Page 119 of House of Dusk
“No,” Sinoe said, resolutely. “I need to face my father. He needs to hear the truth, for once. He needs to understand what Lacheron is.”
Hura shook his head. “I don’t like it.”
Ichos crossed his arms. “I don’t like it either. What makes you think Father will believe you? He’s been the Ember King for half our lives. He’s too proud to give that up. It’s who he is.”
“He’ll believe it because the Fates will tell him so,” said Sinoe. “And they’ll do so in public, before his entire court, and the ashdancers. Even if he doesn’t believe it, they will. Prophecy made him king. Now it can unmake him.”
“And what about the real Ember King?” Hura asked. “He has the blade of oblivion. And Agia Beroe.”
“But he won’t have the kore’s bones. Without a dead maiden to raise, he has no excuse to summon the Phoenix. So you see, it’s all under control.” She squeezed Yeneris’s hand as she spoke, giving her a bright smile.
Warmth flooded Yeneris at the touch. Her chest ached. Maybe it would always ache at the sight of Sinoe.
And yet her nerves flickered. The smile was bright, yes, but brittle. She thought of how the princess had once teased her, telling her she wasn’t afraid of dying because she’d seen her own death. She’d claimed it was only a joke.
“Sinoe,” said Yeneris, “have you seen something?”
“I see a lot of things,” she said. “I see a beautiful woman standing beside me who really shouldn’t be frowning like that.”
“A vision,” Yeneris pressed her. “Something more about what Lacheron’s planning?”
Sinoe huffed, brandishing her gold bangle. “I haven’t had any visions lately, thanks to this. Don’t worry, Yen. I don’t need a vision to know that we’re going to stop him. The kore will be safe, and so will my people. We know what we have to do.”
She gave Yeneris’s hand another squeeze, then pulled away. “Speaking of which, we really should leave you boys to your sparring practice. Be gentle with him, Hura.”
Then she was sweeping onward across the field, and Yeneris had no choice but to follow. Sinoe’s confidence should have cheered her, but she couldn’t help thinking that the princess hadn’t really answered her question.
• • •
The soldiers found them just as they passed back into the covered walkway of the north wing. Two men in bright bronze armor and bloody crests, their footsteps clattering like warning bells against the marble floor as they marched briskly forward. Sinoe muttered a surprisingly foul curse, then cast Yeneris a brief, worried look. But there was no time for words. The soldiers filled the passage, blocking their way toward Sinoe’s chamber.
Yeneris ground her teeth. They had lingered too long. If the king suspected what they plotted, he could unravel everything. But how had he discovered it so quickly? They’d only just left Hura and Ichos.
“Yes?” Sinoe lifted her chin, her tone cool and untroubled, as if the men were small stones in her path, nothing more. “What is it?”
“Your father has need of you, Bright One,” said one of the men.
The princess did not falter. “Very well. I’ll be there shortly, but I have a fitting just now.”
The soldier shifted his stance. “Apologies, Bright One, but the king said we were to accompany you directly to the great hall. Immediately.”
Perhaps it was only some urgent detail of the upcoming festivities. Or the king wanted Sinoe to be there to welcome Agia Beroe. Yeneris studied the two soldiers. They were tense. One of them kept glancing down the nearby corridors. As if he expected they might be attacked.
Sinoe gave a breathless laugh of disbelief. “Do you know how hard it was to convince Mistress Cleia to come all the way here to the city to personally oversee my gown? I’m quite sure Father wouldn’t wish me to insult—”
“They’ve caught a spy,” said the soldier. “A Bassaran agent.”
The words struck like invisible daggers, utterly unexpected, making Yeneris huff out a strangled protest. Fates, no. Mikat. Terrible images bled through her mind. Torment and torture. The woman was strong as iron. But even iron could be broken.
Yeneris strangled her horror. Held herself stone still as Sinoe likewise took in the unwelcome news.
“I see,” said the princess. “And what does this have to do with me?”
“He wishes you to prophesy, Bright One. To learn the plans of your enemies.”
Sinoe did not look at Yeneris. But one hand twitched, as if she wished to reach out. Then she curled the fingers into a fist, and nodded. “Very well,” she said, and set off briskly along the corridor.
Yeneris knew it wasn’t eagerness. She saw the strain in Sinoe’s eyes, and matched her own pace. The soldiers, apparently taken by surprise, were slower to catch up. It gave Sinoe a single moment to speak privately, low and quick.
