Airlean Tales S2E26: Truthseeker (2)

Xiph walked alone to the embassy villa.

She must have cut quite a ridiculous figure in the dead of night—small and scrawny, no impressive retinue, no glorious ensemble, just an ordinary-looking girl taking a highly questionable midnight stroll.

There were a few Warmongers on the outskirts of the embassy on patrol, but not many. Some warrior presence meant safety; too many warriors meant fear. Xiph always dispatched just the right amount to make the area feel guarded, but not like a prison. Meaning that if someone gave an honest-to-gods attempt to mug her, they probably would succeed…

Well, if not for Her.

Still, Xiph heard no footprints and detected no one stalking her steps, so she continued strutting with utter confidence. Much more confidence than she felt, at least. Her knees felt weak enough to melt into a puddle beneath her. The only thing holding her bones together was the grim, raw necessity of the situation.

“Xiph?” came a butter-smooth, horribly familiar voice the moment she stepped through the villa’s gates.

Sethis was outside. Of course he was. Couldn’t even give her the dignity of a moment to gather herself before knocking on the door. His hair was damp and lightly slicked off to the side in a devastatingly handsome way, a loose peasant shirt draped over broad shoulders, the neckline dipping below a hint of collarbone. Oh, gods, he’d probably just bathed and was settling in for the night.

“Xiph,” Sethis repeated, brow twitching downward in concern. “Are you alright? Do you need to sit down?”

Are you alright. Not, you left me without warning at the tower. You’re a lunatic. You shouldn’t be here, it’s far too late.

She nearly choked on a sudden prickle of embarrassing tears. He was much too thoughtful.

Noticing her silent stare, he glanced down, and his expression dawned slightly.

“Ah.” He reached to where his blue cloak was swung over a stool and promptly fastened it over his shoulders. “I did not realize—I apologize if the state of undress made you uncomfortable.”

“But I was enjoying the view,” her mouth said.

His fingers froze where they were knotting the cloak.

Hells! She needed to bite her tongue off! “Of the—blossoming flowers! Ah, spring, what a great season. Just got distracted for a second. Sorry.”

“I…I see.”

Exactly one second of silence followed, and it was one second too long. Firmly repeating her mission in mind—recruit the bodyguard, get the prince, test the light—she started to babble. “So. Pretty boy. Good lad. I’m sorry for bailing on you earlier.”

“The event had concluded. There was no reason for you to tarry.”

Again, graciously granting her excuses! “Still, it was rude of me to leave so suddenly.”

“Please, be at ease. There is nothing to apologize for.”

He looked so stiff, so wary. Like she was going to draw her spear and stab him right there. It made the guilt churn even harder in the pit of her stomach, because she was the cause. She had panicked. Thrown up a wall where that small, fragile line of trust and vulnerability had been blossoming between them.

“If that was troubling you, let it no longer,” Sethis said, and Xiph realized she’d been quiet for too long. He nodded in polite dismissal. “I bid you good night, senator.”

He was turning, stepping back inside, no, he couldn’t—

“Walk with me?” Xiph blurted.

His steps hesitated on the threshold, and she stumbled over her words in her haste.

“It’s a lovely night. The flowers are in bloom. I mean, not that we have many flowers. They’re mostly in your villa’s garden, actually, since landwalkers seem to love flowers so much more than us. But still, they should be blooming, technically.”

Sethis turned and stared at her as if she had grown another head. Suddenly his cheeks pinkened, and he strode to her with a hint of urgency, his voice low.

“Er, Senator Xiph,” he said, “I’m sure you didn’t know, but…in Airlea, that specific verbiage, inviting an evening stroll using blooming flowers as imagery, is often used for…less than savory purposes.”

“Less than savory?” She frowned. “Like…asking to kill people?”

He looked flabbergasted. “What? No!”

“Well, you know, blooming flowers, time is right, time to pluck people.”

“That’s…not the correct context at all.” He chuckled a little. “It’s often used among the gentry for a lover propositioning for the night.”

She nearly spluttered as heat suddenly rushed into her cheeks. “What—no—I mean—”

“I—of course I knew that was not your intention—”

“Then why did you tell me, pretty boy? Just to humiliate me?”

“No! No, I just thought—perhaps it’s best to know, so that this incident does not occur with a different member of the delegation—”

“Like I’ll be waltzing door to door, offering any old coot a stroll in the moonlight to smell the flowers?!”

“I—hardly meant to imply—”

He stared at her helplessly, then, inexplicably, burst into sudden laughter. The sound was warm and sweet as taffy, and pulled a smile from Xiph before she knew it.

“What is it?” she asked, bewildered.

“Nothing. Not really anything, at least.” His humor faded a little, but there was still a sparkle in his eye as he looked at her. “I’ve never felt so out of my depth while simply conversing. You are a curiosity, Xiph.”

