My heart jumped with joy when I heard that low drawl. How fast things change. Everybody turned to look at him, even the Tekitekis still piled up like fish about to be gutted. Vanth himself might as well have been an indifferent blizzard rolling down the hills.

Quick, make the most out of the changing fortune!

I doubled over as if I was going to throw up, faking up loud rasping coughs, trying to look particularly nauseous. Which, to be fair, wasn’t far from what I truly felt.

“Take care of him.” Only a hint of cold threat threaded Vanth’s words.

Rather than stopping to answer, Valentino carefully held my head up.

Unfortunately, I started choking in earnest, a thin thread of saliva hanging from my lips. I stumbled forward, sucking up big gusts of breath, and Valentino caught me. Well, that made it more believable.

Valentino walked me to a bench in the shade, holding me as if I was a glass pane about to crack. I dropped myself there, still breathing heavily. Vanth kneeled by my side, cupping my face in his hands. He took out his hankie and softly patted my face clean.

“Is everything fine?” His voice dropped to a velvelty rumble. Not gonna lie, it was comforting.

The Tekitekis had made their escape. If it wasn’t for the crushed cacti and the smear of blood on the ground, you’d think they’d never been there.

I nodded, still trying to catch my breath. Vanth dropped a kiss on my lips and stepped back. Valentino gave me a chilled bottle of chicha. I slowly drained the last few sips.

“What happened?” Vanth asked. To the uninitiated, he didn’t sound any less indifferent than a moment ago. But I could’ve sworn there was a brand-new note of warmth in his voice.

Sticking close to the truth seemed to be the safer option.

“Some kids attacked Sergeant Vargas. I got real scared, ‘cause I couldn’t believe Sergeant Vargas could fight all of them off. I wasn’t really thinking things through. He had everything under control, but I didn’t really notice.” I shrugged. “And then, I think my throat was pretty dry after being on the road. It’s embarrassing, so please forget about it.”

Vanth brushed a strand of hair away from my face. I leaned into his touch. Some of it was ‘cause I wanted him to like me, so he’d help me out of his own choice and not just ‘cause the oath forced him. Some of it was ‘cause I wanted to be comforted, too. I rarely had the chance to be caressed so tenderly.

“I must inform the local guards,” Valentino said.

He couldn’t just let it drop, could he? Better pretend to go along with him, then. Hells, I should just let him say whatever he wanted. Those kids had started it. Wasn’t it enough that they lived like stray dogs? Nobody told them to borrow trouble on top of that!

Except they might not be the only Tekitekis in town. What if they dragged their entire family down?

I’d better find a way to fix this.

I could’ve kicked those Tekitekis. And Valentino. And especially the Megarchon, who’d started the whole mess by sending him there.

“I’ll take you to the guard station,” I said. “It’s not that far.”

Vanth gave me a hand up. It was kind of cute that he’d treat me as if I was an easily-flattened soufflé. Hopefully I hadn’t overdone my act, though.

Valentino looked a bit pale around the edges, but not angry anymore. Not like anything. He and Vanth exchanged looks, mirroring blank emptiness at each other. Valentino bowed as deeply as last night. Vanth averted his eyes, as if he feared he'd fall asleep.

We crossed the empty streets: Valentino striding ahead and walking his motorcycle, Vanth bringing up the rearguard—my bundle hanging from his arm, looking like he simply happened to be headed in the same direction as both of us—and me in the middle. Though we didn’t meet anybody on the way, I didn’t doubt someone—more like several someones—had seen us pass by from behind their curtains, and gossip would start running before the sun was down.

I knew Vanth could show up when summoned, but it was unnerving all the same. Mostly because I didn’t know what exactly summoned him. I mean, I didn’t mean to do anything. And I wasn’t even doing necromancy. It felt wrong—I’d never heard of a spell like that. How could it work, anyway? He couldn’t have flown halfway across the continent, or else he’d be mincemeat. And obviously only the King of the Dying Sun could do it, or what was the point of inventing planes?

But,  if I asked Vanth about it, he’d just sneer at me.

