Page 105 of A Dance of Shadows

That must have been at least part of his motivation for volunteering as guard. He drops his hand next to my side in turn, letting his knuckles graze my waist in a brief caress.

When the tunnel splits into two passages, I halt as if dredging up my memories. Raul taps my hip.

He thinks we should go to the right. I’ll trust his impressions over my own. The spring will be completely draped in shadow until we reach it with our lantern.

I slide my small knife from its sheath behind my carry pouch and scratch a mark so we can be sure of where we came from. I’ll know my way once we make it back to the other lantern, but I don’t want to take any chances of getting lost before then.

Raul takes on a bored tone, presumably to avoid rousing Bianca’s curiosity with any warmth toward me. “This isn’t the most welcoming royal residence I’ve encountered.”

“We don’t generally come into the caves,” I reply tartly. “They’re for emergencies.” Or tests from our emperor, who probably sees that as just as vital as an emergency. “Kosmel had perfectly sound advice. Rats may not earn much good will, but they have a habit of surviving.”

Raul hums noncommittally, though I suspect he agrees with that sentiment. He dedicated himself to Kosmel, after all.

Bianca shakes her head. “It’s a good thing Ennius was being his usual stick-in-the-mud self during the past tests and barely stirred. He’d have been complaining the whole time.” Her gaze flits to me. “About how your parents weren’t getting us out quickly enough, of course. He’d never dare criticize His Imperial Majesty’s decisions.”

Of course not. Not within my hearing, at least.

The inkling of a plan that bloomed in my head during our travels comes back to me. I’m still not completely sure how I’d like to handle the viceroy.

My subtle inquiries have informed me that Bianca is the viceroy’s second wife. His first died from the spotted fever that swept through Darium about a decade ago and sometimes evaded the medics’ skills. He has a son from that marriage who’ll inherit after he passes.

If he were executed, Bianca would be left with nothing from his estate. But as long as he’s alive, she can’t officially move on either. The court has given her a pass on her dalliance with Marclinus because it’s accepted that no one turns down an emperor or his heir.

Would she even want a different husband if she had the choice? She’s made it clear she doesn’t care much for my husband’s carnal attentions either. Perhaps she’d rather be rid of intimate partners entirely, as long as she keeps her standing.

“Does it bother you to be apart from him?” I ask tentatively. “If he’d had to stay behind at the imperial palace, would you have been lonely on the tour?”

Bianca snorts. “Oh,he’dhave hated having to hang back. But I do just fine without him. There’s plenty of enjoyment in discovering new sights with only one’s own thoughts in one’s head—or getting to talk about them with friends. I’ve never needed more than that for company.”

“Such a devoted wife,” Raul says, clearly teasing.

Bianca arches her eyebrows at him, perhaps thinking of his reputation among the court of seducing noblewomen away from their husbands. “I appreciate many other aspects of our partnership. And I’ve never been tempted to stray except as my emperor requests.”

She truly hasn’t longed for a kinder lover, it seems. It’s freedom she’s sacrificed.

As I turn that information over in my head, a branch in the tunnel comes into view up ahead. Raul tugs my skirt to direct me onward, past it. I add another scratch of my knife.

“His Imperial Majesty does seem to inspire great loyalty,” Raul says, with a sideways glance toward me as if in understated criticism. “So many rewards with that high position.”

I tsk my tongue at him. “I’m sure being a prince of Lavira comes with plenty of rewards as well. You’ll have plenty of time to enjoy them once your fostering is over.”

“Don’t be in a hurry to hustle me out of the imperial palace. I’m not done there yet.”

A heady shiver races through my body at the thought of all the things we mean to accomplish together.

When another passage splits off on the left, Raul taps me toward it. Just a few paces down its narrow route, a faint trickle of water reaches my ears.

My spirits lift. “We’re almost there.”

Bianca brushes grit off her gown. “Thank the gods. Let’s see what a blessed spring looks like.”

Even in the atmospheric lanternlight, I can admit the water source isn’t particularly impressive. We come up on a shallow pool perhaps five feet across, rippling where a few thin streams trickle down the walls into the hollow. The wet stone gleams with glints of mica, but the water itself looks perfectly normal.

As Bianca studies it with a bemused expression, I uncork the flask Linus sent with me and dip it into the cool liquid. My gazeskims over the rest of the alcove that holds the spring and lingers on the gritty white patches on the opposite wall.

The devout I came with told me about that mineral deposit—that it has a mild calming effect. At the time, I gathered a bunch of scrapings for later use.

After I’ve filled and stoppered the smaller vials as well, I straighten up and nod to Bianca and Raul. “You can both take a sip if you’d like. Offer thanks to Elox and ask that he clear your mind to make room for new understanding.”

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