In the Wake of the Wicked (Veridian Empire #1)

35. Leo

35

Leo

“ Y ou want Westhaven or Ridgemore tonight?” Chaz asked, the high-pitched sound of his knife sliding against whetstone grating my ears as he sharpened his blade.

“Doesn’t matter to me,” I said with a grunt. He rolled his eyes at my tone. I’d been in a mood all afternoon. My sister and I had a heated discussion that morning over me disappearing to the palace again last night. Even the news about Rose securing a one-on-one meeting with Gayl didn’t deter her from her tirade for long. Once we both calmed down, I’d debriefed her on what Rose had told me, including confirmation that Gayl knew about the Sentinels. She’d been gone ever since then to track down a few of her contacts in the capital and get the word out about our compromised situation.

It was now mid-afternoon, and Chaz and I were at the cottage preparing for our nightly patrol. I scrubbed a hand over my face; the maps and notes on the table in front of me were beginning to bleed together.

“If you don’t care, you can have Ridgemore,” Chaz said. “I don’t want to deal with that tonight. Not since we found out those Emberfell fugitives are arriving in less than a week. Attacks are running wild over there—people trying to get the port shut down. ”

“Mhm,” I mumbled, eyes glazing at the words before me. I flipped over the page of notes, but instead of the cool, stiff parchment, I felt warm skin and soft hair. Instead of lines on a map, I saw green eyes staring back at me. I blinked and pinched the bridge of my nose, shaking myself out of memories from the previous night.

“Are you even listening to me?”

Something hard smacked into the back of my head and I jolted, looking down to find the leather strap for a knife at my feet. “What was that for?” I asked, whirling to face Chaz.

“You’re distracted,” he said.

“I’m not distracted .”

“Really?” He raised an eyebrow. “Rissa told us how it was with Rose that day of the first trial. That the tension was so thick, she?—”

I threw the leather strap back at his face to cut him off. “You should know better than to listen to my sister,” I growled.

He looked wholly unconvinced. Shrugging, he picked up his knife and continued sharpening it on the stone. “She wasn’t wrong. I saw it with my own eyes when Rose was here the other day.” He chuckled and wagged his eyebrows at me. “You know what else I saw with my own eyes?”

“Don’t finish that thought.”

“I’m just saying, the girl’s easy to look at. Been a while since someone new has come along. If you’re not interested, maybe I’ll try and?—”

Slamming my hands on the table, I stood and crossed into the kitchen. That smug grin on Chaz’s dark face told how easily he could read me, how easily he could rile me up.

I rummaged through the basket of charms we kept on the counter, deciding what I wanted to bring on patrol with me tonight. My fingers landed on the vial of calamus oil Rose had used to cast the compulsion spell on me, and her face popped back up in my mind.

Chaz was right—she was easy to look at. The fact that she was beautiful wasn’t a secret. Anyone with eyes could see that; the way her dark hair shone like black velvet, how her full lips smirked when holding back a quick retort, those endless eyes that cut right through you. It didn’t help that I knew how her skin felt beneath my fingertips, how her body felt held against mine in a darkened corridor.

Maybe I was attracted to her. Maybe her stubbornness had given way to something else. But I wasn’t distracted . We had a mission, and I knew my priorities. Keeping her safe and making sure she was able to do what we needed her to do was part of that. So was earning her trust.

I knew deep down, though, I wanted that trust as more than allies. Even as a young boy, when I saw someone hurting, I had this urge to pick up the pieces. To heal them and make things right. Every time my sister walked through the door of our home with more bruises, I wished I could be the one to bear that pain. Every day our mother drifted further and further from us, I wished I could bridge the gap and take her illness away.

And Rose…she was hurting. The way she spoke of her father’s death and how the people in her province treated her drug up the same desire in me to be what she needed. Last night, it was a friend.

I wanted her to feel safe and comfortable with me. I wasn’t sure when the shift had taken place, but now I wanted to break down her walls, to see what demons she held beneath that tough exterior, what haunted her past and caused the helplessness and insecurity that tried to crack through her carefully curated shell.

That has nothing to do with the mission, Leo , a voice whispered in the back of my mind.

