Page 166 of Esperance

Trevill’s eyes narrowed. “The high cleric seems to be under the misapprehension that there’s any debate at all.”

Carver’s temples pounded. “What seems to be the debate?” he asked.

The high cleric jabbed a finger at Trevill. “He thinks Esperance is done. That we should send everyone home and deliver our report to the emperor.”

“Esperanceisdone,” Trevill bit out. “Argent is gone—probably killed by Tam—and half of the Chosen are dead. There’s no point in staying here any longer. We failed. We must accept that.”

“We don’t know that Argent is dead,” the high cleric argued. “We haven’t found his body.”

“He was stabbed by Tam,” Trevill said. “Jayveh witnessed it.”

“The princess isalsocertain he’s still alive.”

“She’s a grieving widow,” the chancellor snapped. “Of course she thinks he’s still alive!” He twisted to Carver. “You can’t think it’s the right decision to remain. We can continue the search for Argent’s body, but we need to report to the capital. We need to tell the emperor what has happened, and we need to hunt down the Rising and destroy them.”

“We’ll break the seal and send a message to the emperor,” Zacharias said. “But we can’t just send everyone home. We can’t be done.”

Carver squeezed the bridge of his nose and pinched his eyes shut.

Argent was dead. So was Cora, Darrin, and Rivard. Tam was gone. Only Marriset, Sadia, Samuel, Ivan, Jayveh, Amryn, and Carver remained.

Just over half of them.

The emperor’s peace at Esperancehadfailed. The Rising had won this fight.

But they wouldn’t win the war. There would be other battles, and Carver was determined to win.

He opened his eyes and let his hand fall. “Esperance is done. We can’t send everyone home yet, though. The emperor will have questions for everyone. We should all go to the capital.”

“The emperor put me in charge,” Zacharias said, that vein bulging once more. “And I say—”

“No.”

They all twisted as Jayveh pushed into the room. Bodyguards were huddled behind her, but they let her lead. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders in a tangled mess, and exhaustion was in every line on her face.

“Princess,” the high cleric said, softening his tone at once. “You should be resting. We’re taking care of everything—”

“You’re not in charge,” Jayveh interrupted him.

His shoulders drew back. “Excuse me, but I—”

“I am the future empress of Craethen,” she interrupted curtly. “I supersede the authority that was granted to you by the emperor. You are going to listen to me now.” Her chin lifted, and she scanned all three of them. “Argent is alive. I know it.”

Trevill sighed. “Princess—”

“I would know if he was dead.” Jayveh focused on Carver. “Has Ford found his body?”

“No.”

Jayveh nodded once and turned back to the older men in the room. “He’s alive.”

“Forgive me, but that’s wishful thinking,” Trevill said, his tone carefully metered. “Tam already tried to kill him once, on that mountain. And in the library, she stabbed him right in front of you.”

Jayveh flinched. “I know. But he would be an invaluable bargaining piece for the Rising. Tam would have reasons to keep him alive.”

Trevill sighed. “You’ve clearly given this a lot of thought,” he began.

He got no further, because Jayveh simply said, “I have.” Then she looked to Carver. “Has Amryn awakened?” When he nodded, her eyes sparked with relief. “Good. She might be able to tell us more about Tam’s plans.”