gaze back to the ball court where the players were scrambling after a wildly hit ball. "I must admit that I have...mixed feelings about betrothing her to anyone while she’s still so young. Who even knows what kind of man this boy will grow into? If he’s even half as pompous and self-aggrandizing as my brothers were...well, I’ll see him in Mictlan before I allow him to marry my daughter."
Malinali nodded. "Achicatl deserves someone who will treat her well and make her happy."
Cuauhtemoc chuckled. "She wouldn’t tolerate someone who wouldn’t. She's strong-willed and opinionated, and has her own ideas about what she wants and deserves." With a grin, he added, "She reminds me of you."
Malinali's cheeks flushed.
Cuauhtemoc sighed. "I suppose a betrothal would eventually see Achicatl as the Queen of Tlaxcala, and if she's even half as willful as you, that would mean more influence for the Triple Alliance; exactly what we need here in Tlaxcala." He nodded then, after a pause, he added, "I shall speak with Lord Xicotencatl about it when the time is right."
"Lady Izel shall be pleased. She was very excited about the prospect."
"And how exactly did this discussion come up?"
"Well, as women are want to do, she thoroughly questioned me about my own marriage and what happened to my non-existent husband and explaining my lack of children—"
"I'm sorry. I should have anticipated such questions and helped you come up with a cover story."
Malinali shrugged. "It didn't matter. The subject quickly turned to you and your current marital status." When Cuauhtemoc raised an eyebrow, she added, "But don't worry. I informed them that you're already betrothed to King Ixtlilxochitl's sister. That's when Lady Izel mentioned her son and Achicatl, and, well...here we are."
Cuauhtemoc looked contemplative. "I'm sorry all this fell upon you. Normally my wife would negotiate such matters."
"But you haven't one yet, and such arrangements must be made, so don't worry. I don't mind." Malinali accepted a cup of water from Xochitli and turned her attention back to the game as the crowd broke out into cheers and chants when one of the players finally put the ball through the stone ring. She was glad to not be looking at Cuauhtemoc right now, with all the questions in her heart about their future together. But she also hoped that when she finally gained the courage to look back at him again, he would have read the pain in her reaction and would know how to fix it.
But when she looked back, his attention was once again fixated on the game as it got back underway.
¤
When they returned from the Tlachtli match, an invitation to dine with the noblewomen awaited Malinali, but the lords were still deep in debate and were expected to be for much of the night. Xicotencatl's steward extended his lord's apologies and told Cuauhtemoc he was welcome to dine with the city's nobles in the great hall if he wanted for company. But Cuauhtemoc declined and instead went to the archery range, to shoot some arrows and clear his head about his conversation with Malinali that afternoon.
When he'd mentioned her doing a wife's duties, something had flashed in her eyes—a longing, or maybe an annoyance, he couldn't tell; sometimes she became as impenetrable as black smoke, an ability that undoubtedly served her very well when she was a slave. It would be a while still before she trusted him enough to let that barrier between them blow away.
If you took her for your legitimate wife, that would go a long way to accomplishing that. But that was a foolish fancy. He was committed to marrying Ixtlil's sister, had paid the dowry, and the priests had written the wedding date down in the official codices. To back out now would gravely offend his best friend and create a rift between the two most powerful members of the Triple Alliance. Such petty, selfish conflicts would have ended the empire had he not intervened, and he wouldn't make those same mistakes going forward. Even if it cost him his happiness.
His hand was still tender from yesterday's cut, but not so much that he couldn't pull his bow string. He emptied his quiver quickly. One guard jogged over to retrieve the arrows while the other kept watch as Cuauhtemoc mulled over the anxiety churning in his gut, as if something unpleasant was about to happen.
One of his guards clicking his tongue in warning brought Cuauhtemoc's mind leaping back to the moment, but when he looked to where his guard was staring, he saw two boys and their guards come into the yard, both armed with bows and quivers. The second guard closed in around Cuauhtemoc too.
