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Cassia sighed. “Yes, I’ll grant him that. It is a valuable display of solidarity to show that both sides will uphold the outcome of the vote, no matter what is decided.”
“You’ve never ridden in the Progress of Anthros’s Sickle, have you?” Perita asked.
Cassia shook her head. “No, but Solia certainly has. She rode the Progress in the king’s stead on more than one occasion, and the people still remember that. This will be another opportunity for her to upstage Flavian.”
“Explain this Tenebran tradition to me.” Kella slid her oiled thigh over Tilili’s back and into the pocket of her saddle. “I find it the least of the evils so far, for it involves riding, and does not specify one must use a horse.”
Solia chuckled. “It’s a gesture liege lords and ladies are expected to make at the end of each summer. We ride through our domains, making ourselves visible to our people. It’s a promise of protection to earn the tithes we’ll receive from the autumn harvest.”
“Or,” Cassia said, “if one’s lord is less scrupulous, it’s an intimidation tactic reminding you to pay.”
“You smile at them, Sunburn,” said Kella. “I’ll do the intimidating—but only to Flavian if he rides too close to any of us. I’m sick of the smell of his bath oils.”
Enjoying a laugh at Flavian’s expense, they met Hoyefe in the corridor, while Perita returned next door to get off her feet.
But Hoyefe did not join in their mirth. “Flavian’s stash of encoded letters is gone.”
“That already happened three times,” Kella pointed out. “You always find his new hiding place.”
Hoyefe shook his head. “I found where he hid the box this time. But the papers are missing.”
Cassia stiffened. “Do you think someone else has been in his chambers?”
“It’s possible,” Hoyefe said. “Perhaps the spy. Or perhaps Flavian had removed them for purposes of his own.”
Kella shook her head. “Why would he ruin his own chances of winning the vote by passing the spy’s information to someone?”
“Perhaps it’s his contingency plan if he loses,” Hoyefe said.
Solia looked to Cassia. “Do you think he is that unscrupulous?”
Another card in Cassia’s house slipped out. Flavian had become the man she had always suspected him to be—but in ways she had never predicted. Was he capable of betraying Solia and the law on this level?
Cassia hated to admit that she was no longer confident in her judgment, but she owed Solia the truth. “I am unsure.”
“It’s all right,” Kella said. “We already knew we must be prepared for anything.”
Cassia tucked her arm in Hoyefe’s. “I imagine you are an excellent forger, Lonesome.”
“My dear,” Hoyefe replied, “I’m only one of the best in the Empire. Those calligraphy classes at Imperial University were useful for far more than making the scripts of my plays look pretty.”
“After reading through so much of Flavian’s correspondence, you could write very convincing letters in his hand, I’m sure.”
“In my sleep.”
“Excellent. I am fond of us having our own contingency plans.”
“In that case,” Hoyefe said, “you may wish to have a forgery to pull out unexpectedly. What would you like it to say?”
Cassia hesitated, but only for a moment. “A love note. A florid, detailed, filthy love note.”
“My favorite kind. I am feeling quite inspired. I shall make you a quick sample and catch up to you resplendent ladies within the hour.” With a bow and a smirk, he headed in the direction of the men’s chamber.
Flavian was waiting for them in the courtyard astride a chestnut stallion draped in blue and gold barding, Ben at his flank. Sabina faced them on her sturdy, nimble gray mare, with Valentia, Genie, and Nivalis around her on their horses. Cassia’s first warning to expect an unpleasant surprise was the unusually angry glower Sabina was directing at Flavian.
“Princess Cassia,” Flavian greeted her gallantly, loud enough for all the nobles, mages, and guards in the courtyard to hear. “You look resplendent today, my dear betrothed. Won’t you ride next to me during the Progress?”
Cassia’s very short patience with him began to shred.
