13. Kiera

Chapter 13

Kiera

Curses exploded through my mind as I let the tapestry fall back to the wall and dove for the sofa in the darkest corner.

I dropped to my stomach again just as a key embedded in the lock. I shimmied under the couch, hugging the wall as much as possible, praying my boots weren’t visible.

The door opened, and footsteps whispered over the rug. Light flared as someone turned up the oil lamp.

“You know better than to cause a scene in my lobby,” Melaena said, her voice low and tense.

I scrunched my eyes shut in horror. If she was here...

“Forgive me, Melaena,” a familiar voice said. High Councilor Garyth. “My worries for my family and myself overtook me.”

Melaena sighed. “Have a seat, Garyth, and tell me exactly what happened.”

A rustle and a creak, then Garyth said, “Someone searched my study.”

I winced, my heart drumming harder.

“How can you be sure? Perhaps your daughter or a maid moved a few things around?”

“My daughter is not allowed in my study, and the maid doesn’t clean there unless I’m present. The papers in a secret compartment in my desk were disheveled in such a way that someone must’ve put them back in a hurry.”

By the Abyss, did he have to have such an eye for detail? I had been as careful as I could manage under the circumstances.

“But nothing was missing?” Melaena asked.

“Nothing, and everything is encoded, but... but if someone saw the insignia or cracked the code... I’m a dead man. My family as well.”

My stomach twisted at the utter certainty and hopelessness in his voice. Surely Father wouldn’t execute Garyth’s wife and child if they knew nothing of his traitorous sympathies?

But he would. He had done it to others.

Bile rose in my throat, but I swallowed it and the memories back down.

“Do you have enough to condemn him?” Melaena asked.

My brow pinched. Condemn who? My father?

“Not yet. Dracles has been blocking my attempts to gather more information. His gods-damn soldiers patrol the entirety of the river, and getting close to the mine has been impossible. He’s definitely hiding something.”

Melaena and Garyth continued speaking in hushed murmurs that I couldn’t make out.

Did he mean the Medria River? It was the largest river in Rellmira and ran west to east from Twaryn, splitting north to the small mining town of Calimber and south to Aquinon. I didn’t know much about the Calimber mine itself, other than that it was where Father’s precious sunstone was carved out of a cave deep in the cliffs.

He protected it more fiercely than his own family—that was no secret. But why would he keep Garyth—his Master of Commerce—from the river and the mine, which were his purview as overseer of Rellmira’s trade resources?

I shook my head. None of this made sense. Perhaps that was why Renwell had wanted me to sneak into Garyth’s study—he suspected Garyth was doing some spying of his own.

But for what purpose? Was Garyth gathering information and supporters to overthrow Father? Why would he even want to bring back the People’s Council, if that was his goal?

After all, they were largely to blame for the Pravaran rebellion getting out of control, forcing Father to take extreme measures.

If the council had simply calmed the angry masses in Pravara, instead of insisting that Father give in to their demands of overturning multiple laws involving taxes, food quotas, and army conscriptions, so many lives would’ve been saved.

Was Aiden also mixed up in this conspiracy?

My fingers clenched in frustration. I hated having so few threads of what felt like a much larger story. Regardless, I needed to tell Renwell what I’d heard. If I could ever find a way to contact him.

“But when?” Garyth’s voice grew louder. “We can do nothing if he doesn’t succeed. And quickly. If Renwell and his dogs start baying for my blood, it will crush what little hope I’ve managed to inspire in the others. Those gods-damned executions after the rebellion were a crippling blow.”

Julian. I bit my lip, fighting back the wretched memory. Who was Garyth waiting for?

“We all felt the pain of those executions,” Melaena said icily. “And he will succeed. In the meantime, how long can you hold off Renwell?”

“Not long if it was him or one of his spies in my study. My family?—”

“—will be protected. Stay the course, Garyth.”

A heavy silence followed.

Gods, Renwell would devour this information. But how would he act on it?

