Page 49 of A Dance of Shadows

I still don’t know what that plant is. A sharper flicker of panic passes through my veins.

In my medical studies, I’ve come to see that nature tends to work in patterns. The needed aspects of a cure tend to emerge in tandem with the conditions they can treat. Chances are that this flower is native to Cotea, to the same areas where banded asps live.

But I don’t know where to start to look. I don’t remember seeing those delicate blooms along the road as we traveled, although they’re so small it’d be easy for me to miss them.

Linus claps his hands, jolting me out of my reverie. “Well, my empress?”

“I almost have it,” I say hastily, with all the confidence I can bring to my voice. “There’s just one ingredient—let me meditate on it for a moment.”

The pressure of hundreds of gazes weighs on me. I swallow thickly and concentrate on the white flowers, clasping my hand over my godlen brand.

Elox, lend me a little more guidance. Let me see the scene where these flowers would grow. Please, give me a bigger picture.

I extend my appeal from the well of calm inside me, the peace I’ve cultivated through all my best meditations to my godlen. I don’t know how much he approves of the course I’ve taken in the past few months, but I’m sure he wouldn’t want the entire Cotean royal family to die unnecessarily.

My image of the flowers wavers and expands behind my closed eyes. The stem is sprouting from… muddy-lookingground, with reeds matted across it and more sprouting up with thick waxy leaves and vibrant red cattails.

I glance toward Bastien and his family clustered behind him. “There’s a small white flower with a yellow center that I believe grows in some kind of marsh. Do you know what that is and where near here I could find it?”

Bastien’s brother, Prince Rolland, raises his eyebrows. “That has to be josemine. It only grows in the bogs.” He looks to his father in confirmation. “The closest one would be the Erlich Morass, wouldn’t it?”

King Stanislas nods, his mouth twisting slightly. “It’s a few hours’ ride away, longer if you go by carriage, but you should definitely find josemine there.”

They need to see I’m taking this quest seriously, worrying more about their survival than my comfort. I turn to Linus. “I can ride. Everything else I need, I already have in my things at the palace. I can set out now and return not long after dinner. I only need a guide.”

“I’ve already appointed one,” Linus says with a grin. “Prince Bastien, presumably you’re aware of this bog as well.”

Bastien dips his head. His stance is rigid as if he’s unhappy with the responsibility, keeping up the pretense that he dislikes me. “I can direct her there.”

“Right then.” Linus raises his arms to draw the attention of all our spectators. “Reconvene in the square at midnight to see your empress’s impressive gift at work!”

He motions me and Bastien toward the imperial carriage, I assume to take us to the stables. We’ve nearly reached it when High Commander Axius steps into our path.

There’s an uneasiness to his grim expression that I don’t understand. He offers his emperor the customary bow before speaking. “Her Imperial Highness should have all due protection on her ventures across the countryside. I’d rather notleave such a large undertaking in the hands of only her personal guards. I would be happy to ensure myself that she?—”

Linus waves his military advisor off with an air of boredom. “My wife is eager to show her capabilities. It’ll hardly do to send her with an entire entourage. Let’s not have people doubting who did the work.”

Axius hesitates and then gathers himself as if to speak again. In that moment, I abruptly understand what I’m seeing.

He’s worried about me. Not because he sees me as weak, but because he can tell his emperor is going off the rails.

The high commander wouldn’t mind seeing me falter due to my own failings. He’s putting his neck on the line to protect me from Marclinus’s.

I don’t know what to make of that shift in loyalty. But if I won’t have to dispose of him myself, I’m not going to let a man who could be instrumental in keeping the Darium army on my side get cut down for wounding Linus’s ego.

I step forward and aim a reassuring smile at Axius. “My husband is quite right, High Commander. You know I’ve faced plenty of challenges in the past without any guards at all. Finding a flower hardly seems all that perilous.”

I keep my gaze firm, conveying a silent message I hope he can catch the gist of.Back down before you say something your emperor won’t let you take back.

Axius’s gaze flicks to me. He shuts his mouth. After a brief silence, he inclines his grizzled head. “You have always known your own mind, I suppose, Your Imperial Highness. Forgive my interruption.”

“If I need you, I’ll call on you,” Linus snipes, and ushers Bastien and me into the carriage.

At his urging, our vehicle draws ahead of the others. It circles through the crowd and sets off for the palace.

Linus must have sent word ahead by some means I didn’t notice. Before we get close to the palace gates, the carriage veers off onto a different road, past a glade of trees, and comes to a stop where two saddled horses have been left waiting for us.

Only two. As I exit the carriage, I scan our surroundings, but we’re utterly alone. A creeping sensation spreads over my skin.

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