Page 62 of A Pact of Blood

Bastien’s mouth ticks with a hint of a smile. “That’s kind of you to say, Your Imperial Highness.”

I wish I could pour enough of my admiration on him to spark a proper grin, but my husband is still following our discussion with interest. It feels wisest to shift my attention back to Marclinus. “Is drought a concern in any part of Dariu?”

Let him believe I care about nothing more than I do hisown country. Let him only see the most willing and devoted of wives, while my heart aches for the men who are everything he’s not.

It’s getting late in the afternoon on our fifth day of travel when the convoy comes to a sudden halt.

Marclinus frowns and leans toward the window. Before he needs to holler for an explanation, High Commander Axius appears outside, his graying hair rumpled and his eyes steely.

“Your Imperial Majesty, we’ve been reached by a messenger from Lavira. I think you should hear the news immediately.”

The way he focuses only on Marclinus as if I’m not even in the carriage feels pointed to me. Perhaps Marclinus gets the same impression, because he beckons the high commander inside. “Come in, and we can keep moving while we talk. You can say whatever you need to in front of your empress as well.”

Axius has the decency to look mildly chagrinned. “Of course, Your Imperial Majesty.” He nods to me as he climbs inside. I slide over so he can sit across from Marclinus for easier conversation.

I can’t really complain about the intrusion. I’ll take the rigid military man over the guffawing, fawning nobles Marclinus normally invites to ride with us any day. Especially if it means staying abreast of the news from Lavira.

Marclinus gestures out the window, and the convoy lurches back into motion. He fixes his gaze intently on Axius. “What’s going on in Lavira now?”

“We’ve had word directly from Tribune Valerisse,” Axius says. “She was the most senior officer stationed nearby, andshe’s been heading the investigations and military response. The sabotage has escalated. A fire was set at a larger fort near the city of Daviro—it was caught before any soldiers were lost, but it burned through the stables first and destroyed several horses. Two days ago when she wrote the missive, it appears tainted food was brought to another fort near Rodrige. Most of the soldiers fell ill—so severely a few had already passed from the poison at the time of the letter.”

A shiver races under my skin. It does sound like a larger rebellion is brewing, one mainly concerned with doing all the damage it can surreptitiously rather than facing the enemy head on. Which I can hardly blame the Lavirians for, but if there are no clear culprits for the empire to punish, it’s likely many innocent lives will be ruined in their conquest for revenge.

Marclinus touches on that subject immediately. “Have any of the perpetrators been apprehended?”

The high commander shakes his head. “Not with any certainty. The workers responsible for delivering the most recent batch of food were interrogated, but they claimed to be unaware of the tampering or who might be responsible. They were executed for either collusion or incompetence, either of which did equal harm.”

Already, people who might have been perfectly loyal subjects have been killed over this mess. I wince inwardly.

“Someone must havesomeidea who’s lashing out at the empire,” Marclinus says. “We can hardly execute the entire country just to make sure we eliminate the dissenters.”

“Yes, of course. Tribune Valerisse mentioned that she’s beginning a broader swath of interrogations and putting pressure on the locals in the vicinity of the incidents to give up information. She promises she won’t relent until she’s uncovered the traitors.” Axius pats the leather satchel at his side. “I’ll be sending a message back to her by our swiftestmessenger. I wanted to know if you have any additional orders for her.”

Marclinus hums. “Give me an hour to think on it, and I’ll speak to you again when we stop for dinner.”

The high commander dips his head in acceptance. With another wave out the window, Marclinus halts the convoy just long enough for Axius to return to his post overseeing the cavalry.

As soon as the horses press on, my husband shifts his attention to me. “You took all that news in. I suppose you’d say we should ply the possible collaborators with gifts and favors rather than beat them into submission.”

The dry edge to his voice tells me exactly what he’d think of such a suggestion, but his tone is light enough that I don’t think he’s outright disparaging my opinion. He’s inviting me to offer something different.

He could have settled into his thoughts and made up his mind on his own, but hewantsto hear what I’ll say.

My spirits leap at the opportunity. I still have to play it cautious and within the bounds of what I think he’ll be willing to accept, but that doesn’t mean I can’t steer his response in a direction that’s a little less brutal.

“You poke fun at my peaceful mindset,” I reply, equally light. “I certainly don’t believe in rewarding criminals or those who may be concealing them. There’s quite a range of options between the lax extreme you laid out and having your soldiers torturing hundreds of Lavirians who may honestly hold no resentment toward the empire at all—at least, not before the torture.”

Marclinus tucks himself into the corner of the carriage and folds his hands on his chest, as if he’s about to take a nap at a picnic. But his cool eyes stay trained on my face. “Why don’t you illuminate me on some of the options you see, wife?”

A prickling sensation runs up the back of my neck with the impression that this is yet another test, but it’s one I’ve been angling for.

How can I focus him on strategies that’ll hurt as few people as possible—and hopefully calm down the rebels until I can offer the whole country a better future?

I smooth my fingers over my skirt. “As one point, I don’t think offering rewards is an absurd idea—if it’s to the right people. You want to protectyourpeople who are stationed in Lavira. Offering bonuses and other advantages to the local workers who’ve continued to serve other forts and outposts well would help ensure their continued loyalty and give them more incentive to distance themselves from the uprising.”

“I can see the value of that step. But we do still need to turn up the traitors, ideally before they do much more damage.”

I rub my mouth while I think it over, and inspiration sparks. But as I turn the tactic over, I’m not sure I’ll be able to convince Marclinus of the wisdom in it if it comes straight from me. He might even suspect me of supporting the local monarchy over his own authority out of my sympathy as a fellow conquered royal.

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