Page 8 of A Dance of Shadows

Lorenzo’s head ticks toward us. Keeping his expression carefully impassive, he moves to join us, with a slight bow as if to say he’s at our service.

I watch my husband’s face as he aims a sardonic smile at the mute prince, but I don’t see any hint of jealousy or wariness in his demeanor, only disdain.

“You have ways of communicating—writing on your papers and what have you,” Marclinus says. “We’ll be leaving for our tour of the continent soon, and Rione will be our first stop. I’m going to arrange a few meetings between you and the empress so you can answer every question she has about your country and your family. I trust that won’t be a problem?”

Lorenzo shakes his head and then dips down again, bowing to Marclinus and then specifically to me. He’s canny enough to tense his mouth when he’s facing me as if it pains him a little to give me that honor.

But by his side, the subtle curve of his fingers conveys a different message for my eyes only.I’m yours.

I swallow against the ache of affection that simple gesture provokes.

“Good. I’ll give you some time to think of everything it might be useful for you to impart before we begin.” Marclinus waves the prince away like he might one of the servants.

Behind my demure smile, I grit my teeth. Whether he’s one man or two, there’s no version of my husband who isn’t an asshole.

My mind is spinning with all the information I’ve already taken in over the past hour. I soften my smile and touch my husband’s arm with feigned tenderness. “I think I should begin my own preparations now. I’d like to meditate in the temple to see if my godlen has any guidance relating to the tour. Do you think the court would miss me overly if I’m gone for an hour or two?”

Marclinus chuckles. “I’m sure they’ll survive.Iwould certainly like to see you at dinner, but you’re allowed some time for your own concerns.”

He rests his hand on my shoulder just for a moment, with a caress of his thumb I have to pretend doesn’t leave my skin crawling. He’s trying to prove he’s theniceone, the one I can trust enough to join in on a murder scheme.

It’s all to serve his own purposes, not because of any real compassion he feels toward me.

I don’t release my shudder until I’ve slipped out of the room. Then I set off for the temple attached to the palace with the faint rap of my personal guards’ feet following me at a discreet distance.

Beneath the now-familiar dome with its bands of color representing each of the nine lesser gods and the Great God who once watched over us too, I walk to Elox’s alcove. His serene sculpture gazes down at me with its blank gold stare.

I sink down onto the white pillow in front of him. Closing my eyes, I tap my fingers down my front in the gesture of thedivinities, finishing by clenching them over the godlen brand that marks the middle of my chest.

I can’t say what I want to ask out loud while my guards watch from the entrance, but I’ve always been able to address my godlen from inside my head just fine.

Elox, I’ve solidified my position as empress in every way possible so far. I’m about to go on my first tour of the kingdoms I most want to protect. How should I handle this journey and my marriage with its new complications?

As I settle into my meditative state, my breaths even out. A vision drifts into my head like a dream.

I’m peering along a weathered wooden fence, sheep grazing in the pasture within. When my attention catches on a broken board, it lifts and melds back into place. The stinging nettle sprouting amid the grass vanishes. The rust on the gate’s hinges shimmers away. But the fence remains.

The imagery fades. I sit with it for a little longer, contemplating my godlen’s message.

The structure is there, but it needs repairing. Fix what’s broken and remove what causes pain within the boundaries I’ve been given.

I can do that. And it’ll be easier with the help of the local royals we’ll soon be visiting.

I need to show each of the empire’s conquered countries that I’ll look out for them and heal their ills—without disrupting the status quo so much it raises my husband’s alarm. The princes who’ve welcomed me into their makeshift family should be able to help me with those of their birth.

And at the end of our travels, perhaps I can pluck Marclinus from my life as swiftly as Elox dismissed that stinging weed.

Chapter Four

Raul

Standing tensed in the dim secret passage, I flick my fingers down my chest in a hasty gesture of appeal to the gods. I don’t generally ask for divine attention, but my current task feels risky enough to warrant it.

Kosmel, if you ever bless me with more stealth and good luck than usual, let it be now. I’d rather not get skewered by an imperial guard today, if it’s all the same to you.

I can’t tell whether my patron godlen accepts my missive, but I didn’t expect to. At some point, I have to take the leap regardless.

Steadying myself, I extend my gift beyond the sealed panel in front of me into the emperor’s apartment.

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