Page 96 of Captive of the Stolen Empire

“Told you we should have thrown that bitch in a cell,” Orson said.

Another attempt to rattle me. It worked. The metal of my newly repaired gauntlet flexed in my fist as I tried to hold in my magic surging to get free. Orson had picked his moment to grab for power well.

“It seems you’ve grown soft. Taking mercy on our guests. Giving them the run of your quarters?” Emperor Ryszard’s voice held mockery, bitter amusement.

The tone elicited a high cackle from Kasida. It took everything I had to hold in the surge of magic jumping under my skin.

“Of course not,” I replied. My mind raced, searching for words to calm this disaster. “I placed her in the servant’s chamber to keep a closer eye on her and separate her further from the rest. Throwing your honored guest in a cell when they did nothing to warrant such punishment did not feel befitting of your hospitality.”

I’d believed her. Trusted her. Had everything been a lie? Some ruse to catch me off guard?

Images of her flashed through my mind. Her beguile. Her seduction. The confusion over my true appearance. She’d sought to seduce information from me then, but since…

“Myhospitalitydoes not extend to traitors. Neither those from outside our walls nor those closest to us.” Emperor Ryszard reclined in his chair. The steadytap, tap, tapof his fingertips across the wood echoed into the silence as he stared me down. “Tell me, Captain, what punishment would you suggest for the woman who stole from you?” He leaned forward. “Unless you gave her the information?”

My back stiffened as the words wrapped around me like a vise. “I wouldn’t.” The retort burst from me in a rush. “You know that.” Even with all that I’d learned recently, I wouldn’t have given Ilya that paper. It wouldn’t help any of us.

“Do I?” His brows rose toward the arched ceiling above.

“I’ve served you since I was a child.” And I did now, at least a little bit longer. To have my loyalty questioned when so much rode on it—never.

“Punishment for the woman. What shall it be?”

The question hit me over and over like a hail of fists. The very air in the room seemed to press in on me and strangle my thoughts. I pointed to Fernand, still on his knees. “How do we know he’s telling the truth?”

“See,” Kasida said, jumping into the conversation. “He defends her still. I told you she’d worked her claws into him.”

Orson snorted. “More like she spread her legs and—”

The emperor waved them silent. “It seems, Captain, that you’ve lost the regard of your peers. And you’re quickly losing mine.”

Another blow, this one like a rusty knife to my guts. Heads turned my way, including my friends, but I ignored them, staring down the man tightening the reins on my fate. In a matter of hours, my entire world had begun to fray, to balance on a knife’s edge.

“Orson shall replace you as First.”

A gasp cut through the room. I couldn’t say from whom—the buzzing in my head threatened to drown out all sound.

A lifetime of service, respect, and honor stripped away in one moment. Everything I’d worked for was given to the ingrate who smirked at me across the room.

Because of Ilya.

She’d finally stabbed me in the back, just not with the dagger I expected. This pain was much worse. A blow to my pride, my soul, my very being. A physical wound would have been easier to take.

“Now…” The emperor rose to his feet once again. “Determine a suitable punishment, or should I believe that you no longer wish to be one of my captains at all?”

Chapter43

Ilya

Reyna and I set up our easels in the garden with the plan to paint—and seek each other’s confidence. I’d yet to tell her about my discussion with Lucien, and there was more, a tension in the air that we didn’t quite understand. Fernand’s unexplained absence from both meals didn’t improve matters. The sick, twisting feeling in my gut alluded to trouble, but what?

I’d only completed a few brush strokes when a troop of unfamiliar guards filed into the garden, stopping in a half-circle around us. The chilly demeanor of the men stripped the warmth from the afternoon sun sliding down the sky overhead. Activity halted. The birds chirping nearby quieted. My chest hollowed out, dread blooming in that empty pit as I looked from one stoic face to the next. Something was wrong, so very wrong.

“Lady Ilya,” one of the men said.

“What’s this about?” Reyna asked, giving voice to the question taking shape in my head.

“She’s to come with us. At once.” The lead guard advanced on where I stood.

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