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. 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 scared because 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 because I wanted him to like me, so he’d help me out of his own choice and not just because the oath forced him. Some of it was because I wanted to be comforted, too. I rarely had the chance to be caressed so tenderly. My lovers weren’t that type. Not to me, at least.

“Feeling better now?” Vanth really did sound a little bit warmer. I wasn’t making it up.

This felt familiar.

Hadn’t I dreamed of this last night? But wait, that dream wasn’t just a dream. That’s what Vanth himself told me.

Well, I wasn’t going to discuss that where Valentino could listen in.

“Yeah.”

“Do you want a hug?”

The way I tensed, you’d think he’d offered me something dirty. Of course, if it’d been something dirty I wouldn’t have thought twice. That, I knew how to handle.

If I couldn’t walk away from Vanth, though, I might as well accept hugs from him. I made room for him on the bench, and he sat on my side, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. Guess he didn’t hold me too close or tight because it was still too hot. But it felt comforting, not gonna lie.

“You know I wouldn’t have let you come to harm, right?” he asked.

“I know.”

Vanth leaned over me, nibbling on my ear. It was clear he was trying to express his frustration without hurting me, but I kinda liked that, too.

“Liar.”

I turned around to look at him in the eye, and ended up falling across his lap. “Look, I’m not used to being capable of summoning His Illustrious Highness any time I’m afraid. It’s not easy to accept.”

“Start trying to accept it, then.”

That struck me as funny and I had to bite my tongue so I wouldn’t laugh at it. This was becoming a common occurrence where Vanth was concerned, it seemed. Though it had to be said he was one of the weirdest people I’d met.

“I won’t let anybody harm you. Ever.”

I didn’t believe that. ‘Ever’ was too long a time. I wanted to argue with him, but calling him a liar sounded like a real bad idea.

“Because you’re the only one who can harm me?” I asked.

Vanth leaned closer. “No, beautiful. I’m not going to harm you. Rough you up a bit, yes.” He leaned so close he was practically speaking into my ear. “Leave you a whimpering mess, yes. But not harm you.”

Before I knew what I was doing, I’d already thrown my arms around his neck. Vanth sat up, bringing me along with him.

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

He’d been so quiet, I’d almost forgotten he was there. I certainly didn’t expect he’d bring the matter of the Tekitekis up again. 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 their entire family got in trouble with the guards?

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 to I Doronte.

“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 walking his motorcycle, then me, then Vanth bringing up the rearguard with my aguayo hanging from his arm. If you didn’t know better, you might think His Illustrious Highness simply happened to be headed in the same direction as both of us.

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 the gossip would run before the sun was down.

I knew Vanth could show up when summoned, but it was unnerving all the same. 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 aircraft?

Well, I wasn’t going to ask Vanth about it so he could 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, and that there were no witnesses.

Most likely, they’d seen a white-and-gold uniform and 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 rant at them, seeing how I was going to kill the Megarchon herself, but I didn’t care.

I thought of the dead guard with a dog’s head. The one 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 its successes as to hide its failures.

Of course, guards had been killed with no repercussion before, 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.

What’d happen next? I suspected I was going to find out, and I didn’t want to.

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.