Mal frowned. "It sounds perfect," he said and watched the smile form on Vortigen's face. "Except for the bit where I'm supposed to pledge allegiance to a king I despise, and hand over the woman I love to a depraved monster. What's the alternative?"
The smile slipped from Vortigen's face and his eyes narrowed, glints of ruby gleaming in the dark depths.
"You will die, and you will consign your precious Princess to a living hell, and don't think she'll be allowed the indulgence of her mother's escape. Her hell will go on for all eternity." He smiled again, and this time something ugly stirred behind his eyes. "You know," he murmured. "I quite like the idea that she has spirit, it will be all the more interesting, breaking her. Or maybe I'll keep you alive. If she loves you as you claim, then I'm sure she would do anything, lower herself to any form of debasement to ensure her lover doesn't suffer. What do you think? Life in some cold, dank dungeon here on earth, never to see Ankesh again, and to know your lady will do anything to please me if only to stop your suffering. Perhaps we'll let you watch as she pleasures me. Oh, and your brother Killian will die as well."
Mal's hands tightened into fists at his side. He had to fight his instincts to attack. "I want to talk to Lily," he said.
"I don't think so."
"I'll not give you an answer until I hear what she has to say. And I speak to her alone."
Vortigen studied Mal as if trying to decide if he had an ulterior motive. "You'll not kill the girl and save her from me that way?"
The thought of killing Lily hadn't even occurred to him. "Of course not."
"You swear it on the Goddess?"
"You think I'll uphold a vow more than you?"
"Oh, yes. You're a sentimental fool."
"Then I swear. Now take me to her."
Vortigen nodded once. "Come."
The two guards fell in behind them as they left the room. Vortigen led the way along the hallway and then down a stone staircase into the lower level of the house. They were below ground, and the chill, damp air brushed against his skin. They stopped at a large wooden door.
"This used to be a store room," Vortigen murmured. "We had it adapted as guest accommodation."
The guard unlocked the heavy door. It swung open. There was no furniture in the room and Lily sat on the stone floor, her knees hugged to her chest. She glanced up when she heard the door open, her green eyes glowing as she caught sight of Mal behind the guard. She scrambled to her feet, then swayed and placed one hand on the wall for balance, the other resting against her belly where Vortigen had punched her. Mal knew she must be carrying bruises, but overall she appeared well. As he stepped passed the guard and into the cell, Lily pushed herself off the wall and into his arms. He pulled her close to him, then turned his head.
"Leave us," he said.
Vortigen watched them, distaste clear on his face, but there was also a glimmer of puzzlement. He raised an eyebrow at Mal's command, but nodded. "You have half an hour. See you persuade her to be sensible."
***
Lily held him as though she would bind him to her, never let him go. As he pressed into her, a sharp twinge of pain stabbed her in the ribs. She suspected she had at least one broken but she didn't release her hold. She'd been so scared for him, so terrified that they would kill him, and she would never see him again, never get to say goodbye. Never get the chance to tell him she loved him.
The guards had been silent when they locked her in here, refusing to answer her questions. Her bruises had hurt more once she was alone, and she had fought the despair that threatened to overwhelm her.
Then something had happened. Something strange. Even now, she didn't understand, but it had left her renewed, with a small spark of optimism burning somewhere deep inside, fizzing up within her, overriding her pain and her fear for Mal.
He pulled himself back. She clung for a moment and then allowed him to draw away.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She nodded. He dropped to his knees in front of her, smoothed up her shirt, and kissed her skin where Vortigen's fist had punched into her. Her head fell back and she just enjoyed the feel of his mouth. Then she sank to her knees beside him and kissed his lips. He sat, long legs stretched out, and pulled her into his lap, kissing her hair, then her cheek, then her mouth again.
"I'm sorry," he murmured against her lips.
"You've nothing to be sorry for," she whispered.
He frowned. "You seem brighter than I thought you'd be. Do you understand our situation?"
"Yeah, basically, we're fucked. What did he say to you?"
Mal outlined the options and her little gleam of hope drowned in a wave of despair.
"Perhaps you should do as he asks," she said. "You would at least get to go home. It's what you've always wanted, and I think I could bear anything if you were safe."
"Vortigen wouldn't keep his word. Once back on Ankesh, I'm sure he would arrange for me to meet an unpleasant end, and then he could do as he likes with you. For some reason just now, he feels he needs my cooperation. Maybe the others aren't as behind him as he pretends."
"Could that help us?"
"No. They want to go home too much to question the way things are. Maybe when they're back on Ankesh, but if by then he has you in his power they won't risk closing the portal again even if they are on the right side." He stroked her cheek, looping her hair behind her ear. "No, I can't accept his terms but I had to speak with you first. After all, I'll meet death soon. You'll have to endure an eternity of torment."
"Great," she muttered. "Try and make me feel better, why don't you?"
"I'm searching my heart for a solution, but nothing comes to mind but the inconceivable."
A flicker of hope ran through her. Inconceivable didn't mean impossible. She was willing to try anything at this point. "What's that?"
"I won't speak of it. I won't think of it until all hope is dead. Now, my time is almost up. I'm glad you're in such good spirits, but why?"
She thought for a moment, did she want to share this with Mal? Would he think she was a crazy woman? What was new? Then she shrugged. "Mal, after they threw me in here, I had this sort of thing."
"Thing?"
"Well, it was like a dream, except I was awake." She frowned. "This woman came to me, and I knew her, I'd met her before, in my dreams. Does this sound crazy?"
Mal smiled. "No, go on."
"Well, she didn't say much, just that I was her daughter. She told me everything would be all right, that I shouldn't worry, then she was gone, and all of a sudden, poof, I wasn't worried anymore. Well, right up until your eternal torment comment, that is. So what do you think?"
Mal was staring at her in wonder. "I think you've been visited by the Goddess."
The flicker of hope burst into flame. "So is it all going to be all right then?"
"I wish I could say yes, but it's difficult to know the ways of the Goddess, or to understand her. Maybe she has heard our prayers. On the other hand, her idea of everything being all right might not coincide with ours. Maybe she believes your rightful place is with Vortigen. I don't know. We'll only find out with the passing of time."
"Well, I refuse to give up hope."
"Good. Now I hear the guards coming back, I have to go."
Lily clung to him; she didn't want to let him go. And she needed to tell him something. She was aware, as she had never been before, that this might be the last time he held her in his arms. The last time he kissed her.
"I love you," she whispered against his lips.
A slow smile spread across his face. "And I love you." He stood up with her still in his arms and lowered her to the floor just as the guards opened the door. Lily forced her hands to drop from his shoulders. She took a step back and watched as he turned and walked away, the cell door locking behind him.
***
The guards took him back to the red room.
"So have you persuaded her to be sensible?" Vortigen asked.
Mal stood looking down at him. Then he thought-what the hell? He might never get another opportunity, and he'd wanted to wipe that smug smile of Vortigen's face so many times over the past two thousand years. He lunged with inhuman speed. The smile slipped, and then he was at Vortigen's throat. He pulled him from his seat and smashed him across the table, raised his fist and crashed it into Vortigen's nose, reveling in the harsh metallic scent of blood that filled the air. He stared down into the king's face-the smirk was gone now-and then Mal punched him in the stomach with all his strength. The air left Vortigen's lungs with a whoosh and Mal grinned in savage satisfaction.
"That was for hitting Lily," he snarled.