“Lia,” he said with a soft smile, “you’re already my sister. You have been since the day you married Xander. I would protect you like I would him. Or Quynh.”
That unexpectedly made tears spring to my eyes, which surprised me. I was saved from anyone noticing when Quynh appeared at the top of the stairs. “Thrax!”
Her entire being lit up at seeing him, as if the light I felt inside her were coming out through every pore in her skin. She practically flew down the stairs to his open arms.
“What did I tell you?” he asked while cradling her close. “I don’t want you to run down the stairs and fall.”
She pulled back so that she could peer up at him. “I am not going to fall, you overprotective oaf. You are not going to wrap me up in linen until the baby comes. You can’t make the world stop turning to try and keep us safe.”
He lovingly stroked the side of her face. “I will fight the entire world to protect both of you.”
This was what I had to protect. Quynh deserved this happiness. I would make sure that she got it by keeping Ilion safe.
“I am drowning in sentiment!” Basilea declared with disgust.
Both Thrax and Quynh laughed, and when they had finished, I said, “I should be going.”
Quynh managed to let go of Thrax long enough to come over and hug me. “Be safe. And think about what I said.”
I worried that it would be all I thought about. I said goodbye to the others, and Basileia offered to walk me out.
When we got onto the porch, I said, “If you ever get a break and want to spar, come to the palace and find me.”
“I think I would squash you like a bug,” she said.
“You might be surprised at how well I can hold my own.”
She looked at me appraisingly. “Perhaps I will. I wouldn’t want my skills to get rusty. You are married to my brother’s brother, and now your sister will marry my brother. We are also family.”
“We are,” I agreed. Quynh had been right. I was going to get more people to love.
And more people I had to keep safe.
I told Basileia goodbye and she went back inside, closing the door. I looked around, expecting to see Rokh waiting for me, but he wasn’t here. He was probably off kissing Ahyana somewhere.
Xander wouldn’t like me going back to the palace without Rokh to watch over me.
But I didn’t want to go home.
Despite feeling sensitive and nervous, I was struck with an overwhelming urge to see my husband. He was the person I wanted to tell about the things I’d just learned.
So I headed off in the opposite direction to find him.
Chapter Eleven
When I reached the weapons quarter, I felt a bit ridiculous because I wasn’t sure how to track Xander down. I started walking and was dismayed by the chaos surrounding me. Buildings had been obliterated by fire, and there were ashes and chunks of stone in the street.
What kind of fire could burn hot enough to destroy brick and cement?
“Lia?”
I turned to see Dolion, who smiled broadly at me. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “Did you come to see me?”
“No, I was looking for Xander.”
His face fell slightly, and my heart twinged at the thought that I might have hurt his feelings. I was about to apologize when he said, “The last time I saw him, he was over near the armor smiths. Two blocks north and then three blocks west.”
It felt like I should say something to him, but he turned his back on me and walked off. He had offered to be my friend and I worried that I’d been so caught up in my own life that I hadn’t been a very good friend to him.
