Page 91 of Conspirators' Kingdom

“Then get a different one. She needs to recover,” Vasilisa retorted.

Mereruka sighed and muttered a prayer. Taisiya’s lips curled up at the corners. His hair unravelled from her wrist and she grudgingly released her hold on it. Gone were his haunted eyes. Glamour? Or had he truly recovered? As he pulled away, he took his solid warmth with him. She missed it already. It must have been obvious. When he went to stand, he pulled the thin sheet up over her and winked.

“Cock-block,” he grouched at Vasilisa.

“Go bitch to someone who cares.”

Mereruka chuckled.

“And go take a bath. You reek.”

Mereruka waved with a rude gesture before he disappeared into the adjacent bathing room. Vasilisa returned the gesture with a grin before she turned to Taisiya. The moment Mereruka was gone, Vasilisa launched herself at Taisiya.

“You scared me half to death,” Vasilisa whispered.

Taisiya petted Vasilisa’s wild blonde curls as the darkness mage shook in her arms. Her grip tightened as memories assailed her.Breathe, she reminded herself. The blade was no longer in her gut. The agony was a memory. She was whole. She was safe.

“You saved me. I’m still here. Thank you, Vasilisa,” Taisiya murmured.

Vasilisa pulled away, turning her head to hide the evidence of a traitorous tear. She would not—could not—die, not like that, leaving her friend behind. Not knowing what she knew, aware of where her friend would go, never to return. She’d sworn long ago to drag her back into the light and keep her there, and Taisiya would be damned before she broke that vow.

“Don’t cry, or I’ll be forced to stuff you full of sweets and call you Va-va.”

Vasilisa scowled.

“Gods forbid. You’re not cute enough for that to work anymore.”

Taisiya chuckled. Vasilisa managed a small grin. Voices drifted from the bathroom. Mereruka and Bas. She recognised the sound, but couldn’t make out the words.

“It was a joint effort,” Vasilisa sighed. “Even the kitty. If he hadn’t found the body, we might not have…”

Taisiya took Vasilisa’s hand and squeezed. Their eyes spoke the words they dared not utter. Taisiya was alive, and she wasn’t going anywhere Vasilisa could not follow. Vasilisa released a shaky breath and nodded, squeezing her hand before she chased away the shadows in her grey eyes.

“Anyway, I’ll help you get dressed and fed.”

Taisiya nodded.

“What’s become of the nomarch’s family?” she asked.

Vasilisa flinched, a flicker of darkness creeping up her spine, there one moment and gone in a blink. She was quiet for a moment as she pulled a simple dress from a nearby wardrobe.

“We all agreed that mercy wasn’t an option. Not for the adults. They’re dead now. The children have been exiled.”

“Good.” Taisiya fisted her hands as she looked down at her belly. There was no evidence of the violence, save for the fear trickling down her spine. A new horror for her to revisit in the dead of night when her defences were down. She released her breath slowly. She would overcome it. A Dragonsblood could overcome anything, save death itself. “Any dissent as a result?”

Vasilisa helped her into the dress and began brushing her hair. The gentle tug on her scalp soothed her. This assassination attempt would no doubt be one of many. She had to have her wits about her.

“Not after Mereruka put your bloody dress and the cursed blade on display at the execution. The lesser nobles complained that they didn’t want the bodies to be buried anywhere near the traditional burial grounds.”

Taisiya raised her brow.

“The curse is that terrible?”

“The kitty explained that in Maat, it’s on the same level as using iron, if not worse. They take a dim view of things they’re incapable of curing with their own magic. In better news, that famous architect heard about what happened and demanded to be the one to build your palace. He swore to make it curse-proof. Naturally, we accepted.”

“Naturally,” Taisiya replied. “I suppose we return to Rhacotis soon?”

At the very least, her suffering had not been in vain. A curse-proof palace was quite the boon, especially when she didn’t have glamour to hide all manner of protections inked into her skin. Perhaps she should start having them stitched into all of her clothing?

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