Page 100 of A Pact of Blood

As I rinse out the vial in my bathing room, I glance at myself in the mirror that stands next to the sink. I can’t see any sign of the fertility potion’s effects in my form, but then, I wouldn’t expect any external changes.

I had no way of testing this concoction ahead of time like I did with the vision-sharpening ointment. I can only hope that it works as I envisioned with my gift.

It’s been a week since my monthly bleed finished. I’ve seen the signs in my body that one of the medics back home taught me indicate when chances are best for conceiving.

If I’m going to give this vital part of my plan another try, I need to start now.

My heart thumps faster within the vise of tension thatgrips my chest. I loosen a couple of strands of my hair to drift temptingly down the sides of my face and adjust the neckline of my dress so my cleavage shows more prominently. I might not have Bianca’s voluptuous bosom, but I can make the most of the curves I do possess.

Rochelle would have known how to adjust the gown to show off my figure even more impressively.

The thought of my lost friend hits me with a sharp pang. If she’d been here—if I’d had her to talk to?—

No, I wouldn’t even have had that comfort. I’d have sent her back to her hometown to marry the man she loved the moment I could.

But then at least I’d have the comfort of knowing I’d saved one person I cared about. I’m not sure yet if I can save even myself, let alone anyone else.

I square my shoulders. I’ll go forward and stage the scene I need to with my husband. I’ll claim the throne he sits on when the time is right.

I’ll do it for Rochelle and all the other people who’ve deserved so much more than their emperors have allowed them.

Now it’s simply a matter of finding him.

Marclinus joined the court in one of this palace’s parlors after dinner, but he didn’t linger there long. One of the pages slipped in and said something to him that drew him away.

The evening after the rite, he congratulated me on completing it with a smile I’d almost believe was genuine. But since then he’s been in one of his more serious, subdued moods, saying very little to me at all even during the public celebrations. I haven’t been able to tell if he’s frustrated with me or merely distracted by other matters.

We are close to the border with Lavira here—it’s only half a day’s ride away. I’ve seen Marclinus conferring withHigh Commander Axius more than once. There’s probably been more news about the stirring rebellion.

Which isn’t likely to put him in an amorous state. I’ll just have to work my charms that much better.

Checking the imperial offices seems like my best starting point. I hurry through the halls and come around the bend past the emperor’s private chambers.

A couple of his guards are stationed outside a doorway farther down. Here he is already.

As I glide closer, one of the guards draws himself more stiffly upright as if preparing to put me off. If Marclinus asked not to be disturbed from his work, that order may very well apply to me too.

I’m just riffling through possible excuses that might gain me access when the office door swings open.

An unfamiliar woman strides out. Her clothes and bearing immediately assure me that I was right about the matter that drew Marclinus away.

The woman’s forcefully athletic movements and the keen dark eyes that sweep over the hallway remind me of my family’s hunting hounds. Her long nose and lean frame only add to the impression. She’s wearing the dark gray and black jacket and trousers of a higher Darium military official, the imperial crest stitched in gold on the collar that’s fastened tightly around her neck.

She swivels on her heel toward me with a swish of her chestnut-brown hair along that collar. It’s pulled back from her coppery face in a sterner style than I see from the court noblewomen, woven into three braids on the top and sides that combine into one at the back of her head. I suppose that would fit better under a soldier’s helm.

“It appears you have more personal matters to attend to, Your Imperial Majesty,” she calls back into the room she just left, with an edge to her voice I can’t imagine any of thenobles daring. Does she object to me existing in the palace halls?

My husband appears at the doorway a moment later, his expression tense and his gray eyes stormy. At the sight of me, I’m relieved to see his face relaxes, if only slightly.

His gaze flicks to the military woman. “You haven’t yet had the honor of meeting my wife. Tribune, I’m sure you’ll offer Her Imperial Highness Empress Aurelia all due respect. Aurelia, this is Tribune Valerisse, one of our most loyal and formidable officers.”

Tribune Valerisse—she’s the one Axius mentioned who’s been overseeing the quelling of the Lavirian uprising.

She bobs her head to me in a quick jerk. “A pleasure, Your Imperial Highness. I must return to my duties.”

She isn’t much of one for words, is she? Or perhaps she recognizes that saying very little sends a clear enough message all on its own.

At Marclinus’s gesture of dismissal, she marches off at a pace just shy of a lope. Watching her, I suspect strolling and ambling are not in her repertoire.

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