He removed his hands and laughed. Though the sound was more like a howl. “Number forty-four. Doing quite well in his trials today, isn’t he? I figured you had plans for betting on him to win the final games, to see him get cast into some major role. If you were offering money to support his training, I could only assume it was an investment. Perhaps you were gambling. But then your money patterns changed. You started offering money to his opponents instead. You even began funding alliances. All working against him. The one soturion you seemed loyal to.” His mouth was against my ear as he whispered, “At least, after your forsaken cousin, that is.”
My throat tightened, and then my chest followed. I could barely breathe. I wanted to get up, to run out of there, to find my room and slam the door and get into bed until this was over. How had I not noticed his spies? How had he realized all of this so quickly?
“How about this?” Imperator Kormac said. He stood, and stepped forward, leaning against the wall which enclosed us in. A jerk of his chin signaled for me to join him.
I did, resting my elbows on the white wall, watching Galen fight. A powerful kick of his leg, and the last soturion in hisFive was down. His silver binding broke, and he ran into the fray in the center of the field.
“You want him safe, yes?” he asked.
“Yes,’ I admitted.
“He shouldn’t be cast in a major role then. And of course, we cannot have him playing Moriel.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Very well. Galen will not make it to the final round. Nor will he appear in the games on Asherah’s Feast Day. So long as you fulfill your promise. Lyriana and Rhyan will be here soon with Imperator Hart. Your task still stands, your mission only on pause while they’re unreachable. You still must hunt. Not just vorakh—which we thanked you for earlier.”
My stomach twisted.
“You will uncover the truth and bring them to me. You will find a way. The minute they are under the roof of the Palace, I expect to know what I need to take back control.”
“It will be done,” I said.
He smirked. “A shame. Soturion Galen truly is a great fighter. He could have gone to the end. Too bad he won’t.”
Then he walked away, and I sank back to my seat on the bench, eyeing Bellamy and Eric from a distance, my heart feeling like it would explode. I was a traitor. A traitor in every way. To everyone I loved, no matter what I did. But worst of all, to myself.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
LYRIANA
I woke the next morning with every map of Numeria, of the Palace, and the Nutavian Katurium racing through my mind. I dreamt of the images I’d studied like I was swallowed into the scrolls themselves. As I prepared for training, I imagined myself walking down the waterways, entering the Palace’s throne room, and counting my steps across the field of the arena. It helped that I had a detailed mental picture of the layout, thanks to the vision I’d taken from Meera.
With the nahashim visions Imperator Hart had given to me of Jules, and Ereshya’s shard, I felt confident in my knowledge of the Palace. How much space we had, how many people could fit inside the hall. Places to hide and blend into the crowd. And just exactly, what moment I’d need to make my move and take the shard.
Kane wasn’t present to run morning exercises. A small miracle. Word had reached him of new akadim patterns being tracked in the west. Most likely sent by Morgana and Aemon.
As I ran in the Glemarian Katurium, I closed my eyes and saw the arena in Numeria. I went over the maps again and again. As I sat through classes, as I trained with Rhyan, I kept going. I replayed everything in my mind over and over.And when night came, and we reentered the library, I was ready to mark out our plan. I gave Aiden and Meera their orders. From there, we began focusing on the schedule, and then on the Emperor’s guest list—understanding each person’s exact rank and where they’d be, how close to Theotis and the shield they might get. We also discussed who would be allies and therefore standing together, as well as who might be enemies, and thus, be standing even closer. Then we cross-referenced that with each guard who’d been paid off by Rhyan’s father.
Rhyan sat across from me, his leathers shining under the golden glow of the citrine lights. Our eyes continued to meet every few minutes from our opposite corners of the room. He was hunched over the table, his jaw clenched as he planned his moves with Dario. Every so often he stopped to confer with me, and then I’d move over to them, working on the alternate plan. As we ran into snags, or realized complications, the plans began to shift, and new ideas were thrown in and just as quickly tossed out.
In the end, we had gathered what we needed to know. There were three times that seemed primed for our theft. In the dead of night before the Valabellum, at the changing of the guard; in the morning in the Throne Room, just as the shield was taken down for its presentation; and right before it was paraded outside.
But the rescue of Jules, that had my mind occupied. We’d have to take the shield to Imperator Hart at his specified location. And then we’d have the task of getting Jules safely past the walls. Imperator Hart swore no one would know she was missing at first, but if she was seen by the wrong person, she’d be taken back immediately. And no matter how well we prepared to steal the shield, getting Jules out of Numeria felt completely unpredictable. Rhyan would most likely need to use his vorakh immediately. He’d be unable to use it in thePalace with their wards up, but outside it was of the utmost importance that he was ready.
What we didn’t have was a way to escape Imperator Hart and Seathorne when it was all over.
My contract was going to be invoked the moment we had Jules. The moment we had the shard I’d be commanded to return to his side. And that in turn would force Meera, and Rhyan to comply as well, if he didn’t attempt a last-minute blood oath by then.
And as we delved deeper into our plans, we realized something we should have from the start.
The promised mercenaries weren’t there to help us. But to attack and capture us if we made any attempt to escape.
There was no plan for such a thing. I never got a chance to speak to Rhyan in private. Dario was my shadow from sunrise to midnight. Then I was locked into my room every night with the nahashim slipping through the door. The only time Rhyan and I were together, away from Dario, was in the training room. And then we had the snakes for company, hissing and undulating as they watched our every move, their black eyes wide, reporting everything back to Imperator Hart.
The way we had structured things, Dario and Aiden were absolutely integral to our success. And yet, they were exactly what would keep us from being free in the end.
My only hope of getting to Rhyan alone, or getting word to Meera, was to go through Kenna, and I wouldn’t see her until the weekend—not until we were dragged to our first series of engagement events in Glemaria. But I was dreading each one. Imperator Hart had made it clear through further messages, that I was not only to continue holding Kane’s hand, and kissing his cheek like an idiotic, besotted bride, but we were to dance together at each event at least twice.
