Ma’qas took this as an invitation to jump onto me and throw her arms around my neck. “No! Not in front of the ambassador!” She made a high-pitched cry of pleasure.
I’m the one being assaulted here!By the time I wrenched Ma’qas off me, the dwarven ambassador had climbed into the carriage and fled this scene of debauchery.
Panting, I glared at Ma’qas. “You really couldn’t think of a better excuse than that?”
Ma’qas winked. “I’m just taking a little revenge on Ari.”
What did Ari have to do with this?
“Do you need anything before you look for the real duchess?”
“Ari already arranged for my travel funds.” Ma’qas chuckled. “I’d better leave before I get attacked with real intent to kill this time.” She darted away.
I turned around to find Araceli dressed in her maid uniform again. She glared after Ma’qas with undisguised murderousness. As soon as she noticed me looking, her face softened. She coughed. “Sorry about her. She was always provoking me back when we were training together. She thinks she’s funnier than she actually is.”
Still confused, I said, “Eh, I guess the Blood Duchess’s reputation can’t get any worse at this point. It won’t be my problem after I switch back.” I was becoming increasingly desperate to ensure that happened. I couldn’t possibly survive in the duchess’s body with all the messes I’d created. Too many powerful people had reason to want me dead.
“I hate to drag you from one disaster to another, but we’ve already left the nobles in the dungeon for longer than we planned. I don’t particularly care about their whining, but we do need to hurry up and get their money.”
Oh, crap, I still had Arahasnor’s most prestigious nobility locked in my dungeon. Just one of half a dozen executable crimes I’d committed lately. “Let’s go.” I needed a distraction from the off-kilter way Ma’qas had left me.
“Are you certain? If you’re tired, it can wait.”
I cracked my knuckles. “Actually, I’m in the mood to let out some aggression.” With my current level of annoyance, I’d never felt more prepared to play the part of the evil Blood Duchess. “Does my grin look suitably terrifying?”
Araceli studied me. “You definitely look like someone got you up too early in the morning.”
“Excellent.” My smile widened. “Let’s put on another show.”
Chapter Seventeen
Iswung the replica of Cardinal Jiang’s cane as I walked down the dungeon stairs. Ysabel met me at the bottom, this time wearing an elegant yellow dress. She winked at me. “Excellent acting today.”
“You carried it, really,” I mumbled.
Ysabel lifted up my chin. “Nonsense, you were fabulous. Bring more of that energy. We need to visit the representative from the Guild of Slavers before we talk to the nobles.”
“They’re calling it the Guild of Indentured Servitude now,” I snarled. “I think we should turn it into the Guild Out of Work.”
Ysabel grinned. “Yeah, that energy. I’m in a hurry to throw that bastard out of my city, but first we need to intimidate him badly enough that he’ll go back to the guild and tell them not to mess with us again. Ideally forever, but I’ll even settle for buying some time to rebuild the city.”
“I’m getting good at intimidation.” I swung the cane again. It bounced off the walls and hit my shins. “Ow.”
Ysabel rolled her eyes. “Let me do the talking. I’m the innocent Holy Maiden, and you’re the evil duchess threatening me. Just stand behind me looking wicked, and I’ll handle the rest. You know I’ve got your back, baby sis.”
“Of course.”
Opening the cell door, Ysabel strode in. The room had stone walls. Arrand sat on a simple wooden chair next to a cot. His head immediately shot up, and his eyes went to the cane I carried. I could almost see him making the connection to my supposedly broken life-oaths. His nose twitched like a ferret’s.
Ysabel’s chest heaved. She wiped a tear from her eye. “I’m relieved the Blood Duchess hasn’t tortured you yet.”
“Holy Maiden,” Arrand said very coldly. He didn’t seem moved by her innocent act, and I could guess why. Ysabel had married Dark Lord Kaine, the guild’s greatest enemy. This particular audience didn’t have any sympathy for her.
Ysabel gripped the wall. “I was so terrified that the duchess had already carried through with her threat to rip out your hair and glue it to your ass.”
Hey, Yzzy, do you have to keep framing me for increasingly creative crimes?I stood straight and tried to look like someone who had the faintest idea what my sister was talking about.
Arrand sneered. “Did you manage to seduce this hideous beast to your will like the last dark lord?” He gestured at me with a contemptuous expression.