Oh, that was not good. The tender sound of her name from his lips combined with the light in his gaze and his rakish good looks—her heart fluttered hard, and she wanted to run away. Immediately. But she couldn’t, because she had already done that, and she needed him to come see Rathos.

No, wait, she needed the prince, and to get the prince, she needed Sethis Squared on her side.

“I, I’m glad that I amuse you,” she stammered, trying desperately to find her footing.

Sethis’s smile faded. “So long as you know that I do not see you as a jester or entertainer.”

He was putting her in a full tailspin and she didn’t know what to do. “Oh. Oh, alright.”

“The way you see the world is clearly very different from my own perspective. It is refreshing and fascinating, and I’d like to learn more from you. That’s all.”

How could he say those things with such an earnest, straight face, like he meant every word? How could he mean every word? He couldn’t, clearly. It was more likely to be an elaborate setup where he pulled the rug from under her one day, laughing at her naïveté. No one could truly care for someone like her. Not once they knew the truth.

She blurted: “There’s something you should know. Something that I’ve been hiding from you.”

Just like that, all warmth and life was sucked out of the air, as if a blizzard had suddenly kicked in from the north. The first emotion that passed over his face, quick as a fleeting bird’s wing, was surprise. Then it settled into wariness—a polite, distant caution.

Even that made her squirm. But she knew it would get worse.

“I’m sure that you could sense it,” she said. “That there’s something we’ve neglected to tell you. No, hidden from you.” Her lips felt dry. She wet them nervously. “If you…if you can convince the prince to come with me, I’ll show both of you in person. I’ll explain it all. Tonight.”

He stared at her for a long moment. His eyes were the clearest, most piercing shade, somewhere between green and blue, between the ocean and the sky.

“You said you would hide nothing more from me,” was all he said. No sharpness, no aggression. Matter-of-fact.

Xiph flinched. She hadn’t used those words exactly, even after Karis Caelute had been tossed into a duel to the death in an Atlantean fighting ring without warning. She’d technically promised to inform him of any vital cultural customs. But she knew what Sethis meant. He had trusted her. She was already testing that trust.

She withheld the urge to lace her fingers behind her back like a guilty child. “I’m sorry. Even though…that doesn’t mean much, I know.”

“Is this the last of the secrets?”

Xiph opened her mouth, thought about it, and closed it. She surreptitiously wiped sweaty palms on her tunic.

“I’ll try to make it so,” she said.

Oh, gods. She had just sealed her fate. The Airleans were all bound to leave in the morrow.

“I am puzzled what could have changed your mind in a few hours.” Sethis was still watching her carefully. “You had every opportunity to divulge information in the tower. And arguably more privacy. Yet you left without further conversation. What brought you back tonight?”

A quick excuse was already on the tip of Xiph’s tongue, but she bit it down. Sethis was right. And if she lied to him now—even something seen as a harmless white lie—it would shatter whatever was left between them.

“I wasn’t going to tell you anything, at first,” she admitted. “Not so soon. But there’s—there’s been a complication, and we might not have much time. Will you convince the prince?”

His expression closed even further. Xiph hadn’t thought it possible, but now she knew it was; he didn’t turn cold or angry, like others might, but his face was so distantly, perfectly polite that he felt a thousand leagues away.

“What do you need the prince for that could not be conveyed with a simple message?” he said.

Xiph was hot and cold inside all at once. Did he suspect her for asking after the prince? Did he think that she was trying to strike down his liege? He was the Captain of the Guard. Of course he would worry about the prince’s safety.

“I don’t intend to harm him,” she said, trying to sound placating. It wasn’t her best tone. “We just want…” To see if he can manifest Excalibur and strike down the miasma. She couldn’t say that. But she also couldn’t afford to lie. “We want to see if he can help us. And if we can help him.”

Sethis’s face did not shift. “Something you need Airlean royal blood for. The cleansing power of Excalibur, perhaps? Was that why you were fishing for Excalibur’s whereabouts?”

Ah, damn. Truly, Sethis’s mind was wasted as a knight.

Xiph said nothing, but her reaction alone must have answered his question, because Sethis’s face suddenly softened. “I will go,” he said, determined. “But you’ll have to wait a moment for Captain Lilian to finish her bath and attend as well. I cannot go alone.”

“But the prince…”

“I will go,” he repeated.

Xiph bit her tongue to stop a weary sigh. Fine. Sethis would have to report back to his liege before the coward could be convinced to take a step out of his cradle. So be it. Perhaps he would finally act once he saw the urgency of the situation.

“We’ll wait for Captain Lilian,” she agreed. After a moment: “Thank you, captain. I appreciate everything you’re doing to try to lend us aid.”

“I’ve done nothing yet.” His gaze was far away, the all-too familiar look of a leader with a thousand things on his mind. “But I will do what I can. That much I can promise.”

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