"He's not so bad. Let's speak of something else."

"Each time I watch you walk away, it gets harder. Knowing you're going home to someone who hurts you...I can't bear it." He speaks with the fierce, heedless passion of the very young.

Makes me feel ancient.

"There's nothing you can do. Can't we just enjoy-"

"If something happened to him...and I saved your life, then your bond would default to me, wouldn't it?"

I nod. It would, if I were La'hengrin.

That's where Gaius is supposed to be, emotionally. He had to come to that conclusion by himself, and it took him four weeks to get there. Vel is making progress independently, but he hasn't been appointed to the war council yet. He doesn't have the clearance he needs to get this information. I'll guide the kid, subtly.

"Come." He takes my arm, guiding me out of the plaza to the cafe.

We don't eat on the street, as that would offer too many opportunities for discovery. Instead, Gaius takes a private dining room, where nobody can see him romancing Legate Flavius's pet. There are no humanoid workers here, just servo-bots, which facilitates secrecy. Forbidden things offer a unique enticement.

I sit down and let him order for me, playing skittish. "I can't stay long..."

"Don't go," he pleads. "I'll find a way, I promise. You should be with someone who cherishes you."

At least the kid hasn't promised to marry me. He learned that much from his exile. I'm sure he thinks I'll be so grateful to have a kind master that I'll adore him until the end of our days, even after he takes a wife, gets bored with me, and treats me like an old pair of shoes. Fragging nobles.

"This is wrong," I say with conviction, and move as if to rise.

He stops me with a gentle hand on my arm. "I need to discredit him with an offense that merits execution. Then I'll step forward and offer you my protection."

Damn. The kid has more steel than I thought.

Hesitantly, I say, "The legate doesn't know I overheard him, but..."

"Tell me."

"He planted the evidence that made the prince promote him. The other legate didn't do anything wrong."

"So Flavius falsified the data trail and killed him?" Gaius's brows shoot up, and for a few seconds, I think I've overplayed my hand. "Do you have any evidence to support this?"

I shake my head sadly. "No. He's good at hiding his true face."

"What a monster."

"Maybe...you could do something to him...and blame the resistance?" That's as bold a suggestion as I dare offer.

"No, the prince wouldn't believe-unless..."

"Have you thought of something?"

Gaius grins. "Maybe. I could do to him what he's done to his rivals."

Good boy.

Mishani pretends to misunderstand. "You're going to invite him over, have your centurions kill him, and claim he invaded your home?"

"No, that's brutish. I'll plant sensitive information on his comm suite, then turn him in as a traitor."

My eyes widen. "So the prince will think he's working for the resistance?"

It's also ironic for obvious reasons. Once we have that "sensitive information," our mission ends, and we disappear. Gaius will be crushed.

Color touches the tops of his cheekbones. "It's only what he deserves for what he did to the other legate. And you."

I lift a shoulder in a graceful half shrug. "I am La'hengrin. Nobody cares about us."

"I do," he says. "It's not right how you're treated."

Dare I hope he means more than just me? It would be a stroke of luck to find a sympathizer in Gaius. "You could get in trouble, talking like that."

"I trust you." He lowers his voice. "Older nobles disagree, but the resistance may be more organized, more of a threat than others believe. The cure is real...so you might be free to choose, soon."

"Choose what?"

"How you live...and with whom."

"I can't even imagine." Surely that's how a young La'hengrin would respond.

"It won't happen overnight, but change is coming." All right, that does sound like he supports the resistance.

So I ask the question with artless candor. "Gaius, are you working with the rebels?"

"No. They wouldn't trust me. I'm part of the problem." The fact that he knows as much speaks well of him.

This revelation leaves me with an interesting dilemma. If I clue him in, he might help us without the need for subterfuge. It's also possible that he'll feel bitter and betrayed due to the emotional manipulation. Weighing both, I decide to continue with the original plan. If he steals the data, there won't be a trail linking back to him, and when the legate and Mishani perish, Gaius won't mention any confidential information packets on the man's comm suite.

