The emperor’s expression tightened, but he nodded, and the guards unlocked the door. They all filed in, and when it was time for Carver and Amryn to go through the doorway, he let her precede him, his hand moving to settle against her lower back.
A large table dominated the room, and the emperor moved to take a seat there. His guards remained near, even though the room’s only prisoner was in no position to attack. Jamir, King of Xerra—though probably not for much longer—sat on a bench along the back wall, his chains securing him there. The man seemed shorter than Carver remembered, though it had been years since he’d seen Jamir. He had dark skin, similar in tone to Jayveh’s, but that’s where the similarities ended.
Jayveh took the open chair beside the emperor, and Amryn sat on her other side. When Carver moved to stand behind her, he caught his wife’s calm expression. He knew it was a mask. As she stared at Jamir’s furious face, he hated to think that she was feeling the man’s rage.
Ford had just taken up the same protective position behind Jayveh when Jamir—who had been breathing thinly as they entered—suddenly seethed, “Your Eminence, this is incomprehensible. I am a king, and a loyal servant to the empire. I swore fealty to Craethen years ago. Whatever this treacherous girl—” a sharp look to Jayveh— “has said to you, I assure you she’s lying. She has undermined me ever since you entrusted me with her father’s crown. She is a grasping, conniving—”
“Enough,” the emperor snapped. The strength in his voice came from a dark fury that made even Jamir shrink back. “You will not disparage her again,” the emperor ordered. “You are speaking of my granddaughter. The woman who carries my great-grandchild. And your future empress. You will respect her, or you will lose your tongue.”
Jamir paled. His eyes dropped to search for the slight curve of Jayveh’s belly, which was mostly hidden by the table. “You—You carry Argent’s child?” he asked, clearly startled.
Jayveh’s voice was flat as she said, “Yes. And since I answered your question, you will answer mine. Where is my husband? And where is Tam?”
Jamir stared at her. Carver wondered what Amryn was gleaning from him during his silence; if she read guilt, surprise, or something else entirely.
The man’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he said, “I have no idea where they are. How should I know?” He shot a venomous look at Ford. “That imp showed up at my castle and all but dragged me from my bed. I wasn’t even given a chance to offer a word of instruction to my steward! I was questioned, my castle searched, and then I was chained up like a common criminal in front of my entire court!”
“You are a member of the Rising,” Jayveh said. “There’s no point in denying it, Uncle. I’ve told them everything.”
Loathing speared across his face, but it was gone in an instant. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t bother with lies,” the emperor said. “All you can do now is cooperate fully and pray to the Divinities your sentence is lightened.”
Jamir’s hands fisted on his knees, making the chains around his wrists rattle. “There is no evidence. Nothing but her word against mine—”
“Her word is enough for me,” the emperor interrupted firmly. “You will confess now or later—but I assure you, now would be much easier for you.”
Jamir’s nostrils flared. He glared briefly at Jayveh, and then his eyes darted over Amryn, Ford, and finally Carver. His eyes lingered there, something like fear sparking through them. Carver knew the man was seeing the Butcher in this moment. He edged out a lethal smile.
Jamir actually flinched.
The words spilled out quickly then. He confessed to joining the Rising, though he assured them he hadn’tactuallybeen a traitor. He had joined the Rising only as a way to gain their trust so he could pass information along to the emperor—that was all.
No one believed him.
He then swore that the Rising didn’t fully trust him. That he was a lesser member. They gave him no other instructions beyond sending Jayveh to Esperance and ensuring her cooperation to their cause.
“I should have known,” he muttered, shooting a look at his niece. “When Cregon Vincetti all but forced me to surrender those idiot brothers of yours so he could take them to Westmont, I should have known you’d betrayed me.”
Jayveh’s hard expression didn’t falter. “Did Tam come to you for aid after she fled Esperance?”
“No.”
“Do you know where she would have gonefor help?”
“No.”
“Do you know what the rebels might want from Argent?” the emperor asked. “Why they would abduct him?”
“No, Your Eminence.”
Frustration thinned Jayveh’s voice. “Who are your contacts in the Rising? Perhaps they might actually know something of value.”
Jamir’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t rise to the bait in her barbed words. “I was never heavily involved in anything. As for my contacts, we used carefully guarded messages and codes. I don’t know any names.”
“That has to be a lie,” Jayveh said. “They clearly knew you, and a cockroach like you would have demanded the same knowledge in order to protect yourself.”
A vein in his temple throbbed. “I truly don’t know their names.”
