Page 143 of A Dance of Shadows

My husband interrupts me with flippant wave of dismissal. “You had your time. You had months to show what you’re made of, and all you do is simper. Now you know not to bother. You can stew on that for the rest of our journey home. Oh.”

With a short laugh, he produces the Elox-blessed pendant from an inside pocket of his jacket. “You thought he’d convince me to wear this and submit to Elox’s ideals too, didn’t you?”

His gaze flicks toward the patch of forest the road is passing through. In an equally swift motion, he hurls the shining relic off into the brush.

His attention comes back to me. “No tricks. No attempts to meddle with my head. And no more tests. We’ve got our answer. Now all that’s left are the consequences.”

Chapter Fifty

Lorenzo

When Aurelia brushes past me at our last stop before we reach Vivencia, I can tell from the stiffness of her stride that something’s wrong.

She pauses a couple of feet away from me, peering at the small-town pub some of the servants have been sent into for refreshments while the nobles relieve themselves one last time.

Her voice comes out in an urgent hush. “I need all of you. As soon as we’re back at the palace. In the room at the end of the passages. I just need to be sure he won’t know I’m gone.”

As I nod, she’s already striding onward with the new, more swaying gait brought on by her protruding belly. Then her words sink in.

What could have happened that she needs to talk to the three of us immediately, not even waiting for the evening when she can much more easily incapacitate Marclinus?

How in the realms am I going to fulfill the promise I just made?

In a matter of minutes, we’re called back to the carriages. I clutch the goblet of ale that somehow ended up in my hands and stare blankly into its amber depths while the marchions and marchionissas I’ve been stuck with today converse away.

If we want to ensure Marclinus doesn’t go into Aurelia’s chambers while she’s slipped away… we need him not to be in the palace at all. I can’t imagine any task within its walls that would guarantee he wouldn’t set it aside and call on her without warning.

The tremor of anguish that ran through her words spurs on my spinning thoughts. I can conjure a false summons… To somewhere far enough from the palace that it’ll take him away for quite some time… But I don’t want him to realize he was misled.

By the time we’re drawing through the gate around the palace estate a couple of hours later, a firm plan has come together in my mind. The impatience to enact it gnaws at me.

The moment I step out of the carriage, my gaze darts across the front courtyard in search of a member of staff I can target.

There—that stable hand in a cluster of figures tending to the horses and carting out luggage.

I project a voice as if from right behind her that only she will hear.“Quick—get a horse and ride to the Temple of Triumphant Spires. Tell the cleric that the emperor will be arriving and expecting to hear his evaluation of the city’s conduct in his absence.”

The stable hand startles and glances around, and one of the footmen behind her gives her a nudge to push her out of the way.That’s enough confirmation for the teen. She hurries off to the stable.

There’s another flurry of activity at the end of the convoy, various pages and footmen milling around the arriving nobles. I pick out a page in a particularly dense group and conjure another voice by his ear.“Find His Imperial Highness and tell him the cleric of the Temple of Triumphant Spireswishes to speak to him about the state of the city at once!”

As with my first target, the man jerks around with a flinch. But even though he can’t discern the order’s source, he takes it at face value. Setting his face with determination, he strides over to the front doors Marclinus has just disappeared through.

I stroll up the steps and through the entrance at a relaxed pace as if I’m enjoying the chance to stretch my legs after the long journey. I’m just ambling down the front hall when Marclinus comes marching back toward me with an irritated expression.

“Bring the imperial carriage back around!” he hollers to the nearest footman beyond the doors.

Relief unfurls through my chest. I was hoping that the dire omens Raul and I conjured to hurry the emperor home would also make him want all the local news in a hurry, and it appears I gambled right.

The temple of Creaden I’m sending him to lies toward the opposite end of the city. Even if he barely speaks to the cleric, I’ve bought us a couple of hours.

Aurelia has drifted to the far end of the hall to watch her husband depart. I offer a subtle signal that all’s now well. She tips her head without meeting my eyes.

Setting her hand on her rounded belly, she offers the nearby noblewomen a weary smile. “I think I’d better get some rest before our first feast back home. All that travel does take a lot out of a person.”

As she heads to her chambers, I veer toward mine. A few doorways away from my own bedroom, I duck into the unused one with its draped furniture.

Raul and Bastien straighten up at my entrance, their stances tensed with anticipation. I alerted them to Aurelia’s request with a hastily projected voice as soon as I was sure of my plan.

---