13. Marius

Chapter 13

Marius

T ahlia kissed him back, then smiled as he helped her off the stage.

He shook his head as they made their way back to Eyebrows. "Torturous nonsense."

"Interesting way to say fun, " Tahlia whispered.

"Well done, you two," the guard captain with the generous eyebrows said. "Now, fill in the gaps as the parade comes to a close."

Perfect. Now they had the freedom to move about without eliciting too much unwanted attention.

"Watch for overly aggressive participants when the throwing begins," the captain added.

"Aye," Marius said, feigning obedience. It wasn't a lie to simply agree, but his heart knew they wouldn't be doing as ordered so the word still tasted like deceit—a sharp bitterness at the back of his tongue and a branching pain through his temples.

He led Tahlia through the crowd, past several docks. The sea beyond the bay was gray and it chewed at the rocky crescent that protected the docked boats and anchored ships. Following his mental map of the city, he hurried Tahlia along until they were back on the main south road, right in front of the fortress. The crowd was shoulder to shoulder, and their pace slowed to a near crawl.

The sky cracked, and it wasn't lightning. Fireblooms, fireworks, some called them. Sparks like dragon fire bloomed over the city in an array of gold, black, blue, and red. The people crowed and howled like forest creatures and the madness began.

Tomatoes. Everywhere.

Tahlia snagged a tomato from the air and tossed the half-squished thing at a random human.

"Guard," Marius growled at Tahlia, a fierce protectiveness crashing through his Fae blood. Humans could twist into monsters at a moment's notice.

The human female Tahlia had hit with the tomato turned and laughed, lugging one back at Tahlia. Fine. She seemed so happy to be involved in the chaos, but truly, they didn't have time for this. They needed to get into the fortress before the two humans who'd agreed to work with them were traded out for the new shift.

But Tahlia's laugh and her dancing eyes made it impossible for him to pull her along or complain. Though she was covered in red juice and pieces of tomato, she was so damn beautiful. He did miss seeing her Fae fangs though since they were cloaked by the Witch's potion.

With a yelp, she slipped. He shot his arm out without thinking, and he caught her, then pulled her close. Her damp uniform did little to hide her blessed curves.

"Careful, little salty. You might tempt me to ignore all of humankind just to drag you into an alcove and have my way with you."

"I wish you were truly tempted!" She laughed into his chest, then looked up at him with those lovely eyes of hers.

Even though the glamour cloaked her eyes, their true beauty shone through nonetheless.

She continued. "But I know you're dying for me to stop having fun and get back to the job."

Normally, he would never be so tempted to take his time during a mission. "I'm torn, honestly. It's the bond."

She reached up and kissed him hard, and he stepped back, chuckling and surprised. A human male careened into them. Marius slid, grabbed at the corner of a building, but fell to his arse anyway. Tahlia reached for him and landed sideways on top of his chest. Both their stupid hats were gone, thank the gods. She laughed again, and her body moved against his, scattering his thoughts. The sun broke through the churning storm clouds for a moment. The light behind her head made her look like a goddess. He kissed her, allowing his wilder side to satiate itself somewhat. He ran his fingers through her sticky hair.

"You taste like dinner," she whispered against his tomato-drenched mouth.

Another chuckle tripped from his lips as they helped one another up all while getting pummeled with yet more tomatoes. A man with a dramatic beard and mustache reached out his hands to aid them. Marius shook his head, but Tahlia took one hand and shook it.

She should have been more wary around humans.

"This is so fun. I love your town," she said to the man.

"Glad you could make it!" The fellow nodded, then went back to participating in the melee.

Marius paused in tossing tomatoes to watch Tahlia as she stared at the crowd. Something dark churned inside him. Why did he feel terrible about her enjoying herself?

Well, firstly, because they were on a mission. That made good sense. Also, this frivolity was probably ruining their schedule. What else though? She appeared to truly appreciate the company of humans. She didn't seem fazed by the fact that they were generally weak-willed, and disloyal, and evil.

Did she possibly prefer human company?

He pulled at the neck of his tunic and tried to step away from the humans up against his right side.

Would Tahlia long for this feeling after they left this place?

Would he ever be enough for her?

Surely, she didn't prefer humans. He shook his head to clear it, then waved a hand to get her moving.

She thrust two more tomatoes into the crowd, her face lit with joy, then she faced him, smiled, and hurried to his side.

"Do we need to search this soup to find our hats?" she asked, eyeing the mash of tomatoes under the feet of everyone around them.

"If you do nothing else for me for eternity, please forget about the hats."

Snickering, she started toward the fortress with him at her side.

This was strange. He was feeling so… He wasn't sure. So wrong? Ill?

Normally, her smile broke apart the clouds that tended to gather around his heart, but that dark feeling didn't fade under her bright attention this time. Instead, it grew stronger. He gritted his teeth as they wound their way to the fortress's side entrance. He had to stop feeling like this. It was foolish. She loved him and he knew that. They were mated. Bonded as surely as they were to their dragons.

The fortress loomed high above the riotous mass of people. Its walls were made of sandy-hued stone, and crenelations along the top housed archers. The archers stood quietly, watching without their bows ready. The report that King Lysanael had given Marius and Tahlia hadn't mentioned archers. This was another barrier they would have to get through.

The side door was unmarked—a simple slender rectangle of hardwood. He knocked and a small window at the top of the door slid open.

