Nothing.
The general grinned, fingers tight enough to leave marks and cut off my air. “She has the look, I suppose,” he continued, eyes narrowing at my hair. “But her coloring is wrong. Her hair was darker yesterday, wasn’t it? Dye, I suppose. And her temperament?” He laughed, batting my hands away when I took a swing at his stupid, smug face. “Tell me, Asher. What was it about Jasper’s story that inspired this fortuitous little hunch of yours?”
“You were there, Harper,” he spat. “Have you ever known fully grown trees to overtake a road indays?You’ve heard the stories over the years, just as I have. And you know better than most what a thorn that place has been for the Empire. The Forest of Sorrows, stained black after Tritan’s fall? There had to besomethingcausing it. Somethingother.Now with all due respect,sir,”the captain said, voice clipped. Tight. “Get your hands off my Priestess.”
A nasty smirk creased the general’s lips, but after a moment he thrust me back, gasping, into the captain’s arms. “You’re lying.”
Choking on fresh air, I scowled, rubbing at my throat. Trembling fingers brushing my new collar.
“No Triloth Priestess has the power to do that, unless—”
I snarled, trying to recover my feet, murder in my veins. He was right. I was no Triloth Priestess—he’d learn that just before I swallowed everything he was and—
“Unless,” the captain said, dumping me on the floor in a disoriented heap, and stepped up to his superior, knuckles popping at his sides. “Unless she was workingwiththe rebels. It’s theonlyexplanation that makes senses. The Empire already has both Trila-Glís,” he continued, oh-so-reasonably, setting a clenched fist on the kitchen counter. “The only way they could compete with us, is if they have indeed made advancements with their technology. Advancements that would allow a simple Triloth to manipulate ki as if she were more than she is.”
Jaw slack, I stared at the captain, my theories about Alicia’s treachery growing solid roots in Caledonian soil.
The general crossed thick arms over a barrel chest. “I’m listening.”
“It would mean you were right,sir. Capturing technology like that would turn the tide of this war overnight.”
“And our little demon here can support these claims?”
“It doesn’t matter what she says,” the captain said, flicking a dismissive hand before my face. “That she exists—that she evaded the Empire for so long—is proof enough. You said it yourself. No Triloth could possibly have access to that much power.”
The general sneered. “Then where is this technology?”
“My guess?” the captain asked, hooking his thumbs into his belt, finger a hair away from his sidearm. “Jasper. He was the one who brought her in. He’ll be the one who has her personal effects, unless he was too stupid to gather them. But at the very least, he’ll be able to point us in the right direction. Show us where she was captured.”
I caught the outrage before it flew from my throat, fixing my gaze to the floor.
The High Priestess was worth my silence.
Belle and the rebels were worth my patience.
Vengeancewas worth biting through my tongue to stop it wagging at will.
Deep breath in, deep breath out.
“Fine.” The general rolled his eyes. “I’ll accept your little theory and have the slaver brought in for questioning. I’ve a few…extractiontechniques I’ve been looking forward to trying on some hapless traitor anyway.”
The captain swallowed, only a little green around the edges. “Thank you, sir.”
“Oh, it’s not me you should be thanking,” the general replied, straightening. “I argued for tossing your ass in a cell and having this little slut taken from you, but the curator wants to see what you can do with your new power. So the Golden Boy gets a free pass.”
The captain shrugged. “Then thank the curator for me.”
“You can thank him yourself. He’ll be here in three days to interrogate your girl, but in the meantime,” the general continued, “our little menace will report to the infirmary with the rest of the Priestesses so Sasha can have her power assessed, look her over for”—he sneered—“diseases, and give her a tour of the facility, if there’s time. She doesn’t get special treatment just because she’s dimwitted.”
A sharp bark of laughter burst from my lips. Meeting with the High Priestess wascommonplace?Expected, even? The captain was playing me better than I thought.
“Of course, sir,” the captain said, drawing me off the floor, only to clap his hand over my mouth.
“I want her at HQ before first rotation ends. And do something about her temperament, hmm? Or I will.” Evil spread over the general’s face when I tried to buck the captain’s touch. “I would hate to see her taken from you, should the curator decide you’re unfit to rule a Priestess. Even one as undesirable as her.”
“I find her temperament fitting for a man of ambition,” the captain retorted, his voice easy, though his fingers too were leaving marks on my jaw.
The general snorted, pausing at the door. “Very well. You will report to HQ for first rotation. There’s been some unusual stirrings on the frontlines and we may have to send the Special Forces out to investigate.” He disappeared around the corner as quickly as he’d come, sending a brisk, “Good day, Captain Rawlings,” over his shoulder.
