Page 84 of Hot Zone

She explored every inch of Artemesia’s quarters, to no avail. A large, locked chest in one corner of the space worried Tessa. It looked like something that might contain jewelry and valuables…and the Karanovo fragment could easily have ended up in something like that.

Tessa got chased out of the crew’s sleeping quarters by a grumpy, half-conscious soldier who told her to ply her whore’s trade elsewhere. But not before she’d had a quick look around and seen nothing that looked even faintly like a bronze disk emblazoned with an image of a constellation.

She was appalled at the sight of the twin rows of oarsmen amidships, slumped over, asleep at their oars. She surreptitiously checked their ankles for shackles as she looked for the piece of bronze. The men weren’t chained at their posts, thank goodness. But still, they were skinny, filthy, bearded and pale. None of them saw the light of day often, apparently.

The ship’s cargo hold was a pain in the butt to search, but search it she did, barrel by barrel, crate by crate. The disk was nowhere to be found down there.

Frustrated, she returned to the top deck to continue her search. She’d finished about another third of the ship when the imperial rowboat returned, interrupting her.

Rustam lifted Artemesia aboard, her presence overwhelming everything and everyone aboard the ship, including him. The woman was a force of nature. She could probably give Rustam as good as she got from him.

Tessa sighed. Yes, she’d been an idiot to think he’d actually fallen for her. She’d been convenient. A tool to be used and discarded when it wasn’t needed anymore.

Artemesia’s crew hauled up the anchor and hoisted the sails with fascinating efficiency. In a few minutes, their ship was under way again. Tessa frowned as she noticed that their vessel was passing all the other nearby ships, which were still at anchor.

Relenting on her vow never to speak to Rustam again, she sidled up beside him and murmured, “What’s going on? Why are we moving and the others holding their positions?”

“Because the queen brought such valuable tidings to the emperor, his generals are giving her the honor of leading the fleet.”

Tessa frowned. “Isn’t that the most dangerous position?”

“Aye.”

“So they’re rewarding her by putting her in harm’s way? That makes no sense.”

Rustam glanced down at Tessa wryly. “From her perspective, she has the most chance to gain glory by leading the fleet. From the generals’ perspective, maybe they remove a pesky thorn in all of their sides if she happens to drown gloriously.”

“Lovely.”

“Any luck finding your map?”

“Not yet. And I’ve been over most of the ship.”

Rustam silently held his hand out to her, hiding the move by angling his body closer and using a fold of his toga to disguise his hand.

She really didn’t want to touch him, lest she fall under his spell again. But did she have any choice? She had to find the disk. Exhaling hard, she took his hand.

Power flowed over her and through her, more intoxicating than ever. It was infused with his desire for her, the explosive lust between them dancing through her like chain lightning.

“Do you have this effect on all the girls?” she ground out between clenched teeth.

He laughed quietly. “I only care for how I affect you.”

She scowled up at him. Dammit, he was doing it again—distracting her from the job at hand! The fragment. Where was it? She focused her mind and received a reading on it so piercingly sharp and close it stabbed the insides of her eyelids like ice picks. Jolted by the discomfort, her eyes flew open. Directly in front of her. At eye level. No more than a few feet away.

“Anything?” Rustam muttered.

She dropped his hand. “It’s close, but we already knew that. I’m not even sure it’s on this ship, at this point.”

Meanwhile, her gaze flitted back and forth in front of her. The sides of the ship swooped together into a sharp, ironclad prow that curved up into a sharp point like an eagle’s talon. Mounted just behind that claw was a not-quite-life-size carving of a woman, leaning forward as if into a strong wind. It appeared to be done in some sort of hardwood, inlaid with metal and semiprecious stones. Her robes flowed back behind her, and her face showed determination. Her left hand pointed forward as if she were gesturing troops into battle. Her right hand held a spear at the ready.

The spear.

Its tip was a wedge of bronze…with a series of bumps across its surface. Tessa squinted to make out the marks more clearly. That was the constellation Virgo.

Elation leaped in her chest.

She’d done it! She’d found the Karanovo fragment!

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