Page 96 of Poisoned Empire

Selene wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him, but the sudden anger in his expression held her back. His grip on her hand turned painful. When he hoisted her into his arms, she feared where he might deposit her. Dark brows slashing low, eyes hard and mouth set in a grim line, he marched from the death and destruction of the ruined courtyard.

The strategos interrupted him mid-stride, only a little worse for wear. Iliana would be relieved.

“Your Royal Highness, the two shadow mages, Magister Miroslav Diamond and his son, Kosta, have fled.”

“Do whatever it takes to find them. I want our silver-tongue to personally vet the remaining intelligence apparatus within the palace, as well as any mage with the ability to disappear swiftly. Assign someone to identify and see to the wellbeing of the families of our deceased soldiers. And get those damned wards back up.”

“At once, Your Royal Highness,” Marduk replied. He turned his gaze to Selene. “Iliana will be overjoyed to know you’re safe.”

“I expect she’ll slap me until I lose feeling in my face,” she muttered as gamely as she was able. Truthfully, she had no mirth left within her.

With that, Marduk disappeared into the bedlam. Belisarius strode through the battle-scarred hallways of the palace, a silent and forbidding presence among the panicked cries and calls of soldiers. The palace was in ruins—cracked mosaics, tapestries smoking or torn asunder, shattered potted plants creating a slurry of muck and blood underfoot. Stopped and asked for orders, he was curt and decisive. Just as he reached his private quarters, he was stopped by the emperor.

Darius stood before them, saying nothing before he crushed both in a fierce hug. He kissed their heads, his hands shaking. When he pulled back, he had an ashen pallor and the look of a man confronted by ghosts.

“Thank the gods, you’re both safe.”

“I need you to take charge of matters for a short time. Do not allow anyone to enter my chambers. Have Marduk and Nicephorus update you with the details.”

Darius banished the demons in his eyes, no longer a father, but an emperor.

“I’ll give you as much time as I can, but we’ll have to make decisions quickly to keep chaos at bay. I’ll let you know the situation this evening.”

Belisarius nodded. Darius marched down the hallway, making demands of anyone he passed. When the doors to Belisarius’ chambers closed, a chill trickled down Selene’s spine. She braced herself for what was to come. He set her down on the bed and glared.

“I’m so angry with you I feel like I might start spitting fire. How dare you take such risks! Do you care nothing for your life?!”

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, her voice whisper soft.

“Sorry isn’t enough, Selene! What were you thinking?”

She couldn’t bring herself to tell him the whole of it. She couldn’t even look at him as she spoke the shameful words.

“I wanted to be useful. Good enough. I thought I could handle it.”

“Thought you—I heard exactly what you told the silver-tongue! You gave yourself the same odds as a coin toss to walk out of that dungeon alive! You let some revenge fantasy cloud every ounce of your limited good judgement! How could you be so reckless?!”

Tears misted her eyes. Would he be done with her when his anger was spent? She knew she would be crushed under the weight of her heartbreak. A tight ache gripped her throat.

“I didn’t think-”

“No! You didn’t!” he raged.

She flinched. Tears fell in earnest then. She hurt, but at the same time, she knew it was deserved. For the past weeks, she’d allowed herself to believe she was due the respect given to her. Every success had inflated her ego, fuelling a lust for things she’d been a fool to covet. It’d been astoundingly greedy to want this man’s devotion, and yet she craved it keenly. Selene wasn’t a proper noble; she wasn’t even a good woman. She was still that grubby little thief grasping for things she didn’t deserve. Not comfort, not love, not him. Belisarius dropped to his knees and held her face in his hands with unexpected tenderness, his thumbs stroking her cheeks, wiping away tears. When she met his eyes, there was fear, primal and raw, tinged with something that threatened to spark a flame of hope.

“Don’t you understand? Their lives weren’t worth yours! Nothing will ever be worth losing you!” His vehemence was palpable. Her heart stuttered in her chest. “Nothing and no one is worth more to me than you are, you stupid girl.” His voice cracked.

“Truly?” she asked. Vulnerable as never before, she needed it to be true, so much that its absence might destroy her. Just as Dihya’s death had.

“Yes. So please, never risk yourself like that again. I don’t want to imagine a world without you.”

Joy bubbled up in her chest. Choking on laughter which turned into a fount of tears, she threw herself at him. Belisarius pulled her into a warm embrace, petting her hair and kissing her head. Between sobs she managed to speak.

“I just wanted you to k-keep me. I thought if I could get them all, you would see I was g-good enough.”

When he wiped the tears misting her vision, she could trace the weary circles under his eyes, but also the love and tenderness shining from the depths. She would happily wait a thousand lifetimes to see that look, face a thousand villainous magistri, brave a thousand broken hearts. He kissed her, soft and heartbreakingly tender.

“Selene, I love you. I’m never letting you go.”

---