Page 28 of Captive of the Stolen Empire

Thank The Four, Ryszard left after his speech. Without his oppressive presence leering over us all, I could breathe again. Roasted meats and sweet cakes made my mouth water despite myself. The food here was edible, if a bit bland and different from what we ate in Sorrena. But tonight the chefs had outdone themselves if the smells were any indication.

“That’s quite pretty,” Elin said, motioning to Lucien’s bangle as she and Gabriel joined me near the edge of the room. Many of the tables had been removed or pushed against the walls to allow space for people to congregate and dance in the center.

“Thank you, it’s a recent gift.” I winked.

Elin’s brows scrunched together, but Gabriel caught on.

“Ah, you’ve made some progress?” he asked.

“I think so. We’ll see what it yields.”

“Oh!” Elin exclaimed. “It’s from—” She cut herself off before she could spill my news to the nearby guards who’d approached after her exclamation.

A group of musicians arranged across the room tuned their instruments in preparation to play. A few captains resided in high-backed chairs behind the emperor’s table, Lucien included. His gaze caught mine across the distance. An unexpected tingle ran under my skin, and I looked away.

Gabriel, Elin, and I chatted about everything and nothing for a few minutes until the guards lost interest. Nearby, Fernand sat alone, sipping at a mug of ale. His dour expression and hunched shoulders kept other revelers at bay. I hadn’t shared his secret, though Gabriel had likely caught on from his mood alone. He shook his head with a shudder and downed the rest of his mug in one go.

When I looked back to the high table, Lucien and many of the others had left.

“It turns out your advice was right,” I said to Gabriel. “The other night, after we shared that bottle of wine during dinner, I—”

Reyna joined our circle, a blinding smile on her face. Her cheeks were flushed from wine, dancing, or both. “It looks like you all are having a good time.”

Hardly. If it weren’t for the opportunity to possibly overhear something of use, I’d have found an excuse to miss the feast altogether.

She looked between us. Her smile dimmed. “Did I interrupt something?”

“We, uh…” Elin faltered.

“We were just comparing the traditions in our city-states,” Gabriel said.

Reyna looked between us again. The silence was stifling despite the volume of the room. “Uh-huh,” she said after a heavy pause. “Well, maybe I can borrow Ilya for a moment?”

Me?“Okay, what do you—”

“There she is.” Captain Zurina strode up to fill the gap between Reyna and me.

Reyna’s blinding smile returned. There was a reason we didn’t trust her, didn’t include her in our plans, and it wasn’t only because her city-state had submitted willingly to the emperor when his troops advanced on their border. Reyna was far too friendly with our enemy, including the emperor’s captains. She genuinely seemed pleased to be an honored guest and wore the title with pride.

My back stiffened. Zurina wasn’t referring to Reyna—she stared directly at me. Elin and Gabriel slipped away as Zurina leaned in, her tall figure towering over me.

“Glad to see the rumors were false,” she said, just loud enough to be heard by Reyna and me.

I raised my eyebrows in return. “And how do you know they are?”

The hint of a frown teased out from behind her mask. “Because I’ve seen the scars that leaves on someone.” All hint of joy fled her voice. “You don’t bare them.”

A knot rose in my throat as her gaze bore into mine. The shadows there had me looking away, an unexpected twinge piercing my heart.

“We’ve told people the rumors are untrue. They should quiet down soon,” Reyna said.

So it’swenow?My lips thinned.Since when did they care about my reputation?

“A good thing too.” Zurina’s light tone returned, her voice rising in volume as she clapped onto my shoulder. “If they’d been true, I’d have had to cut that one’s balls off.” She hiked a thumb over her shoulder.

My breath caught as I spied the figure advancing on us. Lucien. Gods, when had he gotten so close?

“You’d have tried,” Lucien replied.

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