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Something in their tone, in the way their hands tightened on their weapons, set his nerves on edge. These weren't merely dutiful guards—they were decidedly unfriendly to his presence and seemed startled to see him walking freely.

The guards exchanged a look, then both moved toward the door, clearly intending to interrupt whatever Linnea was doing inside. Zexx tensed, ready to stop them, when the door swung open. Linnea stepped out.

She was every inch the chancellor—spine straight, silver robes immaculate, expression composed and authoritative. Not a single ebony hair out of place, not a flicker of worry in her clear eyes.

"Thank you for your vigilance,” she said to the guards, her tone crisp and professional. "The transmission requested by the council has been completed successfully."

Her gaze landed on him, and she smiled with diplomatic distance that revealed nothing of their true relationship. "Ambassador Zexx, what brings you to the communications hub? Is there a matter requiring attention?"

"I wished to speak with you, Chancellor," he replied, matching her formal tone and quickly devising a plan. “About my imminent departure.”

"Of course." Her tone was even and unsurprised, as if she understood instantly what he was doing. "We can discuss it as we walk. K’Nar, you'll join us?"

Her adjunct bowed slightly. "As you wish, Chancellor."

They moved toward the stairway, Linnea between them, her pace measured and unhurried despite the tension he could feel thrumming from her. Only when they had descended several levels, well out of earshot of the guards, did she speak freely.

"The bounty hunter ship and your Dothvek brethren are on their way, but it will still be at least a full rotation before they arrive."

"You're certain the communications officers believed you?" K’Nar asked, equally quiet.

“That I was on a mission from the council? I don’t know,” she admitted. "They're almost certainly in league with Vellen and Taal. I could sense their suspicion the moment I requested privacy.”

“Your comment about leaving was clever,” K’Nar said. “It will confuse the guards enough to slow any thoughts of pursuit. If they are in on the conspiracy, they will believe the council was successful in forcing out the ambassador.”

Zexx gave the adjunct a grateful nod.

Linnea glanced between the two. "How did you two become allies?” her gaze alighted on Zexx. “How did you know he could be trusted?”

"Because he knew about my meeting with the rebels in the city alleyways. They told me that they had members closely placed to you.”

"I've been working with the underground resistance since before the peace accord was signed,” K’Nar said. “We've been monitoring the council members who oppose reform policies, gathering evidence of their conspiracy."

“I wish you’d told me sooner,” Linnea said.

"The fewer who knew, the safer you were," K’Nar told her. "Or so we believed. We underestimated how quickly they would move against you."

Before Linnea could respond, the sound of rapid footsteps echoed from above, accompanied by shouted commands that grew louder with each passing moment. Simultaneously, a dull roar rose from outside the tower—the unmistakable sound of a large crowd.

Zexx moved to one of the narrow windows cut into the stone wall, peering out at the square below. People were gathering in numbers he hadn't seen since he’d been in the city, but their faces were twisted with anger rather than curiosity, their voices raised in chants he couldn't quite make out from this height.

"The protest," he said, turning back to Linnea and K’Nar. "The one I overheard Vellen and Taal planning last night. They're moving against you now."

"And the communications officers are coming for us," Linnea added, glancing up toward the sounds of pursuit. "They must have reported my transmission and discovered that the council did not request a transmission be sent.”

Zexx scowled. “Or that I had announced my departure.”

K’Nar's usually calm face was tight with urgency. "We need to move. Now."

Zexx grabbed Linnea’s hand, abandoning any pretense and began to run.

ChapterThirty-Five

Their footsteps thundered against the stone as they raced down the spiraling ramp, the sound echoing off the walls and mingling with the shouts of their pursuers above and the dull roar of the crowd below. Linnea's robes tangled around her ankles with each step, threatening to send her tumbling down the steep incline.

Zexx kept pace beside her, his movements fluid and silent despite their speed, while K’Nar led the way, surprisingly swift for someone she'd always viewed as merely a diligent bureaucrat. How little she had known about those closest to her, how blind she had been to the currents flowing beneath the surface of her government.

They reached the hidden entrance to the tunnels, a section of wall that looked identical to every other stone surface in the tower until K’Nar pressed his palm against a specific block. The wall slid open with a grating sound that seemed deafening, even over their panting.