Jinaari stared at her, his fork halfway to his mouth. “I suppose I deserve that,” he said, smiling.
Thia closed her eyes for a moment as relief flooded through her. “It really is you,” she said as she looked at him.
He put his plate down on the bench. “I thought we settled that.”
“Samil messed with both of us, Jinaari. I know it was you, out there,” she gestured to the window, “and I wanted to believe it was you when I came in here when I was done. But I couldn’t be certain until I asked you that question, heard your response.”
“What’d he do to you?”
Her heart broke when she saw the flash of anger on his face. “Nothing I couldn’t, and didn’t, handle. At one point, I asked him that question. His reaction was what told me it wasn’t you.” She raised her hand to her jaw. “I don’t know what I expected your reaction to seeing me would be, but this wasn’t it.”
She saw him trace a healing sigil with one hand as the other touched her. A warm, gentle sensation danced across her face as his magic took away the bruising. “I wasn’t thinking right,” he said, his voice low. “I had convinced myself it was another one of his tricks.”
Reaching up, she placed one hand on his. “I know,” she said. “I saw it in your face when I walked in. That’s why I didn’t try and stop you.”
“You should’ve.”
“I’ve seen you angry before, Jinaari. I’ve seen the fear on the face of your opponents in battle. I am not now, nor will I ever be, afraid of you.” Her cheeks grew red as she reached out and tentatively caressed his cheek. “You’re stronger than I was when Lolc Aon had me. But I was there less than a day. Samil had you for over a week. I came close to killing you, and part of myself, today. You asked me to do it. I don’t want to wake up three months from now and discover things aren’t right with you.” She looked down at her hands, taking a deep breath. “Things are different since the scepter chose me, more so than when you told me I was Marked. I don’t want what happens out there to affect the trust you and I have. You told me I needed to talk about what happened to keep the memories from tearing me up from the inside. I need to know that’s not happening to you.” She raised her head and looked at him again.
“You’ve changed,” he said, his voice low.
“I had to. The arrogant prick that normally tells us what to do was doing other things.” She smiled at him, then said, “Talk to me, Jinaari. We trust each other, right? What did you say to me once? Hide from the world but not from you? Don’t hide from me. Please.”
“Samil let me know early on who he was, what he was,” Jinaari began to speak. “I remembered the name from a book I found in Adam’s tower, but it listed him as dead. My trust in Adam was shaken already. Samil being alive didn’t help that.”
“Because of why Adam was sent from Helmshouse to begin with?”
“He told you?”
“Yes. After he explained why you weren’t with them.”
Jinaari nodded. “I didn’t know until we got to his tower. Once he told me everything, I made him swear to tell you. I couldn’t afford not to trust him, but it bothered me— it still does—that he never said anything.
“The first illusion I encountered was an old hunting lodge of my grandfather’s. Alesso was there. We fought, and he accused me of killing his sister. Later, he came to my room and asked that I hear his confession. He brought my sword with him, and some glasses that would help me see past Samil’s illusions, get out of there. It was an oubliette. I climbed out, left him behind.”
“What happened to him?” Thia asked.
He shrugged. “I’m not certain. He was convinced he’d be killed by Stijyn in the morning, once it was discovered he’d given me my sword and a way out. If it was even Alesso.”
“You think it was an illusion? Adam said he saw him, too.”
“I really don’t know any more. Samil’s damn good. With my sword being what it is, it’s possible it wasn’t taken like my armor was. It may have been hidden from me, though. Alesso could’ve been another illusion, the entire fight and confession another trick of Samil’s.” He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “When I got out of the oubliette, I thought I was near the cave where I’d been captured. I knew you’d talk Adam into bringing you back there. I started to search for it, for the three of you.”
“I was rather adamant, yes,” she giggled. “We went the next day, after court and all of that happened. Never saw the real you, though.”
“You didn’t find me because I’d never escaped. I went to sleep, exhausted, only to wake up back in the lodge. He did this several times, with different locations. The Green Frog, your cloister, the abandoned inn we stayed at in Tanisal. Even my chapterhouse in Dragonspire and here in Cirrain. He tried impersonating you a few times, but I’d always figure it out. Same with Adam and Caelynn. By the time he pulled me out of my cage and brought me out to see you, I wasn’t sure what was real.”
Her heart broke as he lowered his head. “What changed that?”
He raised his head and she saw the trust in his eyes. “When you said the same thing I told you, after I’d coaxed what Lolc Aon did out of you. No one else would know those words.”
Thia looked around the room. “You managed to tear this apart, though. Drakkus said you thought it was an illusion. If you believed it was me outside, why the change when you got here?”
