“Not quite. You see, my sister was killed by herownmagic. And my daughter is showing the same signs.” He winces. “I’m sorry I lied about that part. We did lose our first child but we have another. She just turned four.”
“You’re saying your daughter has magic already? Without going to the temple?” My eyes widen in surprise.
He nods. “That’s how it is where I come from. You’re born with your magic. None of this “gifted by the gods” nonsense.”
“So where exactly are you from?” I ask.
“It’s a small island,” he says.
“So, you traveled here to find a—a cure?” I ask. “How does the rebellion help you with that?”
“Because the emperor is hiding the only person who’s ever lived to adulthood with this kind of magic. And I need to know how they saved her before it’s too late for my daughter.”
I open my mouth to ask another question, but there’s sudden, intense pounding at my door.
Nate is up in a second, and I’m right behind him. He throws open the door and the flustered guard only hesitates for a moment when he sees the two of us together.
“Well?” Nate demands.
“Sorry, sir, but I think there’s something the empress needs to know.”
Thirty
Sabina
Ludis is focused on the guard speaking, an annoying smirk on his lips. Thirteen people are dead. Why couldn’t one of them have been him?
“We’re still trying to piece it all together,” the head legionnaire, Samuel, says. “As far as we know, nobody new came into the estate.”
“Except for Juliette,” I add.
“Maybe she’s the one who brought the poison,” Ludis suggests.
“Three people from the Westerly Estate, where she was staying, are also dead,” Samuel reminds him. “She fled here out of fear.”
“Lot of good it did her. Probably caused her own death,” Ludis grumbles.
I glare at him, but he doesn’t look at me. He’s now tracing swirls and lines on the table with his finger. It’s a habit he’shad as long as I’ve known him. He’s nervous. Because he knows something or because he’s worried he’s next?
“Have we heard back about the emperor or enforcer yet?” I ask.
“No.”
My shoulders slump a little even though I know it’s too soon. We sent the fastest riders two days ago when everything happened, but I was warned they were at least a four-day ride away.
“Hoping you’re a widow?” Ludis asks.
“Wishing I was an only child,” I hiss.
He grins. “You always had such a wicked tongue, sister. I can think of so many better uses for it.”
“You’re disgusting.”
Samuel clears his throat, and I look over at him. We’re seated at a large oval table. Ludis across from me in the middle on the longer side. We left the head spot open. I said it was out of respect for the unknown status of my dear husband. Really, it was to prevent Ludis from taking over.
Samuel sits two chairs down from Ludis, and two other legionnaires flank the closed door. I haven’t had a moment of privacy in the last two days. Thankfully, Nate has done his best to ensure that the entourage of legionnaires surrounding me don’t know anything about me. They simply think I’m the empress they must protect.
“I don’t know why we’re discussing this anymore. Until there’s anything of importance, there’s nothing we can do,” Ludis announces.