“Ridgemore,” I said curtly, getting us back on track. “What’s the latest report?”

Chaz cleared his throat. “The Emberfell fugitives will be here within the week. Things are as bad as ever up there at the border between them and Drakorum, and more families are on the run. Word got out, and there have been attempts the last few days to get the northern and eastern ports shut down so they can’t enter. Mostly the work of a handful of angry locals, but we’ve been keeping an eye on it.” He looked up at me from his knife. “Just be careful. Wouldn’t want to mess up that pretty face for Rose,” he finished, his eyes flashing humorously.

I shot him a glare, but it held no true anger. As much as he and the others enjoyed irritating me, I didn’t know what I would do without them. They were my only family.

It was easy to withstand a few jokes to have them by my side.

We spent the next quarter of an hour going through the reports from the last week of the various sectors across the capital, lost in talk of strategy and placement when there was a knock on the door.

Chaz eyed it. “You expecting someone?”

“Anyone we know wouldn’t bother knocking.” I flipped a knife in my hand and stood, stalking to the door.

I pulled it open, surprise licking at me like flames. “I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon.”

Rose tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and gave me a soft smile. One free of sarcasm, of derision or distaste or distrust. The beams from the afternoon sun shimmered around her, making her olive skin glow and her green eyes sparkle.

She was…stunning.

Fates, I was in trouble.

“Can we talk?” she asked, biting her bottom lip.

“I—sure, of course. Come in.” I held an arm out, wondering what had come up that made her travel here the day before the second trial began.

“Well, hello there,” Chaz crooned from the table. I ran my tongue over the top of my teeth, holding back a retort.

“It’s Chaz, right?” Rose said, tilting her head at my friend as if she hadn’t spent hours with him just four days previously. A hint of a smirk pulled at her lips.

Chaz held a hand to his heart. “You wound me. ”

I pointed to him and motioned for him to stand. “You. Up. We’ve run through enough reports for today.”

Giving me a dramatic bow, he said, “As you wish, sir.” He straightened and winked. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

I moved to smack him on the back of the head, but in the blink of an eye, he disappeared in thin air. We heard his muffled chuckle on the other side of the door growing more and more distant.

“He seems like a handful,” Rose said with a snort.

“He is,” I agreed. “He’s also my best friend, strange as it may seem.”

She nodded. “No, I can see it. I mean, you’re so…you,” she said, holding a hand out as if that explained everything.

I took a step toward her. “And what am I, exactly?”

“Serious. Brooding. A chronic scowler.” She grinned, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Even in the short time I’d known her, I could see how swift she was to use jokes and sarcasm to cover up her vulnerability.

I wanted to reach out and comfort her, but instead I clenched my hands at my sides. “What’s wrong, Rose? Why did you come here?”

“Is—is Rissa here?”

“Not right now, but she should be home soon if you want to wait for her.”

“No, it’s alright. It might be better this way.” Her cheeks flushed. “I need to tell you something. Something I should have told you last night.”

My guard was instantly on alert, apprehension sliding over me. “What are you talking about?”

She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. “Look, I may not have been completely honest with you.” Opening one eye and peeking out at me, she winced. “About my meeting with Gayl.”

I gritted my teeth, but reined in any emerging anger. You’re so quick to expect the worst in others, little brother. Sometimes you have to look harder to find their best. My sister’s words from the other night came roaring back, urging me to stop anticipating the worst. To not close my mind down in the face of suspicion and betrayal. To listen and trust and look .

“Come sit,” I said, turning and leading her to the couch. “What happened?”

Rose balanced on the edge of the cushion, refusing to meet my eyes. Her fingers rubbed furious circles into the leather of her herb pouch. There were so many of her layers left to uncover. So many sides beneath the bold, reckless, sharp woman I was used to seeing. This side of her…it reminded me of that morning in the alcove. Pained, scared, and running.

She took a deep breath. “I should have told you last night, but I was just so—so overwhelmed. Gayl talked about my father, about living in Feywood and it—it was a lot to take in. I didn’t know what to think. I wasn’t sure if I even believed him.”

Reflexively, I extended a hand and rested it on hers, pausing her nervous habit. “Slow down, Rose. Start over. What did he say?”

