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“From my uncle.”
“Your uncle, the Imperator.”
“Yes.”
“Would he give you more?”
“You ask a lot of questions.” He tucked the letter back inside the book. “It will take some persuading. He was not pleased with me after the conclusion of the last trip. He thought I missed an opportunity to make an important discovery. Also, he’s fighting a war on two fronts, and there are factions rioting in the city. This won’t be a high priority for him.”
“With this new information we might persuade him. I could help you.”
“By the gods, you aren’t going anywhere near that man.”
“Why not?”
Sebastianus shook his head.
WE REACHED THE plains. The carriage rolled along a wide road surrounded by meadows. The sun had risen fully, bright and strong. Insects buzzed and whined: a sound I had never heard before at such volume. The air felt saturated with moisture. The massive mountain range rose behind us, and I could just make out a smudge against the slopes of Kotol that I thought must be Corlivo. It looked so small.
Gradually I became aware of the sound of hooves behind us on the road, growing louder and louder. A rider was approaching quickly. I heard a faint shout. Don reined in the horses, and we slowed to a halt.
Sebastianus opened the door and leaned out. “What’s going on out there?”
The Comitissa trotted up on a sleek brown horse, its flanks heaving. She dismounted with a careless grunt and looked past Sebastianus into the vehicle, where I sat self-consciously on the cushioned bench.
“By the gods, Seb. I thought you were kidding. You’re taking her to Panpirion?”
He shrugged. “Marta would have sold her off to one of the lesser houses after the fiasco with Fabius.”
“It’s not like you to care.” She unwound her scarf and shook out her long braid. “When I heard you had left, I thought I’d catch up and ride back with you. I hate to leave, though. What a freeing place it is; I feel as if I can be anyone I want to in that city.”
Sebastianus climbed carefully out of the carriage, using his walking stick to steady himself. “I’m glad you’re here. I have to get back quickly. My uncle has requested my help quelling yet another riot.” He rubbed the back of his neck as though it ached. “To quote the old bastard, ‘Stop fucking around in the mountains, nephew, and ride for the capital.’ I’ll get there much faster if I’m not encumbered by this carriage.”
“What’s that to do with me?” she asked. “And by the gods, Seb, why help him? Better to support the rioters. It’s what I’d do if I were you.”
“You know I don’t have that luxury.” Sebastianus suddenly looked tired.
It hadn’t occurred to me that in taking me with him, and traveling in a carriage instead of on horseback, he was slowing himself down at a time when haste was needed.
Sebastianus nodded to the larger of the two horses. “I’ll ride home on Capitan, and you and Don can accompany Anna. The sooner I arrive there, the better. Jovinian has plenty of snakes hissing in his ear; at least I can offer him a different perspective.”
“I think he prefers the snakes.” The Comitissa glanced through the door again. “And by the gods, Seb, this will be like riding to Panpirion with a fortune in gold bricks. How are we going to keep people from staring at her if she gets out of the carriage? What are you thinking?”
Don climbed down from the driver’s box to join the conversation. “I said the same thing before we left.”
“Will you two stop it?” Sebastianus snapped.
“Why would people stare at me?” I asked, finally speaking up.
“Just keep her face hidden,” Sebastianus directed, more to his cousin than to me. “Anna will stay out of sight on the journey, and once she reaches Panpirion, she’ll blend in. It’s a big enough city.”
Don and the Comitissa exchanged a look.
“Seb, can we have a brief word?” Don asked. “Over here?”
The three of them moved a few feet away from the carriage and continued talking quietly. I strained to listen, feeling like a cumbersome piece of luggage that they couldn’t figure out how to manage.
After a few minutes, Don began unhitching the huge black horse. In its place he harnessed the Comitissa’s graceful one, and before I knew it, Sebastianus was galloping away. I watched his retreating figure out the window. A flood of grief and loneliness seemed to surge up from behind my ribs. Kyra was gone, dead in her bed before I could even say goodbye. I had left the only city I had ever known, in the company of a man I had met just a few days before. And now even he had gone.
