Empire of Ashes

Chapter LXVI - Devil May Care

"Thank you," the warlord murmured. He reached into his belt pouch for another gold sovereign and tossed it to Kingfisher. He caught it with his off-hand and grinned. "I trust I can rely on your discretion? Because if I hear any rumours about our time together, you might find I have a few secrets to spill, too."

"My men know how to keep their mouths shut," Kingfisher promised.

"I'm glad to hear it."

The Red Herring had come to a stop to let us disembark, and two of the hands were untying our horses from the line while Nightmare bucked and made life difficult for them. I had all my belongings in a satchel — it was mostly just armour and weapons.

The horses were brought to us, each one led by a crewmember, and I climbed onto Amber's back with a sense of relief. The boat had been an effortless way to travel, but I would not miss it. The smell of horse and old leather brought a grin to my face as I guided Amber away from the river's edge. I didn't look back once.

We rode away from the river in a loose group, the horses deciding their order amongst themselves. Nightmare and Amber stuck together like glue, as always, so I was at the front and I actually had to steer every so often. The Anglian countryside was just endless rolling fields, and there wasn't much to look at. I ran an eye over my companions instead.

Fendur and Anlai were sweating in full armour. Temris was not, instead opting for a fine white shirt and dark jacket, but all three of them had swords at their hips. Melia was wearing a turquoise silk dress in the Sapphirean style. She had belted it and paired it with breeches, which made her look like a militant queen, in my opinion. Glyn and I had simply found our cleanest tunics.

I was looking at Melia, admiring the intricate stitching on the hem of her dress — roses and ivy leaves in silver thread — when I noticed that there were new holes in her belt, and the tail of it was very close to the buckle. Shortening Amber's reins, I dropped back to ride alongside her.

"Have you put on weight?" I asked incredulously. "While we have been travelling? You will have to tell me your secret."

"There's no secret. I haven't had much of an appetite, actually," she murmured.

That gave me reason to pause, so I looked closely at her belly, which seemed to protrude outwards further than usual. Melia had always been plumper than me because she had grown up with enough to eat, but this was something more.

"Melia," I began sharply. "Am I wrong to assume you have been warming Anlai's bed since we left Cambria?"

"You are not," she said, indignant and defensive. "He is my husband, after all, and we have been getting along so well."

"Then how do you know you're not with child?"

"I can't be, Lyra, as I told Temris when he let me accompany you. I haven't bled in moons — not since Duskos. I often miss my bleeds when I am stressed, and you can't get a child in your belly unless you bleed. My mother told me."

There was a sinking feeling in my gut, cold as ice and heavy as iron. "No, but if Anlai got you with child on your wedding night, you would not have bled these past three moons! That is how pregnancy works, Melia."

Our raised voices were catching the attention of the others — Anlai turned in his saddle to frown at us both. He couldn't have heard much more than noise, but I forced myself to calm and quiet down.

"Really? I didn't know that." She paused, chewing on her fingernails. "But I haven't been sick..."

"Not everyone is sick," I hissed. "Gods, do you know nothing?"

She went very quiet, and I felt almost as if I should apologise. But then she caught my eye, pleading, and whispered, "You won't tell him, will you? Don't you dare tell him. I would have to go home and he would have to go with me, and he is needed here."

"You should never have come, Melia," I could only say, shaking my head. If I held my tongue and something happened to her child in this viper's nest, how could I live with myself? Sometimes, I wished I wasn't so damn clever, because if I hadn't known, this would all be so much easier.

"Promise me," Melia hissed. "Promise me you won't."

"Is everything okay?" Fendur asked from behind us, and so I didn't get a chance to answer her. I still yet to decide what my answer would even be.

Melia shot me a warning look. Oh, she was furious at me. "Yes, of course."

Fendur wasn't convinced, but he was too polite to press the matter, so we all went back to riding in silence.

Gods, what the hell was I going to do? I couldn't even talk sense into her, and we would not have privacy until we were already inside the city, and by then it would be far too late. I could just announce it, of course, but that felt like a betrayal and she could always deny it. Doing nothing felt ... wrong, because Belmery was a dangerous place for a warlord, let alone an unborn child.