Page 75 of Poisoned Empire

“Your Royal Highness, I have news that cannot wait,” Nicephorus called.

Selene’s eyes narrowed, an angry cat, hackles raised.

“Would you like me to see him in another room?” Belisarius asked.

Selene blinked in surprise, face heating once more. He couldn’t wait to start using this in the games they played. If every kind gesture flustered her, he was going to undo her with chivalry. She cleared her throat and raised her chin.

“No, do let the man in to see his prince,” she purred, relaxing into the seat.

“Come in,” Belisarius called back.

Nicephorus rushed into the room, messy piles of correspondence still cradled in his arms, his robes and pallium askew and his long blonde hair dishevelled in its braid. It was only once he stopped that he realised Selene was also present. She smirked triumphantly and waggled her fingers in greeting.

“What is she doing here?”

“Selene is here because I invited her. What is so urgent, Praetor?” Belisarius’ tone brooked no argument.

Thus prompted, the praetor ignored Selene and reported his news.

“Four of your relatives have left the Ruby Province and cannot be located. Two uncles and their eldest sons. They appear to have left suddenly last night. This may be the source of it all, Your Royal Highness,” Nicephorus hedged.

“Spare no expense in finding them. I want them alive. Understood?”

Nicephorus bowed before running from the room. Despite the ugliness of the betrayal, Belisarius felt better knowing who the perpetrators were. He could finally stop looking at his family and wondering who among them hated him so bitterly that they would risk the stability of the empire to harm him.

“You’re strangely happy for a man who was just informed his family members helped commit terrible crimes.”

“This rebellion has been taxing. Knowing we’ve identified all the conspirators is a relief.”

“And you expected some of your family were in on it?”

“Unfortunately,” Belisarius nodded. “Someday in the near future, I will tell you the whole of it.”

“I look forward to the full sordid tale.” Selene smiled.

Chapter 26

Twobrothers.Twonephews.It was a hard blow. Darius had little in the way of family left. But something didn’t sit right with Darius. There were too many puzzle pieces shuffling around. The emperor had been up late the night before, dealing with the fallout of Illustrus Maksim’s admission of murdering a former knight in her own home. Illustra Dihya had been his bravest beast mage, and his most deadly, until her wings had been wounded beyond repair. The anger at knowing she’d died because of some mewling brat had kept him up until long after the sun had risen.

He’d just received word of family members fleeing in the night, like rats abandoning a sinking ship. There would be nowhere they could go. No ship would take them, and no province would shelter them. Exhausted by his own anger, he sank into his bed. Without Nadia, the damn thing was too big, too cold. He wondered briefly what she would have done.

Nadia had always had a soft spot for family. It had been difficult for her to see reason when kin was involved. She might have pleaded that they receive some sort of punishment short of death. Even when almost all of their children had been killed by Mercurius, she had only reluctantly agreed to have Mercurius executed, and only after he’d forbidden her further experiments with the memory flowers. It had been months after that dark day before they could speak to one another. He knew his surviving son had no such blind spot, and for that he was grateful. With thoughts of his wife swirling in his mind, Darius drifted off to sleep, no closer to solving the puzzle in his mind.

Despite its cavernous size, the stark, unadorned room was all tight angles and nearly airless. Windowless walls ensured the only lighting came from enchanted wall sconces. Having been assured that fresh air was, in fact, being circulated through vents improved neither the condition of the room nor Iliana’s mood. She sat at what could only generously be described as a desk, beside her more arrows and arrowheads than she’d ever seen in her life. The scale of her task was daunting—to enchant each one to find its mark. Ilana had lost count of them somewhere around two thousand. She only knew that no matter how many she’d done, it was only a fraction of those that remained. Hours of drudgery and exhaustion dragged at her. Working for the Imperial Forge was a sight less glamorous than she’d been led to believe. The room was hot and stifling, the lighting was giving her a headache, and her back felt like it was on fire.

“Work for the prince, he says. The praetor won’t be able to naysay our engagement, he says. Fuck! Would it kill them to let some damned air into this bloody tomb?!”

“Is that unladylike language I hear? Tut tut. Your class is showing.”

Iliana started, falling off her stool in shock.

“Selene? Where are you? The storehouse in under heavy guard.”

“I’m in a vent, but I’m a little stuck. A hand?”

Iliana looked up to see a slim hand waving out of the vent. Given the ceiling was lower than most, she didn’t need to stand on top of anything to reach her friend. Iliana raised her arms, grabbed Selene’s above the wrists and pulled. In moments her friend was freed, along with a rush of blessedly cool air.

“They have you working like a dog in here, don’t they?” Selene remarked as she looked around, squinting in the dim light.

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