“Exactly,” Midnight said. “We thought this the work of certain Nobles at first, then when we discovered there was a mistweaver around, we—”
“Mistweaver!” Dove gasped again.
“Oh, yes,” I said casually. “There was a mistweaver about. She was trying to kill me — in fact she’s the one who sent those assassins after me at Silverveil — but don’t worry, I killed her.”
Dove just gaped at me, and I couldn’t help a bit of an internal laugh. It did sound preposterous.
You’re really loving this, aren’t you?
Just a bit, yeah.
Auwei laughed.
It took Dove a long moment to say, “You’re… serious?”
We both nodded.
Dove’s wide-eyed shock remained as she looked away for a long moment. “So that’s what happened in the South? We heard reports of an attack on your House, but not much more.”
“There is a lot more, and I’ll fill you in once Midnight has done her bit.”
Dove nodded slowly, still seeming stunned as Midnight went on. “I am certain the death of the Lumani is not the work of that mistweaver, since there were a couple deaths while she was rumored to be elsewhere and one confirmed Lumani death since the mistweaver’s passing. This means one of two things, neither of which are good: either there is a second mistweaver, or it is the Nobles themselves who have found a way to kill Lumani. Given the existence of spirit-gifts, that cannot be ruled out.”
Dove blinked. “Is that how you remained unnoticed here?” she asked. “A spirit-gift? A couple members of my House possess such abilities.”
“Indeed,” Midnight said, though she did not elaborate. “What I know is this: first, this cannot be the work of one House. Those killed have been among nearly all the Houses, and given how far reaching these plots are, I can’t imagine any one House doing all of this. Second, the Royal House must be involved. Perhaps this goes all the way to the queen, though I haven’t confirmed that. But to cover this all up, they would have to be involved at some level. Third, there must be either some code these conspirators use when they speak, or they only talk of such things in the closest and most secret of confines, since I have not been able to determine any confirmed source of these deeds. I have several suspects, that I will not disclose just yet, mostly because I cannot confirm their involvement.” She sighed. “It has been a trying year.”
“What about the war?” I said.
“War?” Dove whispered. “So Vauphan is planning war? Perhaps they are behind this: corrupting members of the nobility to develop this internal strife while they attack from without?”
Both of us looked at her.
“No, Dove,” I said softly. “Vauphan is not involved. They are planning for war, but only because Elista has already annexed several of their northern provinces.”
Dove blinked, shocked again. “What?”
Midnight nodded. “We believe whoever is behind these Lumani deaths is also quietly waging a war in the North. The two things are so grand in nature they couldn’t both be happening in secret bydifferentparties. It must be a single plot.”
“We started the war?” Dove asked. “But then…” She seemed confused.
“What?” I asked, prompting her.
“Then, why are we only hearing now that we’re sending troops to the front? It’s all the news around the capital. Most of the standing army and several members from Noble Houses are massing to go north, but that was in response to the threat from a Vauphan invasion, or so we’re being told.”
That was interesting. I looked at Midnight, who nodded.
Dove went on. “But you’re saying we started the war? And… I guess we’re just using Vauphan as an excuse to mass more troops there now, probably to take more land?”
“That seems likely,” I said. “In truth, the war’s been going on for three years now, from what we’ve heard.”
“From who?” she asked.
“From Vauphan. I… we… happen to know the prince of Vauphan and believe his account of events. He is a good man just trying to protect his people.”
Dove sat back heavily, shaking her head. “I never imagined…” I could understand her stunned dismay. It was a lot to learn. She turned back to me. “And you killed a mistweaver?”
“I nearly died doing it, but yes.”
