Mariella woke up entwined with Tybalt again.

  She recognized she wasn’t wearing a shirt, and she felt an instinctive urge to cover herself.

  But as soon as she remembered what had happened the previous night, an uncontrollable smile lit up her whole face.

  I think I might… be in love. Last night is a ridiculously shallow, stupid reason for me to have that thought, but it’s not as if it’s the only reason. I want to wake up with him every morning and lie down with him every night. I want to trace our names together in the desert sand. ‘Tybalt and Mariella, forever.’ She snorted to herself, slightly amused at her own feelings. She was mature enough that she knew how silly they sounded, even in her own head. But all those sappy ballads the troubadours sing make so much more sense now. I really like being beside him. I feel happy. It’s just that simple.

  Tybalt was still asleep. She pulled slightly back from him. The sun was coming out just outside the cave, and she didn’t want anyone to discover her topless. As she gently moved away, looking back at him, she saw it. The male organ.

  It looks so strange. She had never seen a bare adult penis before, only infant ones on the occasion that she changed her younger siblings’ diapers. She reached out and gently touched it with the tip of one finger. It was surprisingly soft. I guess if it was hard like last night all the time, it would be very difficult to hide.

  She caressed it once, gently. Thank you for last night. Her smile changed its character slightly as she remembered…

  Tybalt stirred, and she jerked her hand back.

  “Hey,” he said sleepily. “Morning, beautiful.”

  “Good morning, handsome,” she replied, the smile growing somehow larger on her face. Waking up with him after sex was a strange new experience, but pleasant.

  They flirted back and forth as they got dressed and consumed the remains of their rations. After this morning, they probably wouldn’t be eating any meals on their own anymore. That was a little bit sad. But life had to move on.

  There was a particularly sweet moment when she shivered—her gambeson with its missing buttons wasn’t quite adequate protection from the cool mountain air—and before she could use Emberflow to warm her body, Tybalt gave her his cloak. He put the hooded garment on for her, and she let him adjust her clothing as he wished, including taking a few liberties with his hands that she would not have allowed two days ago. It felt surprisingly sweet to be taken care of that way. Even if she didn’t actually need the help, he was being thoughtful.

  Finally, he pulled the hood up so that it covered her head completely.

  “Need to keep you warm,” he said, grinning.

  Mariella read the words, Now that you won’t have my body heat, in his eyes.

  She turned red, but all she said was, “I feel very well protected from the cold.”

  As they stepped over to the entrance of the cave, ready to walk out into the morning and find the village, the foliage of the mountain rustled.

  Mariella and Tybalt moved wordlessly together, pressing against the cave wall to minimize their chances of being spotted.

  A moment later, their caution was justified.

  Indus’s face appeared.

  Mariella’s eyes widened. No, they’re here!

  The soldier moved forward, not looking in their direction—Mariella and Tybalt were fairly well hidden by distance and shadow, as the cave was fifty feet from where Indus had emerged.

  But what the lovers saw was still troubling. Soldier after soldier, and accompanying miners, stepped out of the trees and moved in what Mariella was fairly certain was the direction of the village.

  Did the scouts Volusia sent out the other day figure out where the beastfolk village was? I guess it’s probably not particularly well hidden… How do you even hide a village full of people? Just concealing it in a forest isn’t going to fool soldiers who are determined to find you.

  “Shit,” Tybalt said. “They’re getting ahead of us. We’ll have to adjust our plans.”

  We should have kept walking last night, Mariella thought. It was my fault we didn’t. If the beastfolk get killed because I wanted to sleep with Tybalt…

  “Wait, how does this change our plans, exactly?” she asked. “We’re going to go and try to protect the beastfolk, right?”

  She had been thinking about trying to talk them out of it, but the success of that idea seemed dubious now that she actually saw them.

  They’re my colleagues, but they’re also the same men who raped and murdered helpless women and children by the score… I have to remember that.

  “Yeah,” Tybalt said. “But the method changes. We were going to warn the village so that they could prepare. I hope that Vidalia has already done that herself. Now we’ll need to attack the squad from the back or the side instead of forming a defensive line with the beastfolk. That said, I… need to tell you something before we leave. It’s something… terrible, something that will probably upset you or even make you angry.”

