Kushiel's Scion - Jacqueline Carey [235]
Lucius got up from the table and took our empty winejug to the barkeep. He returned, refilled our cups, and set the jug down between us. The shock had passed from his face and his hazel eyes were steady. "Tell me."
I told him.
Not all of it; not the full horror of Daršanga. On that, I touched lightly. I had told Phèdre all of it and Eamonn some of it, and I didn't think I'd ever speak of it to another living being. But I told Lucius my history, written in broad strokes.
Parts of it, he knew.
Lucius wasn't ignorant of the world's affairs; he'd simply failed to assemble the puzzle. Still, it was strange to speak openly to someone whose perspective was so vastly different from my own. The war that had left such deep and abiding scars on Terre d'Ange, Skaldia, and Alba was merely a historical point of interest to the Caerdicci.
"Are you sure?" he asked when I finished. "Sure of your mother's guilt?"
"Yes." I didn't elaborate.
"Where is she now?"
"Well, she's not roaming the earth in search of her missing son!" I said tartly. "Name of Elua! I was only missing in the first place because she had me hidden away, at least until the slavers took me. And I've been found for quite some years now."
"Fables have a way of outliving truths," Lucius murmured. "So you don't know?"
"I've no idea," I said shortly. "And so long as she keeps her promise, I don't care."
"Promise?" He raised his brows.
"To do naught to jeopardize the lives of the Queen and her daughters," I said.
Lucius looked blankly at me for a moment, then blew out his breath. "Which would put you on the throne, right? Jupiter Capitolinus, Montrève! What in the hell are you doing wandering around Tiberium pretending to be an impoverished gentleman scholar?"
I shrugged. "Hiding. Searching. I'm not sure."
"And they just let you go?"
"Not happily." I smiled at the memory of Ysandre's fury. "But I've come to realize I can't stay, Lucius. Truth be told, our situations aren't so different. After you're wed, I'll go back and face my responsibilities."
"I'm glad you're staying for it," he said. "And I'm glad you told me."
"So am I," I said.
In the weeks that followed, Lucius gave me no reason to regret my confidence in him. For all that he had an acerbic tongue, he was a loyal friend. As I had asked him to do, he kept the knowledge to himself and treated me no differently, although betimes I caught him giving me wondering glances out of the corner of his eye.
They were precious to me, those weeks; the last fleeting weeks of freedom before I would reclaim the mantle of Prince Imriel de la Courcel. Strange to say, I had more freedom now than I'd enjoyed since childhood or was like to ever again. With my decision made, I was free of the doubt and confusion that had plagued me ever since Claudia Fulvia seduced me and told me of the Unseen Guild. With Gilot confined to his sickbed, grumbling under Anna's care, I was free of any guard or caretaker. With Ruggero Caccini's letter in my possession, I was free of the threat of violence.
I treasured my time with Master Piero most of all.
I told him, of course. We met in his crowded study, and he listened as I told him why I would be leaving. When I had finished, he gave me that unexpectedly sweet smile that illuminated his homely face.
"I am pleased," he said simply.
"You are?" I blinked.
"Oh, yes." Master Piero nodded. "I will be sorry to lose you as a student, Imriel de la Courcel. Indeed, I find myself growing short of students!" Another Master would have been perturbed; Master Piero merely laughed. "Ah, but it is virtue we seek, is it not? And you will find more courage and strength of character in facing the things one dreads than in fleeing them, young prince."
"I hope so," I said.
The days passed quickly, summer's heat slowly diminishing with the advent of autumn. I spent my mornings with Master Piero and the other students. A few more joined; new ones,