Emperor's Edge Republic by Lindsay Buroker Page B

but couldn’t she eventually get that promotion here? There was more going on in the city than out in Rural District Number Seven or wherever it was her family lived. She would have more opportunity to stand out and for advancement here. He would be doing her a favor. And... and... if her father thought she should have a nice house, well, he could figure out a way to get her that here too. He would ask Starcrest for a job, an important job. The only problem was that he wasn’t sure he could get in to see the president in a timely matter. He’d admittedly made a pest of himself at that funeral. If he could talk to Starcrest, he might be able to convince the man to give him a chance, but...
    “You just need to find someone you’re sure can get in the door.” Maldynado drummed his fingers on the table. “With the boss gone, that leaves one person you know as a sure thing.”
    Maldynado finished dressing and headed for the door. Time to go a-visiting.
    • • • • •
    Sespian dodged the jab, blocked the punch, and stepped in behind it to thrust a jab of his own at the bare ribs. His knuckles grazed them, but Maldynado moved quickly for a large man, and he leaped back, spinning to face Sespian again, his fists raised. A judge might have awarded a point, but the light tap hadn’t even knocked the smile off Maldynado’s face, so Sespian readied himself to try again. Maldynado tapped his ribs to acknowledge the hit.
    “You’d be dangerous if you trained more than once a month,” he said.
    Sespian had scored more blows than he had in the past when sparring or wrestling with Maldynado, not that there had been time for much training on that whirlwind of chaos Amaranthe had swept him through last fall. Still, he had the sense that Maldynado was being easy on him.
    “I’m studying to be an architect,” Sespian said. “If I ever find myself boxing with my clients, it’ll mean I failed dreadfully somewhere along the way.”
    “In which case, it would be useful to be able to defend yourself. What if the roof falls in on some house you designed, and the cranky retired soldier-owner unleashes his battering rams on you?” Maldynado tapped his fists together. Apparently, he considered those battering rams.
    “I can defend myself against most people adequately,” Sespian said a touch stiffly. He had let himself be talked into this evening at the gymnasium more because of Sergeant Yara’s pleading tone than anything Maldynado had said. He didn’t care to receive lectures during his recreational time. He had thought they would go straight to the baths and steam rooms.
    “Hm.” Maldynado smiled and waded in, leading with a barrage of punches.
    The sudden frenzy surprised Sespian, and he almost took the first fist in the face. He danced back, though, giving himself time to recover. The ring marked the boundary, and he could only retreat so far, but he soon had his rhythm and blocked each blow without giving more ground. Maldynado had six inches on him and tried to press in, to intimidate him into backing out of the ring. Sespian waited for his moment, then, after deflecting a chain of blows so hard that jolts ran up his forearms, he threw extra weight into his last block, forcing Maldynado’s arm across his chest. He swept his leg in at the same time as he grabbed Maldynado’s shoulder from behind, pulling with his arm and thrusting with his hip, intending to throw him to the ground. But Maldynado writhed like a greased snake, and Sespian lost his grip. Before he knew what had happened, he found himself on the ground with a foot on his chest.
    Sespian sighed. “I did say most people.”
    “Yes, you did.” Maldynado winked, removed his foot, and offered a hand.
    Sespian accepted it—he had received a lecture in the end after all, a physical one, but he had deserved it. Maldynado had spent a year training with Sicarius; Sespian should have treated him more warily.
    “Let’s get washed and prettied up for the