  “Is it about… last night?” she asked.

  She readied herself to receive a verbal body blow. She’d heard stories of women who slept with a man only to learn that his interest immediately evaporated once he had gotten what he wanted. Those had mostly been from her mother and the priestess who tutored her in morals, but she still thought they were probably representative of some women’s experiences. There was just something about that idea that rang true. She had quietly told herself that her judgment in men was better than that.

  But hadn’t the last week been a good demonstration that her judgment of people was awful?

  If he says that, just take it calmly. Show a certain coolness. Make sure he knows that it didn’t cut that deeply. Dignity. Keep your dignity.

  She couldn’t imagine being calm about this, though. She felt as if the last week had been a forging, of sorts. Each interaction between her and Tybalt had built a strong, metallic link. Now that she had opened herself to the connection he offered, she felt all of those links working together: a chain coiled around her heart, binding her limbs, looping between her legs, forming a collar around her neck, and ending in his hand. He could break her heart if he wanted to. All it would take would be a few simple words. A little tug at his end of the chain.

  Why do people fall in love? she suddenly wondered. It seemed so dangerous. One’s happiness ceased to be one’s own affair. It depended on another. Why does he have to bring this up now…? How will I focus on the fight?

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  Her mind ran through possibilities swiftly, moving outside her control.

  How would he say it, if he rejected her in that way? Would he say they were moving too fast, or just bluntly that it shouldn’t happen again?

  Maybe I just wasn’t any good… at sex. It was my first time, and I didn’t do much. I know he’s more experienced. Maybe, after spending all that time living with a courtesan, he has a very high standard for… what women are supposed to do in bed. Maybe I was clumsy, fumbling, boring, maybe I’ve completely killed his attraction to me—

  “Um, no, it’s not about last night,” he said. He looked guilty. “Not really. Except for… after last night, I had decided I had to trust you. I want you to know the truth about me. I was going to tell you when we got to the beastfolk village, but now… you have to know before we fight the squad.”

  Her nervousness dialed down slightly but shifted to this unknown “truth” that he wanted to tell her.

  What could that be? And he said it was “terrible”...

  “Tell me,” she said. Her voice shook slightly.

  “I lied about my class.”

  What? How? I saw you use a skill from a class, so you definitely have one. Why lie?

  “It’s not Bonesaw,” he continued. “I’m a necromancer. The class name is ‘Defiant Necromancer.’”

  Oh, no… This explains so much. Every time he lied, or I thought he lied. Why… Why is he confessing this? Doesn’t he know what I have to do next?

  “I got the class from a god that… you would consider evil. But he’s not evil. There are a lot of lies told by followers of the other gods, because there’s a rivalry between them. They compete for mankind’s worship. I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m not going to lie to you.” His voice became small. “Not about anything, not anymore. I just need you to understand. You can ask any questions you want to ask, and… even if you don’t ask anything, you’ll gradually learn everything.”

  Tybalt stopped talking, finally. Mariella let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. His lean but strong figure loomed over her, arms outstretched. She realized dimly that he wanted to take her in his embrace.

  I wish you hadn’t told me, a voice inside her said. I wish I didn’t know. I…

  “Give me space,” she said slowly. “I need to—to think clearly. So I…” She lowered her voice. “So I can figure out if we can get past this together.”

  I can’t think clearly in your arms. I know that much. Her fingers fidgeted. They wanted to be holding his hands or stroking his hair or clutching his waist or something, not twiddling alone.

  It was telling that her hand didn’t jump to her sword, though. That should have been her natural reaction.

  She felt slightly ashamed of the fact that, without really thinking about it, and despite her phrasing, she immediately knew that she still wanted him. Despite the fact that she had been so thoroughly deceived. Despite the fact that what Tybalt had confessed implied that he was the enemy of her country, her gods, and even her family. Despite even the fact that he had slept with her while hiding who he really was.

  That was all painful and slightly humiliating, but she had known all along that he was hiding something. She just hadn’t known what.

  Considering how heavy the truth was, it made sense that he would keep it as hidden as he could.

  She even thought, if she took a step back from her own wounded pride, that she understood why he had chosen to confess it now, after they had spent the night in each other’s arms.