She met my eyes, wariness shining in those emerald pools, and licked her bottom lip before saying, “Theod—Gayl is my father’s brother. He’s my uncle , Leo.”

We sat there in stunned silence for a moment as I tried to wrap my mind around what she’d said. “Your…uncle? How is that possible?”

“Everything I told you was true—he is from Feywood. And he did know my father. It’s just a little more complicated than that. They had a big falling out years ago, and Gayl changed his name and moved to Veridia City long before I was born.” She took her hand out from beneath mine and ran it through her hair, those long strands dripping like ink down her chest. “I’m sorry, Leo. I was in shock. I was angry with Morgana and Ragnar for never telling me, and I needed time to—to let it sink in. You surprised me at my window while I was still processing it all.”

Theodore Gayl was her uncle . The man I’d spent my entire life despising, who had ripped our lives out from under us, shared her blood.

How had this happened? How was it that the person we’d found to carry out this duty ended up being related to the very man we wanted to overthrow?

Was this how she had felt when learning I was Branock Aris’ son, who she believed killed her father? The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on me. But she was not her uncle. Shared blood didn’t determine the choices one would make or who they would become.

And yet…a small part of me wondered if it was all a coincidence. If she and Gayl had somehow conspired to trick us, getting close enough to us to turn this whole operation around and expose us as the rebellion.

But did I believe that? Or was that me expecting the worst in others, denying them the grace my sister was so adept at?

What would Rissa say?

My sister would remind me that Rose’s entire existence up to this point hadn’t been devoted to our cause, as mine had. That I couldn’t expect her loyalty to us to be so unwavering after a mere week that she would set aside her own needs, her own turmoil and shock, in a single moment. She’d tell me to swallow my pride and pessimism and remember all Rose has been through and what she’d put on the line for us.

Letting out an exhale, I stood abruptly and paced in front of the couch, needing to release this frustration before it grew. It would do me no good to aim it at her—not when she had come here for the right reasons.

“I wish you had said something last night, but I suppose I can’t blame you,” I said slowly, glancing at her. “You’ve been through a lot the last few days.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You’re taking this…well.”

“I’m thinking.”

A timid, relieved smile played on her lips. “Better than yelling,” she said. I grunted, and her smile widened slightly. “There’s that scowl.”

I stopped in front of her, and her face fell. “I am sorry, Leo,” she said. “But I’m here now. ”

“How can I be sure this doesn’t change your commitment to us? Your loyalty?”

“Because I wouldn’t have come to you if it did. I still want the same thing I did yesterday before finding all of this out. I still want the Somnivae curse broken and this empire set free from his rule.” She stood and gazed up at me, the top of her head reaching my lips. She looked so fierce, so resilient, even in the face of her obvious distress. A beautiful storm ready to wipe out those in her path.

“And even though I kept this from you, I still meant what I said last night,” she added. “I do want to be friends. But as you can see, there’s a reason not many people want to get close to me.” She spoke the words as a challenge, not a plea for pity. Not an excuse.

“Perhaps they’re scared,” I murmured.

“What do they have to be scared of?”

Fates, this woman. I couldn’t seem to stop myself from responding. “Themselves, maybe. The way you might make them feel. How bold you are with your magic, how unapologetic you are with your words. You challenge them. You challenge me .” My fingers itched to graze hers, the hitch of her breath chipping away at the tightness around my chest. “That’s enough to make anyone feel a bit of fear.”

She held my stare, surprise glistening in her eyes. She wasn’t expecting that. Maybe I had layers, too. Sides she was beginning to uncover bit by bit.

That thought used to frighten me. But for some reason, knowing she was letting her walls down too, that we were both toeing that line, scared of the precipice yet walking it all the same…it made it less daunting.

“Thank you, Leo.” Her voice was so quiet, it was like a breath. “Thank you for listening. For not getting angry and turning me away.”

This time, I couldn’t stop my hand from raising to rest on the back of her neck, my thumb skimming her jaw. “I told you last night, you don’t have to thank me. ”

“Because we’re friends,” she said, drawing out the words.

