It was evening, at last. The daily activity in the citadel had quieted, everyone going off to rest for the night and forget about war and battles and strategy. Liam and Shaye were alone, at last, in the room they'd been offered at the citadel for the span of days they'd spend there before the eclipse and before the final plans went into effect for the re-taking of Loscar. It was a pleasant night, calm and cool, with a clear sky, the stars twinkling like so many lights in the sky. Liam had changed out of his formal uniform into a simple tunic and trousers as he stood on the veranda that overlooked the gardens below, the summer breeze stirring his long blond hair and offering some respite from the heat of the day.

In the room behind him, Shaye was looking critically at herself in the mirror, not entirely sure she was impressed with the fact that Adare's servants had all but stolen her clothing - everything but her armor - and had left in their place several dresses instead. She eyed herself critically a moment longer before giving up in disgust and moving to join Liam in the cool evening breeze. "If your mother has been giving instructions to every servant she can find to make me more ladylike, I'm going to have words with her," she warned mildly as she came up to his side.

The sound of her voice drew him from his thoughts and he turned to find not his warrior wife, but a lovely woman with long blond hair in her place. "I'm sorry, miss, but if my wife catches you here, she will have my head," he teased with barely even a hint of a smirk. He was getting better at hiding his emotions, at least, when he wasn't inebriated.

Her eyes narrowed at his tease, though she was smiling as she answered in kind. "Watch it, sir," she warned. "I'll cut off all that lovely long hair and feed it to you before your wife gets here." She snorted, shaking her hair back over her shoulders as she looked down at herself. "I really don't feel dressed, rua. Is this really what normal women wear?"

"Normal women," Liam repeated, turning to slide his arms around her waist and tug her close. "I'm not sure what a normal woman is. If you mean someone like my mother, yes. But I've never wanted normal. All I've ever wanted is you." He wasn't quite sure whose lovely long hair she was referring to - his or hers - but in either case, he knew she was bluffing.

Even Shaye had to admit that it was far more comfortable to embrace her husband when they weren't wearing armor. And she only admitted in the deep silence of her heart that she liked how feminine the dress made her feel as he drew her close to him. She nuzzled to him, lip to lip for a long moment, before drawing back with a softly thoughtful sigh. "Something very strange is going on here, Liam," she said quietly. "Something involving the prince. I've never seen anyone more jumpy or startled than he is, and yet just a month ago, he was enduring far worse with far more control and dignity."

He groaned a little when her lips parted from his and she turned the conversation toward matters of state. "Do you really want to discuss this now, wife?" he asked, as he brushed her hair back over a shoulder and started to leave a trail of kisses along the side of her neck. Whether he was trying to distract her from discussing the prince's plight or not, he was enjoying the distraction.

It was her turn to groan as he turned his attention to distracting her, something that was only too easily accomplished when they were alone. She shivered tenderly as his lips trailed down the line of her throat, her hands gripping his back with unmistakable need. "You're starting something you're going to have to finish," she murmured against his ear, nipping softly at the lobe as though to underline her point.

"Mmhmm," he murmured back as his lips continued their tender exploration of her neck. "I've been waiting to finish it for years," he added, as his fingers traced the neckline of her dress and the swell of flesh beneath. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" he asked, admiring the view. He thought it was a good thing she rarely wore a dress, as he didn't want to share this view with any other man.

Despite her need to ask what it was she didn't know, Shaye was only too easily side-tracked by Liam's fervent interest in her, smiling affectionately up at him as he admired her. Another reason not to hate the dress too much. "Frequently," she assured him, rising up to draw him into a slow, tender kiss that took its time in sharing with him the tingling rise of desire he had unfolded within her, simply by holding her close.

As much as he was trying to distract her from her curious questions about Adare, that wasn't the only reason for the exchange of kisses and caresses between them. After all, they had sixteen years of separation to make up for. It was almost a shame she looked so lovely in that dress because he wasn't planning on leaving her in it for very long. In fact, it wasn't long before he was sweeping her up into his arms to carry her inside and lay her back on the bed where he intended to distract her for as long as she'd let him.

It really was just as well that there had been no official gathering planned for the evening, because Shaye kept Liam very busy until the moon was high, only relenting when it became clear that neither one of them could manage much more. Wrapped in his arms, the sheets coiled about them, she laughed breathlessly, lifting her head to look up at him. "One of these days, we're going to break each other doing that."

Out of breath and nearly exhausted, Liam collapsed against the bed, wrapping up in the sheets and tangled together with Shaye's arms and legs. He grunted in reply the way he tended to do before actually speaking. "I'm not sure I'd mind that so much," he said with a grin, before closing his eyes, as if he was about to drop off to sleep without another word said.

Her eyes narrowed once again as he closed his eyes, spotting the tactic to avoid talking straight away. Of course, he should have known better by now - Shaye hadn't changed much in sixteen years, after all. She reached up and deliberately flicked the end of his nose. "Don't you dare," she warned him through a smile. "I'll hurt you."

Liam scowled when she flicked his nose and snatched hold of her wrist, glaring at her through one open eye. "Can't you see that I'm tired, woman' You've worn me out!" Though that wasn't quite true, and there was no anger in his voice. He just didn't want to have to answer questions she was better off not knowing the answers to, though he wasn't really sure what it mattered now that they were in Phalion. "Don't forget who's in charge of the Sword of Arctra, First Blade," he teased.

He chuckled as she threw her arms around his neck, amused by her very girlish reaction, relieved that this last secret no longer stood between them, though they needed to keep it a secret from everyone else a while longer. "Hush, wife, or the whole citadel will know!" He slid his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss against her lips, smiling all the while.

