"He bought all that? Niki?" There was no real privacy to be had at the estate, but they had wandered together through the garden until they came to the fountain. The sound of water was not loud, but it would help obscure their words from the three girls following them at a respectful distance. If they came too close, Ba'an turned her head and glared. Once Lukios joined in, it was enough to dissuade them from encroachment.

"Yes."

Lukios frowned. "Really?"

"Yes." Ba'an watched his expression curiously. "You are displeased."

He only grunted.

"Do you believe it was a trap?" This had occurred to Ba'an more than once. Aika was gone, and Nikias had shuffled his own staff in her place. This was very suspicious, though Ba'an could not imagine what he was playing at; Dolkoi'ri customs were simply too foreign, and she could not tell what trick was being played, if at all.

Lukios seemed to be thinking on it. "I don't think so. I mean, it's just some shopping, and if the merchant hasn't already accused you of thieving, I don't see how it'd work to his advantage." As she watched, his frown slid so it more resembled a pout. "If you wanted to go shopping yourself, you could've told me," he grumbled. "I would have given you my purse."

"…You are displeased because I did not spend your money?"

His pout became more pronounced. "It sounds stupid when you say it like that," he muttered. "But I wanted to take you shopping later and then to somewhere nice. So we could do something fun."

"But we can still do something fun without going shopping."

"But it's not the same." The expression on his face was so mournful that Ba'an could not stop the little laugh from escaping. "Oh, is that funny?"

"Yes. Lukios, I only meant to buy reagents if they had any. The man had very little that was useful, but I thought I ought to spend Nikias' money while he offered. He ought to think of it as penance, though I suspect he is only changing tactics."

"Still," he mumbled stubbornly, and Ba'an only shook her head in bemusement as she reached up and brushed his hair from his forehead. His expression lightened. "You're right about him changing tactics, though, that clever little shit."

"Yes. He has replaced Aika with Dita and her friends." Ba'an sobered. "Lukios."

He understood her tone immediately. "What happened?"

Ba'an had pondered on this all day as well. In the end it had occurred to her that he ought to be informed. She switched to K'Avaari. "Someone went through my things."

"What?" Ba'an put her her hand on his arm and gave a sharp squeeze. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dita look at them sharply before resuming her serene expression; she had heard him.

"Remain calm, Lukios. Nothing of value was taken. I suspect it was either a spy or a thief who lost his nerve. Someone went through my bag of suk and other cures. My medical kit, as well. I do not think anyone has found my coat, but I have left it with Merida, just in case."

"Fuck. Ba'an, this is serious." He glanced around, then switched to K'Avaari as well. "There is no way to know if someone saw it, Ba'an."

"But would they not take it as evidence?"

"Not if they wanted to bait you into using it."

This was true. But…

"How much do they know? About…?"

They huddled together, sitting on the edge of the fountain and turning toward the spout, just in case. Lukios dropped his voice low so Ba'an had to strain to hear. "Battlefield reports are tricky. They get muddled a lot. But Ba'an, there is no way to know. I only got local intelligence reports. Soldiers on the ground thought…it was Zeus. Some others thought it was some kind of Sander god, and there was a handful that thought it was some kind of magic monster, summoned from some other world." He shook his head. "But those are just rumours. I cannot say what reached whose ears or when." He grimaced, then looked around. "Okay. There was…one thing." He eyed her carefully. "There were some reports of the…creature, um…attacking Sanders. Or something like that."

Ba'an felt her breath stop.

No.

Yeeees. Spite. Smugness. It was less a word and more a bundle of sounds, of feelings and sensations. Enha-naus-hasa-en was more instinct now than intellect, but she still remembered who had murdered her. Yeeeeees.

No.

Even bound as it was, Tik-tak Mal'uk laughed. She could feel it reverberate through her, amplifying the sick feeling of satsifaction vibrating through the dead god's humming.

"Ba'an. I am not saying y—it did. I am saying there were reports of Sander camps being destroyed by bad weather, and that fuelled rumours—many wished to believe Sanders could not control their own magic. It does not mean… Ba'an." He took her hands in his, giving up and returning to Dolkoi'ri. He kept his voice low, his face close. "Really. It really doesn't, sweetheart. So don't, um…fuck." He rested his forehead against hers. "You know what? Forget I even mentioned it. Rumours are stupid nonsense, anyway."

But it was too late.

Ba'an remembered.

In flashes, yes, but it was there: Enha-naus-hasa-en shrieking with the thunder as she rained her fury down onto the little man-things that had dared. That had succeeded.

