Page 105 of Daughter of the Drowned Empire

I nodded and watched his eyes move rapidly across the page, all the way to the bottom. Then his eyes shot up as he read the words again. He rerolled the parchment.

“I need to show this to Markan. Aemon will need to know, too, Lyr, and—”

“Your grace,” I said. “Since you answer to Markan and Aemon, since you work for my father, you can call me ‘your grace.’ Not Lyr,” I seethed. “Not partner.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and nodded. “As you wish.”

I didn’t wait for him to finish opening the front door—he had a key as well. Who didn’t have access to my apartment? Apparently, the Emartis did, too! I shivered, covered myself with my arms, and retreated to my room, slamming the door shut. When Rhyan knocked a few minutes later, I didn’t answer.

An hour passed, and my front door opened. I could hear footsteps followed by a sharp rap on my bedroom door. “Lady Lyriana, your grace, it’s Eathan.”

My father’s Second. Finally, a report on what was happening at Cresthaven.

I joined Eathan in the living room, noting Rhyan had taken position like a sentry in the corner, standing alert. Eathan sat down beside me. His hair was pushed back and as gray as his robes—the twin to my father’s, announcing his station to everyone who met him.

“Lockdown has ended. The threat is over, but your classes have been canceled for the day while we sweep through Bamaria. Apprentice soturi are being asked to join the search. Instruction will resume tonight with your habibellum.”

“What happened?” I asked. “Was anyone hurt?”

“All is well. Your father and sisters are in Cresthaven, safe.”

“Thank the Gods,” I said. “And the rider? Has he been captured?”

Eathan’s expression was grim. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Doesn’t matter? If they caught him, we can learn the Emartis’s identity. Their plans! Eathan, this is their second spectacle this year.”

“I know,” Eathan said. “And I wish I had better news. I wish I could say we could learn something more about them, but that only would have been if we’d captured the rider alive. Or whole.” His expression turned grim. “Aemon had him in his grasp until….” He shook his head, a haunted look in his eyes. “I don’t know what magic it was, but he was gone instantly, your grace. He fell to the ground in pieces.”

My stomach twisted and knotted. Something was crawling up my throat—I was going to be sick. Not over the method of his death—terrible as that was—but over his willingness to do something like that. If the Emartis were willing to die for their cause, die horribly at that, then there was nothing that would deter their next course of action. Fear began to bubble through me, and my hands shook.

“The vendor,” I said.

Eathan’s brow furrowed. “You think they are connected?”

I had told Eathan what happened that day in the city park with Markan even though I knew he’d received a full report. Still, I felt it was important. I’d wanted him to know the connections I was making, the possibilities we needed to consider to track them down.

Eathan had listened patiently but had only said opportunists exist everywhere, and that most men were cowards—regarding the vendor’s behavior toward me. I’d left out the fact that I had also bribed Tristan’s escort afterward.

“I just….” I tried to make sense of it all, of the clues they’d left, and what they might mean. “The fear they experience, is that normal? The vendor was terrified when he thought he’d been caught talking to me. And this rider, willing to…to die like that.” I still had to process what Eathan had said.In pieces.“Does that…does that tell us anything about who might be controlling them? At the heart of the mission?”

“Someone powerful,” Eathan said. “Someone who was able to bribe or use magic to get into your apartment.” He held up the incriminating scroll.

“The Imperator?” I asked.

Eathan’s eyes darkened. “Your grace, I’ve never liked that man either. But you’d do well not to speak disparagingly about him. It’s not good for Ka Batavia and especially not good for your position now. Especially this week. Because the attack happened over school grounds, Arianna had to notify him. He’s on his way.”

“He’s coming to Bamaria? Again? He was just here!”

“I know,” Eathan said.

“But it wasn’t an attack on the school! It was an attack on me.”

“And you’re a student at the school which his soturi protect.”

“Gryphon-shit. Eathan, you know that! This is a Bamarian matter and a Bamarian matter alone. He shouldn’t be coming here!”

Eathan sighed. “The Imperator has his arrangements with Ka Batavia’s Council. I am sorry, but I am not the one negotiating here. I’m merely the messenger.”