As the dust cleared, I heard the cries of relief from the guards that were waiting outside the Gate for us. I walked off to the side, away from the crowd that quickly swarmed forward to gather around Captain Burd.

"You did it, Captain! You closed the Oblivion Gate! We didn't think we'd ever see you alive again!"

"Believe me, it was no picnic," Burd said with a slight laugh. "But thanks to our friend here, I now know we can close these damned gates. We can defend Bruma!"

I wiped blood and ash from the corner of my mouth. Keeping the Captain and his two men alive had taken everything in me. It was getting harder; the Daedra were getting smarter and increasing their defenses. They were actually starting to take us seriously. That was what I'd been dreading.

"It was an honor to serve with you, ma'am," Captain Burd said to me once the rest of the guards dispersed. "Now that I've seen how it's done, I think my guardsmen and I can handle any new Gates that open near Bruma."

I gave him a long, sober look and nodded once. "I wish you all the best with that, Captain."

I left him and rode back from Bruma to Cloud Ruler Temple. Dagon had opened a Gate at Bruma, just like we'd been expecting for some time. I didn't know when they'd try again, but I was sure they would. They knew Martin was there, and they wouldn't stop until he was dead. The idea sent chills through me. Jauffre was right; there was nowhere in the world where he could be safe. I didn't even know how he felt about all of this.

After returning with the Rose, it was like a wall went up between us. We spoke rarely. Whenever I was near him the air somehow felt colder. I didn't know if he was just upset or actually angry at what happened. It didn't matter. I didn't push the matter, but I stayed nearby as often as I could. It was still my duty to protect him. But it wasn't what was outside the walls of the fortress that truly worried me: it was that book. He began to study it feverishly, spending all his days and nights poring over it. Even when I watched him from across the Great Hall, I could see the dark circles under his eyes and the lines on his face deepening. I swore his hair looked grayer.

And yet he still said nothing to me.

Belisarius took my horse to the stable after I rode back into the confines of the fortress. Jauffre was waiting for me outside the Great Hall. It was getting fairly late. He must have stayed up to speak to me.

As I walked across the courtyard, boots tapping against the flagstones, I thought about what Martin had said to me earlier. It was the first time we'd spoken at all in over a week. His voice had been calm, like nothing had happened.

"The second item is the counterpart to the first: the blood of a Divine. This was a terrible puzzle to me. Unlike the Daedra Lords, the gods have no artifacts, and do not physically manifest themselves in our world. How then to obtain the blood of a god? But Jauffre solved it. The blood of Tiber Septim himself, who became one of the Divines. This is a secret remembered only by the Blades, passed down from one Grandmaster to the next. Jauffre should tell it to you himself."

I'd been called down to Bruma to assist Burd before I'd gotten the chance.

"So, Martin wants you to recover the armor of Tiber Septim?" Jauffre asked me when I stopped before him.

"Yes, sir. He does."

The Grandmaster sighed. "I wish there was another way. The Armor is in the Shrine of Tiber Septim, in the catacombs beneath the ruins of Sancre Tor. A holy place, once. But Sancre Tor became evil long ago. No one has returned from the Shrine of Tiber Septim for many lifetimes."

"What evil is it that lurks there, exactly?"

"I do not know. The four mightiest Blades of Tiber Septim's day, Alain, Valdemar, Rielus, and Casnar, went to Sancre Tor, and never returned. Here, this is the key to Sancre Tor's outer door. I fear I am sending you to your death, but we have no other choice. You must succeed."

He handed me and old key and left to turn in for the night. But, before he did, he looked at me seriously and said, "I'm worried about Martin. He does nothing but pore over that evil book all day."

I glanced at the door. "Is he in there now?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Oh, for the love of Talos… I take it you want me to go in there and talk to him?"

"You may be the only one who is able to get through."

That wasn't likely, given recent events. Still I nodded once, walked up the steps, and shouldered open the door. When I entered I immediately saw Martin. Books were scattered all over his desk and he flipped through them anxiously. Baurus leaned against the post behind him. The Blade caught sight of me and rolled his eyes.

I went to him first and asked in a hushed voice, "Has he been like this the whole time I was gone?"

"Pretty much."

"Jauffre told me to talk to him."

"I wish you luck with that," he said with a smirk.

"Thanks. Give me a minute with him, would you?"

