Page 34 of A Reign of Embers

All the regrets he’s confessed to swim up from my memory. He failed to protect me so many times in the past… but he really has come through every time I’ve needed him since then.

I don’t know what to make of the twinge that passes through my heart.

Marc isn’t the only man who’ll be worried about us. My attention flicks beyond my guards.

My eyes lock with Bastien’s across the room. A glint of panic shines in his dark green irises.

I sweep my hand over my hair with a hasty gesture.All well.

His shoulders come down slightly.

The nobles closer by are murmuring to each other now. Several ease closer—as close as my now doubly-wary guards will allow.

“What a disgrace, Your Imperial Highness.”

“To try to harm ababy…”

“Surely Sabrelle would never approve of that! He must have been insane.”

They sound much more horrified that Coraya might have been harmed than their empress—which is fair enough, because so am I. But as my panic simmers down, watching them fuss and shudder around me sends a tingle of inspiration through my thoughts.

For all their snobbish and imperialist views, Dariu’s nobles do care about children. I can’t count how many times my appeals to Marc’s fatherly instincts helped win his compassion when he was torn between me and his brother.

Perhaps I can expand our court’s compassion to all the children of Dariu—and pay tribute to Inganne, the godlen who watches over those children, at the same time.

My attacker might have intended to knock me down, but instead he’s nudged me one step closer to victory.

Chapter Thirteen

Lorenzo

As we step into the vast storeroom in the depths of the palace, one of Aurelia’s guards makes a gesture that lights up the magic-blessed lanterns along the ceiling. Their enchanted glow sweeps over stacks of crates topped with glittering material and row upon row of decorative furniture and vehicles.

The empress blinks, her lips parting with awe. “I—I didn’t realize we had such an extensive assortment of festival equipment.”

One of the other guards—Kassun, who always seems particularly eager to impress her—grins as if he was directly responsible for building the collection. “The imperial family always loves putting on a good show for the people when it’s time to celebrate. I guess you haven’t gotten to see much of that here in Vivencia since we were on the tour most of the past year.”

Aurelia nods as if in a daze and drifts through the stale air between the looming paraphernalia of past revels. She beckons me. “Let’s see what we can find, Your Highness.”

This once, the woman I love can consult with me openly. I’m the highest ranked member of court who’s dedicated to Inganne, after all.

For show, I pull out the sheaf of papers and pencil I keep in my belt pouch. As far as the guards know, that’s how I’ll be communicating with her.

I might feel it’s wisest to let our closest allies know my full gift, but spreading word widely isn’t likely to work in our favor. The more secret powers we have up our sleeve when Valerisse makes a real move, the better.

Aurelia trails her fingers along the side of a vibrant gold-and-green sedan chair and gazes up at a massive wooden statue of Estera, which would be pulled behind a carriage on the wheeled platform it’s poised on. She’s taken a meandering path designed to draw us out of view of her guards—except Marc, who she’s allowed to trail closer behind us so the others don’t fret. As if an assassin would bother lurking down there.

“I suppose there’s some level of organization—materials grouped by the festival they’re meant to be used for?” she says just loud enough for the former emperor to hear. “Where would we find the Inganalia supplies?”

Marc’s mouth twists apologetically. “I’ve never been down here myself. The staff has always brought everything out.”

“Hmm. Well, it can’t hurt to explore and see everything that’s on offer. Inganne does value creativity.”

Aurelia shifts her attention to me, with a smile that washes a warmer glow over me than that of the lanterns. “What do you think would win your godlen’s respect themost—what would convince her that I’ll uphold her ideals if I remain on the throne?”

I’ve been mulling that question over since Aurelia first mentioned her plans.“You’re focusing on her devotion to children and encouraging the same devotion throughout Vivencia, but you don’t want to neglect her other domains. It’s easy to bond through play—we should offer plenty of games where the citizens can mingle. And artistic activities—not just showing off spectacles of art but creating it together.”

Aurelia nods thoughtfully. “We want to put everyone on equal ground, the nobles seeing how little difference there is at heart between their children and the commoners’. I don’t think it’ll do to try to raise up the city folk, so perhaps we encourage the nobles to let down their airs. Have fun, make a mess for the sake of fun or art.”

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