CHAPTER 102: ACTING IS AN ART FORM

"YOU WHAT?!"

Talia’s voice could have shattered glass. Probably did, somewhere. The academy was old and had structural issues.

"I took his money," Aegis repeated, lounging on her bed with the briefcase beside her like a particularly expensive pet. "Fifty thousand gold pieces to stay away from you."

"And you ACCEPTED?"

"Well, yeah. It’s fifty thousand gold."

Flames erupted in Talia’s pupils.

"I’m going to burn you alive."

"After I explain the rest?"

"DURING your explanation!"

Lune, sitting at her desk and painting, didn’t even look up. She’d gotten remarkably good at ignoring their drama. Or maybe she was just incorporating it into her art. Hard to tell with Lune.

"Look," Aegis said, sitting up. "I’m not actually going to stay away from you."

Talia paused mid-gesture. She’d definitely been about to (finally) reduce Aegis to a pile of Starcaller ashes.

"What?"

"I took the money with zero intention of following through. It was a verbal agreement. No magical binding, no contract, nothing. Just ’here’s gold, stay away.’ So I took the gold and I’m not staying away."

"That’s... fraud."

"That’s smart business."

"That’s fraud."

"Only if I break my agreement and only if he can prove I ever intended to keep my word, which he can’t, because I didn’t sign anything."

Slowly, Talia visibly became less bloodthirsty.

Talia sank onto Aegis’s bed, head in her hands.

"He tried to buy you off."

"Yep."

"Like you’re some kind of... commodity."

"Technically, I commodified myself by accepting."

"That’s not better!"

"It’s fifty thousand gold better."

"Aegis!"

"What? He’s an idiot who threw money at a problem to make it go away. I took the money. Now he thinks the problem is solved while I continue doing whatever I want."

Talia was quiet for a moment, processing.

"I can’t believe he did this."

"Really? It seems very him."

"No, I mean..." She stood, pacing now. The room was small enough that she could only take three steps before having to turn. "He went behind my back. Made decisions about my life without even consulting me."

"Wow, how unexpected."

"This isn’t funny!"

"It’s a little funny."

"My mother will hear about this and think it’s resolved. She’ll stop pressuring me temporarily because she’ll assume you’re handled."

"Isn’t that good?"

"No! Because when she finds out you’re not actually staying away, she’ll be even more insistent!"

Aegis considered this.

Talia had a point. The temporary relief would make the eventual revelation worse because, again, she was obviously not actually going to stay away from Talia.

"Okay, so we need a plan."

"We?"

"Well, yeah. We’re in this together now. I’ve got fifty thousand gold that says we’re business partners."

"That’s not how that works."

"It is now."

Talia stopped pacing to stare at her.

"You’re serious."

"Look, Talia." Aegis’s voice went softer. More serious. "You can only stall for so long. Eventually, you’re going to have to make an actual decision about this marriage."

"I know."

"Do you though? Because from where I’m sitting, you’re just hoping the problem goes away."

"It might!"

"How? Is Darius going to spontaneously combust?"

"Maybe."

"Are you planning to make that happen?"

"...maybe."

"Talia."

The princess slumped, sitting back down on the bed. For a moment, she looked younger. Vulnerable. Not like the heir to House Stone at all.

"It’s hard, okay? If I refuse directly, it’s not just about me. It’s politics. Alliances. The stability of the realm."

"I imagine being a princess often is."

"What?"

"Hard. I imagine it’s often hard."

Aegis had to bite her tongue to stop herself from adding "like some things" at the end there.

Talia looked at her, something unreadable in those yellow eyes.

"Most people think it’s all parties and pretty dresses."

"Most people are idiots."

"True."

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment. Lune’s brush made soft sounds against canvas. Somewhere in the distance, someone was yelling about proper sword maintenance. Probably Korvo.

"So what do I do?" Talia asked quietly.

"Honestly? I don’t know. But we’ll figure it out."

"We?"

"Unless you don’t want my help."

Talia was quiet for a long moment. Then:

"No, I... I want your help."

"Good. First step: we need to sell this breakup."

"What?"

"Darius needs to think his plan worked. Which means we need to publicly distance ourselves."

"But you just said—"

"Publicly. Very different from actually."

Understanding dawned on Talia’s face.

"A performance?"

"Exactly. We have a dramatic confrontation, you storm off, everyone thinks we hate each other."

"While actually..."

"While actually nothing changes except I’m fifty thousand gold richer."

A smile tugged at Talia’s lips.

"That’s rather devious."

"Thank you."

"I can work with devious."

"I had a feeling you could."

