"OutLink wouldn't allow it." She took a long breath. "We're suited for each other, though. I can't even enjoy a meal, and you've promised to do nothing except God's work. I'm just glad I finally have a real friend."
"Yeah, me too." He chuckled suddenly. "Riss, when I get you out of there, you're still my angel. I'm not going to let some guy break your heart. I'm not going to let you make the same bad choices I did."
She relaxed and rested her head on his shoulder. "Maybe I'll become a priest. If OutLink isn't stopping me, I could go to church and learn all about God and the Good Book. I could be devoted and..."
"No." Sin shook his head. "You'd make a great priest, Riss, but you need to live a bit before you think like that. Once you take the vows, you can't go back. There's no way to say, 'Oops, I was wrong, I take it back.' God doesn't work like that."
She went on like he hadn't interrupted. "I could be your partner, Sin. You could be the strong one, and I'd solve all the problems. We could handle this thing with the first precept and cure all of the enhanced."
He kicked his feet out from under him and chuckled at her daydreams. "Wouldn't that be nice? I mean, just think: if we could cure all of the enhanced, people's lives would be a whole lot better. Figure out ways to get them better-paying jobs, and shit like that."
"I know how to make the cure without a lab."
He froze. The words hung in the air between them glistening with hope. "What?"
She shifted to face him. "The Ingénue may have been treated with Pharmacon's alternate treatment. Supposedly it's a single-dose cure. The side effects are euphoria and intoxication, but it resets the immune system to acknowledge silicone-based molecules as 'self' so the rejection ends."
"Wait." He gestured at her face. "You've been cured?"
"I don't know. Maybe?" She reached up and grabbed his arm. "Sin, I've seen it in the data. That's all I need. I've seen it once, so I remember it, and I can make it better. I can make it with things that aren't even hard to find."
"Fuck." He closed his eyes and glanced away, his jaw clenched. "So how do we get this cure out there?"
Rissa giggled and reached up to make him look at her. "Me! Isawit, Sin. That's what I'm trying to tell you. I know how to make the cure. I've been researching every night, trying to find the proper chemical reactions." She laughed again. "And I can make it better. I can cure the enhanced. I just need to learn how to ferment alcohol."
"Alcohol?" He shook his head to make sure he'd heard that right.
Slowly, she nodded. "If the new Praetor's miracle isn't that impressive anymore, his power structure falls apart, weakening the arguments against the enhanced. We may not be able to stop the division in the Legion, Sin, but we can make it pointless. That's what I've been thinking about while you were mourning. I know how to counter the split in your church."
"You, my princess, are the most amazing woman in the world," he swore. "Fucking amazing. No wonder God wanted me to take care of you!"
Chapter Forty
Rissa turned her attention back to the city lights, but something about her posture made Sin think she was proud of herself. The only time he'd seen her like this was when she talked about the molecule she'd found. The one that solved problems with quantum physics. This? It might be even more impressive.
Then, without looking at him, she said, "I know how Benedict really died."
That had his complete attention. "How?" he demanded.
She swallowed so loud he could hear it. "When I was taken to your trial, I rode in a limousine with him. I saw his nails and told him to seek treatment." Finally, she looked over. "He refused."
"No…" Sin breathed. "Rissa, why didn't you tell me?"
"Because he said I couldn't." Her eyes refused to stay on his face, dropping instead to his hands in his lap. "And he was right. If they couldn't use the Praetor's death to assume control of the Legion, then they would've used your downfall. The trial was only the first attempt, meant to make a public display. It would not have been the last, and losing your place in the Legion would be a death sentence for you. I had to choose, Legate, and Benedict was right."
"No," he breathed. "Oh, Rissa, but we could've saved him!"
"He refused," she said again. "He knew he was ill, Sin. He said he wasn't surprised, but he thought he was sacrificing himself…" She almost stopped there, and then added, "...for you."
For a little too long, Sin sat there silently. His hand slowly caressed the outside of her far arm, but his eyes were on the glow of the city below them. Finally, he pulled in a deep breath and pushed it out in a determined sigh.
"And you've been carrying this around the whole time, huh?"
"Yes," she admitted. "It was why I checked the web during that data transfer. I had been checking every chance I could because I knew you would want to say goodbye. Benedict asked me not to tell you, but I didn't want you to be with me when you should've been with him."
He pulled her closer, squeezing her lightly for a moment in a side hug. "Thank you for that. I did get the chance to say goodbye. I wish we could've…" His voice broke, making him clear his throat. "It's not your fault. Someone poisoned him, and he asked for your silence. You tried to make the best decision you could."
"Was I wrong?" she asked.