"Oh, pish," she chuckled, murmuring against his lips for a moment before drawing away. "If I couldn't keep a secret, I wouldn't be your wife right now." She kissed the tip of his nose. "We have to do something very special for the Wild Ones when all this is over."

"I expect that will be up to Adare," Liam remarked, a thoughtful frown crossing his face. He didn't really want to think that far ahead yet, but he knew everything was going to change, and that change might mean that Conall and Liayna would depart to rejoin the nomads in the wilds.

Shaye could guess where his thoughts had gone, a gentle smile touching her face as she held his gaze. "Everyone goes their own way after a war," she said softly. "That doesn't mean they don't come back to us. Trust me on that one. I have friends I haven't seen for years, but I know I'd be welcome in their homes if I showed up tomorrow. You and Conall will always be brothers at heart."

"Perhaps," Liam replied, with an uncertain shrug. He didn't really want to think about that right now or worry about it, and he would never ask Conall to forsake Liayna for his friendship any more than Conall would ask Liam to forsake Shaye. He laid back against the pile of pillows again, tugging her down onto the bed with him before tucking a long strand of gold hair behind her ear, fingertips brushing her cheek. "I wish I could have told you sooner. I do not like keeping secrets from you, lea."

Drawn back down beside him, Shaye's smile seemed to grow even more gentle, a tenderness that was reserved just for him shining from her eyes. "I do understand, rua," she assured him. "I won't lie and say that I didn't mind it, because of course I did. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't have waited until you were ready for me to know. I'm not an impatient little monster any more."

"Now that I have the sword, I see no reason to keep the secret from you. There are only a few who know, so you must be careful not to tell anyone outside Adare's inner circle. It is better to pretend not to know. We will have to stay close when the eclipse comes. I do not doubt Velasca has spies planted in the citadel."

"Oh, I'm certain of it," Shaye agreed with a nod. "She was a little too comfortable here not to have had her own people in the citadel. But Adare has plenty of protection. We're just down the hall, I've seen Liayna prowling around so I assume Conall is doing the same, the captain of the guard here is utterly devoted to Adare. Not to mention the fact that Rory is in the same room and will continue to be. I don't care what anyone says about propriety, Adare's safety comes first."

"Mmm," Liam mused quietly in the way he often did, half mutter, half grunt. "Have you noticed the way they look at each other?" he asked, wondering if he was just imagining things or if she had noticed it, too. "Rory knows. There's no question. Anyone can see how devoted he is to Adare. He reminds me a little of myself at that age. In a hurry to grow up, to prove myself, to win the heart of the girl I loved." That brought a soft smile to his face as he looked up at the woman who had once been that girl.

"He's in love with her," Shaye said very softly. Even if there had been others in the room with them, only Liam would have heard her. "He's terrified that he's going to lose her. Someone should explain to him that a queen can choose her own consort, without precedent. Adare looks to him too much not to have some deep feeling for him, but they can't make it official until Rory is made a knight. And that won't happen until he's been in battle."

Liam nodded his head agreeing with everything Shaye was telling him, except for one thing. "Don't look at me! You talk to the boy. He seems to like you. He barely says a word to me. I think he's afraid of me, though I can't imagine why."

She laughed. "You're his hero, Liam," she teased him fondly. "He wanted to come with me when I left to find you. He only stayed because I asked him to protect Adare for me. I don't think anything could make him leave Adare now. But he isn't afraid of you. He's in awe."

This did bring a dubious grunt from Liam. "Nonsense. I'm no hero. I just did what needed to be done, as we all did. I have heard what he did for Adare, how he stood up to the Usurper's bitch of a daughter. That is the stuff of heroes. What did I do, lea" I fled Loscar like a coward and nearly lost you forever. I should have stayed and fought, or I should have taken you with me, but what is done is done. It cannot be changed, and I am satisfied with the outcome." He kissed her again, as if to prove his point. Whatever decisions they'd made in the past no longer mattered - or maybe they mattered too much. Those decisions had made them who they were, and if they had not made those decisions, there was no telling what might have become of them or of Arctra.

"What did you do?" Shaye stared at him as though he'd just grown a second head. "Liam, you've been the leader of the rebellion for nine years. Under your leadership, the movement has grown in numbers and strength, and you've had so many victories, however small they might be. Velasca's people have never been able to infiltrate your company, all her assassins have failed, none of your command have ever been captured and held for more than a few days. Do you honestly not understand what you mean to the country' You're the figurehead for the rebellion, Liam. Children have grown up knowing your name, wanting to join your army and put a real queen on the throne with you. No matter what you think, you are a hero to Arctra."

He frowned at her, still not quite accepting this. In his mind, he had only done what needed to be done. He hadn't really set out to do it; it had just happened, and he'd had plenty of help. He could never have done it alone, and now that it was nearly done, he wasn't sure what he was going to do with his life next. "Well," he started, as if it wasn't such a big deal. "There are only a few days left until we reach that goal. What will you do when it's all over, lea" Will you remain First Blade, do you think?"

She sighed softly, settling close against his side. "That's something I've been asking myself for a while now," she admitted quietly. "Traditionally, the First Blade only changes when he or she is killed in battle, but the covenant of the Sword allows for an honorable defeat. I would like to test that, once Adare is in power and secure on his throne. I think a tournament, testing warriors against each other in fair combat, until one is proven the best. And I'll fight that one. If they can beat me, then they become First Blade, and I get to retire and give your mother those grandchildren she's so worried she'll never get."