That left me thinking of the one thing I was really trying to avoid considering. What in every hell were the Tekitekis attempting? You didn’t attack a guard as a joke. If you had to do that, you made sure they were dead before you walked away. Else you’d be dead before long. So they’d seen a white-and-gold uniform and most likely decided it was time for payback. In the name of a relative, or a friend, or several. Or themselves. Maybe it was hypocritical of me to excoriate them in my mind, seeing how I was going to kill the Megarchon herself, but at least they could’ve waited for me to leave town.

I thought of the dead guard with a dog’s head. The one they blamed on the Rainbow Snakes. I really doubted the people who did it had been caught. After all, we hadn’t heard a single word about it in the news. The Protectorate is as quick to trumpet is successes as to hide its failures.

Of course, guards had been killed with no repercussion a few times, and it’d happen again as long as there was a Protectorate. The Megarchon’s power was greater than that of any other tyrant who ever lived, but it wasn’t flawless. No human being is. There will always be cracks, no matter how small.

And now—now the cracks were getting bigger. I couldn’t be the only one who’d noticed. Maybe those Tekitekis had noticed it, too. Maybe other people had.

That scared me.

Something cold brushed my neck. I yelped and gave a little jump. Behind me, Vanth chuckled under his breath.

I slowed down so I could glare at him and walk at the same time. “Did you really throw a cold spell at my neck? What are you, eight?”

Vanth held his head high. “You were ignoring me.”

“And you sound exactly like an eight-year-old.” Then again, I was allowing myself to be dragged into this argument. Could I even allow myself to make him mad? My only ally?

Vanth smiled thinly, the only way he seemed able to. Guess he wasn’t mad at least.

Now that I actually looked at him, though, it turned out he had no makeup on this time, just dark circles under his eyes. I bit my tongue before I told Vanth those looked rather stylish on him. He looked as if he’d jumped right out of the bed, still unshaven. Irritatingly, that smattering of stubble didn’t look half bad on him. He should only be allowed to look good when he put in the effort.

“Did you fall asleep in your clothes? Gotta be real uncomfortable.”

“I don’t see how that’s your business.”

“Maybe not, but I did wake you up, didn’t I?”

“You did.”

“Sorry. Though I dunno how that happened.”

“Don’t you remember what I told you last night? I felt your distress through the spell. Did you forgot I told you to summon me before you’re in danger, too? Don’t hesitate, even if it feels unimportant.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I should’ve done that. Things caught me by surprise is all.”

He was back to his indifference. Guess that was to be expected from the only remaining aristocrat of Zalmuric. But then, when I had just snapped at him for throwing me that cold spell, he’d briefly looked alive.

Well, I’d never find out if I didn’t give it a try.

“Did you sleep poorly ‘cause of the silver noon?”

“I never sleep through silver noons. Emergencies are inevitable in such days.”

“Oh, I see. Sleep deprivation would explain why you’re suddenly acting so silly.”

“And what would explain that attitude of yours? Did your lovers allow you to grow so spoiled?”

“Not at all. I’m a self-made man.”

“So you can be remade.”

“You’d think so. But nobody has managed it yet.”

Before he could reply, I ran a few steps ahead to join Valentino, who glanced at me and said nothing.

“If you heard any of that, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry, Your Excellency. As a part of my duties, I never hear anything.”

On a second thought, someone who couldn’t put up with far worse would never be able to keep an eye on the Lemarezins. The stuff of theirs that made it into the newspapers was seedy enough.

You can find many and varied things in the far and wide lands of the Protectorate, except for a single guard station that don’t look like the burial ground for your last hopes. Of course it's on purpose, but that don't mean you have to like it. The one in El Meandro was a mid-sized building of the same stonework as every other one in town—a sun-bleached outer wall encircling a small yard and a square two-floor box—and yet the drab soullessness grabbed you by the throat.

Half a dozen guards sat at the shade of a chañar, drinking chicha morada and playing cards over a rickety table. Looked like they were betting sunflower seeds. I hurried to the table so I could get a word in before anybody else.

"Good afternoon, officers.” I turned to the oldest, a man in his fifties. “Sergeant Médanos. Sergeant Vargas here was just assaulted by some pranking children."

