Page 104 of The Boy Bride

He was back in the Grandmaster’s quarters at the Order, looking down at his white sash on the floor and not knowing how it had got there. He heard the sword master say, “It cannot happen again,” and Master Dumuz snap, “It has not happened at all.”

Which was true, in a way. What Master Dumuz wanted hadn’t happened, because he’d been interrupted. But something had happened, something that Lill hadn’t been able to identify until now, and it changed everything.

Chapter 28

Failure as a Monster

“Tell me again.”

They were sitting on the roof in the shade. Somewhere below, in a courtyard or beside an open window, someone was playing the sampan, soft notes rippling through the air.

“I am Arsha,” said Lill, “Son of Madurasha son of Dasha of the clan Kuro. Vanu Urártu killed my father and my three elder brothers, Sharaya, Dashavaya, and Yarasha. I was taken in by Lord Davanu Shawa of the Summer Pass, and he sent me to become Urártu’s bride. May I ask a question?”

“Sure.”

“Why am I keeping all this secret?”

“Because he won’t marry you if he knows who you are! He’ll kill you, as he killed my brothers.”

“Yes, I understand that. That is why I, Lill, am keeping this secret. But why am I, Arsha, concealing my identity?”

Arsha frowned impatiently. “Why does it matter?”

“Well, when I let him find your father’s seal, as you instructed me, and he realizes who I am, I will have to tell him some story to explain why I gave him a false name.”

“Oh. Say you were scared or something—you thought he’d kill you if he guessed who you were. It’s the truth.”

It wasn’t that, but Lill nodded. “‘Always use the truth when it will serve as well as a lie,’” he quoted Master Moon.

“Sure. But remember, you’re not going to let him find the seal until you’ve been married a good long while and you’re sure he’s very attached to you.”

“I remember. You are sure he’ll recognize the seal?”

“I think so, but if he doesn’t, you’ll find some other way to make sure he knows that you’re me. And make sure you please him.” Arsha gave him a doubtful look. “You do know what I mean by that, don’t you?”

“I do,” said Lill stiffly. “You mean that he must find me a satisfactory occupant of his bed.”

“More than satisfactory!”

“He must desire me and be able to use me in ways that please him.”

“Right. Have you got much experience of that?” Arsha asked. His distaste for the question was obvious.

“Enough,” Lill lied. Or maybe it wasn’t a lie; how much experience did he need for such a thing? It was surely only a matter of suffering through it.

“Good,” said Arsha briskly. “Better you than me. My patron likes that sort of thing, I’ve heard, but he’s never tried it on with me—he wouldn’t get far if he did. I’m not your sort.”

Lill felt they were getting off track. “And then I kill him.”

“What? No, I’m going to—oh. Yes, Urártu, you kill Urártu. When you get my signal.”

“May I ask another question? Why do you want me to wait?”

Arsha’s expression darkened. “I want him to die in the right way.”

“You want me to kill him in a certain way.” This had not been part of the initial instructions.

Arsha shook his head. “I don’t care how you kill him. I care who you are when you kill him.” He leaned toward Lill, his gaze so intent it might have seemed frightening to someone who hadn’t grown up around the masters of the Order. “Me. His beloved wife. And his doom.”