Seyari woke up mid-way through the long night, and I looked up from the farming ledger I was going over at a table across the room. Behind it sat a stack of notices; sitting prominently on top was the notice of Nadya’s death.

She’d died fighting for her city, and I felt callous for sorrow being overtaken by concern over who would take her place—and if they would cooperate with me. Her role had been unofficial, but important—a liaison I desperately needed as I grew into my role as Marchioness.

I heard Seyari’s breathing slowing again, but not enough. Likewise, anger had bubbled up again to the fore of her emotions—a constant these past few days for us both.

“I know you’re awake, Sey,” I said, putting the quill back in the ink pot and waving hot air across the page. We’ve got a few weeks of food left at least—but no more than the month.

For a moment, she didn’t answer, then she shifted her wings, rolled onto her back and sat up on top of all our pillows. “I… wanted to say I’m sorry.”

I drew in a sharp breath, but didn’t interrupt; instead, I watched the glow of her golden eyes.

“I’m just scared of being shackled again—no, that’s an excuse.” She sighed, then took a deep breath. “I won’t make excuses—I said things with the intent to hurt you, Renna. For that I am sorry.”

“Did you mean them?”

Seyari’s pause stung. “Not in the way I said them. I think without a firmer hand—without support—you won’t respect yourself enough to act decisively. At least not consistently. You’ll try to save more than can be saved; you’ll play impossible odds.”

I stood up and walked over to the bed, sitting down next to my wife. “I’m not going to stop showing mercy. I’m not going to abuse this power just because I have it.”

“I know. And I guess this all damages the apology. I should just go back to sleep.” She looked away.

Truthfully, I didn’t know what to say. Waving this away would be the exact wrong thing to do, but I didn’t really feel like her apology was something I could accept. What she’d said, about leaving for extended periods to fly free despite the dire situation Astrye was in, had hurt and it had worried me. So, I took her hand in mine.

“We compromised, right?”

“That doesn’t make what I said any better.”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t.”

“Damnit, Renna. You should be mad! You should—no, it’s not your job to stop me from saying hurtful things.” Seyari lowered her head into her hands.

“I do get angry.”

“Not about things like this.”

“They’re…” They’re not worth getting angry over. Aren’t they, though? “Maybe I don’t.”

Seyari nodded, hands still over her face.

“It’s just not what I want. I don’t want to be angry.”

“Then you’ll just trust that I’ll apologize? That I don’t really mean bad things I say?”

“I wouldn’t say that. Just… I don’t know. I love you, Seyari. And I know you love me. And we’ll disagree sometimes and maybe we’ll say hurtful things because we’re hurt even if we shouldn’t. I did leave for too long, and with the king’s messenger killed, you’d have no way to know the circumstances.

“Not that that excuses my absence from Astrye in a time of need, mind. I guess what I’m trying to say is…”

“The king’s messenger was killed?” Seyari whispered, raising her head. Golden eyes glowed up at me in the dark of the room. “Did you find that on our patrol? Is that why you were doing all that work up here in the dark?”

“I was doing the work up here in the dark because I wanted to be close to you.” I forced a smile and swung my legs up onto the bed, dulling my claws so I didn’t tear anything. “And I did find them on my patrol. Looked like they were torn apart by something. They weren’t hidden well, and nothing of value was taken—but I doubt three trained imperial guards with enchanted weapons would die to a particularly bold pack of wolves.”

“Shit. Renna, I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

“No, really. I shouldn’t have said that, but I do want to go flying. I want to leave this stupid war and go travel the world together. But I had some time to think while I was on patrol, and maybe having a home where we’re welcome would be nice. A place to come back to and rest between adventures, maybe even stay a season or a year.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

My smile grew more genuine. “That is an apology I can accept—implicit or otherwise.”

“Thanks, Renna.” Seyari leaned over and gave me a one-armed hug. “Mind giving a report on what you found?”

“Sure. I’m at a good place to stop with the food supplies and farming ledgers.”

Seyari grimaced. “How bad?”

“Three weeks. Four tops—without anything from hunting.”

“Shit.”

I nodded, moving to get up.

“You can give the report from under the covers, you know.” Her tone was earnest, maybe a little longing, but it wasn’t sexual.

“I know—I just figured you’d want the king’s missive. Still has the seal and everything.”

“Oh.”

A few quick steps brought me to the desk, and with only a few moments of searching I found the missive and brought it back, sliding under the thick covers and turning up the heat. Seyari stayed on her back, wrapping me up with one crimson-feathered wing.

She also grabbed my tail like it was a warm blanket and took the missive like an eager child. Flicking the seal open with a sharp-nailed finger, she read through it. “I’ll be blessed. This looks like a missive and nothing more. Mentions the Winter Solstice Ball, your extended stay for etiquette training and… nothing else.”

