Page 144 of A Dance of Shadows

“Is he gone?” Raul asks, and grins at my nod. “Good work, Lore.” A somber cast darkens his face again. “Let’s find out what our empress needs.”

It only takes a few minutes to travel through the hidden passages to the abandoned room by the old servant entrance. In our months-long absence, a layer of dust has settled over the mismatched furnishings and the floor. As Raul flicks on the lantern we’ve left down here, Bastien breezes the dust away with a warble of his gift.

“It’s good to be back,” he says, but he can’t put all that much conviction into his words. The tight set of his mouth shows he’s as worried about Aurelia as I am.

To the benefit of all our sanity, she doesn’t keep us waiting long. Footsteps in her new, more awkward gait shuffle beyond the wall, punctuated by an unexpectedmew. Raul’s eyebrows are already shooting upward when the panel slides open to reveal Aurelia with her striped cat tucked against her shoulder.

She gives us a wry smile that doesn’t quite reach her solemn eyes. “Sprite was very offended that I left her to the staff’s care for so long. I didn’t want to risk her yowling for me if I left again so soon.”

At the stroke of her fingers down its back, the cat butts its head against Aurelia’s ear and begins to purr. I can’t complain about its presence when it clearly adores our empress as much as we do.

The three of us move toward her as if drawn by a magnet. For the first time in weeks, we can envelop her without any fear of discovery.

I touch her cheek and draw her into a soft kiss, reveling in her nearness. Raul ruffles the cat’s fur with a chuckle and then slides his arm tight around Aurelia’s waist. Bastien slips his hand around her other arm and twines their fingers together.

A current of worry runs through the companionable warmth, as much as I wish we could relish this moment.

“What’s the matter, Rell?”I have to ask.“It sounded as if something’s gone wrong.”

The shakiness of her next breath sends alarm jangling through my limbs. Her jaw flexes as if she’s working to keep her voice even. “Linus laid into me this morning in the carriage. He’s known that Marc told me about their situation from the start. He said it’s all been a test to see if I’d turn on one of them… and I’ve failed by showing a preference for Marc.”

My heart lurches. On either side of me, my foster brothers go rigid.

“Right,” Raul says in a snarl. “Because why wouldn’t you be just as eager for more torment as for the one who doesn’t toss you into caves and graves?”

Aurelia shakes her head. “It doesn’t have to make sense. They’ve never cared much about fairness in the past, have they? But I don’t know what to do. He said… he said now that we’re home, they’re going to ‘destroy’ me, whatever exactly that means. I don’t think I’m safe as long as I’m in the same place as them. So either I leave, like we almost did before, or…”

Bastien stares at her. “Or we get rid of both of them. But—you haven’t had the baby yet— Without an heir?—”

She grimaces. “I know. So maybe the best thing is to run. The baby won’t matter if she doesn’t stop my husband from getting rid ofme. And we’d have to act fast. At least for today, we havethe small advantage that I don’t think Linus has had the chance to tell Marc he’s given up the game. Marc’s made a show of assuming that I’m truly devoted to him and the empire. Once he finds out I have no more reason to trust him, he won’t trustmeat all.”

“Today.” Raul’s free hand clenches at his side. “How the fuck can we off the both of them in one day without getting caught?”

“I don’t know. If I go into hiding, there’s a chance I’ll be able to return later with the supposed heir and make a case then…” Aurelia glances around at us wide-eyed. “But if you come with me, you’ll be throwing your futures away.”

I break in with a jerk of my hand.No.

The other three gazes fix on me. My heart thumps hard in my chest, but I don’t even have to think about what I’m going to say. It’s as if I’ve known it forever.

“No matter what we do, we won’t be throwing anything away. Our fates are twined with yours, as they’re meant to be, before we get you on that throne and every day after. I’m never going back to Rione, not for good. However it works, whatever we have to do, we’re all staying here in Dariu like the family we are. We’ll rule this empire together.”

I meet Raul’s eyes and then Bastien’s, daring them to argue with me. Instead, I get a slow smile stretching Raul’s mouth.

Bastien blinks at me and then raises his chin with a short laugh. “Lore’s right. The trip we just made only proved that we can do so much more here than our childhood homes.” He squeezes Aurelia’s hand. “And I don’t want to leave you. Ever.”

“Gods know there’s nowhere I’d rather be than at your side, in the shadows or out in the open, however you need me.” Raul kisses her temple.

Their confirmation sends a surge of confidence through me. Iamright. We’re all part of this mad scheme. It’s not just Aurelia’s plan anymore.

Someday ages from now, we’ll be in the history books as either the empire’s greatest traitors or its saviors—every one of us. And that thought doesn’t scare me the way it might have before.

A glimmer of an idea lights in my head. I balk instinctively, my mother’s chiding voice echoing from my memories.

You get too caught up in emotion, Lorenzo. How can you think clearly when it’s blurring your reason?

My conviction rings through those doubts. How can anyone think clearly aboutmewhen they barely know me?

Everything I feel hones my mind and my intentions. I’ve come up with solid strategies. I’ve gotten us on track.

---