Ba'an herself had been out of reach. But her people?

They had been like little ants when they scattered. They'd died as their cliffs—those same cliffs that had been walls, barricades against the Dolkoi'ri advance—came down and crushed them, drowning them in sandy silt and mud.

"It is well," she muttered, trying to shake herself from her sudden clarity. She felt Lukios rub his thumbs over her hands where he held them, and she was surprised to see she was shaking, very slightly. She pulled herself together, flexing her fingers in his until the little tremors stopped. He pulled her close and stroked her back.

"Ba'an, forget I said anything," he mumbled into her hair. "It's not important, anyway. The point is that you should probably leave. The sooner the better."

"But that is suspicious." Hadn't Lukios said so himself?

"Sure, but situation's changed. It might be better for you to disappear now."

"But what will you do?"

She felt him grin. "Rescue Eirenne and take you home, obviously."

"Lukios. Suspicion will fall on you if I disappear."

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time I've been accused of something dastardly."

"It is not funny."

"It sort of is. I mean, it's not like anyone can prove shit if you disappear with your, uh, things. And Ba'an, I'm…" He trailed off, before coming to a decision. He drew away so he could look her in the eyes. "I'm Lukios the Lion. Um. That means I'm famous and people like me, mostly. So they can't just murder me in an alley and pretend nothing happened. Someone'll notice and it'll be a big, fat disaster."

"But no one else knows you are alive."

"Uh…" He glanced toward the wall. "I was sort of planning to make a big second entrance once Eirenne was safe. You know, horses, banners, horns blaring, that sort of thing. Looks real heroic and shit."

"So I cannot disappear until you leave for the fort."

"No. You can leave right away. I'll be fine. It's not like Niki's going to disappear me while I'm cleaning up his stupid province. He wouldn't, anyway. At least…yeah, he wouldn't. Not unless he had proof of something serious, but I think he'd opt for a trial. He's big on laws. Wrote a few himself, you know?"

Ba'an refrained from squeezing the bridge of her nose, but only because she was sharply aware of Dita's eyes on them both. She turned her head to glance at them. The other girls were plucking flowers, seemingly giggling and paying no attention at all.

Now why couldn't Dita be more like her friends?

"It is not like there is a shortage of soldiers, Lukios. He can…arrest and replace you, can he not?" His smile grew slightly discomfited, and Ba'an frowned. "Lukios?"

"Well, I guess. But it's not easy to arrest a Helios, Ba'an. And it'd be bad optics if I disappeared while under Gaios' roof." Lukios shook his head. "I'll be fine."

"But no one knows you are not dead, except for Gaios, Nikias, and your two soldier friends. Does Danae know you live? Would she seek you out if you disappeared?" Ba'an had not gotten the impression she would bother.

"She knows. And so does my lawyer, the temple, and the moneylender's office. He can't disappear me, Ba'an. And it's not like they can just march up there. They can't." Lukios shrugged. "He needs a man with tricks, and we're a bit scarcer than head-bashers who like stabbing." He added cheerfully, "Not that I don't like stabbing or head-bashing. But I can be pretty sneaky." He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers. "Don't fret over me. I'll send you ahead with whatever you can carry. Once I'm done with that fort I'll go see you with the rest of your things." He laughed. "The rest of the shop you've set up in your room, I mean."

"They are gifts, Lukios."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. For sir Gaios and your friends, especially sir Askles. He is getting married, so he must have gifts." Lukios expression grew warm and soft.

"Yeah? He must have gifts, huh?" She had a few things for Lukios as well, but she suddenly felt too shy to say so—which was stupid. A gift was a gift. What was there to be shy about?

"Is it not a custom here? To give a friend gifts when he weds?" It was a common practice everywhere, was it not? A marriage was a serious thing, celebratory and mournful at once: the old life ended so a new one could begin. Cleaving to another required compromise—sacrifice.

It was precisely why witches could not marry.

"It is. But you didn't have to get him a thing, sweetheart." He smiled. "But I'll tell him to thank you and get you something nice." He tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. "Shit. You're damn beautiful, you know." Ba'an smiled. Yes, she liked hearing it very much. "Maybe we should just run away together. It sure would beat all this bullshit."

"Lukios!"

"Yeah, yeah." He sighed. "I know, I know. I can't just leave a pregnant girl up there. But…" His gaze sharpened. "Ba'an, don't let him bait you. Maybe you're right and no one found anything. But maybe someone did and it's some kind of trap. I don't know. But don't do anything…witchy. And we need to get you gone right away."

