A knock on his office door had him calling out, “Enter.”
He was unsurprised to see Caelum, the Chief Minister his most frequent caller these days. The person who joined him was unfamiliar to Vanya, dressed in neutral-colored robes, her light brown hair twisted up off her neck in a high knot. Her face was plain and unassuming, easily forgettable. She wore no jewelry, carried no sign of rank on her person, but her green-eyed gaze was steady and sharp as she rose out of a deep curtsy.
“Your Imperial Majesty,” Caelum said, sounding a little out of breath, as if he’d run across the Oeiras Imperial estate. “Might I introduce a particular guest to you?”
Vanya eyed him sharply, the turn of phrase familiar when it came to the network of spies his Chief Minister handled. “You may.”
Taisiya had straightened up at Caelum’s query, setting aside the broadsheet. She used her cane to get to her feet, coming around to stand by Vanya’s seat at his desk. Raiah, sensing the tension in the room, stopped squirming in his lap.
“Your Imperial Majesty, I have gone by Cinzia for the past several years,” the spy said after a nod from Caelum. “I carried out a life of service within the House of Aetos.”
Vanya stilled at the mention of that House, eyes narrowing. “Were you within the household?”
Cinzia nodded. “I was adept at ingratiating myself into the majordomo’s good graces. After the Conclave, positions opened up after those servants who had doubts about the House of Aetos’ loyalty to Solaria left. I remained to be useful and was found acceptable.”
Which spoke well of her ability as a spy. “What news do you bring that bade you break your cover to leave that House and Seaville?”
“The House of Aetos’ estate is old and has many secret passageways. I managed to gain access to several of them during my time there, one of which led past the family’s private quarters. I overheard an evening conversation between Lady Vesper and hervezirabout aidingvezirJoelle by bringing her the foreign prince and lady. They were taken from Calhames to Bellingham alive by Lady Vesper.”
Fury coursed through him, hot like starfire, and Vanya had to force himself not to launch out of the chair, mindful of Raiah sitting in his lap. He kept his touch gentle with his daughter, when all he wanted to do was tear down the walls of Bellingham and let the revenants take it once he was assured of Soren’s and Lore’s safety. Whispers weren’t truth, though, but they’d been the spark for any number of House feuds and debts over the centuries. And Vanya had known, deep in his heart, that the most logical place his lover could be was in Joelle’s hands.
“How certain are you of what you overheard?” he asked.
“Completely” was Cinzia’s firm reply.
“You have no proof,” Taisiya murmured in warning. “And Bellingham is not the city you should be focused on.”
Vanya offered hisvalidea thin smile. “I am well aware of the land we are losing in the south, but I will not losehim.”
“Papa?” Raiah asked. “Who?”
Vanya finally stood, holding Raiah in his arms rather than setting her on her feet, and caught Caelum’s eye instead of answering Raiah. “I want to speak to General Chu Hua. And send for the head star priest of the main Star Order temple. Tell them to bring me the royal and nobility genealogies.”
“Of course. I will get the general on the telephone for you first,” Caelum said.
Caelum gestured for Cinzia to follow him out of the office, pulling the door shut behind him. Vanya shifted Raiah in his arms and reached for the reports on his desk, handing them to Taisiya. “These are accountings of the cities and towns under siege from the revenants released from Rixham. The wardens tell me the estimated number is not something they are capable of stopping at this time, not with the ongoing war in the north and not while they are still recovering from the attack on their island and the loss of tithes.”
Taisiya took the stack of reports but didn’t bother opening any of them. “Taking soldiers and supplies away from either front simply to aid in rescuing Soren will endear you to no one.”
Raiah leaned out of Vanya’s arms so quickly he almost couldn’t right her. “Soren? Where is he?”
“He’ll be home soon,” Vanya said as he sat her on his desk since she was wriggling all around.
Raiah kicked her feet in open air and stared up at him with wide eyes. “Promise? I miss him. He said he would come back, and hedidn’t.”
It felt like taking a knife between the ribs when he remembered the scant time they’d had together in Calhames before Soren was stolen away from him again. “I know, but it’s not because he didn’t want to. Hedid. And he will return to us.”
Vanya would not make a liar out of Soren or himself in giving that promise to his daughter.
Taisiya sighed thickly before setting the reports on the desk, idly flipping through the topmost one. “What do you think the Houses will say or do if you wage war over one man instead of fighting for Solaria?”
“What makes you think I can’t do both?”
“Vanya.”
He arched an eyebrow at hisvalide, ignoring the frown she offered him. “You think I don’t know what is happening here? You think I don’t recognize the mess of my mother’s choices? She loved Iosiv just as much as she loved Solaria, and she killed for both.”
“Don’t follow Zakariya’s road.”