“Focus on your daughter’s birthday celebration,” Melaena said in a soothing voice. “The gift you ordered should be here in a few days’ time.”

Garyth heaved a weary laugh. “Why my little girl wants a lizard, I’ll never know. But I can hardly wait to see her smile.”

I couldn’t help a smile of my own at the thought of my innocent accomplice getting the scaly pet she yearned for. Strange that he’d asked Melaena to get it for him. But my smile drooped at the thought of the danger Isabel’s father was putting her and her mother in.

“You’d best get back to her,” Melaena said softly. “We shouldn’t be seen together too much.”

Garyth grunted in agreement.

Just then, something stirred in the shadows, creeping toward me. A spider, dark and furred.

I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming. Every muscle in my body locked. Except my eyes, which followed the little beast as it tiptoed closer. Was it the same one from the tunnel last night? It must’ve slipped through. Probably hunting my scent. Could spiders do that?

Gods, if it really was one of the poisonous black moss spiders...

Melaena and Garyth were taking their gods-damned time rising from their couches and saying goodbye.

Fuzzy legs nestled in the top of my hair. And climbed. Inching its way to my forehead. I squeezed my eyes shut, fear pounding in my throat.

“One moment, Garyth.” Footsteps padded over and stopped right next to my boot heels. “How did this get knocked astray?” Melaena muttered under her breath, adjusting something—probably the tapestry I’d let fall.

A cold, furry body scraped over my forehead. Searching legs tapped near my eyelids.

A shudder tore down my spine, but by some miracle, my body didn’t utter a sound.

Melaena’s footsteps faded away with Garyth’s. The moment the door locked behind them, I slowly slid out from under the couch. Too much movement and the spider might sink its fangs into me.

It crept over my eye and down my cheek.

I whipped my head to the side while slashing at the spider with my hand. I felt it sail away from me.

I finally opened my eyes. Where in the deep, dark, wandering hell did it go? A discordant shadow scurried back toward the couch. I stomped it with my boot. The sickening crunch made me wince.

But then regret hummed through me at the gory mess on my boot heel and the rug.

Leave no trace.

Gods damn it. Renwell would be disappointed. He’d trained me to keep calm in any situation, yet a spider had rattled me enough to leave a mess.

Fingers shaking, I used a hairpin to scrape the spider’s remains from the rug. It wasn’t perfect, but I was running out of time. Maz was probably waiting for me by now. He might even come looking for me.

I wiped the hairpin on the underside of the couch, then shoved it in my pocket. That would have to do. Hopefully, a maid would clean the rugs before Melaena noticed and questioned two oddities in this room occurring in a short span of time.

I hurried out of the room and back into the dressing room, which was blessedly empty. Walking more slowly, I passed through the showroom, down the hall, and into the lobby.

Melaena and Garyth were nowhere to be seen, but neither was Maz.

Shifting away from the curious glances of Melaena’s patrons, I left the club. Heat simmered from the streets in the mid-afternoon light. I skirted the bronze dancer statue and dubiously approached the gate.

Where was Maz? Could I find my way back on my own? Or could this be my chance to leave my mark for Renwell?

A low three-note whistle caught my attention.

A lone figure leaned against the city wall, out of sight of the guards. Familiar green eyes flashed at me from beneath his low hood.

Swallowing against my dry throat, I drew closer.

“Survived your first rehearsal, I see,” came Aiden’s low voice.

A thousand questions crowded my tongue. About what I’d just witnessed. About where he’d gone off to. But I couldn’t ask any of them.

“Where’s Maz?”

The skin around his eyes tightened. “Busy.”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or curse that both men used the same one-word excuse.

Aiden shifted away from the wall. “Hungry?”

“Always.”

A smirk flickered over his mouth. “Do you play Death and Four?”

I gazed up at him, keeping my face a smooth, blank canvas. “Not well.”

His light chuckle warmed my skin. “Liar. Follow me.”