Finally seeing him, one of the boys started but then bowed. "Revered Speaker." The second boy—whom Cuauhtemoc recognized as Nauyotl now that he was closer—followed his friend's example, as did the guards, but the guards didn't let their eyes fall, ever watchful.
Cuauhtemoc inclined his head to them. "You're here to practice too?"
The boys stood straight but didn't meet his gaze—not in the nervous way of slaves but rather in the respectful manner of noblemen. "Yes, My Lord, but we can go if you wish," the taller one said.
The awestruck quake in the boy's voice brought a smile to Cuauhtemoc's face. "Nonsense. Come, show me what you have."
Breaking into an excited grin, the boy hurried forward, drawing an arrow from the deerskin quiver slung over his shoulder. It was much too big for him and he struggled to nock it to his bowstring, but he didn't give up. Cuauhtemoc watched, both amused and impressed as the boy worked the bowstring back, his tongue clamped firmly between his teeth. His arm shook with the effort, and, when he let it go, the arrow went far, but it hit the ground and skittered to a stop well before the target. He frowned, his shoulders sagging.
"Not bad," Cuauhtemoc assured him. "Your bow is much too big for you though."
"It was my grandfather's." The boy hugged the bow possessively.
"And some day you will be big and strong enough to use it. But until then, you'll learn more by using a bow that's the right size for you." To the guards, he asked, "Can one of you get him a better-sized bow?"
The two guards cast their glances towards the armory, and after a whispered conference, Nauyotl's guard went to fetch the new bow.
While they waited, Cuauhtemoc motioned to Nauyotl. "Let's see what you can do."
Nauyotl said nothing but he obliged, nocking an arrow to his bow—better suited to his size—and fired off a shot. He wasn't as strong as the other boy, and the arrow fell well short of the target. He didn't seem to care though, and he barely acknowledged Cuauhtemoc's compliment.
The other boy scrutinized Cuauhtemoc's bow. "Was that your grandfather's?"
"It was my father's. Like you, I was eager to use it right away but I was much too small. I still remember the first time I was finally strong enough to pull back the string all the way. I felt so very proud."
"My father tells me I shouldn't use my grandfather's bow yet," the boy admitted, tracing a circle in the dirt with the toe of his sandal. "He says I'll hurt myself with it."
"Your father is wise."
"He taught me to shoot. Did your father teach you too?"
Cuauhtemoc's smile slid off his face before he could stop it. "I wish he had, but he fell sick when I was very, very young, and he could no longer pull a bowstring himself. I learned archery at the House of Warriors."
"I want to go to the House of Warriors, but Father says I must go to the calmecac instead." The boy fell silent a moment then asked, "Your father was Huey Tlatoani Ahuitzotl, wasn't he?" When Cuauhtemoc nodded, he added, "My grandfather disliked him, but my father says he was really good in war, and very fierce."
"He was," Cuauhtemoc agreed.
"He thinks you're very fierce too. Father says that one is better served by respecting their enemy's abilities than denigrating them, so you're never caught unaware." He spoke the words as if they were something he'd been made to memorize.
A grin quirked at Cuauhtemoc's mouth. "May I ask who your father is?"
The boy stood straighter, proud. "He's Lord of Tlaxcala."
"Oh? And what is your name?"
"Xicotencatl, of course. Same as my father and my grandfather before him."
So this was the boy Lady Izel wanted to betroth to Achicatl. By all appearances, Xicotencatl had raised a respectful, intelligent boy, and Cuauhtemoc rather liked him. To Nauyotl, he said, "And you're Acxotecatl's boy."
Nauyotl glanced sharply at him, looking far more like his father. He doubted Acxotecatl ever spoke positively to his son about him.
To the unspoken question in Nauyotl's eyes, Cuauhtemoc answered, "I know your mother."
