Witch Fall (10 page)

A true test of any civilization is how they treat their women. ~Jolin

Lilette braced herself for the pain, but it didn’t come. 

“I said, what’s the meaning of this?” The armored elite was standing above her, his hand wrapped around the spear shaft to prevent the guard from striking her again.

Both guards took a few steps back. “We found him in the compound after dark. Said he was sent to find his madame’s lost comb, General.” He held it out as proof.

In her peripheral vision, Lilette watched the general stare at the comb. He squatted in front of her. Knowing he was her only hope, she tipped her face into the light. 

For a single beat of Lilette’s heart, disbelief crossed Han’s face before his expression shifted back to impassable. He tapped her comb against his leg as he stood. “This is only one of them. Where’s the other?”

Her mouth came open and she gave a slight shake of her head. “Other?”

He rubbed his forehead as if her mere presence exhausted him. “I know his madame, one of the emperor’s favorites.” Han tugged off his helmet and ran a hand through his sweaty hair. “She’s not going to be happy.”

The soldiers shifted. “Sorry, General. We didn’t know.”

Han’s voice went low and dangerous. “Did I ask for your excuses?”

“No, General,” they said in unison. 

There was blood on his armor and on his neck. He’d been fighting Vorlayans. “How about we forget any of this happened? My guards won’t report you leaving the palace at night. You don’t report their . . . manhandling.”

The elite nodded eagerly. Her hand clenching the cramp in her side, Lilette nodded.

“Do you remember where you found the first comb?” Han went on. “Chances are the mate is somewhere close by.”

What was he going to do with her? Was he really helping her? Relief threatened to overwhelm her, but she held the emotion at bay. Fear was the only thing preventing her from collapsing. She kept her eyes averted. “Yes, General.”

“Well, let’s go find it then. There’ll be no living with the madame if she doesn’t have her combs.” Han tipped his head back the way the guards had come. “Get to your rounds.” The soldiers left as if death itself chased them. Knowing Han, it probably did.

He reached down and pulled her to her feet. “This is a deadly place to be. We need to move.” His voice was dark and angry.

She leaned limply against him, all her weight on her uninjured leg. “Where are you taking me?”

“Back to the harem.”

She tried to pull away from him but was shaking so badly she could barely stand. “No. I have to free my sister.”

He shook his head. “You can barely walk. You’re going back into the harem whether you like it or not.”

Lilette glared at him, but inside she knew he was right. She would just have to wait for another chance at escape. She let out a humorless chuckle. “So I surrender. Again.”

Han took hold of her elbow. “No soldier would be seen carrying a eunuch.” His voice was gentle. “Lean on me. We’ll make it look like I’m dragging you.” Her leg cramped in protest, but she hobbled forward despite the pain.

Han grunted. “Were you actually trying to burn the palace down?”

“I had to do something.” After slowly descending the palace stairs, they entered the comforting shadows of the garden. He guided her toward the harem wall. With each dozen or so steps, the trembling in her limbs faded.

“Why are you helping me?” Lilette asked. “Why not just turn me in to your father?”

Han glanced at her sideways. “I have no desire to see your head anywhere but at the top of your shoulders.”

She winced at the thought. “And before? How did you find me the night I was poisoned?”

He nodded toward the top of the ramparts, where a tower lorded over the harem. “I was up there. I saw you wandering below, obviously sick or injured. I saw you fall.”

Her brows drew together. “But you’re not a guard. There’s no reason for you to be atop the ramparts—especially so soon after returning home.” Then the realization hit her. “You . . . you were looking for me?”

He didn’t deny it. Lilette looked into his eyes, like chips of onyx in the starlight. “They would have killed you, had they found you.”

“Yes.”

She could walk by herself now. She put a little distance between them. “I don’t understand. Why would you risk it?”

Han studied her. His scar was on the other side of his face. From this aspect, with the starlight to soften his harsh features, he looked almost handsome. “It’s been a long night, Lilette. I have watched many, many men—none of them soldiers—die. I don’t have any more to give.”

By now, they had reached the wall. He looked down the length of it. “How did you intend to get back over?”

“I didn’t.”

His gaze lit on her and he shoved his helmet back on his head. “Wait here while I get some rope.”

Her hand shot out, capturing his arm. “We don’t need it.”

He paused and looked back at her.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the ground inside the harem. When she found what she wanted, she sang softly. A vine snaked into sight and crawled down the wall.

When she looked up, Han was staring at her, something akin to anger in his eyes. “I thought you’d forgotten the language.”

“I remembered.”

He looked around, then slipped out of cover and gave the vine a hard tug. “This should hold.” He quickly tied the end to a tree.

She glared at the wall. This was going to hurt. But before she could move to climb it, Han stepped in front of her, his strong hands encompassing her waist. “Wrap your arms around my neck, and your legs around my waist.”

Her arms tucked around her ribs, she automatically stepped back. “What?”

He looked up one side of the wall and down the other. They were exposed here. “Hurry.” Han meant to carry her over the wall. “I can do it,” she said.

He raised an eyebrow. “This climb would take more strength than you had before you were injured.”

