“Is this the man?” Denzel asked, peering down at the body in the ditch.

  “No, I’ve confused it with the other fresh bodies around here,” Lucian said sarcastically. “What do you think?”

  Denzel looked at Lucian with a tacit concession that was a dumb question, then crouched and jumped down into the ditch. Lucian felt he was becoming a bit too comfortable around bodies. When he’d first seen the bandits dying, it had almost been too much to bear. Now… he wasn’t bothered much at all as Denzel took off the man’s boots and sock.

  “Short on cash, stealing boots now?” Lucian asked.

  “If you keep spending my money the way you have been, perhaps,” Denzel said. He looked up. “Not that I regret anything. No… I’m looking for a marking that might identify whether or not he’s associated with any gang.”

  Lucian nodded, and then waited around as the prince scoured the spy’s body for any markings of note. Rather than immediately tell him Aurelia’s theory, Lucian had just told him that there had been a spy on the perimeter looking for someone with gray hair and green eyes. He didn’t want to stress the man unduly. Algard’s early accession was Denzel’s nightmare, after all.

  “Hmm. The Gold Spiders,” Denzel declared, studying a tattoo on the man’s back.

  Lucian raised a brow in revelation. He knew the gang, but not the locations of their tattoo. “Huh. So he is from Golvenne.”

  Denzel hopped up out of the ditch, brushing himself off. “I’ll look into this further. Algard comes to mind, but… the channels I used… only the emperor could backtrace this place to me.” His red eyes went distant.

  “Be very careful,” Lucian cautioned. “Whoever this is, best not to let them know we’re on to them so early.”

  “Now you think to give me unprompted advice,” Denzel said bitterly. “Fine, very well. Good luck on your journey. Hopefully, I’ll have this figured out by the time you return. Meanwhile… I’ll find another place suitable for hiding out. I think there’s property within Verne itself that’s suitable.”

  Lucian patted his back. “You’re a rich man.” Denzel looked at him oddly, and Lucian quickly added, “Uhh, I meant ‘good man.’”

  ***

  “I’ve had more time to analyze what it would mean if the Confederation retracts their murder charge,” Theobald said, sitting across from Lucian as they waited for their escort to the Confederation. This was all being done with great secrecy. Theobald smiled. “It’d be the dream scenario, frankly.”

  Lucian raised a brow. “Yeah?”

  “Yep.” Theobald pulled out some papers. “Is she…?”

  Theobald eyed Aurelia, who was sitting next to Lucian. She was looking out at Verne with interest from beneath her hood, barely paying attention to the conversation. Lucian had decided to bring her with to the Confederation just in case another opportunity arose to hinder the demons. That, and he was worried that the cottage was compromised, somehow. He asked Crane to do a deep clean.

  “I don’t care if she hears this,” Lucian said.

  Theobald shrugged. “Okay. Well, I think the defense intended on grandstanding for multiple days on everything regarding the murder of Sancar Alkoyen. If it’s suddenly dropped, their evidentiary phase would abruptly end, moving straight to ours,” he said with a wicked smile. “That would shatter Cyril’s world.”

  Lucian read the evidentiary hearing schedule laid out before him. “Are you sure about that?”

  “Oh, absolutely,” Theobald said, rubbing his hands together. “He thinks you’re going to get dragged for days, then suddenly, his wife is on the stand, telling her story. You know… Cyril’s decided to start attending these hearings.” He leaned in. “He’s nervous. Rattled. I can tell just looking at him. He’s ready to be broken. Ordinarily court proceedings are incredibly boring, but if you want a show… maybe you could attend. I can guarantee you’ll get one. Just try not to gloat.”

  Lucian felt nauseous immediately at the prospect. “God… so damn nervous about this whole thing… just want it to be over.”

  Aurelia eyed him, expression indiscernible.

  “I can assure you that our chances are better than they’ve ever been,” Theobald said. “So long as things go well in the Confederation, I can almost guarantee victory. I know that you have your doubts about your mother, but I’m incredibly confident that she’ll pull through for us.”

  The bell above the door rang as someone entered, and Lucian turned his head to see Isran walking in and looking around. His eyes fell on Lucian, and he walked up quietly and took a seat.

  “I understand that there’s a need for expediency, so we’ve decided to move covertly and quickly. We’ve prepared a boat to travel along the Lurund—inconspicuous, unmonitored. At some point we’ll get off on land, and then we’ll quickly go to the capital,” Isran explained. “Sound good?”

  “Quick is good,” Lucian said with a nod.

  Isran looked at Aurelia. “But… my people express unease with this woman. Why the last-minute addition?”

  Lucian raised a brow. “One person? Is that really a concern?”

  “You’ve refused to provide even her name,” Isran said.

  Lucian hesitated, tapping the table.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “You expect Lucian to travel with nothing but his lawyer into a place where a friend dear to him was murdered, and then he was accused of that murder?” Aurelia said, tone verging on slight indignance. “If he wishes for my support, he certainly doesn’t need to answer why. Your people haven’t been friendly to him.”

  Lucian stayed quiet, staring at Isran.

  “…fine, very well,” Isran conceded. Lucian was surprised he folded so easily. He stood up. “Let’s go, then.”

  ***

  Lucian and Aurelia sat on a simple merchant’s vessel as it sailed up the river. Aurelia’s eyes lingered on land around them, watching everything with wonderment. Lucian had prepared a list of things to call upon to present to the people in the Confederation once he arrived, and he checked it again countless times. His eyes kept jumping to Aurelia. She hadn’t even asked why she was being brought.