Baurus hesitated. Then he sighed. "All right, Mar. I trust you, and you've already gotten him this far. I'll be over here if he needs me."

"Thanks again."

He mumbled something incoherent as he went over to sit on the other side of the room. I walked to stand behind Martin.

"How goes it?" I asked.

He actually turned away from his books to look up at me. "My progress with the Mysterium Xarxes is slow, I'm afraid. How goes your search for the armor of Tiber Septim?"

"Jauffre told me where to find it. I'll be off in the morning."

He nodded and went back to his work.

"Martin, you do know what time it is, don't you?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, it does." I bent down and said, "It's not healthy. You need your sleep."

"I need to translate this."

He was a stubborn fool.

I peered over his shoulder to look at his work and the open pages of the Mysterium Xarxes caught my eye. Martin had told me it was too dangerous, but I couldn't resist.

"Storm," I murmured.

"I'm sorry. What was that?"

"Right there. In the Xarxes. It says, "a storm.""

He practically tossed aside the book he was holding and grabbed the Xarxes. "Where?"

"The right-hand page. To the left and near the top. Yes, there." I reached over his shoulder to point at the word.

"By the Nine, it does." He looked back up at me. "I didn't know you could read the daedric alphabet."

I shrugged. "I can. At least, I used to. Most of the signs and things like that in Morrowind used it. Could this have something to do with the next item?"

"It might. But what could a storm signify? I don't think it's literal."

"A magical storm, maybe?"

He made a quiet hmm sound and looked back down at the page. "I'll have to give this some thought."

"Martin, I was serious when I said you needed sleep."

"I will, I will. But I'd like to work on this for a bit longer."

I knew I'd lost. "Fine. But not too long."

When he looked down slightly, I realized that my hand was resting on his shoulder and I quickly withdrew it. My fingers curled into a fist. Holding my hand against my chest, I mumbled a hasty "goodnight" before turning on my heel and exiting the Great Hall.

I berated myself the whole way down to the armory. What was I thinking? He was the heir to Ruby Throne, and to all of Tamriel. I couldn't act like… that. It wasn't right! I dumped my things off in the corner and drew my sword. My mind was whirling too fast to even consider trying to sleep. So there I was, swinging my blade at the dummy, trying to practice the movements Baurus had shown me. Practicing helped calm my restless mind.

"You're getting better," Baurus commented sometime later as he walked into the armory.

I sheathed my sword and turned to face him. "There have been plenty of daedra to practice on."

"How many Gates have you closed now?" He sat down on the long table that ran down the center of the room.

"I've lost count."

"Of course."

He tossed something to me. A bottle. I caught it and looked at him with curiosity.

"Ale?" I asked.

"I figured some of us could use a drink."

I laughed and took a drink before sitting down beside him.

We sat there for a while talking, telling stories, laughing. Eventually I asked, "So, I take it his highness finally called it a night?"

"He did. Cyrus is watching his room."

"Good."

It was quiet for a minute or two before Baurus broke the silence to ask, "What's going on between you two?"

Something in my chest tightened. "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

"I'm just looking out for him, that's all," I said with a shrug.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and stared at me earnestly. "I've seen the way you two act around each other. Both of you are always dancing around your feelings. It's like you're always afraid that you might slip up and give yourself away."

"There's nothing to give away."

"Mar…"

"Look, I know how this ends, all right?" I said, pointing my bottle at him. "I'm not stupid. He's going to be the Emperor, Baurus. I'm a thief, remember? I'm no one. I earned my way into that prison, and it was only by accident that I'm sitting here now. Besides, I have no chance. None at all."

"Mar… you love him, don't you?"

"No. I don't."

"You're in denial."

I turned my face away pointedly and said bitterly, "It's better to be in denial than to be hurt."

"If you say so." He took another swig from his bottle. "You should have seen his face when you left. For a minute, I actually thought he was going to follow you."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Mhmm."

I took a drink. Had what Baurus said been true? Had Martin actually thought about halting his obsessive translation of that damned book… for me?

"See, this is what I meant," Baurus went on. "It's almost like a game. I'm not sure whether it's funny or just sad." I glared at him and he shrugged.

"Fine, what do you think I should do?"

"I think that youshould think about what's really going on instead of just trying to shove it in a corner. You're going to have to face it sooner or later." He nodded and gave me an encouraging smile before he turned and left the room.

