Beneath the Surface (11 page)

Evrial lifted her face from Maldynado’s shoulder. That actually... wasn’t a bad idea. If she knew what Amaranthe and the others wanted to replace Ravido
with
, she might know if this should be her fight or not.

Though night hadn’t relinquished its grasp, her eyes had long since adjusted to the dim lighting, and she could tell Maldynado was watching her. However offhandedly he’d said it, that he didn’t want her to leave... it meant something. She didn’t know exactly what yet, nor did she want to examine the feeling too closely, but she lifted her hand to his hair, letting her fingers trace the contours of his muscular back on the way. She probably should have chosen a moment when his wavy brown locks weren’t crunchy with ice to touch them, but one had to act when inspired. And, though she’d never admit it to him, sitting on the lap of someone who, despite his comrades’ teasing to the contrary, did have a physique that would be very flattering if immortalized in statue forum, was quite... inspiring.

“
You’re wiser than you let on, Maldynado,” Evrial said.

“
Mmhmm, remember those kind thoughts when you’re sitting through hour three of Books’s explanation.” Though he said the words casually, his body had grown very still; he scarcely seemed to be breathing. Surely Lord Cocky and Confident wasn’t having doubts about what to do next? “How’s your shoulder?” he asked.

“
It wasn’t that big of a quarrel, and I pulled it out right away.”

“
Does that mean the feral cats have quieted down, or you’re just too tough to be bothered by them?”

It meant she wanted him to stop talking and kiss her. She couldn’t quite bring herself to blurt that out though. Even though she was ninety-nine percent certain he wouldn’t reject her, she still feared he’d lose interest after he achieved that goal he’d been pursuing. That would hurt. A lot. But he’d saved her life tonight. She owed him something for that.

Oh, please, Evi, she thought. He was gorgeous, adorable, and who wouldn’t be curious to know if all that supposed experience of his equated to masterful bed play? Besides, those frozen pine needles had been the most interesting things to poke her nether regions in she didn’t know
how
long.

“
My shoulder is better,” Evrial said. “How are... your love apples?”

The strangled noise that came from Maldynado’s throat might have been a laugh or an exclamation of surprise. Both, perhaps. “They’re better now too. They’ve been nice and warm since you climbed into my lap.”

“
It’s good to know that they’ve recovered.” Evrial trailed her fingers from his hair to his shoulder, tracing the rounded swell of his muscles, and breathing in the mingling scents of cedar boughs and his warm, clean skin. She watched him watching her, expecting him to kiss her at any moment, but he hadn’t moved yet. He was still holding utterly still. Almost as if he’d developed a shy streak. No, he was probably afraid she’d snap at him if he touched her. If so, she had only herself to blame for that.

“
Maldynado?” she asked.

“
Yes?”

Evrial smiled at the hint of squeakiness in his voice. She didn’t imagine that he usually hesitated with women, and thought maybe, just maybe, he cared more about the outcome here. “I’m trying to seduce you,” she said.

“
Oh, good. That’s what I thought, but I was afraid you’d give me a huffy, ‘no touching,’ order if my fingers went exploring.”

“
Tempting, but I think it’d be more fun if we both engaged in touching. Just this—”

The last word disappeared beneath a pair of warm, eager lips. With her permission given, his hands found all sorts of places to touch, the sword calluses on his palms stirring delicious sensations as they slid over her flesh. Any thoughts of associating him with the word shy disappeared. Instead, the image a long-restrained panther came to mind, the powerful predator suddenly unleashed and leaping for its prey. After that, she was too distracted to manage coherent thoughts.

* * * * *



Amaranthe was
not
, she told herself, hiding from Sicarius and his proclivity for filling downtime with training. She was simply checking in on Books. And waiting impatiently for Maldynado and the others to return with information.

“
Stop,” Books said without looking up from the stack of papers on the desk in front of him. Three pens and an old-fashioned quill and inkwell surrounded his work, dribbling stains onto the pages.

Amaranthe realized she’d been tidying the papers on the bunk and clasped her hands behind her back. “Sorry.”

“
I’m still brainstorming. I’m not ready to organize.”

“
Where do you sleep?”

The papers were sprawled across both bunks, not to mention much of the floor.

“
Right here,” Books said.

“
Where does Maldynado sleep?”

“
I don’t know.”

Amaranthe watched Books’s pen fly. They’d been on board a few nights now. Was he truly that oblivious? “When are you going to share the highlights of this masterpiece with the rest of us?”

“
Soon. I’m sure you’ll want to contribute and suggest amendments.”

“
Me? I lack experience and education in the area of politics.” She’d planned to suggest Sespian sit in on the meeting and offer most of the ideas. He might be young, but he would have studied civil history and political science from birth.

“
It’s not that much different from business,” Books said, “just less efficient. Besides, you’re the one spearheading the revolt. You’ll want to be firmly behind the new ideas we propose.”

Amaranthe let her hands droop to her sides. Spearheading the revolt?
Her?
She was simply trying to stop Forge and Ravido.
They
were the ones revolting, not her.

A soft knock sounded. Amaranthe feared Sicarius had come to collect her for another round of training, but he didn’t usually bother knocking. Or being constrained by door locks.

