Kushiel's Scion - Jacqueline Carey [263]
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Chapter Fifty-Two
For a mercy, Gallus Tadius gave up on the lot of us. In the face of united opposition, he abandoned his plan and stomped out of the basilica to attend to more pressing matters elsewhere in the city. The rest of us attended to Helena.
Brigitta, who had been closest, cradled her head in her lap. Gaetano knelt at her side, chafing his daughter's hands. But when her lids fluttered open, it was at me that she gazed, her blue eyes soft with wonder.
"I knew it," she whispered. "I knew it!"
I sighed. "It's not what you think."
"What is it, then?" Deccus Fulvius demanded.
So I told him, apologizing for my deception and explaining the bizarre legend that had spun out of my mother's twelve-year exile in the sanctuary of Asherat's temple and subsequent disappearance.
"Women!" Deccus snorted. "The tales they'll conjure."
"Indeed," Claudia murmured.
He glanced sidelong at her. "You never believed such nonsense, I hope."
She smiled at him. "Of course not."
"My lord," I said to Gaetano Correggio. "I fear your daughter is unnerved by her travail. It would be best if you took her home to rest. And it would be best, I think, if she were kept out of sight of Gallus Tadius."
"Yes." The Prince of Lucca—or former prince—seemed stunned. "Yes, of course. I shouldn't have… I'm not…" He touched the ugly gash on his temple, a souvenir of yesterday's battle. "Forgive me, child," he said to Helena. "I'm not thinking clearly."
He led her away, walking like an old man, stiff and defeated. She glanced backward over her shoulder at me as they went, her face suffused with a glow of hope and faith. Whatever I'd said, it hadn't sufficed to dispel her belief. My throat hurt, and I was weary to the bone with guilt and grief. "My mother," I said to no one in particular, "is a traitor. A monstrous, monstrous traitor. And this is truly, deeply wrong."
Eamonn shrugged. "It gave the lass joy, poor thing. Don't begrudge it."
Once they had gone, we returned to the Tadeii villa, where Claudia set about supervising the inventory. I wanted only to take to my chambers to snatch an hour or two of sleep, but it was not to be. Instead, Deccus Fulvius sat me down in the salon and gave me a thorough grilling about my connections and influence, his politician's mind at work. He knew Queen Ysandre by name, of course, but he had met the D'Angeline ambassadress Denise Fleurais and thought highly of her.
"Good woman," he said, nodding. "Smart woman. She knows you're here?"
"Yes," I said wearily. "I don't recall if I told her the exact dates."
"Pity. But she'll figure it out once the news reaches Tiberium. It's bound to sooner or later." Deccus rubbed his chin. "Like as not she'll send a delegation to negotiate for your freedom when she does. Trouble is, you made it a lot harder when you lopped off Valpetra's hand. What in the hell were you thinking, lad?"
I didn't answer directly. "Deccus, does this all seem a bit strange?"
"Ah, lad! War's an ugly business," he said in a kind tone. "Never fear, you'll get used to it. And Gallus Tadius may be a hard man, but he knows what he's about."
"That's just it," I said slowly. "Deccus, Gallus Tadius is dead. Two days ago, we were trying to drive his ghost out of Lucius. Now we're happily taking orders from him."
"Two days ago, Lucca wasn't under siege!" Deccus sighed. "Lad, listen. You saw what a mess Correggio made of it. If you're asking if this whole business makes my skin crawl, well, it does. But let's be honest, man to man. We're stuck here. And frankly, as long as there are two legitimate claims to Lucca, no one in Caerdicca Unitas is going to raise a finger to intervene. Warring city-states are altogether too common. They'll wait it out to see who wins and reestablish ties. Since we're stuck, I'd as soon wager on winning, even if it means letting a walking dead man rule the damned city. Understand?"
I nodded.
"Good lad." He clapped me on the shoulder. "Go on, get some rest. You look as hollow as a scraped gourd." He paused, his hand heavy on my shoulder,