I stayed where I was and drained the rest of the bottle's contents. What did I feel? Did I feel anything? Was Baurus just reading into nothing? No, he wasn't. He was right and, damn it, I knew he was right. Did it change anything, though? No. I doubted Martin felt that way about me. Why would he? I was nothing but a thief, a Legion brat. Nobody. Besides, his actions lately had left me with little hope. Baurus was wrong about that much, at least.

I left my things in the armory and went outside, hoping that the cold night air would clear my head. I wrapped my arms around myself to ward off the chill and stared up at the starry sky overhead. Angry tears burned in the corners of my eyes. In the end, what was the point of any of this? I wasn't meant for these things. If I wasn't so honor bound to protect the man, I'd have left a long time before. But I was stupid. So stupid. I didn't deserve him. Why would he ever love me? What about me was there to love? Nothing.

"Mara?"

I jumped. Whirling around, I saw Martin standing behind me.

"What do you need? Is something wrong? What happened?" I reached for my sword before remembering I'd left it in the armory. "Damn it!"

"Would you just please calm down?" He asked, exasperated. "I'm fine. And I don't need anything. I just… I just…" He knotted one of his hands in his hair in frustration. "…I just wanted to talk, that's all."

"You want to talk. Now. In the middle of the night. Why couldn't you have talked to me at any point in the last two weeks instead of acting like I didn't exist?"

The words rolled off my tongue before I could stop them, sharp and bitter. He stared at me. I realized what I'd done and I looked away, face flushing in shame.

"That was out of line," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Please, there's no need to apologize. If anyone should be sorry, it's me. You're right."

I didn't look at him. To be honest, I didn't know if I could.

"How did you find me?" I finally asked.

"I saw you from the window in my room."

"Couldn't sleep either?"

"No."

I nodded. The night wind whipped around me, stinging at my face.

"You're right about the Mysterium Xarxes," Martin told me quietly. "I can't escape it. It clouds my mind and haunts my dreams like nothing I've ever experienced. I'm starting to wonder if my warding spells will be enough."

"Then why keep going at all?" I asked. "I can read the writing. I could do it."

"I could never ask that of you," he whispered. "It has to be me. I'm the only one who is properly prepared to shield myself from the full effect of its power."

"You're too important to lose to that infernal book!"

My eyes had snapped back onto him and he looked at me then. His face was darkened by the faint light coming from the main building or the battlements, and I heard him say in a soft voice, "You do me too much honor. For who am I? The bastard heir of a dead Emperor."

"You think that matters to me? No. Whatever you think you are, what I am is so much worse."

"Is that so?"

I lifted my chin and looked him right in the eye. "Yes."

"You were a thief. That's not–"

"You think that's the only thing I've done?" I laughed coldly. "Do you know why I was in that prison in the first place? Do you?"

He shook his head slowly.

"When my father was killed, I thought all of the bandits died with him. I was wrong. What would the likelihood have been that the one survivor, my father's killer himself, was one of the first people I ran into when I got off the boat in the Imperial city? One in a million? More? He was there, strutting around with impunity. He knew who I was; I could see it in his eyes."

Martin stared at me, and I stared right back at him as I told him, "I don't remember what happened. I was just so angry. I couldn't see anything but Da dying in front of me. The next thing I knew, the guards were dragging me away. He was lying on the ground and there was blood everywhere. Do you know that I'm not even sorry? If that makes me some kind of a monster, so be it. I gave my father justice."

"Is that it?"

"What do you mean, "Is that it?"?" I snapped. "I killed a man in cold blood. Is that not enough for you?"

"You aren't the monster you seem to think you are," he told me.

"Oh, really? As if you'd know anything about that."

"More than you can possibly imagine."

I crossed my arms. "Try me."

He glared at me, his blue eyes cold. "As a young man, I grew impatient with Mages Guild restrictions, as did many of my fellow apprentices. We threw ourselves into the riddles of Daedric magic. We hungered for forbidden secrets. Knowledge and power were our gods. You can guess the rest. People died. My friends died. And I was the instrument of their destruction."

"How?"

"The Rose is uncontrollable. Only a fool would attempt to wield it, a fool so blinded by his own lust for power that he could not see what he had done until he was the only one left standing among the dead."

