Lark glanced at me. “Do I even want to ask why there’s blood all over you?”
I shrugged off my cloak and hung it on a nail by the door. Rissa clucked her tongue at me and rushed to grab it, muttering about it needing to be washed. “Ran into a problem at one of the supply houses in the south,” I said. “Someone tried to break in and destroy the place, but I took care of him.”
Rissa shot me a look. “And by ‘take care of,’ you mean…”
“Made sure he would think twice before attempting something like that again.” When she raised an eyebrow, I scowled. “I left him in an alley with some broken bones and fewer teeth.”
Horace grunted, which was his version of a laugh. “Better than dead.”
Rose’s eyes caught mine, a curious gleam lighting them. “Does this type of thing happen often?” she asked.
My sister gave a grim nod. “More than we’d like. The Decemvirate makes it worse. People’s emotions are heightened, adrenaline is running, and they think they have a right to take matters into their own hands. Some capital natives are unhappy with how many…gueststhe city receives during this time. It allows people from the provinces to sneak in and stay without anyone noticing.”
Rose’s brow furrowed. “Are a lot of people moving to the capital?”
“Tryingto,” Chaz answered. “The majority right now are from Emberfell. Their border with Drakorum has become way too hostile for some of them to keep living over there. But there’s quite a bit from the others, too.”
Rose let out a soft hum. “I had no idea. I mean, I knew things were getting bad in the provinces. We see that even in Feywood. Our border with Iluze has gotten worse these last few years.” A small shiver went through her, but she shook it off. “I didn’t realize people were trying to come here to get away from it all.”
“Unfortunately, our emperor hasn’t been the most welcoming host,” Rissa said, leaning against the counter. “But that’s why we’re here, isn’t it? To hopefully bring some change, to both the provinces and the capital. And we believe that starts with the Somnivae curse. It’s the one thing unitingeveryone. We all despise it. We all want it to end. If we can prove Gayl started the curse, it’s the perfect opening to bring everyone together against him. Provincer or capital native, rich or poor, weak or strong. We can force him to end the curse and take him off his throne. And that’s whereyoucome in.” Rissa gave Rose a sly smile.
Lark picked it up from there, a seamless transition between the two women. “Over the next few weeks, we need you to gain access to Emperor Gayl’s Grimoire. We have maps of the palace, places we know he frequents and wings that are typically closed off to the outside, things like that. But nobody has gotten close enough to him or his private chambers to locate his Grimoire. That’s the first challenge.
“The second is to learn as much about the curse as you can. Once you have found his Grimoire, we assume information regardinghowhe cast it will be inside. We will then have proof thathewas the original caster and, with the support of the entire empire, can force his hand in reversing it.”
We all sat in silence for a moment until Rose scratched her nose and said, “Right. So, nothing too difficult.”
Horace, to mysurprise, chuckled.
“We’ll take it one step at a time,” Rissa said encouragingly. “Let’s start with the maps. Horace?”
At her summons, Horace stood and pulled several folded pieces of parchment from his back pocket. Laying them out on the table, he leaned over and began pointing at the various floors.
“These are the guest wings. The servants’ quarters, the ballrooms, the dining hall. These areas in the center will be the busiest during your stay.” His finger moved north. “The northern wings are quieter. You’ll need to be more careful here. The armory and treasury are kept there, so they’re more heavily guarded than others.”
“I highly doubt he’s hiding anything there, anyway,” Lark offered. “It’s far too high profile.”
Horace swept his hand to the west side of the map, but Rose held up a finger. “What about here?” She pointed to a small corridor in the northern wing that dead-ended into the edge of the palace. “Is anything there?”
Bending to look closer, Horace said, “Not that I know of. Just storage rooms.”
Rose pursed her lips together, her eyes roaming across the area. “And you’re sure these maps are accurate?” When Horace quirked an eyebrow at her, she waved a hand in the air apologetically. “Sorry, I just…I thought I saw another hall connected to this one yesterday.”
“What were you doing over there?” I blurted.
Giving me a sharp look, she said, “I might have seen Gayl on my way to the first trial and…followed him.” She and my sister exchanged a passing glance.
Surprise swept through me. The girl was fearless. I’m not sure even I would be brave enough to track him so quickly.
Chaz laughed. “You sure do have a pair on you.”
“Did you find anything?” Lark asked eagerly.
Suddenly more reserved, Rose fell back into her seat. “No. I mean, he walked down another corridor, and then I left. I could haveswornthere was a hall right there, though.”
“You must be wrong about the wing,” I said, which earned me another glare.
Lark’s shoulders sagged slightly. “Well, perhaps you can find the correct one and see where he may have been heading.”