They planned quickly, efficiently. Talia was surprisingly good at plotting deception. Maybe all those years of court politics had taught her something after all.

"We should do it at dinner," Talia suggested. "Maximum audience."

"Agreed. You’ll need to be mean."

"I’m always mean to you."

"Meaner. Like, genuinely cruel."

"I can do that."

"Can you though? You like me."

Talia scoffed.

"I tolerate you."

"You like me a very normal amount."

"I find you less objectionable than most people."

"And you think about me when you touch yourself."

"AEGIS!"

Lune’s brush paused for exactly one second, then continued.

"Just making sure you can actually be mean," Aegis said innocently.

"I’m going to destroy you one day."

"Perfect. Channel that energy."

---

The dining hall was packed, as expected. Aegis sat with Scarlett and some other commoners, very deliberately not looking at Talia’s table. She could feel Darius watching from across the room. Good.

[Time for the show.]

Talia stood abruptly, her chair scraping against stone. The sound cut through conversations. People turned to look.

She strode across the dining hall with the kind of purpose that made people move out of her way. She stopped directly in front of Aegis.

"We need to talk."

"We have nothing to talk about," Aegis said, not looking up from her soup.

"Oh, I think we do." Talia’s voice could have frozen fire. "Did you really think you could just cut ties with me?"

Now Aegis looked up, trying to project defiance. She wasn’t nearly as good at this as Talia was, but she gave it her best shot.

"I can do whatever I want."

"No." Talia leaned down, hands on the table. "You can’t. You’re just a commoner toy who forgot her place."

The hall was dead silent now. Everyone watching.

"I’m not your toy," Aegis said, standing. They were face to face now, close enough that she could see the amusement hidden deep in Talia’s eyes.

"No? Then what are you?"

"Someone who’s done with your games."

"My games?" Talia laughed, cold and sharp. "You think you matter enough for games? You were a distraction. Entertainment. Nothing more."

[Damn... This is kinda hot.]

"Fine," Aegis said. "Then we’re done."

"We were never anything to begin with."

"Good."

"Good."

They stared at each other. The tension was thick enough to cut. Someone dropped a spoon and the clatter sounded like thunder.

"Don’t come near me again," Talia said finally.

"Wouldn’t dream of it."

Talia turned and walked away, every step measured and controlled. She sat back at her table and immediately started conversing with other nobles like nothing had happened.

Aegis sat down slowly. The hall exploded into whispers.

"What the fuck was that?" Scarlett hissed.

"A necessary evil."

"You and Talia are done?"

"Looks like it."

"But... why?"

Aegis glanced across the room. Darius was smirking, looking insufferably pleased with himself. Perfect.

"Sometimes things just end," she said.

Scarlett looked unconvinced but didn’t push. The rest of dinner was uncomfortable, with everyone shooting glances their way and whispering behind hands.

[Performance successful.]

But as Aegis left the dining hall, she caught Talia’s eye for just a moment. The princess gave an almost imperceptible nod.

[Phase one complete.]

Now she just needed to figure out phase two. How to actually help Talia with the marriage situation. Because fifty thousand gold was nice, but it wouldn’t solve the real problem.

[Time to get creative.]

She had the money to buy some very interesting solutions now. The question was which one would actually work.

Back in her room, she sat down on her own bed while Lune painted.

"Your performance was adequate," Lune said suddenly.

"Thanks?"

"Talia was better."

"She’s had more practice."

"At deception?"

"At everything."

Lune made a noncommittal sound and went back to painting. Aegis looked closer and realized she was painting the confrontation from dinner. Every detail perfect, down to the hidden amusement in Talia’s eyes that only Aegis had been close enough to see.

"You’re very observant," Aegis said.

"I paint what I see."

"And what do you see?"

"Two people who think they’re cleverer than they are."

"Ouch."

"The truth often hurts."

"Do you think Darius bought it?"

"Yes. But not for the reasons you think."

"What do you mean?"

Lune set down her brush, actually turning to look at Aegis.

"He bought it because he wants to believe it. Because it confirms what he already thought—that money solves everything. That people like you can be bought."

"I was bought though."

"No. You took his money. There’s a difference."

"Is there?"

"One implies ownership. The other is just theft."

Aegis grinned.

"I like how you think."

"I know."

Lune went back to painting. Aegis stared at the briefcase full of gold, mind racing with possibilities.

[Somehow, I need to solve the marriage problem, befriend the transfer students, and not die in the Winter Trials.]

No pressure.

But she had fifty thousand gold now. That had to help somehow.

[Time to go shopping!]