Concern had Vanya rising from his seat, effectively ending the meeting. “Of course.”
He knew better than to ask for details where others could hear. He said nothing as he followed Caelum out into the hall, his Chief Minister making a subtle hand gesture that kept Vanya’s teeth locked together.
“Ambassador Zayed is in the Mosaic Room, along with several peacekeepers and a military aide who had driven him back to the Ashion embassy,” Caelum said in a low voice.
Ice settled in veins, a spike of worry causing him to miss a step and speak when he should have kept silent. “Soren went to the embassy this morning. Where is he?”
Caelum flinched around his eyes, and bile crept up Vanya’s throat. Caelum kept quiet as they walked through the halls of the Senate at a pace that one could say was hurried but not panicked. When they entered the Mosaic Room, Vanya’s attention was reserved for the pale-faced ambassador pacing by the window. The peacekeepers who’d escorted him to the Senate and the military aide snapped to attention, all three of them bowing stiffly to the Imperial degree.
“What is going on?” Vanya demanded the second the door was closed.
Dariush jerked around, still in the same clothes he’d worn to the Senate yesterday for the declaration of war. He looked as if he hadn’t slept, dark circles standing out beneath his bloodshot eyes. His hands shook when he dipped into a bow, voice just as unsteady. “Your Imperial Majesty, something horrific has occurred.”
Everything inside Vanya spiked like lightning in a desert thunderstorm. “Where is Soren?”
Dariush opened and closed his mouth before rallying himself in a way Vanya could respect if his sanity and heart weren’t at risk in that moment. “I joined your military officers at the Legion’s headquarters after the Senate session yesterday to facilitate calls between them and our own generals back in Ashion. The calls lasted much of the night, and I acted as translator along with several other military aides. I was invited to sleep there overnight for the scant hours before morning. I accepted and was driven back to the Ashion embassy this morning where…”
His voice trailed off, a distant look coming to his gaze that spoke of reliving a horror Vanya knew he wouldn’t like.
“The exterior gates were unlocked and open,” Dariush said after giving himself a visible shake. “No guards were on duty. The door was unlocked, and when I entered, there were bodies everywhere.”
Vanya sucked in a harsh breath, teeth scraping together. “Bodies?”
Dariush blinked, still clearly in some sort of shock and yet forcing himself to work through it. “Bodies, Your Imperial Majesty. Every single person in the embassy had been murdered by bullets or magic.”
Vanya went cold, ears ringing with some noise no one else could hear. He squeezed his eyes shut, wrenching the panic aside as he forced himself to ask the questions that mattered as an emperor and not a man in love. “The people who came with you? The Lady Lore and Sor—the prince. Were they dead as well?”
“No,” Dariush said raggedly. “They weren’t amongst the dead that we could find, but the prince’s weapons were in a room where my counselor had been murdered.”
Vanya opened his eyes, staring at the distraught ambassador. Before he could try to speak, one of the peacekeepers with ranking pins depicting him as a captain stepped forward and offered a shallow bow. “We canvassed the area and knocked on the doors of the nearby businesses, Your Imperial Majesty. Someone at a barrister firm in early for work saw a diplomatic aide and a star priest leave with two people who matched the descriptions of Lady Lore and Prince Alasandair Rourke.”
Dariush shook his head. “No member of my staff nor anyone who flew here from Ashion would have betrayed us so.”
“Can you be sure?” Vanya asked, voice scratchy.
“None wererionetkas, if that is your concern.”
“Perhaps you didn’t look hard enough at those who traveled with you.” Vanya raised a hand to forestall Dariush’s anticipated protest. “I know a thing or two about betrayal by those held in close regard to me.”
Dariush clenched his teeth together, the tendons in his neck standing out before he took a deep breath. “No true Ashionen would sabotage us so. Everyone who has worked under me is aligned with our queen.”
Vanya dearly wanted to believe that, but he knew how well someone could play the long game. “Say it was none of yours. That leaves Daijal or Solaria.”
He doubted Eimarille was responsible for such an attack. The Daijalan ambassador and diplomatic corps had been expelled from Solaria last year, their embassy empty and barred to anyone but the Solarian government these days. Joelle, on the other hand, he could see her reacting badly to yesterday’s war declaration.
He doubted any but the House of Kimathi would have acted so murderously. Joelle still had her supporters, and while the Conclave might have enshrined his right to rule with Callisto’s own blessing, there were ever those who would conspire to see him off the Imperial throne. She would have tapped into such discontent, even from behind Bellingham’s walls, and moved swiftly when Vanya was still savoring a desperately argued-for political win.
Vanya looked at Caelum. “I want all trains stopped and airships grounded. Bring me the manifests of those that have already left this morning, their destination, and who owns them.”
“You don’t believe the lady and the prince are within the capital?” Caelum asked.
Vanya shook his head. “A city-wide search will still occur, but I don’t believe we’ll find them. What use are hostages if they are here?”
Caelum grimaced. “You will need proof to accuse a House.”
“The House in question was already accused.”
“Why wouldn’t the prince have saved himself with starfire? He is a Rourke, is he not?”
