Welcome to the ongoing serial of Scout and Marius! To read more from this series, follow the link to the next installment:
Missing some context?
Read Part One here.
Read Part Two here.
Read Part Three here.
The rest of the drive was spent in silence. Marius’s decision hung thick in the air between us. Giving up a position of power to risk his life with me could put not only himself but his sons in danger… Silas Reide was twenty five, same as Marius when he came to power.
Finally the buggy rumbled past the stone marker and I breathed a sigh of relief. The name chiseled on the marker was a welcome sight.
“TANNAGIN TERRITORY, GOVERNED BY THE ANOINTED MARIUS REIDE, RECOMMENDED THIRD FORTNIGHT 2307”.
We reached Burres well past midnight. The Reide estate was bordered on all sides, high walls of dark river rock and observation towers near-hidden against the night sky. I’d visited many times, but never had it seemed so imposing as it did in the wan moonlight.
His hand caught my wrist as I turned the headlights off and started to push the door open.
“Scout.” His voice was so quiet I almost didn’t hear. His thumb ran down my wrist. “I’m with you. You know that I am. I know you understand what this means for me to Recommend Silas.”
Silent, I forced down the urge to reassure him, and from selfishly confessing how terrified I was of our plans.
“This is my decision.” The cold night air rushed in from the open door, but it was not why gooseflesh prickled up my neck as he said, “You didn’t make me do this.”
“Marius, I–”.
“You need to know.” My arm twisted in his grasp. “I know what they’ll say. My sons. They’ll say you manipulated me, they’ll say I’m chasing someone hungry for power. Tell me that’s not the truth.” The glint in his eyes was all sincerity.
“The truth?” I considered him for a moment, and pulled the buggy door shut again. The lingering chill reflected in my reply. “What do you think the truth is?”
“I am leaving my family. I am leaving my position. For you.” He let my wrist go tentatively. “A woman thirteen years my junior, with dangerous enemies, with nothing to lose.” A bloodied hand rose to my cheek. His eyes swept over me, assessing me like he was seeing me in a new light. “Tell me that the woman with nothing to lose isn’t taking advantage of a vulnerable Anointed thirsty for the glory days.”
“It’s a fine time for doubt. You know what my answer is.” Despite that I couldn’t blame him. Gods, he was a ragged mess from our misadventure. A sign of what’s to come, perhaps.
His pained breaths hitched with the effort to pull me closer. “I need to hear it.”
“This won’t be easy. My oath is all I can give.”
“It’s all I need.” The signet ring clinked against the dash as he slipped it into his pocket, closing his eyes with a heavy sigh. “Silas will be a good Anointed.”
I squeezed his hand. “And his father will be the reason.”