"We made sure that the bed would be big enough for all of you," Empress Lovington added with a smile.
Fawn's face was now cherry red, and she let out a nervous giggle. "Oh, thank you both. We appreciate the hospitality."
A bed big enough for all of us sounded like heaven. Maybe Fawn could do something like that for us at home. Her bed was comfortable, but I'd rather be able to sleep all together if possible.
Not just because I wanted Fawn romantically involved with all of us but because we were vulnerable when we slept. The assassination attempts proved that much.
Empress Lovington smiled. "We would like you to join us for dinner so we can talk about defensive measures for the capital and the villages on the outskirts of our territory. Emperor Lloyd filled us in on some things, but we would like to have a full picture of what is happening."
"Of course." Fawn nodded, but I could see the hesitance in her gaze.
I understood the hesitance. Emperor and Empress Lovington seemed like a sweet couple who happened to rule an empire. But I also understood that we needed to be sure they were not involved in anything with the Revivium Empire. Though, I was pretty sure Matthieu was the one with a different agenda.
Something told me we were wasting our time questioning the Allura Empire.
6
FAWN
"I feel kind of bad,"Bastian muttered under his breath as Jasper's darkness faded from around us. "They're really kind."
"Sometimes the kindest mages hold the darkest secrets," Silas reasoned, taking the first steps into Emperor and Empress Lovington's office. "We're just making sure they aren't the type."
"I doubt they are," I mumbled, my bare feet cooling on the marble tile.
Rose gold accents adorned the space. The walls were a soft, muted cream, complementing the pinkish hue. Natural sunlight streamed through the large window behind the desk, giving the room a shimmery golden tone. It was tastefully furnished, nothing super extravagant like the other empires had. It was part of the reason why I felt more comfortable in the Allura Empire than the rest.
A few artworks hung in ornate frames next to the bookshelves on the far wall, featuring delicate floral patterns.
"To be honest, neither do I," Aimon agreed with me. "We've been through almost every room of this manor, and we haven't found anything."
"If there is anything, this would be the spot." Jasper strolled toward the desk and rifled through the drawers.
Papers scattered out of the drawers and fluttered to the ground as Jasper continued to look through, scanning documents without finding anything incriminating. "And still not finding anything."
"Keep looking," Silas grumbled, bending down and grabbing the papers he dropped and plopping them back in the drawer.
Jasper let out an exasperated sigh, glancing at Silas with a frown. "It would be a lot easier to keep looking if you wouldn't put them back."
"Well, it would be a lot easier to get out of here without leaving a trace if you cleaned up after yourself."
"It doesn't matter," Aimon interjected, pulling a journal from the bookshelf and flipping through it. "This journal has folded up documents in it."
He tossed it on the desk, and it landed with a small thump.
Casper reached down and grabbed it, opening it up and pulling out the documents before looking them over quickly. His lips curved into a frown. "They're unsigned documents declaring war on the Revivium empire."
Jasper took the journal, and his gaze flicked as he read what was on it. "This is Empress Lovington's. She's worried about Empress Hayes. Evidently, they were closer than we thought, and she's worried about her." He snapped the journal closed and set it back down.
Casper stuffed the unsigned documents back into the journal and gave it to Aimon to put back on the bookshelf where he found it.
"There's nothing here that proves anything about an allegiance with the Revivium Empire. And there's definitely nothing that proves the emperor is having an affair with the empress of another empire," Aimon said.
"If anything, I found the opposite." Bastian held up another journal, his cheeks turning red. "This has weekly love letters that Emperor and Empress Lovington write each other. It was sitting right on top of the desk. I would be highly surprised if either one of them were having an affair after reading this."
"So, we have found nothing except proof of their allegiance to the Lethium Empire, just like I thought we would," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Why don't we just ask them to take a truth serum and answer a few questions? It would alleviate all suspicion from them if they choose to."
Silas coughed, smoothing out his robe as he leaned against the desk. "Or we insult them and possibly fuck the Lethium Empire's allegiance with them."