“No. Ko would never forgive me if something happened to you.”

He made a low sound in his throat. “I’m not keen on the idea either, but do you see another option?”

Lilette slowly shook her head.

“Then come on.”

She pursed her lips. Wrapping her arms and legs around his body sounded far too intimate.

His expression hardened. “Am I really so repulsive to you?”

“You don’t repulse me.” Gripping his shoulders, she tried to hop up with one foot.

Han rolled his eyes and lifted her. She wrapped her legs and arms around him. Beneath the armor, his body was all muscle, hard everywhere she was soft. She had the sudden urge to explore his chest with her fingertips. She pushed away the thought, glad it was dark enough he couldn’t see the blush spreading across her face.

He gripped her legs behind the knees and lifted her higher onto his stomach. “Lock your feet and wrists and hold on.” He grabbed the vine and started climbing.

She couldn’t believe he was strong enough to heft both of their weight. She glanced over his shoulder to the ground far below. A feeling of helplessness washed over her. Her well-being was completely in his hands. If he slipped—if her vine couldn’t take both their weight—she would fall.

Closing her eyes, Lilette pressed her forehead into his shoulder and concentrated on the steady tensing and relaxing of his muscles, the narrowness of his waist, his chest expanding with each breath.

Han heaved them onto the wall’s roof. She scrambled to the other side of the peak and leaned against it, her breath coming fast. “We should—”

He clapped a hand over her mouth. Startled, she began to pull away, but he drew her into his arms. Heat crept up her body. “Han . . .”

“Shh,” he whispered in her ear. “I can hear them.” He released her enough to peer over the raised roof.

And then she heard them too. “The vine.” She reached for it, intending to tug it out of sight. 

He pulled her back into his arms. “Movement and sound draw attention. The vine stays.”

She heard the steady rhythm of the guards advancing toward them. She could feel Han’s heart pounding through her clothes. Eventually, the steps grew softer as they marched away. Lilette let out the air in her lungs.

Han looked down. “You’re not going to make that by yourself.”

She huffed. “Down is easier than up.”

He sighed and gripped the vine. “Come on. It’ll be faster this way. I’ll cut it down after I’m safely back on my side.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but he wrapped her in his arms and swung over the side. She had to grab him and hold on to keep from falling. Her heart pounding with fear, she pressed her face against his chest and concentrated on breathing.

“You can let go now.”

Startled, she opened her eyes to discover they’d reached the ground. “I almost fell,” she whispered. She dropped out of his arms, gasping when her injured leg took her weight. She hopped, one leg cocked.

Han’s arm shot out, steadying her. “I told you before, I wouldn’t let you fall.” He pulled her out of sight behind the tree and pressed the palm of his other hand into her sore side. She hissed a breath through her teeth.

“I don’t feel any knots. That’s a good sign.” He gently lifted her tunic. A bruise had spread from her hipbone to just above her waist. He shook his head in sympathy. “It should heal. My mother has a salve.”

She was suddenly aware of how near he was, both his hands on her, their faces a mere hand span apart. She tried to pull away, but he held her firm. “I’ve watched so many die tonight—I won’t see you be one of them. What are you doing, sneaking out of the harem? And going into the palace? I thought you were smarter than that.”

When Lilette didn’t answer, he took a small step closer—so close she could feel the warmth from his body. “You’re to be the next empress—the most powerful woman in the empire. You’ll want for nothing. Why risk death to get away from that?”

The next empress? “What?”

Han’s face darkened, but he didn’t respond.

She pinched her eyes shut to block out the images of being a wife to Chen. Could she trust Han? Despite everything, she’d seen glimpses of his former kindness. He had saved her life twice, risking his own. If Lilette was going to get out, she needed help. She wouldn’t find anyone better. “If I asked, would you help me escape?”

He studied her, his eyes glinting in the starlight. “We are enemies, you and I.”

Hopelessness washed over Lilette. Without his help tonight, she would have been caught and probably killed. If he refused, her chances of succeeding were almost nonexistent.

“You should go.” The hardness in her voice could cut a stone. “Thank you for returning me to my prison. Again.”

She turned to leave, but Han caught her hand. “Do you remember the first night you fled Rinnish?”

“How could I forget?”

He gently tugged off her hat. She froze as he unwound her bun and ran his fingers through her hair. She wasn’t sure why she allowed him to touch her, but it felt so good. “You were my best friend,” she finally admitted.

“Do you remember someone coming in the middle of the night to warn your parents to flee?”

Lilette whipped around to face him, her hair flaring across her shoulder. “All I remember was waking to my mother forcing me out of my bed.”

He looked sad, and vulnerable. It was so unlike the man she’d come to know that she blinked in surprise. “You? You warned us?”

His scar twitched. “I overheard my father talking to the elite. They were to come for you just before dawn. He wanted to marry you off to Chen.”

She touched Han’s scar. “Is that why you have this?” He tried to pull away from her, but Lilette stepped closer. He dropped his head and murmured, “My father was furious.”

She ran her fingers across the uneven skin. The movement was so slight she wasn’t sure, but she thought Han leaned into her touch.