"Name?"

"Edward Newlington."

Tahlia was biting her lip, her eyes laughing at the name. Marius gave her a good glare so she'd remember they were on duty.

The small window shut with a thud.

Was it not one of their inside contacts at the door? Were they too late for the two they were meant to meet here? Marius looked up to see an archer staring down at them.

Marius breathed in and out slowly. Tahlia touched his arm as if she wanted to ask a question. But as he looked at her, the whole door swung open, and two people grabbed them and dragged them inside.

He had both humans by the throat against the small entryway's wall before a word could be uttered.

"Is there a storm coming?" he asked, using the code question.

The human squirming under his left hand tried to speak. Tahlia tapped Marius's hand.

"Might want to let him talk. Just a suggestion."

Marius nodded and loosened his hold. Slightly.

The human coughed and her freckled forehead wrinkled. "The sky and ocean are tricky."

It was the right code response. Marius released the two women.

The one on the left rubbed at her throat with a freckled hand and glared. "He's here early. Follow Maude to our room below. You'll have to stay the night and wait until he's gone," she whispered.

The second guard—a female with dark eyes like Tahlia's and very fair skin—grimaced even as she studied Marius and Tahlia with uncloaked curiosity.

"Our disguises are in place for your eyes still, yes?" Marius asked.

The two nodded.

Tahlia stepped closer, her gaze on the empty entryway and a set of doors beyond, doors that led into the fortress's central hall.

"Durniad is here?" Tahlia asked in a whisper.

"Aye. And he is in a state," the dark-eyed, fair-skinned guard said. "Stay on my heels. Walk quickly. He's feasting in his upper rooms at the moment, so we should be all right to scurry across the hall and down the back steps."

"Why can't we access the trove tonight if he is all the way up there?" Marius asked.

"Because he will want to show off his labyrinth to his cronies after he eats his weight in pastries."

Tahlia lifted her eyebrows. He knew that look—she was dreaming of pastries instead of thinking of labyrinths. He almost smiled even though they were definitely off their schedule now.

"Our disguises will fail before we can escape the city if we wait to breach the trove."

"I know. The safe house contact sent a raven to your king and queen with a request for aid."

A headache squeezed Marius's temples with alarming ferocity. He rubbed his forehead with his fingers. That should not have been necessary.

"Do you know anything about a siren?" Marius asked.

The guard looked appropriately horrified. "I don't. They kept us from the traps and didn't permit anyone to talk about them or ask questions. Ovain, one of the other guards, asked about them and no one has seen him since."

Marius and Tahlia exchanged a look.

Tahlia rubbed her tomato-coated hands together. "So it's a smash-and-grab and run-for-your-life mission now, hmm?"

"Perhaps we can go in as soon as Durniad and his friends depart late tonight," Marius suggested.

The freckled guard shrugged. "You can try, but he parties until the early hours of the morning when he's riled up like this." A shudder shook her frame and she muttered what sounded like a prayer.

"I don't want to know what a fellow like him thinks is fun," Tahlia said, frowning.

"No, you do not," Marius said. He wanted to say something about humans' general penchant for gore and power, but he didn't want to upset the guards with so much riding on their performance tonight.

"I'll get you to our room," the fair guard said, "and then I'll get you to the trove before dawn."

"Agreed," Marius said.

The guard went to the doors beyond and pushed one open. The group of three rushed through the entrance. Marius and Tahlia's clothing dripped tomato as they went.

"What about this mess?" Tahlia whispered over her shoulder at Marius.

There weren't any other guards present in the hall—only a row of painted portraits along the front of the room and an empty table stacked with small wooden boxes that were set at each place like gifts to those who would eat here later.

"I'll tidy up as soon as you're locked in," the guard said. She turned the corner and ushered them down a dark set of stairs. The scent of the sea touched Marius's nose.

"What is in those boxes?" Marius asked.

"They're tiny wooden contraptions. I'm not sure what they are," the guard said. "I only heard they were symbolic presents for visitors who would arrive tomorrow before the presentation of the crown. Something about showing off new additions. I don't know what that means, honestly." She moved onward.

Marius frowned, then nodded at Tahlia to catch up with the guard.

At the base of the stairs, the guard veered right, and they snaked their way down to a row of doors.

"The second one is mine," the guard said. "It's open. Locks from the inside. Stay there until we come for you. No matter what you hear. I stashed some corncakes in the dresser if you're hungry."

"What do you mean no matter what we hear?" Tahlia asked.

"I have to go." The guard left without a backward glance.

Tahlia went ahead of Marius and opened the door to a small chamber. Marius quickly surveyed the space, checking for watch holes that could have been carved into the walls and if any runes had been etched into the simple bed, dresser, or desk.

"All clear." His heart was beating too quickly. Having his mate here was undeniably distracting—he could no longer fool himself that it wasn't—and though he knew she was quick, smart, and quite capable, he couldn't help wishing she was back at Dragon Tail Peak, in the safety of the castle walls.

"Are we supposed to have a change of clothes in here? I can't remember," Tahlia asked.

Marius flipped the quilt on the bed back to reveal two stacks of dark clothing. He handed one to Tahlia. "You seem to really enjoy this tomatina nonsense," he said, trying for a casual tone even though the words meant more. What exactly, he wasn't yet certain.