I cocked my head at her. “I’ll be blessed?”

Seyari poked one of my shoulders. “I’m an Angel of Wrath and married to a demon. Feels like a better thing to say than ‘damned.’”

“You know I’m still trying to win the Church over.”

Seyar rolled her eyes. “If that’s where they draw the line then they’re not worth winning over.”

That got an involuntary giggle out of me. “You got me there.” I reached over and took the missive. “Is that really all it says?”

Seyari pulled the covers a little higher. “Yep.”

The missive didn’t take long at all to read—and that was indeed all it said.

“Did you find anything else?”

I rolled the missive up and set it on the end table. “Yeah. A slaughtered band of mercs—no company affiliation that I could find.”

Seyari’s brow furrowed. “What? That doesn’t make any sense. There’s no way they could have been waiting for the king’s messenger.”

I nodded. “I considered that. Wild animals seemed to have gotten to the king’s messenger and his guards, but not them—they were probably only a day or two old. Plus, if they were after the messenger, they’d have taken the missive at the very least—and probably the enchanted weapons.”

“Weapons would have the royal crest on them, so I doubt it, but the missive yes. What else did you find?”

I thought for a minute before one more detail came to mind. “They had all their money on one person in one sack—and not much of it. I figured that meant they were going to return somewhere else and soon.”

“What about supplies—food and the like?”

I frowned. “They had some things, but I didn’t really check for that.”

“Were they in a camp?”

I shook my head. “Maybe it hadn’t been set up yet.”

“Would it have been visible from the road?”

“Not really?”

Seyari pursed her lips and hummed for a few moments. “I think they were sent by someone to intercept people on the pass, and they got intercepted by something else. Did they have similar injuries?”

“Yeah.”

“Were the messenger and guards nearby?”

“Close, but not that close.”

“The ambushers got ambushed then. Damnit.”

“Huh? But didn’t we… oh. We don’t know who sent them.”

Seyari nodded. “Exactly. And since there’s a couple weeks of delay between your arrival and announcement of your title and of attending the Winter Solstice Ball, there would be a few candidates.”

I tried to think. Who would know? Who would have a motive?

“We’ll need to get to the bottom of this. Before you leave, talk to Paladin Warren and Duchess Kapel. Try to find out if they know anything, or if the duchess is behind this.”

“She can’t be!”

Seyari smiled at me like she was smiling at a child, and she rubbed my head between my horns. “She absolutely could be. Would you admit as such?”

I remembered, acutely, the duchess sobbing alone in her room. “It wasn’t her. I’m certain.” A little puff of flame licked out and nearly singed Seyari’s fingers.

Her eyes widened. “Alright, alright—I won’t pry. But a certain level of paranoia will keep you alive. Or at least keep other people alive as you won’t be given reason enough to kill them.”

At that, I winced. “I’m trying to play within society’s rules. Not just because I want to be part of it—if I want help, I can’t be a force of nature that can’t be held accountable.”

Seyari rubbed my hair again. “Adorable.”

I blushed. “Sey!”

She snickered. “Fine, I get it. You’re not wrong—and at least you have a reason beyond a vague sense of justice. Just ask the pair and I’ll send feelers out around Astrye—see if anyone’s made a move against them in the recent pass or has interest in the region.”

Rather than nod, I pouted. Then, I frowned as a realization dawned on me. “Paladin Warren’s going to have to come with me and the duchess.”

“You have four arms—and you carried them both here.”

“Yes, but they’re going to different places.”

“So? You can figure it out. Find a dense copse to land in or something.”

“I guess. And I also guess that means I really need to find him as well as the duchess.”

Seyari grabbed one of my arms with both of hers. “You do. But it’s nowhere near dawn yet, so you’re staying right here until the sun’s almost up.”

I glanced at the ledger that was still open. “I have work to do.”

“Mhm.”

“I don’t want ink in the bed.”

“You can figure it out.”

“This isn’t fair. You’d get on my case if I didn’t work.”

“Mhm.”

I growled. Sey hugged tighter.

“Alright.” With a quick motion, I swept her up into two arms and pushed us both up and out of the bed with the others. She buffeted me with her wings, but I kept my balance with my tail. Still holding her with two arms, I grabbed up the ledger and the ink pot and walked back to the bed, setting my work on the end table and my wife in the warm spot.

Seyari glowered at me, but I climbed back in and warmed up quickly enough that the glower melted into merely a disapproving pout.

I turned away to face the ledger. “I’ll be quiet. Get some more rest—non-demons need that.”

Seyari grumbled and mumbled a few choice words, but she turned on her side, tucked her wings under the covers as best she could and pulled up against my back. I wrapped my tail around her legs and she drifted off in less than a minute.

I kept working until the sun came up, though for the last half hour my thoughts were consumed by one single question:

Who sent those mercenaries—and why?