Ba'an turned her face toward the fountain, frowning. "No. I will stay until you are finished with the fort."

"Sweetheart, I'll be fine. I promise." He was frowning now, too. "But by now he must have gotten reports about your activities here. It's not like there's anything to hold you with, and it's better to go before he really starts digging." He shook his head. "No, it's getting to hot. Too risky. I think you should stay on another day or two, but with me. So nothing happens. And then we make up an excuse and you go home until I take that fort." He eyed her. "And you can decide if you want to come down to Heliopolis or not in the meanwhile."

He was not wrong. Uncertainty came with risk; leaving sooner was wiser.

But what if he was injured again, and seriously? Fatally?

"I will stay until you take the fort, Lukios."

He groaned. "You're not budging on this, are you?"

"I will not."

"But…"

Ba'an drew closer and put her hand on his cheek. He put his own hand over hers, as he always did when she touched him.

Ba'an did not do this only to persuade him. It was to give the impression of a lover's sweet nothings and to obscure the movement of her mouth as she spoke.

There as no way to know if Dita spoke K'Avaari or not, but Ba'an knew if she had been Nikias, she would have ensured her chosen spy was proficient in the target's language, and perhaps some lip-reading, too.

"Do not panic, Lukios. So what if someone did find my coat? How will they know what it is?" She spoke in very quiet tones. "What I did was es'tat. The knowledge was es'tat, Lukios, to the point that Ul'ma and I worked in secret, bribed spirits, and…guessed. Much of our magic was guesswork." She shook her head. "Let us assume it was a spy, and not a thief. Let us assume the spy saw my coat. How would the spy describe it? Do you believe your friend used a military man to search my things? Or did he use a house servant?" Only the servants had free and suspicion-free movement throughout the estate. How would one know what to look for, unless specifically instructed? But how could anyone who did not already know what Ba'an was have the foresight to instruct his servant thusly?

No, Lukios were over-complicating this, which was in its own way amusing: their roles had switched, somehow.

Lukios looked down at her, forehead knitting. "But…"

"He believes I am a spy. What would you seek in the luggage of a spy? Poisons, perhaps? Instructions? Surely not clothes."

"I don't like it, sweetheart. I just don't. You're speaking sense, I know, but I just don't like it. It just seems so…so…risky. And for what?" He looked down at her, the creases in his forehead deepening. "Eirenne's not your responsibility." Well, Ba'an was not staying for Eirenne.

"We must remain calm, Lukios, and remain flexible. Let us say his spy found the coat. It was still in my chest, so no one took it. What would he make of this report, if it was reported at all? Now imagine I leave shortly after. What would you surmise I am doing?" It would imply Nikias had found something important, even if he did not know it. If Ba'an had been in Nikias' position, she would have been immediately alarmed, going over every item reported as a matter of due diligence.

"But you said that serving girl's gone. He's not even hiding it now, Ba'an. He's being blatant. He suspects something. He must. Why else would he do something so obvious?"

"But that is the trouble. It is obvious. Perhaps it is meant to be obvious—a pressure tactic. He expects us to panic, to act rashly."

Ba'an put her hand on his to keep him from scrubbing his face in frustration, because such an action would break the illusion of a lover's conversation. Lukios blinked, but immediately played along. He gathered her in his arms, leaning in intimately. "Fuck. I hate this. Forget this shit, let's just leave."

She tilted her head back to look up at him. He looked perfectly serious. "Where would we go?"

"Anywhere. Everywhere." Lukios looked thoughtful. "Except…shit. What would we live on? I don't even own Synoros anymore—"

"What?"

He sighed. "I'm dead, remember? The legal stuff. It was supposed to go to Rekos for safe keeping and then to Aristos once he turned thirty, but…well, Rekos is dead. So it's a mess. There's a guardianship situation now. I can't even sell the place, and even if I did, how would we take all that cash? It's impossible. And promissory notes are only good here, in Illos. Once we leave they're worthless. Fuck." He looked at her and smiled. "Don't worry, though. I'll get it back. I mean, I'm still alive and it's been five months, not six, so that means—" Ba'an did not understand the importance of the distinction; she felt her nose wrinkle.

He looked at her expression and burst out laughing. This time he held her for real, and dipped his head down to kiss her nose. "Never mind! It'll be fine, Ba'an. They've no legal grounds to take my shit. It's just a matter of time. That's all."

