“Sanctions are a punishment, not safety.”
Vanya pushed his plate away from the edge of the table, finished with his meal, if not his drink. Beside his plate was a small stack of tintype photographs lying face down. He picked one up and passed it across to Amir.
“There was a quarry in the House of Kimathi’svasilyetthat once housed a factory. Inside that factory was a death-defying machine that a warden assures me can raise the dead faster than spores. There were thousands of revenants in that pit before he bombed the place.” Vanya caught Amir’s gaze and held it. “Tell me,vezir. What would you do in the face of a House who allowed such depravity on its lands and upon its citizens?”
Amir stared at the tintype photograph for a long moment before carefully setting it aside. “Spores create revenants. No one will believe such a fantastical machine exists withoutproof. Your word and these photographs will not be enough to sway a House’s opinion. Anything your warden says will be viewed through his loyalty to you. This isn’t proof, and Joelle will fight you on it.”
Vanya tapped a finger against the stem of his wineglass, slow and methodical. “Let her.”
He’d find his proof—somehow. Until then, he would sow enough doubt about the House of Kimathi amongst all the rest that Joelle would not be able to escape it.
Three
JOELLE
The innermost city walls of Calhames contained the majority of the estates belonging to the major and some minor Houses. The estates weren’t typically occupied year-round, and the House of Kimathi’s estate had been near empty beyond a small number of legionnaires assigned to protect it since Nicca’s death.
Which meant the return of that vaunted House and itsvezirsent the rumor mill spinning once a flurry of activity was detected there. All manner of servants and aides from other Houses were dispatched to its grand pillared gates with letters that first day, to be received by the majordomo of the household and brought to the attention ofvezirJoelle herself. She played favorites with no one, setting her staff to reply with sufficiently pleased and coyly thankful responses on her House’s embossed stationary and having the missives returned that same evening.
While Joelle didn’t commit to showing up at another House’s estate just yet, she did take care to be seen in public. Which was why, on the day of the emperor’s return to Calhames, the exclusive Eclipse Society Association found itself graced with Joelle’s presence.
Her motor carriage pulled up to the guarded entrance of the discreetly decorated building, only a small copper sign bolted to the black-painted door denoting its name. One of the doormen stepped out from beneath the overhang that provided scant shade from the sun to open the door to Joelle’s motor carriage and offer her his hand.
She set her elaborately decorated cane with its carved clarion crystal handle to the ground first, then moved until her feet came in contact with the pavement. The doorman let her hand go once she stood, then bowed to the precise rank due her station. Joelle’s lips twitched, pleased that the staff’s training was still as rigorous as ever.
Artyom came around the motor carriage and deftly offered Joelle his arm, the more fitted style of his robe recently ordered for this occasion and matching their House colors. The gold ranking medallion he wore was smaller than hers but still noticeable for what it meant. Her son and heir smiled down at her before escorting her into the cool interior of a place Joelle hadn’t stepped foot inside in years.
Lightly burning incense hit her nose just inside the door, the black mosaic floor beneath her feet sparkling with flecks of gold like the night sky. A magician stood from their stool in the corner, clarion crystal–tipped wand in hand, and bowed to her.
“VezirJoelle, of the House of Kimathi. The Association has missed your presence and welcomes you,” the older woman said.
This place was neutral ground amidst the games the Houses played. Murder might have been a sanctioned way of prayer for their goddess of death, but the owners refused to allow anything untoward to happen to members within the Eclipse Society Association’s walls. Which meant both Joelle and Artyom stood still as the magician flicked her wand in their direction.
Aether-powered magic rose up like a fog from the floor, twining briefly around both their bodies. Joelle didn’t shiver at its touch, knowing that it searched for weapons and poison, not thoughts. She knew the feel of mind magic and its subtleties, courtesy of Innes’ teaching.
Joelle prayed to the god of fire and had for a good portion of her life. Callisto had never heard her prayers, and Joelle had found guidance down a new road, following a different star. He’d taught her many things over the years, but patience was something she’d learned on her own.
The spell dissipated to nothing, finding no threat on their bodies, as Joelle knew it would. The magician stepped back with a shallow bow, retaking her seat on the stool. “The Association bids you enjoy what is on offer.”
Joelle nodded at the formal phrase granting admittance to the decadence found farther inside. Artyom escorted Joelle through the interior archway and down a hallway that opened up to a courtyard overlooked by three stories of balconies on all four sides.
A garden was spread out before them, blooming with desert plants and wildflowers. Low tables and cushioned chairs or chaises for lounging were scattered beneath tree branches or umbrellas for shade or set up against the balcony railings. Mechanical fans attached high up on the pillars gently blew cool misted air over those gathered, magic keeping the small water tanks attached to the machines cool in the heat.
No one announced their arrival, which was typical of the establishment’s rules. Still, those taking the midday meal in the courtyard knew Joelle by sight and greeted her as due her station ofvezirof a major House.
A blonde woman in elegant green robes stood from the center table and made her way toward them. She was tall and lithe, younger than Artyom, younger even than Karima had been when she received the ranking medallion as Joelle’s heir. But the young woman who straightened up from a precise, formal bow knew her place, if Joelle was to go by the sharp intelligence in those deep brown eyes.
“VezirJoelle Kimathi, of the House of Kimathi, it would be my House’s pleasure to have you and your heir sit with us,” the woman said.
She was tanned, with dark freckles scattered over her nose, her blonde hair swept back away from her face in several thick braids that pulled together at the base of her neck in a long, loose queue. The ranking medallion she wore was a delicate thing, burnished gold and pressed with the imprint of a curling wave.
“Lady Vesper Aetos, of the House of Aetos, I would be delighted to join you.” She withdrew her hand from Artyom, giving him a brief nod. “The card tables in the study will be more to your liking, I think.”
“Of course, Mother,” Artyom said with a quick smile.
He bowed to her as an heir would and left her to the wealth of gossip to be found amongst their contemporaries. He’d report back later with what information he gleaned from the men and women who preferred tabac and brandy and a decently dealt hand of cards over a formal tea. Artyom knew his place here and what was required of him.
Vesper led Joelle to the shaded table servants had swiftly added one more place setting to while they spoke. By the time they reached it, Joelle’s seat was ready for her, and she sank down into it carefully. The potion she’d taken that morning to ease the ache in her bones was wearing off, and she couldn’t take another until she returned to the estate.