My lips twitched. That title felt searing with my skin against hers. “Yes. Because we’re friends.”

She swallowed, and I tracked the motion, the air crackling and snapping around us. I could feel her pulse at her neck, could see it thrumming the way it had in that alcove last week. I brushed my thumb along it and sensed it jump beneath my touch.

The door flew open with a bang.

Rose inhaled sharply, turning to move away from me.

“Leo, can you please tell Chaz to—oh, I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?” my sister asked, her voice hitching up at the end as she stared at me with her head cocked. A sly grin peeked on the edges of her lips. Any hint of our confrontation that morning seemed forgotten.

I glanced at Rose, a silent conversation taking place between us. We needed to tell Rissa about her newfound relationship with Gayl, but I wanted to make sure she was ready.

Rose bit down on her lip, then nodded at me. I turned back to my sister. “Rissa, there’s been a…development.”

When I paused, she unclasped her cloak and threw it onto the couch, giving me an expectant look. “Well, am I supposed to guess?”

Rose jumped in. “I came here to talk to you both because I found out that Gayl is my father’s brother.” Her voice was stronger this time as she talked to Rissa, not stopping to wait for a reaction. “He grew up in Feywood until his mid-twenties, when he and my father got into a massive fight and he left the province. I confirmed everything with my aunt Morgana this morning. It—it’s true.” She cleared her throat, her nerve seeming to falter. “He’s my uncle.”

Rissa stared at her, her eyes roaming over Rose’s features for a moment, and then strolled into the kitchen, grabbed an apple from a small basket, and leaned against the counter. The only sound in the house was the crunch of her first bite as she examined both of us across the living space.

“Did you know or have any suspicion about this before last night, Rose?” she finally asked.

“No.”

“And did you give the emperor information regarding us or your mission?”

“No,” Rose answered firmly.

“Do you want to pursue any sort of relationship with him that would create a conflict of interest?”

“No. I don’t want anything to do with him.”

Rissa took another bite. The apple’s sweet, tart scent filled the air. “Do you still want to work with us? To carry out the plan?”

“I want to figure out how to end the curse,” Rose said. “And I want him gone.”

Another bite, followed by more silence.

“Alright,” Rissa said.

I blinked. Next to me, Rose said, “Is that all?”

“If you’re being honest, yes,” Rissa said with a shrug, pushing off the counter. “And if my dear brother here hasn’t chewed your head off already, then that’s a good sign. I have to ask, though, why didn’t you tell him this last night when he had his little tryst at the palace?” She shot me a sharp look, and I scowled.

“Like I told Leo, I was just…scared. Shocked and a little ashamed to be related to this man who’s caused so much harm. Angry that I didn’t know sooner. I should have said something, but I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Rissa nodded in understanding. “I’m glad you told us now. Because I think this is the perfect opportunity.”

“You do?” I asked, wondering what my sister was up to. She had that cunning look about her, one that spoke of plans taking shape and lines being crossed.

“Do you think you could meet with him again?” Rissa asked Rose.

Rose looked at me out of the corner of her eye, almost as if she needed reassurance. Then her gaze flitted back to Rissa. “He said he wants to see me again. To—to tell me more about my father. ”

“That’s good,” Rissa said, her excitement mounting. “He trusts you—or at least, wants to get to know you. To keep you close. If you’re willing, Rose, this could be our opening. Your way in without having to sneak around the palace. If he’s keeping a closer eye on the Sentinels, we can’t take as many chances, but you have already gained a footing. Meet with him, get to know him, make him trust you. Who knows what information he’ll willingly hand over?”

She had a point. This was a kind of advantage we would have never seen coming.

Rose didn’t answer immediately. She seemed to be warring with herself, her brows knit tightly together, her eyes searching Rissa’s face as if she might find something there. Was this too much to ask of her? To exploit this brand new part of her heritage and put herself into a different kind of danger?

I didn’t know if I’d be able to bear seeing her body added to the list of ones we’d lost for the sake of this empire. Seeing anyone's body added to it.

But Rose’s features hastily fell into determination, and she gave my sister a curt nod. “Yes,” she said, eyes shining with resolve. “I’ll do whatever you need.”