Page 5 of Conspirators' Kingdom

Milena was happy to discard formalities for comfort, her legs tucked under her, always fidgeting with her skirts, preferring instead the short tunics that allowed her freedom of movement. In another life, Milena might have commanded her own army, damn the opinions of lesser men.

Sonya, with shining rose-gold hair, never let an opportunity pass to put herself in the best possible light and strike a captivating pose. Even now her beauty and charm radiated, a woman meant to be a princess in a legend of old, making even the simplest gown appear fit for court.

Though they differed in temperament, they were all of them Magister Grigori’s children, and equally dedicated to his grand plan. Taisiya loved them fiercely, and she would do everything in her power to see to their happiness and wellbeing. It was her duty, after all.

Taisiya cleared her throat and laid out her scheming.

“The bitch has agreed to introduce us to the emperor’s cousins, and the praetor has assured me that a suitable occasion to showcase us favourably has already been planned. In only a week’s time, several groups of foreigners will be arriving on our shores to commence diplomatic relations. The magistri, their heirs and a great many other nobles will be invited to attend. I’ve been assured the royal couple will introduce us personally to prospective husbands. I have a preliminary list with me, drawn up by the praetor himself.”

Taisiya pulled a small, folded piece of paper from the pocket of her gown and smoothed it out on the table. Daria took it first and perused it with her usual icy affectation. Satisfied, she nodded curtly and placed it before Sonya.

“They’re adequately close to the emperor in terms of bloodline,” Daria pronounced.

Sonya hemmed and hawed over the list. She could ferret gossip out of even the most tight-lipped of servants and had acted as their window into the outside world since their banishment from society.

“Two must be struck from the list. One is a gambler and the other beats his mistress.”

Taisiya nodded, grabbed a pen and ink and did just that. Milena sighed, grabbed the paper and looked over the names.

“No one on here sounds like any fun.”

“Here we go.” Sonya rolled her eyes.

“Wouldn’t it be fun to live on a ship and kill pirates with a bolt of lightning?”

Taisiya held back her own sigh. Milena had set her sights on Admiral Zephyros, a wind mage. The eldest son of Magister Opal, Dominus Zephyros Opal rarely made landfall long enough to do more than resupply before he escaped his familial duties and was back at sea. Unless Zephyros were commanded by the emperor himself, the admiral was unlikely to ever sit still long enough to consider marriage. He and Milena had met briefly when they were children, and again when he’d brought troops to the door of their ancestral keep to evict them. Despite the grim circumstances, Milena had only praise for the handsome admiral. She was determined to have him. Taisiya feared she would never be able to dissuade her.

“It wouldn’t be the worst idea to have a military man in the family. And Father always spoke of the importance of having a bolt hole or two,” Daria said, ever the peacekeeper.

Daria was right, of course. If the continent ever became inhospitable, the Opal islands, with their penchant for grudging tolerance of imperial norms and customs, would be a safe haven for their family. And a man with a navy under his command would be a fine prize to garner for their greater plans. But could a man so close to the imperial family really be trusted?

“I suspect the admiral will be present at the delegation, given the emperor will need his insight on the feasibility of overseas trade routes with the foreigners,” Taisiya added cautiously.

Milena’s eyes sparkled. She stuck her tongue out at Sonya.

“If you want him, then you’ll have to ask the strategos to force the introduction,” Sonya pointed out.

The mood in the little cottage immediately dimmed. The strategos, Lethe’s top military commander, had rendered their thirteen-year-old brother unidentifiable with his mace when Dimitri and Father had tried to escape the imperial dungeons before their executions. Dimitri, wicked and pitiless though he’d been, had been their younger brother nonetheless. Only the family crest on Dimitri’s ring had allowed Taisiya to confirm their younger brother’s identity after his brutal death. There had been so much gore. Taisiya swallowed back bile at the memory.

“We’re all going to have to do distasteful things to see this through. If we let that deter us, we’re not fit to be Father’s children,” Taisiya said into the silence. “Having to manipulate and flatter our enemies is a small price to pay in comparison to what Dimitri suffered.”

Sonya, chastised, nodded.

“What about Theodore?” Sonya asked.

Theodore, their older brother, was absent, working as he did in the imperial bureaucracy. He was innocent, knowing nothing of his sisters’ treachery. Theodore was the only one among Grigori’s children who was kind and sweet to a fault. He was no more capable of deception or cruelty than he was of growing a second head. As such, he was to be protected through ignorance.

“Theo should marry for love. Father sent him to be part of the bureaucracy for good reason. I think it best he remains innocent,” Taisiya said.

Daria and Milena nodded.

“To the Amethyst line.” Daria held up her chipped teacup.

“To the Amethyst line.” Milena and Sonya did the same.

“If you are going to honour our family, then at least use our real name, not the one that bastard emperor forced upon us when he killed your grandfather.”

The four of them turned to see their mother, the former Magistra Oxsana Amethyst, standing by the balustrade on the second floor. Draped in her mourning robes, she descended the cracked steps of their little cottage with the same regal grace and dignity that she would have down the grand, polished staircase of their former home. Taisiya’s eyes widened at the sight.

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