"I…see." She shook her head. "I am not…worried. You said it will be a week or so until your brother arrives. Then you will take the fort."

"Something like that, yeah."

"A week is not long, Lukios. I will stay until then. I will do nothing suspicious. He will have no reason to arrest me or hold me here. We must not act rashly, Lukios."

He went silent. After a long moment, he sighed. "Right. Right. But I think you should just stick with me for now, Ba'an. I mean you should stick to me like sap to a tree, just to be…sure."

"If you wish."

"Right." He cleared his throat. "Actually, that was sort of what I wanted to talk to you about. Kind of apropos, actually. Ha. Funny how that works, huh?"

"I do not know what you mean."

He grinned. "Oh, I know. I mean…I wanted to talk to you about something, remember?"

"Yes."

"Right. Well, the first thing is…I'm sorry. I didn't do it right."

Now what was he talking about?

"I do not understand. Are we talking about something else, now?"

He covered his grin with his hand. "Yeah. I mean…it's a mess now, right?" He shook his head. "I didn't do it right. Courting you, I mean. I did it backwards. I'm sorry. I didn't think it through, but I should have. I mean…I thought…um." Ba'an watched in fascination as the tips of his ears went red first, then his cheeks. "Um…I was just…uh." He cleared his throat. "I should have thought about it more instead of…you know."

"I do not know."

"Um…" He cleared his throat. "I did it backwards. I should have courted you first. But I did it backwards, so I'm courting you after. Um. Fuck. I'm not making any sense, am I?"

"You are not." But Ba'an found she did not mind. There was something very endearing about the way he was squirming, red-faced and tongue-tied. This had never happened before.

He swore quietly under his breath. "I mean…" He cleared his throat again. "I get it. Why you got so mad. And why you um…" He ran his hand through his hair. "…Don't really trust me when I say there's no one else. That I'll always…well." He swallowed. "Man, this was easier in my head."

She blinked at him. Hm. Had she been obvious?

He smiled at her again, but it was lopsided. "It's because I did it all backwards. I was supposed to court you properly first and then ask you to marry me. But I did it all backwards 'cause…I, uh…I thought maybe I'd lose my chance. 'Cause you know, once we got here you'd just do your shopping and leave. So I, uh…rushed in. But I should have been more…you know?"

"Hm." He was looking at her with a hopeful expression. Ba'an was sorry to disappoint, but…

"I do not understand what you mean, Lukios. At all."

He covered his face and laughed a little, the same small laugh he used whenever she said something particularly 'adorable'. She did not quite understand that, either, but. Well. He was a strange man.

"I'm saying I'm sorry. I didn't do it right, which is why Niki stuck those three girls on you like a burr. See, I should've thought of that, too. That you'd need a girl or two with you to look respectable. And I shouldn't have…" he sighed. "I said we had to be discreet, but I wasn't at all, was I? Not with how I acted. And now everyone's…" He trailed off with a displeased expression. "I made a damn mess. Should've done it differently."

"What is done is done, Lukios." She gave him a stern look. "Remember what you promised me this morning. Do not be so friendly with Arete. Or anyone else."

The corners of his lips tilted upward. "I will absolutely not be friendly with Arete or anyone else." Slowly, the expression drooped. "But Ba'an, I really fucked this up. A lot. I think…"

"Yes?"

He licked his lips. "Let's forget about discreet."

"What?"

"It's like you said. Everyone knows anyway, and so does Arete. So fuck it. Let's make it official. No more sneaking around or stupid games." He stuck his hand into the inner folds of his chiton and pulled out a little pouch. He opened it up with eager fingers and pulled out two slim metal bands. They gleamed a tawny gold in the evening light. "They're a bit plain, but I promise I'll replace them with something nicer later. How about it? Let's just tell everyone we're engaged, and if they don't like it, they can say so to our faces. I'll kick their asses. It's perfect, right? It means no one'll think it's strange when we show up together. We're engaged. It's expected. See? It's the perfect solution to…everything."

Ba'an raised an eyebrow. "Are we only saying we are engaged, or will we really be engaged?"

"Um…" He gave a nervous little laugh. "Do you want us to be really engaged? Or do you want us to be pretend-engaged?"

"Hm." Ba'an looked at the plain metal bands. One was smaller and slimmer—for her, no doubt. The other was broader and thicker—his. "Lukios."

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

"There…is something you must know. About me."

"Okay."

She licked her lips. "We cannot be engaged for real until…then."

