Lady Mutiny

Six

The bed was too soft; the lights were too bright, and the room was too big.

After months of cramped isolation, the tears that came to Lilia's eyes made her eyes sting, but whether they were tears of joy or panic, she had yet to decide.

What Lord Millian—Andro—had offered her was a double-edged blade, and one she willingly grabbed by the hilt.

Sitting on the edge of the lush mattress, covered in blankets and pillows, her new quarters were everything she could have wished for as a Lady of Lathos.

But she wasn't a Lady, she had to remind herself. Not any longer.

The conversation with Andro played through her mind as she stood from the bed, walking the perimeter of the room as she ran a hand along the walls, idly looking for traps or spyholes out of habit, but more so to convince herself that this turn of Fate was real.

Work for me, he had said.

Be my assassin.

Lilia made him think she had to consider it, and even though she didn't give him an answer until they had finished their meal, her decision was on the tip of her tongue the moment he made his offer.

A life of service under the Lord of Thuria while living in luxury, in exchange for more freedom than Lilia had known in the last six months. Maybe even beyond that.

No Guild. No dues.

No Baz.

She shook her head slightly, walking before an open window that looked out over the villa's gardens. The winter sun was setting behind the trimmed hedges, evergreen despite the cold surrounding them. Lilia sighed, almost dreamily, as she took in the sight.

She had seen the sun set plenty of times since she had been at Lord Andro's estate, but for the first time since she had been there, she could watch it rise as well.

A knock on the door behind her drew her thoughts away from the scene outside her window, and she spun around just in time to see Andro enter, kicking the door shut behind him. In his hands, he held a bottle of wine and two empty goblets.

Lilia angled her head. "What is this?" she asked, regarding both the wine and his intrusion.

"A toast," he announced as he walked towards her, putting the glasses and bottle upon a table at the end of her new bed. "To celebrate your new freedom, and my new employ."

Something sparkled in his storm gray eyes as he spoke, and it was enough for Lilia to notice to make her take a step forward. She continued to watch him, and all that she hadn't said during their initial meeting swelled inside of her.

"Why do you do that?" he asked as his attention focused on opening the bottle of wine.

"Do what?" she inquired, almost defensively.

"You bite the thumbnail on your right hand."

Lilia blinked and looked down - sure enough, her thumb was between her lips, and she quickly pulled it away before she made a greater fool of herself, even as he continued to chuckle while he popped the bottle's cork.

"I don't know what's so amusing," she growled, glaring.

"I don't know why you're taking offense," he countered. "There's nothing wrong with having an outlet for nerves."

"I am not nervous."

His only response was a glance up with a raised brow before his attention returned to glasses before him.

Her glare deepened.

Finally, "Why?" was all she would allow escaping her lips.

Andro finished pouring the glasses and handed one to her. "I already told you why."