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“A message for you,” the woman said, holding out an envelope.

Shan took it, hesitating only for a second as she studied the seal—a rose in dark red wax. A message from the King. She hid a smile as she turned away from the messenger, though it faded quickly as she opened the note.

Well, there was an investigation to be done. Another body had been found.

Chapter Nineteen

Shan

Shan entered the morgue with her hood still raised, her face hidden and the note clutched in her hand. There had been another body found—left brutalized and bloody in the streets. The Guard had got to it before her birds could find her, thanks to the damned opening of the House of Lords. But Shan did not have to worry. The Eternal King had kept his promise, inviting her to meet with the lead investigator and examine the body at her leisure—though it would be best if she were quick. Blood Working was strong, but the longer they kept the body in suspended animation the more contaminated it would become, the two sources of magic mixing together until it was impossible to tell one from the other.

She had come at the first opportunity, leaving Bart to handle all her official business while she handled this, waiting only till night had fully fallen and most of the Guard had retired. She was, after all, still supposed to be circumspect, and though the King promised in his note that the lead investigator was sworn to secrecy, Shan knew she had nothing to fear.

The lead investigator was Delia Alessi.

“Alessi,” Shan said, by way of greeting, lowering her hood as she stepped into the glow of the witch light. Alessi stood from her perch by the window, looking out over the night-darkened sky of Dameral. She bobbed her head once in greeting—as effusive as Alessi ever was—and gestured towards the metal slab in the middle of the room, and the covered shape that could only have been the body.

“It’s strange, Sparrow,” Alessi said. “Having you here with the permission of the King instead of sneaking you in during the dead of night.”

Shan shrugged, carelessly confident, and stepped closer. “Things are changing, Alessi, and this is only the beginning.”

Something hard glinted in Alessi’s eyes, a blue so pale they could have been ice. “Indeed, they are. I suppose congratulations are in order for winning the King’s favor?”

“I haven’t won it yet,” Shan said, watching the careful changes in Alessi’s expression. “But I will soon.” She knew that the girl hated the King as much as she did, perhaps even more so. For all that the Eternal King had done to destroy her family, at least she still had relative wealth and luxury. Even the poorest of the nobles had far more than Alessi’s family could ever hope to have.

Shan kept her smile cold and cruel—not a promise, she was not foolish enough to make such things, even to such loyal subordinates. But a hint could be wonderfully reassuring, and she trusted Alessi to know how the game was played. She had tried for years to get one of her birds into the palace, but she had never succeeded. The Eternal King was too smart for that—his servants too well vetted, too loyal. If she was to succeed in her plans, this was the only possible way.

Vengeance was slow, almost painfully so, but Shan wouldn’t let that stop her.

“Right.” Alessi crossed her arms over her chest, fixing Shan with a surprisingly firm glare. “While you’re doing that, I hope you don’t neglect your other responsibilities, Sparrow. It’s been hard to reach you as of late.”

Shan bristled at the tone that Alessi turned on her. How dare she? “I am playing an important role as Lady LeClaire. Besides, you can always turn to Hawk with information.” That was what Bart was there for—he was there to handle things in her absence, and now that she was playing Lady LeClaire, he had stepped up to the role admirably.

Alessi shook her head. “Of course. That’s how it is.”

“How what is, Alessi?”

“Nothing,” the girl spat, but Shan reached out and grabbed her arm.

“I am not unreasonable, Delia,” she said, her voice low. “I know that you care about this work, it’s why I recruited you. If you have concerns, you can talk to me.”

Alessi stared at her for a long moment, her blue eyes unreadable. “It’s nothing. Just some frustration at how long things are taking.”

Shan let her pull away, even though she had a feeling that wasn’t the full truth. But she couldn’t force Alessi to confide in her, and even if she could, trust was a delicate thing. “I know. As am I. But we cannot change a nation in a night.”

Alessi sighed. “Of course, Sparrow. Forgive my outburst.”

“There is nothing to forgive.” She took a step back. “Now, the body?”

“Right this way.” Alessi stepped over to the metal slab, pulling off the sheet that had hidden the corpse from view the whole time.

Shan gripped her own arms, digging the points of her claws into her own skin as she fought back a scream. It was far worse than she had anticipated, even with the notes the Eternal King had sent her way.

She had been but a child when she had first attended one of the Eternal King’s annual sacrifices, dragged there by her father to see their ruler in his full glory. To understand the power that lived in her veins, and the place Blood Workers held above all the Unblooded. Her father had held her in front of him, not allowing her to turn her face or hide from the brutality of it.

She had only been nine years old.

After that, she had stopped trying to fight her father, had embraced her magic in all its brutal glory. She had learned all the Blood Working had to offer—all the good and evil, all the potential and the pitfalls.