"Okay." Now it was his eyebrow that was raised. "I mean, you can tell me whatever you want, Ba'an. You can just not tell me, too. I don't really care either way. I mean, it's not that I don't care, I mean I won't change my mind." And then he did something very strange. He looked at her and squared his shoulders. He opened his mouth, then shut it again. Then he tried again. This time, he managed to stutter. "What I mean is, I…I…um. Fuck." She watched him blush for the second time in…the same conversation. Fascinating, and very unlike him. She reached out and put her fingers on the shell of his ear, and his blush somehow grew darker. "Uh…Ahem." He put his hand over hers. "What'd you want to tell me?"

She glanced at Dita, who was watching them with her usual calm expression. "Not here. It is serious, Lukios. I will tell you once you rescue Eirenne."

"What? Aw, Ba'an. Come on. That's just mean."

"No. It is practical. You will be distracted otherwise."

"I'll be distracted now. Come on, sweetheart. Tell me." He stuck his face closer to hers and cooed, "Teeeellll meeeeee. I'm going to die of curiosity. I have to know now."

"No. Not here." She shook her head, then raised her hand. "But Lukios, for now it may be prudent to be…engaged."

A smile formed on his face and grew until it went from ear to ear. "Whatever you say, Ba'an!" He held her hand steady and slipped the cool metal band onto the fourth finger of her left hand. "We're engaged, and anyone who gets fresh with you gets my fist in his teeth! Good deal, right?" Ba'an only let out an amused, delicate little snort, but in truth it was a good deal; not because Lukios would beat misbehaving men—he did that already—but because it meant Ba'an had a claim to him now. She had authority. She could tell a woman who made eyes at him to go die in a ditch and feel no remorse. She smiled.

Yes, Lukios was her man now, and everyone else would know it—especially Arete. It would be imposssible for her to make passes at a man about to marry, would it not?

Still smiling, Lukios put the larger band in her hand. "Okay, my turn!"

Ah. There was the puppy again.

Come to think of it, he was rather adorable himself, was he not?

She slipped the ring onto the same hand and finger as he had on hers. He lifted his hand and looked at it with an expression of awe. "Holy fuck. I never thought I'd wear a ring there for real. Holy fuck." He straightened. "Holy fuck! I'm engaged!"

"Lukios," she said, voice dry but quiet. "We are pretend-engaged."

"Aw, Ba'aaaan. Come on." He grinned and held out his arms. "Let me toss you up into the air a few times."

"What? No. That is undignified, and we are only pretend-engaged."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

She crossed her arms across her chest. "There are witnesses and it is undignified. No."

"But…" He looked sulky again. "I wanted to toss you into the air a few times. You know, 'cause you only get engaged once." It seemed pointless to remind him again that they were pretending.

"I thought divorce was common?"

"Well, for some, I guess." He gave her knowing, sideways look. "See, that's what I meant—you really don't trust me when I say that, do you? No, sweetheart, I really mean it. I want to marry you for keeps, and I'd make you the happiest lady in the world. Would you really want to divorce me then?"

She covered her mouth, amused. "Ah, the legendary modesty again."

"Ha! Of course I am. Where's the lie?"

"Do not ask questions to which you do not wish the answer, Lukios."

"That is the longest way of saying, 'You're right, honey!' that I've ever heard in my life."

"'Honey'?"

"Well, 'sweetheart' is taken." He grinned. "You can think up something else, if you want. I'll answer to whatever you think of. Promise."

She snorted again, very quietly. "You must not make such offers carelessly, Lukios."

"Who says it's careless?" He gave her another toothy grin. "I'll take whatever you give me, and I'll like it."

Suddenly, she heard clapping in the background. She turned.

Calloe was beaming, and so was Nene. Dita did not look at all excited, but even so—there she was, clapping along obligingly.

Dita caught her eye and stopped. Then she cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, "Congratulations, kyrios, kyria." She took a breath and continued. "But kyrios, we must take kyria to the baths if she is to be ready for dinner on time."

Lukios sighed. "Of course she does." He reached out and touched Ba'an's cheek. "For the record: I'm going to do everything right this time."

"Lukios?"

He only smiled, so sweetly and tenderly that Ba'an felt her own heart stutter. He took her hand in his. "I told you. I'm going to make you the happiest lady in the world. You'll never want to dump me on my butt, promise." He leaned in. "And I don't care about any witchy little secrets, either." He kissed her fingers then stepped away. "I'll come get you for dinner, okay?"

"If you wish," she said, but in truth Ba'an was very pleased.

"I do." He grinned. "I'll see you soon."