“I hope I can cease immediately, as I never wish to do anything quite so astonishing again. We finally made it from the island to the mainland and found a lonely farmstead. But they mistrusted us and wanted money, and we had none. They put us to work. When they decided we had earned enough to pay them back for feeding and sheltering us, I was allowed to walk to the next closest town—a full day away—where I could ask for help and information. Imagine my surprise at finding that someone had left word and was already looking for us! At first I feared it was because of Cyprian, that there was a price on his head, so I did not write you. I am sorry. I could not risk him being found. After everything we have been through, he is family. I take care of my family.”
“I know you do.” Radu finished cinching up his pack and helped Nazira mount her horse, then mounted his own.
“So I set up a meeting with the man who had left word, and waited. When he told me that Mara Brankovic was the one looking so intently, I assumed we would be safe. Her agent gave us a ride as far as a port where I could get passage to Bursa. That was where Cyprian and Valentin parted ways with me. I tried to get them to come, but …”
Radu did not force her to tell the hard truth. “After all my deception and my role in the fall of Constantinople, I cannot imagine they were eager to see me again. We used Cyprian terribly. I do not blame him for anything.”
“I told Cyprian everything.”
“What do you mean by everything?”
“I mean everything. He deserved nothing less than total honesty. He was angry. But more than that, he was hurt. He wanted to understand why we did what we did. How we could have lied to him for that long. I told him of your childhood, how we met, what you did for me. I told him of Lada and your father. I told him what the empire offered you—safety, home, faith. Things you had never had. I told him why we were in the city as spies, what we actually did while we were there. I told him of Fatima and my own reasons for wanting security for both our empire and our faith. I told him what I thought the sultan would do with the city. And I told him of your relationship with Mehmed, both what it is and what it is not.”
Radu flinched, closing his eyes. He had already told Cyprian the hardest truth, of course: the truth of his duplicity. But knowing that Cyprian knew everything felt more intimate, more humiliating. How Cyprian must hate him! Finally, Radu nodded. “You made the right choice. He saved you in spite of everything.”
“He did not save me in spite of everything. He saved me because of everything. We may have entered Constantinople with false intentions, but our friendship was true. We saved his life several times over. And we did it because we loved him. I think he knows that.”
Radu sighed. “It does not matter. It is in the past. I hope he can forgive us someday, but that is a selfish hope. It is for myself, not for him. So instead I will hope he finds happiness somehow.”
“We can hope for nothing more and nothing less.”
Radu felt both heavier and lighter for the information. At least he had given Cyprian another chance at life. Without Radu, Cyprian surely would have died at his uncle’s side. Radu was glad knowing he was out there, somewhere. He tugged on the reins. “Come. There is a girl in Edirne who has been waiting a very long time.”
“I am going to hold her for weeks. You will have to feed us both, because I will not let her go for anything.”
Radu laughed. “It would be an honor.”
“And my brother?”
“He would have come, but we were on our way to Wallachia to bring Lada back. By force, if necessary. Kumal volunteered to see it through so I could get you.”
“You traded sisters.”
Radu laughed, but more from guilt than happiness. “He said the same thing. I got by far the better end of the trade.” Radu was enormously in Kumal’s debt.
“And what will you do after we get back? Will you go to Constantinople again?”
Radu guided their horses past the outskirts of Bursa, to the roads that would take them to Fatima. “I do not know. And I do not care. I have you, and you have Fatima. I have fulfilled all my promises. I am tired. And I am happy.” The clouds had cleared, and the sky was brilliantly blue, promising a gentle journey. It was not as cold as it had been heading toward Wallachia. Everything felt warmer with Nazira at his side, though.
The future was blank, and Radu did not mind. He had Nazira back, and soon Kumal would return and be reunited with them. Cyprian was safe. Mehmed would have Lada again, and for once Radu did not feel anything about that. If she was imprisoned, she would be less likely to be killed. And she would certainly be doing less killing. As far as Mehmed’s feelings for her, Radu was numb. This last horrible chapter of his time in Constantinople was closed. Everyone he loved was safe. Radu was going home for good.
13
Near Giurgiu
“WHERE HAVE YOU been?” The Janissary scout glowered at Lada’s men, who were all wearing Janissary uniforms. The ones in front spoke Turkish. The ones in the back were silent. “We expected you yesterday.”
“We had some complications,” Bogdan growled. In fact, they were the complications. The previous day they had ambushed a group of Janissary reinforcements heading toward the Giurgiu fortress. Today, they had become those Janissaries. Lada stood, anonymous, in the middle of her men. The Wallachians who had not grown up as Janissaries were behind her so they could follow her cues. They did not know how to behave as Janissaries, but they knew how to mimic.
Nicolae rode in front as their leader. He stopped beside Bogdan to talk with the scout. They were still a few hours from the fortress, so the scout must have been sent to look for them. Lada worked her way closer so she could eavesdrop. Insects just beginning to reemerge from the deep freeze of winter flitted through the crisp air, landing on trees speckled with green hints of buds. Getting here had been a muddy, roundabout trek, but they had to make certain they had Janissary uniforms and arrived after Radu.
“What is the plan at the fortress?” Nicolae asked.
“You do not know?”
Nicolae shrugged, indifferent. “We go where they tell us. We were told to come here. That is all I know.”
“You frontier forces are as bad as spahis sometimes.”
Nicolae moved closer, toying with the hilt of his weapon. His pleasant voice took on a dangerous tone appropriate to that level of a Janissary insult. The spahis were the elite, landed men, not the lifetime soldiers Janissaries were. There was no small amount of rivalry between the two. Spahis had the privilege, but Janissaries had the prestige and often the preference of the sultan. “You should take that back,” Nicolae said.
The man waved his hands. “Sorry. It can be frustrating, being stationed at an outpost. We get all the news but none of the action. We are here with some pasha. The bitch who declared herself prince of Wallachia is on her way to sign new terms of vassalage.”
Nicolae picked idly at his teeth. “Why do you need so many extra men for that?”
The scout shrugged, scratching under his signature white-flapped cap. “You heard how many she killed in Bulgaria?”
Nicolae grunted. “We were in Serbia. Been marching ever since. I still cannot believe the numbers.”
“Well”—the soldier leaned closer conspiratorially—“they gave me no specifics, but I have a feeling we are not really here to make a deal. Too many men, and a wagon with bars and shackles. I think we are here to take her back for punishment.”
Lada bit back a smile. It was gratifying that Radu still knew not to underestimate her. He had laid a trap to accomplish her same goal. She almost laughed at the irony of going to kidnap her brother, who was here to kidnap her.
Nicolae actually laughed. “Easy enough to take one woman. I still do not understand why you requested so many extra men. I hate traveling during this time of year. Snowstorms just when you get comfortable. Rain otherwise. Mud everywhere. It takes forever to clean my uniform.”
“After Bulgaria, I think the pasha is spooked. Wants extra protection.”
“How many men already in the fortress?”
“A thousand.”
“Hmm.” Nicolae sounded mildly impressed. Lada was flattered. It was a significant investment of men for what they anticipated to be easy trickery. The Janissary troop they had ambushed and killed on the way here had been two hundred strong. So she had two hundred of her men with her, and another five hundred following at a distance.
“How many men do we expect her to bring?” Nicolae asked.