“Why have you been hunting down gang leaders?”
This was a test; she was sure of it. Liane met her gaze, unflinching. “Someone I cared about died because of stardust. It was earlier on when we knew less about it. I want to stop its spread before more people are hurt.”
Captain Rosen stood up and paced around Liane, who followed her path with her eyes, waiting for her to speak.
“What do you know about stardust?”
“The same as you: a drug with potent attributes, superior senses, euphoria in users, then it degrades after multiple uses,” Liane said, frowning. Why quiz her on stardust…
“In most cases,” Captain Rosen amended.
“What do you mean most cases?” She couldn’t think of anyone who’d gotten hooked and hadn’t been hollowed out like an old gourd by it.
“There wouldn’t be business in it if everyone who took it died,” Captain Rosen said. She was staring intently at Liane now, making her want to squirm in her seat, but she held her gaze. She considered her words. There were whispers, rumors mostly, of people who took stardust and got stronger, that could do things no normal human could. But she’d dismissed it as gang lies, trying to hook the unwary.
“Are you saying…”
Captain Rosen’s eyes flicked to the door, then back to Liane before she nodded. “I believe someone at court wants to create powerful soldiers capable of rising up against the empress.”
Liane sank back into her chair as she processed those words. Mother had come to power amidst blood and civil war. The threat of it had seemed far away all her life, but even Aristea remained in an arranged marriage to maintain that tenuous peace.
“Heinrich.” His name escaped from her lips.
“You’d accuse your sister’s husband without a second thought?” Captain Rosen’s expression was a blank wall. Whether she was judging her or impressed, Liane couldn’t say.
Heinrich was fourth in line to the throne, after Liane and her siblings. But before they’d been born, his father had tried to make him emperor. When his coup failed, he was executed, and Mother appeased those who supported him by betrothing Heinrich to Aristea. Captain Rosen knew this as well as her and must have come to the same conclusion.
“Do you disagree?” Liane asked.
“I could say the same of you. If your sister was out of the way, then you’d be the next empress or your younger brother… Some would rather not see another woman rule.”
The very thought made her stomach churn, and she would never betray Aristea, nor would Mathias.
“I know my brother; he wouldn’t do something like that.”
“And yet, I cannot arrest the prince consort based on words alone. I need proof. The rich and powerful do not play by the same rules as commoners.”
And that meant her as well. She hadn’t brought her here for her help; Liane was a suspect.
“What if I brought you proof?” Liane asked.
“How do I know I can trust you? Even telling you this much, I could be putting my entire investigation and the kingdom, in jeopardy.”
She’d revealed more than she intended, Liane suspected. If she truly suspected her of plotting against Aristea, she wouldn’t have exposed her hand this way.
“What has conspired here will not leave this room. I swear not to tell a soul. Not my mother, nor my sister, or the rest of my family.”
“Even your guard?” Captain Rosen arched a brow.
Liane’s throat tightened. She shared everything with Ludwig. There were no secrets between them, but if she wanted Captain Rosen’s help, she needed her to trust her.
“I swear to the stars above, I will not tell another living soul.”
The corner of Captain Rosen’s mouth quirked up in the shadow of a smile.
“We shall see,” Captain Rosen said.
9