The guard finally returned with a proper bow and arrow set and Cuauhtemoc spent the next hour watching the boys shoot, complimenting them on their targeting and showing them how to keep a steady hand. Over the course of the hour, Nauyotl warmed up to him, and by the time they all left at sunset, he'd turned into a chattering parrot, laughing and shouting when the younger Xicotencatl finally hit the target. It seemed that his father hadn't completely crushed Malinali's influence, and perhaps, with the right environment—away from his father—he could grow up into a fine young man.
¤
Malinali tried to put aside the thoughts of marriages and families that she'd never have, but as soon as she entered the women's hall for the feast, Lady Izel said, "I was thinking about what you said the other night, about no one wanting an older woman for a wife, and I've found a solution."
Swallowing hard, Malinali asked, "Oh?"
"I can't believe I didn't think of this before, because it would be perfect." Lady Izel sat down and waited for Malinali to join her. "My brother Ohtli recently left the priesthood and he's looking to make a marriage."
"He was a priest?" Malinali held back the bile rising in her throat as she imagined his ears notched so they resembled flowers, and his long hair matted from rubbing sacrificial blood in it, as priests were wont to do. She'd also heard they mutilated their tepollis with thorns and flint knives, to prove their devotion. She had only ever stood close to a priest once—the one whom Acxotecatl gave her to—and she wouldn't soon forget his repugnant smell.
Perhaps sensing the direction of her thoughts, Lady Izel said, "Oh, don't worry, he was never particularly fervent in his devotion. He only went into the priesthood because my father had too many legitimate sons and too few honors to bestow upon them, so as the youngest, the only way Ohtli could bring honor on the family was to go into the priesthood. But now that my father has passed on, Ohtli wants to be his own man. He's not anyone of consequence, even within our family, but he wants only a few children, which isn't an unreasonable burden for women our age. And he's attractive; between you and me, he's the most handsome of my brothers."
Malinali put on a carefully-crafted smile. "I appreciate you thinking of me, and I'll keep him in mind once I've officially taken over the Cihuacoatl's duties. I'll be much too distracted until then to give the necessary attention to such matters."
"Of course. Ohtli is traveling anyway, and I don't expect him back for the remainder of the month." At least there wouldn't be any pressure to rush to a betrothal.
Malinali wondered if she should mention any of this to Cuauhtemoc, but when she returned to her quarters and he greeted her with a passionate embrace, she didn't have the heart to do it.
"I spent the evening with Nauyotl in the archery range," he told her once they parted to catch their breaths. "He and Xicotencatl's son came there to practice, and I got to talk to both of them."
Malinali's heart paused in her chest. "You did?"
He nodded. "He's shy at first, but once you get to know him...you would adore him."
"I'm sure I would." Her voice broke.
He gripped her hand tightly in his. "I wish I could undo the injustice Acxotecatl committed, that I could return Nauyotl to you, but we both know that any attempts to take him from his father will be interpreted as an act of war."
She bowed her head, not wanting him to see how close to tears she was. "I know."
"But that doesn't mean you have to let him go completely." When she met his gaze again, he smiled. "These treaties are usually sealed with marriages and promises of educating children, so we insist that Nauyotl come to Tenochtitlan to study in our House of Warriors. It will be a few more years before he's old enough, but once he's there, you'll get to see him often, and with time, perhaps you can build a relationship with him. And once he's grown enough to understand, maybe we can tell him the truth. At the very least, it's a start."
She smiled back, tears clouding her eyes. "It is indeed," she murmured, then pulled him into another kiss.
¤
For three days, Malinali neither saw nor heard anything from the lords of Tlaxcala, which made her simultaneously nervous and relieved; it meant the treaty was undergoing strenuous debate, but at least she wouldn't run into Acxotecatl on her way to the atrium where the lords' wives gathered each day. A few times scribes brought questions or negotiations, and she and Cuauhtemoc discussed the revisions, but they spent most of the time waiting, so much so that Malinali found it difficult to sleep, and not because Cuauhtemoc considered lovemaking the perfect ending course to every feast.
