He slid out of bed and headed for the door, but paused in the antechamber. “Who is it?”
“Lieutenant Dunn.”
Uh oh. Hollowcrest was back. Or something else was up.
“Yes?” Sespian asked when he opened the door.
“Sire, I’ve been in contact with that renegade enforcer, Amaranthe Lokdon. I assumed you’d want to hear about it right away.”
“Oh?” Sespian leaned forward. Since he had been drugged the few times he’d met her, he could hardly trust his judgment, but he so badly wanted to hear that Hollowcrest’s words were lies.
“Yes, Sire. May I come in?”
“Of course.”
A servant glided in on Dunn’s heels to turn up the lamps and add coal to the stove. Sespian shifted his weight from one foot to the other, watching the process with ill-concealed impatience.
“What is it?” Sespian blurted as soon as the servant left.
Dunn wrung his hands and paced. “Before I tell you what she said, let me say that I think it’s a very bad idea, and you shouldn’t go off to meet her.”
“She wants to meet? Me?” Idiot, you sound like a love struck youth, not an emperor over millions. Sespian cleared his throat and struggled for nonchalance. “I mean, what did she say?”
“What Hollowcrest said was true. Sicarius intends to assassinate you during your birthday celebration. Lokdon claims to have pretended to join forces with him to unearth his plans and feed the information back to Hollowcrest, but something went badly between them, and now she wants to share all her information with you.”
Sespian paced. Spying on Sicarius? Could that be secret assignment Hollowcrest had given Amaranthe? The reason she had been in the Barracks to start with?
Disapproval pinched the lieutenant’s face.
“You don’t think I should go,” Sespian said.
“It could be a trap. If she just wanted to relay information, she could come here to do it.”
Sespian shook his head, recalling the last time he had seen Amaranthe-flying out a window to escape the guards. “For all she knows, we’d throw her in the dungeon. I can see why she’d prefer a neutral location.”
“She could be working with Sicarius to lure you to your death,” Dunn said.
“Did she stipulate I had to meet her alone?”
“No.”
“Then you could come. And a couple carriage-loads of men. When does she want to meet?”
“Now. She fears Sicarius will find out about her double cross, so she insists on meeting tonight. She’s waiting for you at Yestfer Smelter.”
Sespian glanced at the black sky outside the window. This could be a mistake, a big mistake. But if he didn’t go, and Amaranthe’s body turned up in the lake later…
“Very well. Fire up the steam carriages and arrange the men.”
Chapter 21
Amaranthe climbed down the ladder and returned to the hidden basement room. Several stories above, the passage ended at a trapdoor in the master suite, but there had been no sign of Larocka. Nor had Amaranthe spotted any clues that suggested where the woman had gone or where the assassination would take place.
She leaned her head against a metal rung. She had to figure this out. It wasn’t just about helping the emperor and clearing her name any more. She owed Sicarius. He was right. This was her fault. Because of her incessant curiosity, she had been pestering him with questions since she met him, and now he was the one stuck with the consequences. Right now, he probably regretted not killing her that day on the trail. And why hadn’t he? Because he thought he was helping his son’s girlfriend. She groaned. All this time, she had been wondering if-hoping-Sicarius might possibly care for her. No, he had simply been tolerating her ludicrous scheme because Sespian gave her a bracelet.
“Amaranthe?” Books called from the spectator area.
She wiped her eyes. “In here.”
A moment later, Books, Akstyr, Basilard, and Maldynado packed the tiny room.
“The servants have fled the house, and this mausoleum is gargantuan,” Books said.
Akstyr wore a toothy smile and clutched a book the size of a small tabletop. “Look what I found.” He danced forward, almost losing his balance due to the heavy tome. “It’s Nurian. I’ll have to find someone to help me translate-” he glanced at Books, “-but I could make scads of progress studying their ways.” He dumped the book on the desk, opened the first page, and didn’t seem to notice his foot bumping something under the drawers.
A round, glowing purple object rolled across the concrete and clinked to a stop against the base of the ladder. The orb was smooth, flawless, and small enough to conceal in a pocket.
“Uhm,” Amaranthe said.
“That doesn’t appear natural,” Books said.
“No, but it’s a snazzy find,” Maldynado said. “Cut it in half, and it’d make a fetching pocket watch fob.”
“Somehow, I doubt it’s for fashion,” Amaranthe said. “Akstyr, do you-”
“Oh!” Akstyr had spotted it. He shut the book, hustled forward, and picked up the orb. “I’ve never seen a real one, but it looks like a communication jewel.” He slid a finger along the top, and his eyes grew distant for a moment. “It’s for talking to whoever else has the other one.”
“Can it tell you who that might be?” Amaranthe asked.
“No.” Akstyr handed the orb to her. “Only the ones it was tuned for can access it.”
“It must have slipped out of Larocka’s pocket,” Amaranthe said. “She doubtlessly left in a hurry after…”
“After what?” Maldynado asked. “We looked all over the house for her, but the shifty broad just disappeared.”
“I know.” Amaranthe slid the orb into her pocket, not sure what she could do with it, but keeping it just in case. She led them out of the hidden room. “Larocka contacted us. She’s…planning to kill the emperor as revenge for what happened to Arbitan. By dawn.”
“That’s not more than a couple hours off,” Books said.
“She’s just one woman,” Maldynado said. “Are we worried about what one woman can do?”
Basilard looked pointedly from Amaranthe to the filled pit and back to Amaranthe.
“Oh, right,” Maldynado said.
“Do you know where she’ll strike?” Books asked. “She can’t sneak into the Imperial Barracks, can she? Even if she could, we can’t. How do we thwart her?”
Hands in her pockets, Amaranthe gazed at the pit for a long moment. Then she looked at each of them. “ We don’t. You’ve done enough. More than enough. I finagled you all into this, and yet you performed like empire-renowned champions in the rings. I can’t ask for any more from you. The next step I take alone.”
“What?” Maldynado propped his fists on his hips. “We’ve come this far with you, and we’re not leaving now. I need a statue, remember?”
“We mean to see this through to the end,” Books said. “Sespian is our emperor too.”
Basilard nodded firmly.
“If they’re going, I’m going too,” Akstyr said. “Where are we going?”
“I’m going to the Barracks to turn myself in.” Amaranthe jogged for the stairs.
“Upon reconsideration,” Maldynado said, “I do wonder if this is something you should do alone.”
“I have to try to talk to the emperor before Larocka strikes.”
• • • • •
Sespian slipped a sheathed dagger into his boot and strode out of the Imperial Barracks. His guards trailed him to the outside stairs. Lieutenant Dunn, standing in the courtyard next to two armored steam carriages, waved them toward the second vehicle.
“Sire.” Dunn held the door to the lead vehicle open, and a pool of light spilled out.
Sespian crossed to the driveway. A few soldiers clanked and clattered along the outer wall, but night was still deep. Few lights burned behind the dark windows of the Barracks. Hardly anyone to see me leave.
The thought made Sespian pause. He had one foot on the carriage step. The empty, blue velvet interior yawned before him. Shouldn’t there be some guards accompanying his vehicle as well? The hackles of suspicion arose on his neck.