It was the evening of the second day when his letter arrived, slid neatly beneath her door, white paper and black ink written over in a strong, slashing hand.
We need to choose flowers, apparently. Meet me in the south gardens at sunset?
She could feign a headache, say she was too tired. But Alie’s skin itched with the anticipation of being found out, and she dashed off a confirmation before she could talk herself out of it.
Maybe Apollius was too distracted to put the pieces together. Maybe He wasn’t as smart as Alie gave Him credit for. Either way, the best strategy for casting off suspicion was not to act suspicious.
When the sun began to sink, Alie dressed and made her way down the turret, out toward the southern green.
The entire green was filled with flowers, really, but the eastern side—opposite the walled garden with the well that led into the catacombs—had the most variety. The Arceneauxs loved their roses, and most of the green was covered in them, but thesoutheastern corner was full of crocuses and lilies and ranunculus, nightshade and hemlock and hellebore. A delicate fence surrounded the flower garden, ostensibly to keep people away from the poisonous blooms, though Alie had never known the gate to be locked, and plenty of poison flowers grew unfettered inside the Citadel.
Jax stood just inside the gate, his shoulders tense and his hands clasped behind his back. He turned long before he could have seen her coming, as if listening closely to her footsteps, attuned to her movements.
Alie’s palms were sweaty. She wiped them on her skirt. When she first came up with the plan to move their wedding date, it had been in abstract, something to occupy Apollius and make Him think she’d given up. Now that the new date loomed, she felt nearly dizzy with the weight of it, even though she planned to be gone as soon as Bri’s ship was in the harbor.
All of this was theater, still. And she just had to keep acting.
Alexis stood with Jax, something that made her both immensely relieved and slightly worried. The new Priest Exalted gave her a pointed look as she unlatched the gate. They must have something to tell her.
She didn’t hold out much hope for it being anything good.
Jax waved a hand at Alexis. “Repeat those suggestions for Alienor, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course.” Alexis turned, walking through the garden, gesturing to flowers as they passed. “Auverrani weddings generally follow the language of flowers when choosing a bouquet. Lilies are popular, as they represent purity and fertility…”
Alie pulled a face.
“… and daffodils mean new beginnings, so they feature often…”
“I thought maybe it would make more sense the second time,” Jax muttered.
Her lip tried to twitch upward. She fought it back down. Alie had thought that Jax’s dour look meant something was happening with Bastian and Apollius, or that he knew she’d taken the shard. But it seemed like her betrothed was anxious over wedding flowers.
That shouldn’t be endearing.
Alexis finished their brief lesson in a rush, then turned to Alie expectantly. “So what do you think, my lady?”
“Lilies,” she said, mostly because it was the first thing they’d listed and therefore at the top of her mind. “Um, roses. Daffodils sound good, too.” She looked to Jax. “Do you have any suggestions?”
“All of this is for you.” There was a softness to his expression. “I’ll do whatever you like.”
A slight smile tugged at her mouth. She bit down, hard.
Alexis nodded, heading toward the gate. They gave Alie that pointed look again, and she nodded, slightly. She needed to stay in the garden long enough for Alexis to tell her whatever news they had.
She expected Jax to leave as soon as the business with the flowers was done. But he lingered, trepidation in his posture. Her anxiety swelled up again, the tide of it covering her like a shoreline.
“Once we’re married, I’m sending you to Laerdas.”
Of all the things she thought he might say, that one hadn’t occurred to her. “What?”
“You’ll be safer there.” He spoke in a rush, like he wanted to get all of this out of his mouth before he was somehow overheard. “The situation here is… volatile. And I don’t want you caught in it.”
Alie gaped at him. “So you’re just going to send mecountriesaway?”
“I want to keep you with me.” She wasn’t prepared for that tenderness. It made heat rush to her face. “But I want to keep you safe more.”
Bleeding God.