Yes, you've probably noticed the inherent contradiction between an “assault” that was only a “prank”. Look, I was trying to minimize the attack and appease Valentino at the same time. It wasn’t an easy balance, so excuse me if I stumbled.

The guards looked at me as if I was the one pranking them. Until they saw Valentino's uniform, that is. El Meandro's guards conspicuously lacked any vests or cravats, and their shirts had never been pressed. They could’ve given their boots a brush-over, if I’m honest. Meanwhile, Valentino still looked as pristine as you could reasonably expect after the latest happenings. He’d removed his cravat and still looked pretty dusty, but his shirt and vest were both fully buttoned, and not one hair had escaped his braid.

This was one card I could play!

“Non-citizens,” Valentino specified.

“That’s right, it was non-citizens who did it. In the eastern park. There’s a bit of a wreck left behind, so we apologize for that.” I mock-laughed. Unfortunately, I sounded more nervous than I intended to. “I was wondering, who let these people in? Where did all the guards go? Nobody at all noticed what's going on? But that’s so silly! Obviously you can't be everywhere! You can tell I wasn’t thinking straight.”

I shrugged apologetically. Despite aiming a critical eye at the interrupted card game, Valentino didn’t miss a word.

“Anyway, they might still be somewhere in town. Sergeant Vargas thinks you should locate them, for the sake of public safety.” I delivered these words a bit blandly, so that the guards would know I was simply relying a position I didn’t partook in.

Médanos grunted. It was almost funny how much he didn't want to have this conversation.

“They should be locked for forty-eight hours,” Valentino said. That didn’t sound like a huge deal—and in this particular station, it really wasn’t. Our guards were pretty much paper tigers. They’d swagger if they felt like it, but they mostly locked up drunks who were upsetting some festival or market day, and it wasn’t too long before everyone walked out of their cells. That’s not how it goes in the cities, so I wasn’t sure how to take Valentino’s order.

On the other hand, I couldn’t remember the last time our guards had grabbed a non-citizen. The more I thought about it, the less I could trust them.

A couple of guards raised their eyebrows at Valentino. Surely he wasn’t planning on staying around till a search party left the station, right?

“They must be upriver now,” I said. “Good luck with your search.”

Médanos nodded. He’d gotten my point: the pranking children had already escaped out of town, so they weren’t his problem anymore.

“As for us,” I tilted my head toward Valentino, “we have a train to board, so I think it’s best if we leave this matter in your capable hands. Have a good day, everybody!”

Waving at the guards, I turned on my heel and left. After a single agonizing heartbeat, Valentino stepped by my side. My shirt was stuck to my back with sweat and my stomach felt like an empty well. Time to finally have lunch and forget about this mess.

“Sorry that happened to you,” I whispered. Like it or not, Valentino would be spending the next week with me, and I’d rather stay on his good side.

Valentino sighed. “Sorry Your Excellency was dragged into it.”

Yeah, I was.

Vanth waited by the corner, leaning on the wall. He straightened up when he saw me coming. And I do mean me. He didn’t even glance at Valentino.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” I said.

Instead of answering, he loomed over me like a black cloud across the sun, tilted my head up, and kissed me. I wondered, just for an instant, if he always kissed like a hungry animal. Well, unless he got tired of me real quick, I’d find out soon enough. I wrapped my arms around his neck, drawing him closer. Don’t think I only did it so he’d like me. My lovers often took me for granted. The propietary grip of Vanth’s hand on the back of my head, the way it descended down my back and grabbed my ass right there in the sun-drenched street—well, it was new.

Just when I was getting into it, though, he let go. Once more he pretended he’d done nothing worth remarking upon. Clearly he expected me to start panting after him like a teenager while he acted as if he was doing me a huge favor by fucking me. Well, it wouldn’t happen.

I’d find a way to unravel him.

“Has Your Illustrious Highness had lunch already?” See, I could pretend not to be affected too.

"Oh, no. You forget Vorsa is six hours in the future."

"I did forget. Well, come lunch with us! For once it’s me inviting two handsome men, instead of the other way around."

Vanth's eyes shifted toward Valentino, just barely, before he remembered to act indifferent. It was such a small gesture, I would've missed it if I wasn't used to paying close attention to men’s reactions. But I saw it.