Page 70 of A Game of Veils

I thought the constant assured calm she’s shown throughout the trials meant that no part of Tarquin and Marclinus’s tests bothered her all that much. But if she can pass for nothing worse than irritable while she’s burning up with fever and ready to vomit her guts out, maybe I don’t really know anything about her at all.

Why in the realms would she trust me not to lie, after everything I’ve said and done before?

In the midst of my inner conflict, one particular detail from my mental inventory of the records room jumps out. I might be able to discern more of her motives without resorting to anything harmful.

Although I suspect I should kowtow a little first. She has earned some kind of apology.

I motion for her to follow me into the smaller room. “If you’re curious, I can show you around. It’s all rather dry and boring, but I like to take a look at the data every now and then.”

Aurelia walks closer but stops a few steps from the doorway. Her expression turns puzzled. “Emperor Tarquin gives you free access to his records?”

I shrug in a nonchalant way that I hope looks convincing. “He wants us to make use of our skills however we can.”

It isn’t even a lie. I just didn’t directly answer her question.

Aurelia peers past me toward the shelves of record books and scrolls before returning her pensive gaze to me. In the faint moonlight cast through the far windows, her deep blue eyes look even more striking than usual.

“And should I be concerned that you’ve changed your mind about murdering me and are simply looking for an out of the way spot to give it another try?”

So, she did catch that part of our conversation. My face flushes with shame I can’t suppress. “That was—I misjudged, badly. I swear to you that I never intended more than a mild discomfort, and I’m sorry I put you through all that unpleasantness. And it seems I may have misjudged you altogether, and I should never have interfered in the first place.”

Her eyebrows arch. “Does that mean you’ll stop with the threats and the sabotage completely?”

I don’t want to answer that, since I’m not sure myself. It feels wrong to lie to her face.

I dip my head, a motion of deference that could be taken for a nod. “I’d like the chance to make up for my mistakes. If you’ll let me.”

And in doing so, I can determine exactly how much of my previous conduct has actually been a mistake.

Aurelia doesn’t look completely convinced, but I must sound genuine enough that she’s assured I won’t turn around and stab her. She brushes her fingers against the bodice of her gown where her godlen mark must lie beneath. “I suppose you’re lucky I believe in peace.”

“If you change your mind, you can always tell me to fuck off again,” I say before I can think better of the remark.

It gets me the first upward tick of her lips into a wry smile. “I’m not going to apologize for my impoliteness, given the circumstances.”

“Utterly fair.” I hold up my hands in surrender. “I deserved much worse. Your forbearance and your fortitude are both shockingly admirable.”

Aurelia lets out a light guffaw, but she finally follows me into the records room. “You should be familiar with the art of pushing through discomfort. I don’t get the impression the emperor has made your life here all that comfortable.”

She isn’t wrong about that. But I don’t know that I could have summoned the strength to carry on so purposefully through a raging illness. Lorenzo has two lungs, and I doubt he could have either. Raul, maybe, through sheer stubbornness, but he’d have done a lot more swearing along the way.

While smaller than the main library, the records room is hardly tiny. Between the shelves built into the walls, it has its own short aisles amid a few freestanding bookcases. A couple of desks stand in the more open area, each with a magic-blessed lantern.

I check that the door has firmly shut behind us and tap one of the lanterns to light. Aurelia’s soft features come into clearer focus.

She peers around the room, taking the contents in with a thoughtful air I have to appreciate. “Where would you start?”

Normally I’d start with the latest accounting ledgers of the court nobles, but I don’t have an innocent explanation for that habit. I turn to the larger, leatherbound volumes on the nearby shelves. “We can see exactly what’s been coming into the palace in the past few weeks and how much Their Imperial Eminences paid for the privilege.”

“If anything,” Aurelia murmurs under her breath, but she joins me at the table as I heft the heavy book onto it.

I flip through the pages to the latest entries. “There’s always a lot of food—other than the herbs you’ve already seen and fruit from the orchard, not much is cultivated on the palace grounds. Materials for clothing—you’ll have been responsible for some of that. New furnishings. Possibly an artistic commission or two. But to look at it, it’s mostly rows of numbers.”

“But you think it’s worth knowing about.”

“I think everything you can know is worth knowing about. Every gap filled means you go forward on firmer ground.”

Aurelia aims a softer smile at me, one that makes my pulse skip despite myself. “I think your desire to learn is rather admirable too.”

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