"I--"
"Did you not tell me once that daggers were an inferior weapon? In close combat, yes. But from ten paces? You will be dead before you reach me, Kitsune."
"I'm not trying . . ." He extinguished his fingers with a wave, but not before she saw his face, tight and glittering with sweat. "I'm going to come closer, so no one overhears us. I will keep some distance."
She let him get two arm lengths away, then stopped him with a flourish of her dagger.
"I won't attack you, Keeper. But you cannot escape. You absolutely cannot."
"No? I suppose you'll tell me your father has the forest filled with monsters and--"
"I misspoke. I do not mean you are unable to escape. I mean you must not." He took a step toward her. "I talked to my father after Lord Tanuki made those remarks. You cannot return to the imperial city or they'll exile you as a traitor. Perhaps worse, as there is no forest to exile you to."
"Traitor?" She laughed. "You'll have to do better--"
"They say you betrayed Tyrus. That you seduced and counseled him to lead his men to slaughter and turn his back on a town under siege. They blame you for the massacre at Fairview and the death of Tyrus's men. They say you are my lover and you betrayed the empire for me."
"Do they truly? My, that is a terrible story, and I thank you, Lord Gavril, for warning me before I escaped. Please take me back to my cell. Or perhaps, to be safe, return me to the dungeons."
Even through the darkness she could see his mouth tighten. "You aren't taking me seriously, Keeper."
"Because you've made it clear exactly how low an opinion you have of my intelligence, Kitsune."
"I only said that because--" He bit the sentence off. "You don't need to return to your cell. We'll make other arrangements. I can insist that because we are betrothed, you must be given quarters. Your own quarters. My father cannot ask you to share mine before the wedding, which will never--"
"You're stalling until someone hears us. I'm leaving, and if you try to stop me . . ." As she let the threat hang, she caught a glimpse of a low-slung, dark shape on the rooftop. It almost looked like . . . No, it was gone now. A trick of the moonlight.
"Blast it, Keeper. Listen to me--"
"I will not. You always were a terrible teller of stories. Your skill has not improved. I have the advantage here, and you are resorting to lies to convince me to stay and save yourself from any punishment. Hopefully your father will realize my escape wasn't your fault--"
"Of course it was my fault," he snapped. "Who do you think secreted that blade into your cell? Who let you go out on walks, accompanied by an idiot and a smitten young warrior? Who let you hear him complain about poor security in the north end of the compound? I orchestrated your escape, Moria."
She hesitated. He relaxed, but she was only thinking it through, and after a moment, she said, "You orchestrated it to be rid of me. You resented the obligation and responsibility. But now you've had second thoughts. Perhaps your father said he suspects something and--"
"By the ancestors," he said through clenched teeth. "You give me no quarter, Keeper. No matter what I say--"
"I think it a lie. Why ever would I do that? Oh, yes, because you have done nothing but lie and betray me. You pretended to be my ally, after you had murdered my entire--"
"I murdered no one."
"Does that absolve you of guilt, then? If you only assisted your father in unleashing shadow stalkers--"
"I did not, Moria," he said, taking a step toward her. "I killed no one. I had no idea what my father planned. When you told me the village had been massacred, I refused to believe you. Why would I argue if I knew it to be true? You were there when I saw it. You saw my reaction. I did not know."
"You admitted to it."
"I admitted to doing whatever you thought I'd done, because it was safer for both of us. But I will deny that I ever said I played a role in the massacre of your village or the death of your father. I cannot explain now--"
"You cannot explain at all."
He ground his teeth, green eyes burning as he took another step her way. "You believe not a word I tell you? After all we've been through?"
"Correct. After all we've been through, I will not believe a word you tell me. After you betrayed me. Threatened me. Left me in a dungeon. Showed not one iota of kindness or sympathy. You refused to even tell me if Daigo lived."
"Not in front of my father," he said, moving forward. "But I did tell you, Keeper. I gave you--"
"Stop," she said, lifting her dagger. "If you take another step toward me--"