  “…did you make any progress on the transformation power?” Lucian asked.

  Aurelia looked at him. “Oh. Yes, I did. I should be working on that now, in fact…” She reached into a pocket in her fur robes, producing the booklet.

  “Let me see it,” Lucian said, holding his hand out.

  Aurelia shrugged, then offered it. “If you insist.”

  Lucian read through the booklet she’d prepared. She had very elegant handwriting. Elegant didn’t necessarily make things easier to read, though. She hadn’t been idle at the very least.

  “I wasn’t quite certain what you’d need exactly, but I tried to describe what you asked for. I wrote in great detail the sensation of the power, physically and spiritually,” she said. “I also contributed some information that passed down at the monastery. Specifically, I tried to rely on what we tell the children when they’re trying to transform for the first time.”

  Lucian nodded, reading through what she wrote. She looked back out at the countryside as it passed them by. The Confederation was a much more arid place than either the kingdom or the empire, but it wasn’t quite a desert. Lucian would liken it most to southern Spain.

  “Verne was quite a pretty city,” Aurelia commented.

  “Were you having fun imagining its canals filled with blood?” Lucian jabbed. He looked up to see her frowning. “…sorry. Forgot our agreement.”

  Aurelia looked surprised. “I think that’s the first time you’ve ever apologized to me.”

  “Don’t anticipate more,” Lucian said. “Until the First Emperor is dead, things will remain as they are. I can’t cede any ground to you.”

  Aurelia didn’t complain about that, as he expected. She merely continued to watch the river and the land pass them by, lost deep in thought. As ever, he wished he could know what she was thinking. Perhaps she was just enjoying the sights. Or perhaps she was looking for a way to plot her next mass murder.

  “I’ll review this when it’s done,” Lucian said, giving the booklet back to her. She took it from him readily. He felt the need to add something to soften his brusqueness, and thus said, “Arshade is a nice city. Not as decadent as Golvenne or Verne, but it has its charms.”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” she said simply, then opened up the booklet and got to work.

  She wasn’t complaining. Suspicious. Very suspicious. Or maybe it wasn’t suspicious at all. But no suspicious behavior… that was suspicious in and of itself.

  Gods, if you can hear me… give me a mind-reading blessing, Lucian prayed.

  ***

  After a fairly long while the boat ride ended. Waiting for them there was an escort, alongside a bunch of horses. The sun was just beginning over the mountains.

  “We’ll ride to Arshade under cover of dusk,” Isran told Lucian, then got up on a provided horse. He looked down at Lucian. “You were always a fairly decent rider, as I remember. Night riding is no problem for you?”

  “I can’t ride a horse,” Lucian said.

  “What?” Isran laughed. “Yes, you can.”

  “No, I can’t.”

  “I’ve seen you ride a horse plenty of times. You used to race with Sancar,” Isran said.

  Lucian swallowed uneasily. He was telling the truth, in his eyes, but…

  “I believe he’s saying so out of concern for me,” Aurelia spoke up. “I’m rather frightened of horseback riding. The idea of doing it at night…” A bead of sweat tricked down her forehead, and she seemed genuinely anxious.

  Lucian looked to her. Once again, she was stepping in. It wasn’t exactly unhelpful, but it did make him feel strange. Aurelia’s robes had grown thinner in this more arid, hotter environment. He hadn’t even seen when they’d shifted. It was odd to see black fur in the desert, but she made it work.

  Isran looked annoyed. “Heavens… fine. Walk, if you’re so insistent. I’ll ride ahead, let them know you’re coming. My people will stay here with you.”

  Isran galloped off into the night, leaving them there. Theobald and the men greeting them rode on horseback ahead while they walked.

  “Still good at that, I see,” Lucian noted.

  “I wasn’t lying, really,” Aurelia said.

  Lucian said smugly, “I didn’t mention lying. I just said ‘that.’ You were the one that brought up lying.”

  Aurelia glanced at him in annoyance. She sighed and said, “I don’t like horses.”

  Lucian scoffed. “What?”

  “Look at their… mouths,” she said. “They’re all weird. I don’t like them. And I’ve never truly had to conceal my divine beast form before this. But… hmm…” She looked at him. “Son of a duke that can’t ride horses? Yet Isran insists you can. He’s seen it, in fact. And I was under the impression aristocratic equestrian culture was quite strong in Riverra.”

  Lucian said nothing in response, nor did Aurelia press further. She didn’t need to say more than that for her point to be made.

  ***

  Arshade, the capital of the Confederation. Well… nominal capital. It wasn’t the biggest city in the nation, as several largely autonomous city states within the Confederation competed for that honor. It was host to the palaces of the Martial Prince and the Sacral Princess, and remained the most holy place for the Veenish people. It was built around a grand lake that was the origin for one of the many tributaries of the Lurund River.

  Arshade was beautiful. It wasn’t a canal city like Verne, but most of the buildings were made out of a striking red stone that stood in contrast to the sapphiric waters of the Arshade Lake. The lake was totally unblemished. There were countless olive, citrus, almond, and fig orchards surrounding Arshade, making it seem like an oasis of greenery amidst the semi-arid flatlands surrounding them.

  Isran rode up to them as the neared some of the orchards surrounding the city. He brought the horse to a close stop, and Aurelia flinched away from it, backing up behind Lucian.

  “Well… people are taking this seriously,” Isran said. “I never said it, but yes, Aisha Hamin has been missing. A lot of people are here to listen to what you say—the Hamin family, the Alkoyen family… plus the Dumanes, my family, as the mediators. They want to see you right away.”