However, knowing his opinions might prove helpful down the line.

"I should go," I say softly.

"But you haven't eaten anything."

"I'm not hungry. And it's hard..." Let him make of that what he will.

"I know," he whispers. "But trust me, Mishani. This will be over soon."

Famous last words.

CHAPTER 42.

"How did you do?" I ask.

Vel had a meeting today, where he was supposed to reap the benefits of being a primus. To date, the privileges have been largely symbolic. But he radiates self-satisfaction, so I suspect it went well.

"I've been appointed to the war council. They're forwarding information regarding their fortifications and strategies."

I fly at him, and he catches me around the waist. Vel whirls me until the room spins. Tapping his shoulders, I make him stop. "I'm thrilled, but dizzy. Put me down."

"Nearly there," he says softly.

"This feels like the longest job ever."

He nods. "Time drags when you're wearing a false skin. How did your meeting go with Gaius?"

Quickly, I fill him in. He makes the connection quickly. "Between the two of us, Loras will have the information he needs to take the war to the next level."

"That's what I'm hoping. I doubt you'll get access right away to the kind of data Gaius intends to plant on you."

"Then I will glean what I can and ready preparations for our deaths."

"That sounds...a little disturbing."

He smiles. "Does it not? Thank you for coming with me. I never worked with a partner like this before. It is most agreeable."

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't leave you hanging."

"No," he says. "You would not."

I smile. "What should we do to celebrate?"

"Blow up the governor's palace?" He cants his head, inviting me to smile.

I do. "We have some loose ends to wrap up first."

"It is almost time. I had word from a compatriot today-"

"From the resistance?" I demand. "Tell me."

"I am trying."

"Sorry." I have the grace to look embarrassed.

"The cure is on course to be complete in the next six months."

"You mean all the provinces have been covered? I didn't know there were that many teams working."

"That was the plan. If we kept it quiet, the treatments would spread without interference. The Imperials pay little attention to what transpires outside the cities, so long as it does not impact their personal comforts."

"Then all of those La'hengrin will be ready to fight soon."

"Precisely."

I take a deep breath. "I'm a little scared, you know? We've been planning this for so long. What if we fail?"

"The resistance has superb strategists. The Imperials have relics of an outmoded system."

"When you put it like that..."

That's the last chance I have for a tete-a-tete with Vel for a while thereafter. Events accelerate, conspiring to keep us playing our roles. Social obligations keep me meek while I hope that Gaius is doing his part. I'm frustrated at my present lack of ass-kicking, but if everything aligns, I'll be on the front lines soon.

Vel plays me logs of the war council meetings. They're long and boring, mostly. As the new primus, he has to listen to all the opinions before volunteering one himself. He discovers what the enemy knows about the resistance...and it's terrifying. We have to find some way to keep them from acting on this intel.

I also fear we have a leak, somewhere. Fortunately, the cells are designed to minimize collateral damage. While we might lose one cell...and the base, the rest of us will be unharmed. Hindered, certainly, by the loss of headquarters, but the movement won't die. We can rebuild.

"We have to warn them," I say, heart in my throat. "Sasha and March are at the base."

"Already sent word to Loras through an intermediary."

"Not the incipient threat?"

"No, the means of contact do not permit such specific information. I asked for a meeting as soon as he can manage it...but I do not even know whether he is in the city right now. I hear things are tight in the provinces. More centurions."

"Are they fighting?"

Vel nods. I hate that we're not around to help. Hate it. There's nothing worse than being helpless to prevent harm from coming to those you care about.

The situation comes to a head ten days later.

"It's time," Vel tells me.

"You have the data?" I can't believe it.

"Gaius planted it in my subaccounts this morning."

"You had alarms to warn you of the intrusion?"

"Of course."

"Have you gotten everything you needed from the war council?"

"I have. Troop movements, plans. If we delay any longer, the intel will become useless."

"Time to die then." I shouldn't sound so cheerful about that, but I'm so ready to leave this life. "How does it happen?"