“That won’t be necessary, thank you,” Ludwig said, shoving them into his pocket.
Then with one hand against the small of her back, Ludwig ushered her down the hall. She’d rather stay and see Niklas brought to the magistrate’s office but knew by Ludwig’s grim expression it wasn’t a good idea to argue. Before they left, she glanced back one last time at Niklas and the buyer. The latter kept his gaze lowered to the ground.Who was he, she wondered and couldn’t help but compare him to Elias, even though they looked nothing alike. She hoped he’d never used stardust, and this night would deter him from ever trying again. Then she might have spared one person from Elias’ fate at least.
They walked in silence up the narrow streets from the Velvet District and toward the bright lantern lights of Imperial Square. Pilgrims hurried back to their lodgings, even outsiders knew to be back indoors before midnight, but outside the palace walls, such rules were a matter of life and death. Thanks to the Midnight Guard, the city had been free of corrupted for decades, but in the country, without walls and guards, chimera attacks and the like were much more common.
The northern road leading away from Imperial Square led back to the palace. Braziers glowed in the courtyard, illuminating the palace façade against the inky-black sky. Ludwig hadn’t said a word for several long minutes, and his silence was beginning to trouble her. He might be really angry this time.
“I’ll admit that could have gone better,” Liane said, trying to cut the tension.
Ludwig spun to face her. “Better! That was a disaster. Liane, you promised me you wouldn’t take chances this time,” he said, thrusting his arms out to punctuate his point.
“They were calculated risks.”
“If the Midnight Guard hadn’t intervened...” He growled and ran his hands through his ash-blond hair as he paced in circles beneath the glow of the flickering lanterns.
“Did you alert them?”
He stopped pacing and frowned. “No. Why would I?”
Liane’s entire body felt electrified. Five years ago, stardust had arrived in Artria and swept through the city like a plague. No one knew where it came from, but scum like Niklas grew rich by peddling it to the desperate and unsuspecting. If her hunch was correct, the Midnight Guard was onto something, perhaps a magical or corruption origin.
“They must know where stardust comes from. Perhaps it’s a form of corruption magic? It would explain why it’s so addictive. How it destroys its users!” Liane’s mind whirred with possibilities.
“Enough.” Ludwig held up his hands. “Let the Midnight Guard handle it from here. Niklas has been arrested; you’ve gotten your revenge.”
Liane’s excitement deflated as she stopped in her tracks. Niklas was one dealer among many; there were stardust dens all over the city. Catching him wasn’t going to solve the problem, and she couldn’t rest until it was all gone.
“Are you satisfied? Does this feel like enough to you?”
A shadow passed over Ludwig’s face, and he turned away from her. “No. But I know he wouldn’t want you getting yourself killed over his memory.”
Liane balled her hand into a fist. Ludwig was right; he usually was. But she wished she could find a counterargument that could justify this burning need to do something. If only she’d seen the signs sooner, if she’d acted quicker, maybe Elias would still be here with them…
A single clear bell rang. Half-past eleventh hour. A warning to get inside before curfew. By the stars, where did the time go?
“We should go,” Ludwig said.
They raced through the streets, dodging late-night laborers hurrying home and the City Watch out ushering stragglers into their homes before curfew.The palace was in sight, and lungs burning, stamina waning, she lagged as the twelfth hour chimed. Each bong urged her to move faster, but she couldn’t get her exhausted body to cooperate. The guards were closing the gate, and Ludwig, several paces ahead of her, would make it in time, but he slowed to keep pace with her, a sympathetic look on his face. She hated that look. Pity had been flung at her most of her life, reminding her she wasn’t as capable as others, too weak, too sickly to keep up. Knowing she’d regret it tomorrow, she pushed past the fatigue, and urged her heavy feet to keep pace and then outrun Ludwig.
“Hold the gate!” Ludwig shouted.
And thank Cyra, they recognized them and held the door even as the last bell chimed. As Liane and Ludwig stumbled through the gates, they slammed them closed behind them.
“Another late night, Princess?” said the gate guard.
“Something… like… that.” She panted as she attempted to catch her breath.
A stitch in her side sent needles of pain through her lungs as she bent over, gasping for breath. She still had two flights of stairs between her and her bedroom and hoped she wasn’t seen by courtiers, or worse, her family, wearing commoner’s clothes. When she’d caught her breath enough to walk, they took the long way back to her room, taking servants’ stairwells to avoid any awkward run-ins.
They exited onto her hall, and Ludwig checked to make sure it was empty before they darted the last bit to her room. Throwing open her bedroom doors, she strode into the sitting room while Ludwig took his post outside. Alone, at last, she tore off the itchy garments and tossed them onto the floor. Luzie, her maid, had laid out her nightgown on her bed, and she pulled that on, luxuriating in the feel of soft silk against her irritated skin. Tomorrow, she’d ask Luzie to apply cream to her back to soothe the rash on her spine, but in that moment, she was too tired to even care about that. Her bed was calling her, and she pulled back the covers.
“You were out late again,” Aristea said.
Startling, Liane spun to see Aristea, her older sister, sitting on the sofa, one blond brow perfectly arched. She’d been caught after all.
“What are you doing sitting here in the near dark? For a moment, I thought a chimera was in my room,” Liane said, grasping her chest as her pulse pounded against her palm.
Aristea’s blue eyes scanned her up and down. “Where this time?”
