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“Someone had to,” Kadou said. “Better me than Zeliha.” He pulled away and glanced around at the others—Zeliha had gotten distracted by Eyne, who was fussing. Siranos’s eyes were darting around as if he felt like bolting and didn’t know which way to go.
“Eozena, unless you have some better idea, we’re going to go inside,” Zeliha said, nodding to the building that housed her quarters. “We will bar the doors. There’s still the leftovers of my lunch, which wasn’t poisoned, so we’ll eat that for dinner.”
“I can’t secure that building with one other personandfigure out which of your kahyalar might be disloyal,” Eozena hissed.
Zeliha held up one hand. “You’re frightened. So am I.”
“Three kahyalar! Three! Likely more that stole evidence from the Shipbuilder’s Guild last night! And that’s just today—Armagan has a dozen kahyalar working under çir command, and there’s no way of knowing how manytheymight have turned to their side. Who has Armagan been spying for? What information did çe pass along? Whatever çe told them, it was worth achestof counterfeit coins! Armagan wasn’t in charge.” Eozena stalked back and forth through the length of the pavilion like a pacing wolf. “Counterfeits! Twice in the space of a month! Do you want to gamble on explaining it as mere coincidence? I don’t! Did Armagan know they were counterfeit? Impossible to say, but a payment like that, çe must have been contracted for something more than just spywork. Would you rather wait and see how it plays out?”
“Eozena,” Zeliha tried to say.
“Fine, yes, Majesty. Go in the house,” Eozena said. “Evemer, escort them and lock all the doors. Don’t let anyone near until I come back. I’m going to find some way to—todeal with this.”
“Send for Tadek,” Kadou said.
Zeliha and Eozena both groaned in unison.
“He is loyal,” Kadou said firmly. “He fought for me and he would have died for me. He never hesitated—it’s hardly any different than what Evemer nearly did just now. And . . .” He gestured helplessly. “He knowseveryone. He has skills that would be useful to you, Eozena.”
“Skills that got him stripped of his uniform a month ago,” she growled, but Kadou could see she was relenting—beggars couldn’t, after all, be choosers. “Justgo,please.”
Evemer kept his hand on the hilt of his sword and his awareness as sharp as its blade. An hour passed, and then a second—he passed the time by pacing around Her Majesty’s chambers, checking each window and balcony, testing the locks on every door, jumping out of his skin at the slightest unexpected noise, and keeping an obsessive inventory of his charges and their personal equilibrium.
Her Majesty was tense, but she was exuding an aura of calm composure that Evemer found both admirable and reassuring. The only tell that gave away her underlying nerves was that she wouldn’t let go of Princess Eyne, even when she fell asleep against Her Majesty’s shoulder and could have been laid in her cradle.
His lord had found a chair in the shade on the balcony. Part of Evemer wished he wouldn’t stray like that, wished he’d just stay together with the others. He felt rather like a sheepdog, herding his flock together into one tight little group, the better to watch over them, but . . . Kadou had put himself in the path of potential danger for the sake of Her Majesty and Her Highness, and if he wanted to sit out on the balcony and be a second pair of eyes on the perimeter, Evemer was going to allow it.Thistime. Only this time.
But equal in weight to the part of Evemer that wanted to herd him like a wandering sheep was a part that wanted to build a wall around his lord to shield him from anything that might set him off into one of his episodes, and at the moment that meant Siranos. Kadou was already quiet and pale enough without being subjected to the man’s presence for an indefinite amount of time.
Siranos was deeply unpleasant at the moment. Gone was the agreeable demeanor he had shown in the garden. He paced, he grumbled, he cursed under his breath. He sat down, he got up again. He picked up books, stared at a page, slammed them shut again, asked a thousand questions of Zeliha that were mostly met with “I couldn’t say,” or “I’m sure the commander will be along to tell us more as soon as there is more to tell.” When Siranos finally lost the last threads of his patience and strode toward the door, saying something about how he would go find out more himself, Zeliha said smoothly, “You’re still confined to the Gold Court. If you leave this house now, you won’t be allowed back in.”
Evemer of course said nothing, since there was no one looking to him for an opinion. He only poured a cup of cold tea from the pot on the lunch table and silently took it out to the balcony for his lord.
Around dinnertime, Eozena arrived with six more kahyalar in tow . . . and Tadek, standing out against the little crowd of cobalt in forest green trimmed with bands of black. The colors were those of Sirya Manor, a tiny holding Kadou had inherited from his father, and the uniform was a deliberate attempt to honor Tadek for his service while maintaining a clear separation between him and the kahyalar. Evemer had found it acceptable when Kadou had first hit on the idea a couple of weeks before. It was better than seeing Tadek go around shamefully in cadet whites.
“Right,” Eozena said grimly. “I am as sure of these people as I can be. If I have erred and one of them turns out to be a traitor, Majesty, please don’t worry about arranging a trial for me. I will handle it honorably by myself. I’m thinking the cliff, so I have plenty of time to think about my errors on the way down.”
Zeliha tsked at her. “I’m sure that won’t ever be necessary.” She looked over the kahyalar, each in turn, and nodded. “All right. Dinner, then. And a bath first, I think.” Four of the six kahyalar bowed in unison and dispersed. The other two posted themselves on watch, and Evemer felt a little knot in his chest begin to relax. Her Majesty turned next to Tadek and eyed him. “So you made use of him after all.”
“Yes, Majesty,” Eozena said, grudgingly. “He does have . . . skills. Little sneak. Turns out he’s gotten drunk with nigh on every kahya in the palace. Has a whole mental catalog of everybody’s smallest grievance. All I had to do was explain the situation and he had lists ready to go—who he’d trust beyond question, and who we ought to keep an eye on. Littlesneak.”
Tadek bowed and said nothing.
“Lists, is it?” Zeliha said, raising an eyebrow. “And that sort of talent never came up before?”
“That’s what I asked,” Eozena said, helping herself to the stone-cold tea. “What was it you said, Armsman Hasira?”
“The ministry of intelligence declined my service after my secondary merit exams. I was judged to have a poor aptitude for it.”
“Well, yes, we establishedthata month ago,” Zeliha said dryly.
“I have no gift for spywork, Your Majesty,” Tadek said. He gave her one of his smiles, but at least it was one of the less infuriating ones, in Evemer’s opinion. “But I have an excellent memory, sharp eyes, and a great gift for talking to drunk people. They like to tell me secrets.”
“And Eozena and my brother both think you’re loyal enough to stand in a room with me and the crown princess.”
He met her eyes—Evemer thought that really was too bold, but bit his tongue on a rebuke. “Majesty,” Tadek said. “You laid my life in his hands. What do I have left besides serving him?”
Zeliha snorted. “He does have a gift for bringing that out in people. Despite his best efforts, I’m sure. Go, then. He’s out on the balcony.”
