“I’ve got a pretty long list of bad things right now, and I’m not sure which one I would put on top. So I’ll bite.”

“We did exactly what Merrick couldn’t do himself. He used us to disarm Drumindor.”

“So he never sabotaged anything? That would explain why Gile laughed when I told him Drumindor was going to explode. He knew it wasn’t. Merrick promised he would have it intact. Merrick’s a bloody genius.”

“I think I mentioned that once or twice.”

“So now what?” Hadrian asked.

“Now nothing. He’s beaten us. He’s sitting somewhere with a warm cup of cider, smiling smugly with his feet up on the pile of money he’s just been paid.”

“We have to warn them to reengage the master gear.”

“Go ahead.”

Hadrian shouted until the little observation door opened, flooding the cell with light.

“We need to speak to someone. It’s important.”

“What is it?”

“We realized the mistake we made. We were tricked. You need to tell the commander at Drumindor that we locked the master gear. We can show him where it is and how to release it.”

“You two never stop, do you? I’m not sure if you’re really saboteurs or just plain nuts. One thing’s for certain: we’re going to find out how you got in, and then we’re going to kill you.”

The observation door closed, casting them back into darkness.

“That worked out really well,” Royce said. “Feel better now?”

“Bastard.”

CHAPTER 24

THE ESCAPE

Arista stayed in the corner of the stable, wrapped in Hilfred’s arms most of the night. He stroked her hair and, from time to time, without any particular reason, kissed her passionately. It felt safe, and lying there, Arista realized two things. First, she was certain she could be content remaining in his arms forever. And second, she was not in love with Hilfred.

He was a good friend, a piece of home she missed so dearly that she drank him in with a desert-born thirst, but something was missing. She thought it strange that she had come to this conclusion while in his arms. Yet she knew it with perfect clarity. She did not love Hilfred and she had not loved Emery. She was not even certain what love was, what it should feel like, or if it existed at all.

Noblewomen rarely knew the men they married before their wedding day. Perhaps they grew to love their husbands in time, or merely grew to believe they did. At least she knew Hilfred loved her. He loved enough for both of them. She could feel it radiating off him like warmth from smoldering coals. He deserved happiness after waiting so long, after so much sacrifice, and she would make it up to him. Arista would return to Melengar and marry him. Alric would make him Archduke Reuben Hilfred. She laughed softly at the thought.

“What?”