Page 124 of A Vow of Embers

“A woman serving as a military commander?” Ahyana took the book back from me.

I remembered Xander mocking that idea. I wondered what he would think of his ancestor. “Antiope could run any military.” But in a nation that gave very few rights to women, it was unimaginable that one had once held such power.

We kept reading and searching, but nothing that we found was useful. I wondered if I should send Io to persuade her brother to let her have access to their mother’s library. He still might tell her no, just to spite me. I wasn’t sure what the right move would be.

Dinnertime approached and I told the others that I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to rest. Io asked if I wanted something to settle my stomach and I told her no, ignoring my guilt. They left while Suri gave me a nod, letting me know that she was going to get in position.

Time to break into the treasury.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

I locked my door, making sure to do so loudly for the guards’ benefit. I quickly changed into one of the simplest tunics I owned. It wouldn’t be a good idea for me to wear something that would loudly advertise my identity. I tucked my hair under a scarf for the same reason—it was too recognizable.

Figuring I only needed two bedsheets for my getaway rope, I opened the linen trunk and took them out. I tied a simple square knot, pulling it as hard as I could to test the strength. I hoped it would hold. It wasn’t that far of a drop but I knew landing on hard stone like that wouldn’t be kind to my knees or feet.

And if it broke? There’d be no way for me to sneak back in.

I waited at the doors of my balcony until it was time for the shift change. As the guards moved from their locations, I quickly tied the end of the sheet to a column in the stone railing. I climbed over the railing and used the sheets to slide down to the courtyard. I slinked along the wall to one of the hallways that the servants favored so that they could move unobtrusively through the palace.

Someone had left a pitcher on the ground and I picked it up to carry it with me, hoping it would make me look more like a servant. My heart beat like a drum in my chest and my ears.

There was a small amount of fear, but I mostly felt excited. Xander would not keep me down, confined. I wouldn’t let him.

I used the servants’ stairs to go down to the treasury level. Suri waited for me at the landing, which was far enough away from the treasury guards that they wouldn’t notice us.

Just as I reached her, I heard voices. “You, there! What are you doing?”

Quynh’s voice drifted over to me. “I’m supposed to be bringing wine to Queen Erisa, but I must be lost.”

I heard a guard spit. “Death to that tyrant.” I supposed Xander hadn’t been exaggerating when he said he had the military on his side. “Bring it here, girl.”

“Oh, I don’t think I should.” Quynh was laying it on a little thick, but it worked.

“Give it to us!” the guard said. I strained to listen, and when I heard bodies slumping to the floor, I ran with Suri to the treasury.

Quynh had gathered up the empty glasses and hugged me. “I hope you find it.”

So did I. She hurried off and I unlocked the door, stepping over the guards. I would have to tell Io that her sleeping draught worked exceptionally well. Suri came in behind me and I shut the door.

“We have to hurry,” I said. We were going to have a very short window of time. We had to search before someone noticed the guards. Or the bedsheets I’d left tied to the balcony railing. “I want to make sure the eye of the goddess isn’t here.”

Suri nodded and closed her eyes. She walked around every part of the room, her fingers spread out. Just as she had with the vault in the temple, she checked once, twice ... then on the third pass she gave me a disappointed expression and shook her head.

No.

I hadn’t really thought we’d find it, but I had to check. “I think there’s something in here that the prince doesn’t want me to see. He was furious when he found out I was in here before.”

She nodded and closed her eyes again. Within a few moments she went over to a massive shelf full of scrolls. She dug through them untilshe found the one she was looking for. She held it aloft in triumph and then brought it to me. There was writing on the outside.

The greatest weapon.

“Keep that for me,” I said. Suri nodded and tucked it into her breastband. I couldn’t risk it being discovered on my person. “We should go.”

Part of me wanted to swipe something noticeable just to annoy my husband but thought plausible deniability would be the better option. We left the vault, relocking it.

My hope was that when the guards came to, they would be too embarrassed to admit that they had shirked their responsibilities. I was gambling on their pride keeping them quiet. I knew there were patrolling guards but I didn’t know how frequently they made their rounds or how long Io’s draught would last. I hadn’t asked her to have it wear off quickly as she might have questioned me.

We ran up the main hall and then veered off into the servants’ hall to reclimb their stairs. There was a person above us, coming down. I slowed my steps and Suri did the same. I kept my head down, and when we were level with the other person, the man greeted us. I only nodded and kept walking.

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