“
Come in,” Books said without lifting his head.

Amaranthe strode to the door, a hand on her knife. Though security hadn’t run a full-boat search yet, she didn’t know if that would last.

The door eased open. Basilard slipped inside with Akstyr trailing after him.

“
It’s not my fault,” Akstyr whispered with emphasis that made Amaranthe suspect he was repeating the statement.

She shut the door behind them. “What’s the problem?”

“
Watch where you step,” Books warned, his head still bent over his work.

Basilard picked his way between pages without touching anything and stopped in a foot-wide bare spot in the corner.

“
There’s junk all over the floor,” Akstyr said. “Where am I supposed to stand?”

“
It is
not
junk.” This new threat finally bestirred Books to rise. He stomped about gathering the pages, placing them in a particular order as he stacked them. He halted before Akstyr and pointed at the floor. “I’ll thank you to remove your grimy boot from the corner of that page.”

Akstyr lifted his leg and held it there, knee bent, the sneer on his lips suggesting he’d like to plant his “grimy boot” between Books’s hind cheeks. He noticed Amaranthe watching him, though, and lowered his leg. “Maldynado and Yara are missing.”

“
What happened?” Amaranthe asked.

“
We got separated. I sensed a Made artifact—lots of them—and went to try and find the source. I thought the others were right behind me.” Akstyr paused to glower at Basilard.

Basilard lifted his hands and signed,
When I spotted Maldynado fighting the enforcers, he was alone.

“
Fighting the
enforcers
?” Amaranthe asked. “Start at the beginning.”

“
I don’t know how they got to that point. Sure there were some undercover enforcers about, but I avoided them just fine.” Akstyr tapped his chest. “I don’t know why they didn’t stay with me. Anyway, I went behind the stage at the circus performance and into the crew area. I went all over that first deck, like a hound sniffing after a ’coon, but I couldn’t get close enough to the source. There were always bulkheads and locked doors in the way. I thought the artifacts might be upstairs, but Basilard found me and made me come with him before I got to finish looking.”

“
You can search more tonight when most of the boat is asleep,” Amaranthe said. “Right now, I’d like the details on Maldynado and Yara, please. You said they were fighting enforcers. Where are they now?” She wondered if she’d need to plan a brig breakout.

Akstyr and Basilard exchanged looks, and Amaranthe knew she wouldn’t like the answer.

“
You saw it,” Akstyr muttered. “You tell her.”

I only saw Maldynado
, Basilard signed.
I heard fighting sounds, but I was coming down the steps at the far end of the deck, and it took me a moment to reach him. He was finishing up a couple of enforcers, but some had miniature crossbows and were trying to shoot him. His back was toward me, and I don’t think he noticed me running toward them. He threw himself over the railing.

“
He
what
?” Books asked.

“
You didn’t see Yara?” Amaranthe asked.

It was hard for me to stop to look, because when the enforcers saw me running up, they turned their attention toward me. I had to sprint back the way I’d come and lose them on the second deck. But I glimpsed Maldynado swimming down the river, and I thought I heard him call out her name.

Amaranthe rubbed her forehead. How had such a simple task turned into such a mess? She found herself staring at Akstyr.

“
It’s
not
my fault,” he repeated, balling his fists and stuffing them into his pockets. “It’s not. I’m sorry though. I didn’t mean for them to get caught. I was just concentrating on what I sensed.”

An apology was an improvement from him, but it didn’t get her team back together. Should they all gather their gear and find a lifeboat to steer to the shore? To see if they could meet up with the others? If Yara was hurt, Maldynado wasn’t the most knowledgeable person when it came to medical skills. And they wouldn’t have any food or gear.

“
Did you see which side of the river they headed to?” Amaranthe asked Basilard.

He shook his head.
By the time I eluded the enforcers and had a chance to look back over the railing, we’d gone around a bend. I never spotted them again.

So, even if the team went after Maldynado and Yara, finding them would be a matter of luck. The steamboat was due to reach a town in the morning, docking there for a few hours. Maybe those two could catch up on their own. Besides, there was the matter of these artifacts Akstyr had sensed. Were they what the circus troupe had purchased? And had the Forge women been the ones to provide the funds and instruct them to do so? What if they were tools or weapons meant to aid Ravido?

“
Why are all these enforcers on board?” Books asked.

Amaranthe had thought he’d already have his face buried in his self-appointed work again, but he was listening, and he raised his brows when she met his gaze. “Good question,” she said. “The steamboat has its own security team.”

Basilard shrugged.

“
Because they’re always around to harass us,” Akstyr said. “We’re their special hobby.”

“
No, if they’d boarded because they suspected we were here,” Amaranthe said, “they would have searched the vessel the first day.”

“
We could be experiencing heightened security due to the potential for trouble in the capital,” Books said. “We saw that in Sunders City.”

“
Even allowing for that,” Amaranthe said, “wouldn’t the military have been tasked with accompanying a steamboat upriver? We’re passing in and out of several enforcer districts, and patrollers aren’t usually assigned work that involves encroaching on other districts’ territories.”