  After all, wasn’t that part of why she was racking her brains right now, looking for some idea of how she and Tybalt could still be together? She felt an attachment to him that went beyond what had been there yesterday.

  He knew that I wouldn’t be able to just arrest him after last night. And maybe… maybe he couldn’t bear keeping the secret any longer either. We both opened ourselves up to each other.

  Even seeing him standing there, looking remorseful, Mariella felt an impulse to pull him to her and comfort him. She resisted, of course.

  This is why you wait, she told herself irritably. This is why you don’t make these impulsive decisions. Because… She almost laughed at herself. What, because the man you bond with might turn out to be a secret necromancer? All right, maybe that’s not the lesson.

  She stared at Tybalt and shook her head. Is this really the demon-worshipping creature that you’ve always heard a dark mage would be? Are those the eyes of a mass murderer? The lips of a monster?

  She tried to think about the last few days with a little distance, but images pressed themselves to the front of her brain. Tybalt tackling her out of the way of a falling boulder. Tybalt pushing her out of the way of an arrow, almost dying so that she could live. An image of the previous night also tried to push to the forefront, but she shoved that to the back of her mind.

  No, he’s not a monster. He’s… one of the best men I’ve ever met. Even if he lied to me, none of his actions were lies. He risked his life for me over and over. Even now, he’s ready to risk his life for a bunch of strangers!

  Her mind finally settled on one thought, one question that mattered more than anything else.

  “I’m not going to take any action against you based on what you say now, but I need to know something,” she said in an icy voice. “Tell me the truth, or you won’t like what happens.”

  He nodded.

  “Did it… actually mean anything to you? The last few days together? Or was it just a bit of fun with a foolish girl who couldn’t—couldn’t see through you?” She could feel herself choking up as she finished her sentence. She stopped talking and looked at Tybalt through slightly watery eyes.

  “Of course it meant something,” he answered without any hesitation, eyes locked on hers. “It was very important to me. You’re very important to me.” He reached out and cupped her cheek. She let a moment pass, then grabbed his wrist and lightly pushed his hand away.

  That was what she had wanted to hear. But was it enough?

  “Then how could you—” her voice broke—“how could you lie to me about who you were? Didn’t you know what it would—what it would do to me?”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I did know. I had an idea, at least. Like I said a few days ago, I’m extremely selfish. But I only ever lied to you about things related to my class. Everything I said about us was real. I had to deceive you—no, I chose to deceive you, because I was afraid that you would kill me or arrest me, which amounts to the same thing in the Kingdom given what I am. You would have done it, I know you well enough to know that. You love order and authority and hierarchy and obedience. Ultimately, I can never go back to the Kingdom. Not unless there’s some way for me to hide who I am.”

  Mariella realized she was nodding along and made herself stop. She badly wanted to believe him, wanted to agree with him, wanted this all to be all right.

  “But if you don’t believe anything else I say,” Tybalt continued, “believe this. You’re the sort of woman who sparks genuine devotion. I never had to fake any feelings.” He let out a quiet, bitter chuckle. “Even against my will. There were so many times I could have killed you and made myself safe. With my powers, every time you turned your back, I could have just crushed your spine. I had Baldwin’s voice in my head—he’s one of my creatures, that was why I lied back then about switching shirts with him—telling me to do it, over and over. But I couldn’t. I just wanted you to be mine so badly.”

  She felt the ring of truth in his words, or she hoped she did. She felt a twinge of fear—“There were so many times I could have killed you,” I never suspected for a moment that he was thinking about that—but mostly she just wanted to believe Tybalt, to believe in him.

  He drew closer to her again. She let him take her into his arms this time, completely passive.

  “I wanted you to be mine so badly.” Those words echoed through her mind far more loudly than the ones about killing her. Her heart ached. She realized that she believed him. She knew at the same time that she would also believe him if he was still lying to her.

  She felt in her bones how wrong everything about this was, but she reciprocated his feelings completely. She wanted to belong to him. Let the whole rest of the world hang.

  At some point, the passivity with which she had received his embrace turned to her melting into his arms.

  When he leaned down and kissed her, she kissed him back, stiffly and reluctantly at first, but then with an ardor that surprised her.

  Gods help me… I’m yours.