She begged off his invitation to while away yet another afternoon watching a ritual ball game and instead stayed behind to catch up on some much-needed sleep. She told Tenoch to not let anyone but Cuauhtemoc disturb her—though she told him to inform the huey tlatoani that if it wasn't treaty-related business, she needed the sleep—then she lay down, letting her mind slowly drift away. It felt good to finally let go of the day's worries and melt out of consciousness.
But the mat shifting next to her drew her out of the depths of slumber. Cuauhtemoc was back already? She felt as if she'd only just fallen asleep. She blinked her blurry eyes as she reached out and stroked his arm. "How was the game, my love?"
But when someone put a hand over her mouth, pressing her head down against the bed, she struggled, panic snapping her brain awake. Acxotecatl grinned at her, pinning her chest down with his forearm. "The game was very entertaining, My Lady, but I suppose that question was intended for that Mexica dog that's been mounting you like his bitch all week."
How in Mictlan did he get in here? Though when he showed her the cruel blade of an obsidian knife, terrified tears clouded her eyes. He killed Tenoch!
Acxotecatl traced the edge of the blade across her cheek, above his hand, mirroring the scar on his own face. "I've been waiting days for this moment," he growled. "Oh, but don't fear. I'm not going to kill you; it would be stupid to do so at this point, for even as much as you deserve to die, it will foment war between Tlaxcala and the Triple Alliance, and even I'm not so foolish to believe Tlaxcala could win that. But you will pay for scarring my face; oh, yes, you will, My Lady. You see, I've come into some information about you that Cuauhtemoc will find very interesting, and when the time is right, I'll release it and watch as all these screens of smoke you've built blow away, leaving you completely vulnerable. And then you're mine. Trust me, it won't be a quick end for you. Maybe I'll use you for an archery target, or perhaps I'll have the priest of Xipe Totec walk me through how he skins the sacrifices to ensure the crops grow."
Malinali swallowed back bile. For all his invalid appearance and his limping gait, she hadn't expected the strength apparent as he held her down. Nor had she expected such murderous rage in his eyes. This wasn't a man who knew how to let go of the past; he would plunge that knife into her throat at this very moment if he thought he could get away with it.
"But only when the time is right." Acxotecatl tucked the knife away. "When you have the most to lose, then I shall take it all away, starting with your happiness and ending with your life." To her astonishment, he removed his hand from her mouth.
"I could scream right now." Her hoarse voice broke with the threat of sobs.
"But you won't," he said with a snake-like smile. "For then that peace you and Cuauhtemoc have worked so hard to achieve will flitter away; the huey tlatoani's accord has been accepted, and for the first time since the founding of Tenochtitlan, the Mexica and the Tlaxcalans are at peace. But if you scream, that flies out the window as my fellow lords jump to defend my killing you and war breaks out and thousands die, on both sides, all over one insignificant little woman who couldn't do what was best for her people." He ran a finger over her lips, but when she jerked away from him, he grabbed her cheeks and squeezed. "I could have you again, as I used to, but then all your moaning would rouse that guard of yours, wouldn't it? Then you'd have a time explaining to Cuauhtemoc why you moan louder for me than you do for him." He shoved her down hard but said no more as he disappeared out into the bath yard.
She watched him go for a few rapid breaths before bolting after him.
He was gone.
She dashed around the bath yard, yanking aside the trailing vines covering the walls, searching for a secret doorway that Tenoch had missed during his initial security sweep. Eventually she found it—though the vines were so thick and heavy that she nearly missed it too; the arch opened into a narrow passage big enough for a single person, and when she poked her head in, she saw the tail of Acxotecatl's cape disappear around the corner.
Dear gods, he's been spying on me this whole time! He probably sat here in the bath yard and watched me and Cuauhtemoc—
She backed away from the vines, trembling. He said he has something on me that will ruin everything. Could he mean my affair with Cuauhtemoc? That was hardly scandalous enough, nor could it possibly ruin Cuauhtemoc's trust in her—
"The potion!" She rushed back into the room and ripped the blankets off the bed. When she lifted up the reed mat, she fell to her knees, her heart hammering in her ears.
Her medicine bag was gone.