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“We will report this to Commander Eozena,” Evemer said. “She will handle it.”
Kadou sighed and nodded. “Tadek, go wait at the door.”
“At your service, Your Highness,” Tadek said, adding a salute that was far too saucy for Evemer to approve of.
Kadou didn’t move for a minute. He had that look in his eyes again, like he was working himself up, preparing to shake himself to pieces. Tadek would have to be summoned right back in to cuddle him calm again, Evemer thought resentfully. As if no one else in the room werecompetentenough to be of assistance.
“I need someone to fetch Melek,” Kadou said at last. “And—and make sure that çe is loyal.”
“The coins,” Evemer said.
Kadou rubbed his temples with his fingertips. “Yes.”
“What were you testing?”
“Whether they weighed the same.”
“And they did.” Evemer frowned at the floor.
“It’s not too much of a jump to think that they might have been made by the same person, is it?” Kadou said anxiously. “It’s not paranoid of me?”
“No.”
“I don’t want to throw theories at Eozena if I’m just being paranoid.”
“Either Armagan and Melachrinos are both involved, or the circulation has become saturated with the counterfeits.”
“It’s not that. We would have heard from a touch-taster. There wouldn’t be apointto producing that many for use in this country. People would find out almost immediately. We would have heard.”
“And we haven’t, except for Madam Melachrinos and Lieutenant Armagan.”
“Perhaps they have some plot that hasn’t been put into motion yet. Why would you make so many and wait like this?”
“Or they’re taking them abroad,” Evemer said. “Melachrinos is a merchant. She has ships.” Kadou chewed his lip. Evemer watched him intently.
Pretty eyes,he thought. The baby princess was going to have just the same ones, he could tell, that deep Mahisti blue-black. Her Majesty had them too—Her Majesty looked a great deal like Kadou. They had the same long, glossy black hair, the same point to their chins, but Her Majesty was taller and had a broader and more ready smile, and her features were a touch more angular. A great beauty, without question. Both of them were. But . . . Kadou’s eyes were prettier.
Kadou shook his head suddenly. “Damn it all. We’re going to have to go back to the public houses again.”
Evemer’s brief reverie shattered. “No,” he said. “No. I don’t want to go back to the public houses.” They’d nearly beenkilledthe night before! Where was that cowardice Kadou talked about all the time?
With an air of mild surprise, Kadou said, “Oh. Of course you wouldn’t want—I’m sorry, I assumed—I’ll take Eozena, then.”
That wasn’t at all what Evemer had meant. “I don’t wantyouto go back to the public houses, my lord,” he said. “It’s dangerous.”
“Yes, it’s very dangerous for everyone else if Eozena’s there.”
“My lord,” said Evemer.
“I wish you’d just say what you mean,” Kadou mumbled, almost too quiet for Evemer to hear. “I’m tired of guessing whether I’ve offended you.”
Evemer felt that he’d been set off-balance. That seemed to be an ever more common occurrence around His Highness. And then, thinking of that . . . The whole theory of careless-flighty-negligent seemed to have been conclusively disproven. Clearly he did care, clearly he attended to things to the best of his ability . . .
And then there was that moment in the garden earlier, when Kadou had faced him down. When he’d asked for Evemer’s blade against his neck. His lord had asked for a great act of loyalty, had granted him mercy, had restored his trust in Evemer—redoubled it, perhaps. That’s what it had felt like. Evemer had been trying very, very hard not to think about it. He would allow himself three minutes of thinking about it later, when he was alone with a locked door and his hands firmly clenched on his knees, and then he would definitively never think of it again.
Kadou had seemed sotall. He was shorter than Evemer by at least six inches, but even when he’d been looking up at Evemer, it had felt like Evemer was looking up athim,shining and serene and assured, like he had never doubted Evemer at all.
Evemer wasn’t thinking about it.