“I thought I was going to die. I was ready for that. It was honorable, and necessary. Before it happened, though, I was here. I didn’t know Adam could transport me that way, or you could create duplicates. I thought Samil had done something to prevent you from giving me the death I wanted. To torment you, force you to agree to his terms. It didn’t occur to me that you were behind it. After I chased the paladins out, I remembered you telling me you’d left your medallion here. If I found it, I’d know it was your room. That everything Drakkus had said was true. Only I didn’t find it.”
She coughed. “Top drawer of the workbench, on the left, buried behind a pile of rags and scraps.”
He glanced at the area, then looked back at her. “I believe you. I saw the rags but gave up on that drawer. It’s a good spot.”
“You know this is real, then? I can ask Lukas where they’re holding Samil, take you to him if you want.”
“Only if you want me to kill him.”
She sighed. “I’m trying to avoid more death.”
“Is that why you gave my mother an ultimatum?”
“Yes,” she said. “There are two armies out there, full of innocent men and women. Some are here because they believe in the person leading them, others because they were told to march. I want them all to go home, be with their families instead of out there, freezing.” She reached out, taking one of his hands in hers. “I don’t want to be a queen. It took me how long to even be remotely comfortable with the Mark I have? Agrana brought this war to me, here. All I wanted was to get you back, alive, and now I’ve got people giving me titles and bowing to me. And I didn’t have the one person I needed to remind me that I’m strong enough to endure it all.”
“It’s that stubbornness of yours,” he said, smiling. Standing up, he walked to the table near the door. “By the way, this is yours.” He walked back to her, holding out a small tube.
“What is it?” she asked, taking it as she rose.
“Open it.”
She undid the end, pulling out a parchment. Unrolling it, she gasped with amazement. “It’s the rubbing of Papa’s gravestone.”
Jinaari nodded. “Donovan dropped it off when he and Lukas brought in the food.” He walked closer to her. Reaching out, he brushed one hand across her jaw. “I’m sorry for that.”
Her hand covered his. “I know. But it’s one of the reasons I have to know you’re okay.”
“I’m good, Thia. If anything changes, I’ll tell you. So, what’s next?”
Scrunching up her face, she said, “You need a bath. After that, some rest. More food. Later tonight, a court. Tomil and Elizabeth both want to publicly pledge fealty to me, make it known they back the woman who carries the Scepter of Avoch. The shield is yours and has been for years. You have a claim that’s equal to mine. If I’m going to do this, I need you at my side. The Scepter is nothing without the Shield to protect it.”
“And the crown? Who wears that if she surrenders it?”
Thia smiled. “I have an idea.”
He arched one eyebrow. “What sort of scheme are you up to?”
“I don’t scheme!” she said in protest.
His arms wrapped around her waist. “What you did out there,” he said, “was a scheme. You somehow thought of a way to take away Samil’s bargaining chip, keep me alive, send Lolc Aon back to Nannan, neutralize and imprison a master illusionist and trained warlock, and give my mother an ultimatum that she knows she has to answer. That, my stubborn witch, is a scheme I’m not even sure Adam could pull off.”
“I did have to show him what I meant by a duplicate, explain what I was thinking of doing, a few times for him to understand,” she said, returning his embrace.
His dark eyes grew wide with surprise. “You came up with it without his input?” Laughing, he said, “Please tell me you managed to make him feel at least a little awestruck. He’s always been proud of doing most of the thinking. Having someone outsmart him like that would’ve been priceless to see.”
“I admit, it did feel nice to watch his face when he understood everything. I think he was resigned that we wouldn’t get you back without a fight. That we could work together to trick Samil, someone he trained, appealed to him.” She wrinkled her nose and gently pushed him away. “Go bathe. Use mine so you don’t have to answer questions from Drakkus. Your pack’s there,” she pointed to the end of the bench, “and has some clean stuff in it. I hope. The Shield needs to be as presentable at court as the Scepter if we’re to make anyone believe we’re united to do what we must for Avoch.”
He leered at her. “Care to scrub my back?”
Her cheeks grew warm. “I’ve got a mess in here to clean up,” she said. Turning him around, she pushed him toward the bath chamber.
Glancing over his shoulder, he pointed to her flushed face. “Nice to know not everything about you has changed.”
Diving for the bed, she grabbed a pillow, but he’d darted through the door and closed it before she could hit him.
Thia sat on the edge of the bed, hugging the pillow. We did it. We got him back. Now to convince Agrana to abdicate without a fight. Looking around, she sighed. Jinaari had dumped the entire content of some drawers onto the floor, as well as pulled out most, if not all, of the clothing in the chest. Putting the pillow back, she rose and began to put her belongings away.
As she placed the blue silk cloak back where it belonged on a hook next to her gray dress, she heard Jinaari’s footsteps behind her. Turning around, her heart skipped a beat as he leaned down, touching his forehead to hers. “Better?” he whispered.
“Better,” she said as she returned his kiss.