“Half-brother,” I corrected.
Kit sighed loudly. “Iknowthat.” His hand fell away, and his forehead creased with frustration before he spoke again. “I didn’t tell him because our private business is none ofhis. You deserved to hear this from me, not as a hasty declaration thrown in Merrick’s face. In fact, I’d prefer he never knew?—”
“And let him keep thinking I’m a hopeless fool?” I grabbed Kit’s hand and squeezed it painfully tight. “He’ll know. I’ll tell him myself.” My attempted surge to standing was stopped by Kit’s arm anchoring me to his side.
“Penny, you can’t,” he sputtered, suddenly frantic.
“Why can’t I?”
“Please, trust me. It’s safer this way, and there’s nothing I want more than to keep you safe. I wouldn’t risk you for anything…” He trailed off, and the look of fear that haunted his eyes told me the danger was real, at least to him.
“All right.” I dipped my chin in a nod. “But I want you to know I’m proud to be with you, Kit. I’d have you on my arm anywhere. In front of anyone.”
Kit’s features relaxed. “Thank you.” He reached for me again, pulling me in for another gentle kiss.
I softened against him, tucking under the crook of his arm and letting my head roll onto the uninjured side of his chest. We sat in quiet while I considered the events of the day. So much had happened, and I struggled to make sense of it all. There had been so much bad, but being here, held close the way I’d dreamed of for weeks—and years before that—I felt the good most of all.
“You’re home late. Did you stop and talk to Levitt?” I asked at length.
Kit hummed affirmation. “He was sorry about the raid, but said it went as he expected. He knew they wouldn’t find anything.”
“Just wasting everyone’s time, then,” I grumbled, picking at a loose thread in the knee of Kit’s trousers.
“I don’t think it was a waste entirely,” he replied. “Merrick lost quite a bit of favor. The more that happens, the less likely he’ll keep whatever support he has. If he continues like this, he may lose everything.”
I pushed upright and swiveled to face him. “What does that mean?”
Kit glanced aside, ordering his thoughts the way he did when he felt the need to speak carefully. “He and Levitt have the Death Watch divided. Levitt has a vision for the Bone Men, but Merrick and his supporters stand in the way of that. It’s possible, if Merrick steps far enough out of line, he could be ousted.”
“They wouldn’t kill him, would they?”
No matter how awful Merrick was to me, or how greatly he despised me, I didn't wish him dead. My father's passing had been loss enough.
Kit shook his head, unsettling his raven curls. “No. Merrick's role would merely be reduced. Levitt would find something else to do with him, and someone else would take his place.”
Slowly, I relaxed, easing into Kit again and pulling his arm back around me. With the sun retreating and the fireplace unlit, a chill had invaded the house. I could have retrieved my shirt, but I enjoyed the feeling of Kit’s skin on mine and the excuse to let him warm me inside and out.
I considered his statement, but he seemed more pleased about the idea of Merrick's removal than I was. I still had doubts.
“How do we know the new Shroud Warden won’t be more rotten than Merrick is?” I asked.
In profile, I saw Kit's lips quirk a grin. “Do you thinkI’mrotten?”
“You?”
Kit nodded. “Given my father’s former position andmy friendship with Levitt, I may have a chance to fill that role once my Oaths are complete.”
Imagining Kit prancing around in Merrick’s fancy robes, taking an office in the Ossuary, and overseeing new recruits as they were branded in the name of a cruel god made me uneasy. I liked things the way they were. More than that, I liked Kit the wayhewas. My mother touted the adage that power corrupts. I wondered if that was what happened to Kit's father and to Merrick. If this place was as cursed as I'd been told it was, perhaps that was how its infection spread.
I grabbed Kit's hand again and reveled in the fact that he didn't pull away. But even that victory failed to alleviate my growing concern.
“I thought you wanted to destroy the cult,” I mumbled, “not run it.”
Kit snorted a breath. “Iwantto run it into theground. To do that, I need to be at or near the helm.”
Worries mounted and multiplied. I wanted to go back to a few minutes prior when we were tangled up in each other, those moments of bliss. Now, the happiness I'd barely glimpsed felt tenuous.
“But if Levitt finds out…” I swallowed. “You’ll be so close to him. If he realizes what we’re planning…”