He ran a shaking hand through his hair and started to pace back and forth. I watched him, frowning.

"When you returned with the infernal thing, I finally realized what I'd done. I'd sent you out there, alone, with no idea of what you were getting into. The Daedra are not to be played with, and I'd sent you off to bargain with one."

"I survived, didn't I?"

"And what about the next time?" He asked, stopping to face me. There was distress written on his face. "What about Sancre Tor? I keep sending you into more and more dangerous places."

"I'll survive them as well. You don't get it, do you? I can't leave. Not even if I wanted to," I said, gesturing vaguely at my surroundings.

"And why, by Akatosh, would that be?"

"Because I'm in love with you, you fool!"

His eyes widened. I tensed, panicking, and clapped a hand over my traitorous mouth. Reckless. Stupid. I was such an idiot!

"Oh merciful Divines," I groaned, putting my face in my hands. "I'm so sorry. Forget I ever said that. I don't know what I was–"

"Mara."

I peered out at him from between my fingers. There was this odd, almost relieved look on his face. He reached out and wrapped his warm hands around my own and gently pulled them away from my face. I stared into his eyes. He didn't let go.

We stood there for what seemed like an age, unmoving. Then a smile broke across his face and he let go of one of my hands to brush a stray curl behind my ear.

In barely more than a whisper, he said, "I hadn't dared to hope that you might…"

I blinked, feeling numb with shock. Could I possibly be understanding him right? He… felt the same way that I…

"Neither had I," I breathed.

The way he looked at me in that moment was so powerful, and yet still so vulnerable. It was like he was looking right into me and saw everything, both good and bad, that was in my soul. But it was the trust, the utter trust in his eyes that caught me. He knew what I was. He knew everything that I was. Yet, somehow, he was willing to trust me with his heart. That was something that, Divines forgive me, was far more valuable than any amulet.

I felt him gently brush his thumb across my cheekbone. Then he slowly closed the distance and pressed his lips against mine. I closed my eyes.

He was hesitant at first, as if testing me. He was holding back, and suddenly I decided that I didn't want that. I pulled away and quickly closed in again, kissing him with all the strength I had. He responded immediately, taking me fully into his arms. My heart thundered in my chest.

It was a strange thing; I'd never really paid much attention to my heart before. But at that moment it felt like it was full to bursting. All I could feel was its incessant, rhythmic pounding and him. Him. Every place that we touched felt like it was on fire. I was burning, but I was alive. It was like he was the sun. I yearned towards his love, his light, his warmth. I needed him. I'd never needed anyone before in my life as much as I needed him then. And I wasn't afraid. Not of him, and not of what I was feeling. Not then.

I lay against Martin's chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. He reached up to stroke his fingertips up and down my spine. Both of us were silent.

As comfortable as I was, I still had responsibilities, so I slowly climbed out of the bed. I needed to find my clothes…

"Mara? Where are you going?"

I looked back over my shoulder. Martin was sitting up, watching me.

Smiling a little, I said, "The barracks. I've still got some time to sleep before I have to leave."

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked me quietly.

"Of course not! You were amazing, Martin. I–"

That was when I noticed how despondent he looked, his brow furrowed in worry and doubt. It finally dawned on me why.

"You… You want me to stay?" I whispered, not even daring to believe it. My heart twisted in a way that was almost painful. When he nodded I looked away, rubbing my bare upper arm. Neither Gan nor Sottilde had wanted me to stay afterward, so I'd never even considered that he might…

Glancing back up, I saw the look of understanding that had appeared on his face. Slowly he held his hand out to me, palm up. It was an invitation, not a command. It was a choice that I could make for myself.

New and strange as it was, I knew what I wanted.

I walked forward and crawled back onto the bed. Reaching out, I wrapped my fingers around his, squeezing them slightly. He smiled and pulled me in closer to kiss my mouth. Then he murmured against my lips, "I want you. I promise."

I heard the unspoken truths behind his words. He wanted me, even if no one else had. He wanted me, and not as a distraction.

"I love you," I breathed.

Martin smiled. We lay down together and he pulled the blankets up over us for warmth. I draped my arm over his chest, feeling his own arms encircle me. It felt so comfortable to just lie there with him. There was no tension, just… peace.

"Goodnight, darling," he said, kissing my hair.

I nuzzled my face against his shoulder. "Goodnight…"