The Sultan's Spy

Chapter 28: Delayed Talk

Eliska settled herself onto the stone bench against the wall between the two flowering vines that made this spot popular with couples looking for privacy. This early in the evening, it was nearly always empty, so she wasn't worried about being interrupted. She inhaled, the heady scent of the wisteria wrapping itself around her. It was only a pity she couldn't see the soft purple colour in the blue twilight.

Footsteps had her looking up, one hand tensed. There were no guards watching here, but she knew there were several within shouting distance, not that what she was wouldn't be blown as soon as she moved. But then she caught sight of the owner of the sound and smiled a welcome as she relaxed.

Tariq smiled back, eyes roving around as he closed the distance between them. "I have to say, I like this place a lot better. And obviously, I got the message you left with the guards. Though I presume the threats to remove me of my manhood if I looked at you wrong weren't part of the original."

Eliska's sweet smile had an acidic edge. "How do you know it wasn't?"

He jerked to stare at her for a moment before he grimaced. "Well played."

"You shouldn't underestimate me."

"I try not to," he said, smiling again as he sat down beside her, close enough that she could feel his body heat combining with hers. "But you are definitely one of a kind."

She was glad the darkness hid any colour that may have risen to her cheeks. "I assume you checked for followers this time?"

Tariq nodded and stretched his legs out in front of him. "It was some of the other scribes, but I've established with them that I take nightly walks to help me sleep, so hopefully they won't try it again. How did you know they were there? I haven't been able to figure that out and it's been driving me crazy."

Eliska tapped her lips as they curved upwards as if in thought. She couldn't help wanting to let him stew for a while, let him think she had magic he hadn't yet seen. But really, that was childish, even if she thought it would be satisfying. "I saw their shadows as they crept behind you. The light was behind and stretched them out onto the grass, so it was obvious they were sneaking behind you in a group. I didn't know who they were, but we really can't risk being seen together. For more than one reason."

He eyed her for a moment before he shrugged. "That's a lot simpler explanation than I thought I was going to get."

"I was well-trained before I learned magic."

"I don't doubt it," he replied with a grin and a wink.

She snorted, not wanting to encourage him further. "Do you have anything interesting to report?"

A smirk replaced his grin. "Funny you should mention that, I got some very interesting information out of the other scribes."

"Oh?"

"Apparently there's a hidden passage under the filbert bush by where the harem's wall runs into the palace wall that leads right out of the palace. The scribes found it a couple of months ago and said it looked new when they discovered it. They've been using it to sneak in and out at night, and they all seem to think someone was trying to get into the harem and went the wrong way. But knowing what we know..."

Eliska stared at Tariq, mouth open, eyes wide. A secret passage. In the palace. That none of their people knew about, that was new? This...Something like this had never happened before! Part of her wanted to go destroy it, rid themselves of the breach to the palace security. But the part of her mind trained to be sneaky and think like a hunter had a better idea. "This...This could prove very interesting."

"That's what I thought. Set someone to watch who comes and goes and-"

"We'll have a narrowed pool of people to investigate," she replied, her savage grin a match for his. "This is splendid work. It seems we should have snuck someone in among the scribes a long time ago."

Tariq shook his head. "It wouldn't have worked then."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

He smirked. "You wouldn't have had me."

Eliska made a face. "Yes, yes. Your work is very impressive. So is your ego."

"And here I was thinking I could get some kind of reward for going above and beyond with my work," he said, eyes bright on her.

She raised her eyebrows but stayed silent.

"Well," he said, as if she'd asked him what he wanted. "There are a number of things that I would love as a reward." Tariq reached out and ran a finger down the side of her face before tucking it under her chin. While she could only stare, he gently brushed his thumb against her lips.

Eliska knew he had to feel the sudden fire in her cheeks, must sense her sudden desire to duck and hide. But she had too much pride to run. Even if the caress had her... No, she was a professional, not a lovesick girl.

"I thought I'd made my stance on that pretty clear," she said, reaching up and gently moving his hand away from her face, keeping her back straight. "And be glad there are no guards around. I know Ajani has given them orders to report everything you do directly to him, so he can deal with you as he sees fit."

"You wouldn't want him to chop off any pieces of me, now would you?" he asked, smiling in what he must think was a charming manner.

"Depends on what pieces. Most of what I think he'd want to remove wouldn't affect your job."

"Oh, I consider trying to make our relationship personal part of my job."

"Then you're very deluded. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should head back," Eliska said, standing.

Tariq stood and caught one of her hands before she could leave. She turned to look at him. "And where would that be? You still haven't told me who you are, Liss."

She smiled as she swiftly broke his hold on her. "Trust me when I say you're better off knowing. And that's for both our sakes. So if you do, by some miracle, see me here, remember, you don't know me." She emphasized the last words, hoping he would actually listen to her for once.

Eliska turned away, leaving him with that and hoping the words would stick with him. Lizina was already considering killing him just for knowing that she was a shadow for the royal family. There's no way she'd let him live if he found out where it was the shadows came from.