The Rebel Assassin

Chapter 36: The Protector's Friendship

I hadn't thought of the Protector being aware of Medea's presence in her country. My eyes snapped up to her from the drinks a servant was passing around to us. "Is she still at the University?"

She pursed her lips. "Unfortunately not. About a week ago several Englian soldiers infiltrated the country and assisted her with escaping the University guards. She was not seen again until your company was attacked by them, and has not been seen since. No doubt she has fled to her father. There will be hell to pay for both of them on behalf of the citizens they killed and the trust she broke. Not that anyone here trusted the girl much at all."

"Yeah, I haven't liked her much since she took a knife to me."

Everyone who knew was Medea had done flinched. Gal gave me a scandalized look for referring to it so brazenly, but I refused to give them any sign of being cowed. Joking about what was patently unfunny had been a trademark of mine for a while. Nemia had reminded me I couldn't lose it just because Iso thought he had erased me.

The Protector, who must have assumed I was talking about the street fight, smiled. "More than fair. The Englian style of fighting is enough to offend anyone who knows how a blade ought to be used."

I decided I liked her. She was more open than most politicians, and she had a sense of humor. I was badly in need of that right now. Everyone else was giving me side-eyed looks and dancing around the awkwardness — except Nemia, who fretted, and Joshua, who had retreated to the condescending distance he'd exercised as the Auxiliary Captain.

And, most importantly, Iso hated her, and she hated him back. When Englescroft tried to swoop in and steal the rebellion's victory, I had no doubt she would lend her personal help in sending them running back to their borders.

"Now, on the topic at hand. I've had a written document of our proposal drawn up already. I know this is your first time seeing it, Morane, so take as much time as you need while we discuss."

She had already switched from using my last name to my first, and I thought she liked me as much as I liked her. It was probably one of the smoother introductions I'd ever been a part of.

I read through it all several times while they talked, because my mind kept wandering. The Protector's firm energy was almost a calming influence after the way my life had been upset. I felt more normal with someone who had no idea what had happened to me. I felt more like myself. And that meant I had begun to direct my hopeless anger toward a more deserving target.

I was going to get revenge on Iso, and it would be nothing less than he deserved.

"The fact that you want to bind our two countries so tightly," Dell was saying as I finally paid attention to the conversation again, "makes me confident you're serious about supporting us. While asking for a stake in our leadership is, of course, beneficial to you in order to see how we manage your gifts, it will also serve as a message to surrounding countries later on — since the Phoenix's leadership will naturally transition into Solangia's temporary government as we organize a representative assembly, your people embedded with us will also end up visibly entangled in Solangia's new destiny. That you've already embraced this is a good sign for our partnership."

The Protector inclined her head with a smile.

"Ysmay will, of course, have to give her final permission to this alliance," Cyrus reminded them. "Since we were sent with permission to form an attachment to Englescroft in particular, we must consult her before formally committing to a partnership she has no knowledge of. But, my lady, I am confidant Ysmay will see all the advantages to this that we do."

"As am I," the Protector said. "I see this step as a simple formality, though that is not any slight to your leader, I assure you. I just have that much pride in my country. The Protectorate — I hope you will indulge my patriotic boasting for a moment — is frankly the best Emorial has to offer, neatly split off from the rest of the land." She grimaced. "Well, not as split off as some would hope. But we are distant enough from the mainland, if you will, that the tremors of Emorian problems do not rock us much. Ysmay cannot fail to see the mutual benefit we are able to share, which, frankly, you might not have found in an alliance to Emorial."

Before Cyrus could get on with whatever politeness he felt necessary to respond, the Protector added, "I hope if you are satisfied with our agreement that you can share your next immediate steps with us now, so I know if any of my assistance will be required soon."

"Of course, we have—" Dell began to say, but I cut her off.

"We'll share as soon as we know."

She shot me an annoyed look. We had been brainstorming our next steps all the way from Emorial to the Protectorate, and she probably thought we should share. "Morane means to say that—"

"Our ideas at the moment are rather vague, so we'll need a day or two to discuss before we have a solid enough plan to talk over with you." I refused to let her get another word in.

"Well, as soon as you're ready I'll make time in my schedule." She grinned. "The stories I hear about Morane Laerhart's plans are fascinating enough to make me impatient. It's lucky for me that being part of your revolution will give me a personal insight into and influence on them."

I let the others take over splitting up the meeting and left the room first. Though the success of the meeting had given me energy, the weight of my exhaustion and injuries were making themselves known again. I slumped against the corridor wall and waited for the others to come out.

"What the hell was that?" Dell demanded. "We have a nearly complete plan. Don't you want her help?"

"Did you stop to think," I asked, eyes closed, "how that plan will need to be changed now that my circumstanceshave?"

She hesitated, her voice a little more uncertain. "I guess I didn't think it was necessary for you to have a Mark for it, as long as no one knows what happened..."

"The Mark is part of the mythology, part of what identifies me." I opened my eyes to make sure my point was being made. "We need to think about this before we present it to the Protector."

Gal, hanging in the back of the group, pressed a hand over his mark, probably without meaning to. It still gave me a twinge of hurt and anger. After just a few weeks of knowing what that sign on his skin was, he already felt how much of a loss it would be to have it taken away. I had had my Mark for eighteen years, and lived with its consequences for ten, and I'd never have it again.

Tears pricked my eyes, probably from the combined stress and physical pain of it all rather than from just the loss I was still dealing with. But Dell made her own assumptions.

"I'm sorry, Morane. I'm sorry about all of this. And I'm sorry the plan you came up with before must make it that much more painful. But think about it logically. The plan was already based on deception. The beauty of it is that you don't need to be a Guardian for it to work. You're still important to the rebellion." She said this as confidently as if it must soothe all my fear and anger. For a moment I was stunned by her assumption that the danger to our plan was what hurt me the most, and then pleased by it. I'd rather have her think I was hurt by that than by the emotional weight of what Iso had done.

But even that couldn't stop the condescension in my voice when I said, "You idiot."

Dell drew back sharply. Joshua instinctively put his arm between us, but it was unnecessary. Dell preferred verbal arguments to physical ones, and I wasn't nearly angry enough for that anyway, just exasperated. "Dell, you've gotten too distracted by the Protector to pay attention to the plan we already had without her. Do you think all of Solangia knows my name and face by heart?"

She looked at me blankly. Then I could see it slowly dawn on her. She squeezed her eyes shut and tilted her head back, wincing. "The plan relied on everyone knowing who you were," she said out loud, dully. "You thought all you had to do for that was bare your shoulder."

The realization of how screwed we were spread slowly through our group.

"But that can't ruin everything," Gal protested. "We have a perfect plan, and now we have allies too — it can't all go to waste just because Iso did one thing he couldn't have even known would ruin it."

"It can and it will if we don't make adjustments. Better get used to it, Black Knight, because as of a few days ago, Guardians with fully-attached Marks are in high demand."

Nemia, who hadn't been there for our planning and must have no idea what we were talking about, gave me a look that said she did not like the sound of that at all.