Thirty-eight days after the imperial ambassador’s murder.

Cafe “Rose”, Tower of Gardens in the oversurface, Radaar, 3423 AA.

“As I’ve said, my legal team will be at your disposal until the resolution of the Bah’kar incident. House Tiegwin will drop its charges against you before long,” Seyleen said, swirling the bright orange cocktail with the tip of her straw, peering intently at the liquid. After close to two hours of speaking with Karn Hessinor, the second son of the Hessinor family, she had had enough of looking at the man’s face.

“Excellent!” he said. “You can’t imagine how much I’ve wanted to settle the issue. After my brother got in bed with the Adrocs, everything’s been going to the void.”

“Of course. Though I feel my part in this exchange was somewhat lacking compared to yours. The information you’ve provided is quite valuable to me.” She gave him her best impression of an embarrassed smile. There were six minutes left until her next meeting. “Ah, look at the time. I apologise, Sir Hessirnor, it appears we must part.”

“Not to worry, Lady Mannock. I’m glad we’ve had this talk.” The man stood up. “Until next time.” He nodded, then left the table with a skip in his step and a barely concealed grin on his face.

Seyleen waited until he was out of sight before looking up at the sky. A perfect blue. She sighed. Although these meetings with the other highborn gained her many cards to use for the party, spending hours avoiding direct questions, subtly prodding the other party for their intentions, and playing to their pride had fatigued her. She dearly missed the beauty of simplicity and the serenity of not needing to scrutinise every single word in a conversation, like she could with Wicker. Perhaps Raid and Bale fell into that category as well now. They had already joined her side.

“Was it wise to bind the legal team with the contract?” Wicker asked.

“To that double-crosser, you mean? I’ll give him until the end of the day to start trying to implicate me in some of his shadier businesses.” She tapped her chin in thought. “Make that two days. He’d want me to let down my guard first.”

“If you knew that, shouldn’t you have added another clause? Something to deter him from trying to attack you.”

“I needed him to accept, nothing else.” She lounged in the sofa, running her hand over the smooth, dark blue fabric. “Karn Hessinor is a stubborn weed that needs to be plucked by the roots, but he’s got his uses. I just need to ensure I’ve exhausted all of them before eliminating him from the board. Those lawyers I’ve lent him will take care of that.”

“They’re bound to him until the case has been resolved, and it’s obvious he’ll stall until the last moment. He might even use them against you.”

“Certainly. That’s why I’m going to add annulling the charges against him as a clause in my contract with Zeina Tiegwin. As soon as Hessinor tries to backstab me, and my team has enough evidence, I’ll have her drop his charges. My team will return with evidence of his crimes, and I’ll bury him so deep in the dirt he won’t crawl out again for the rest of his life.”

“It could easily fail.”

“It won’t.”

Wicker stayed silent for a moment. “You’ve been taking more risks as of late. Both here and with the investigation.”

“I need to take risks, Wicker.” She took a sip of her drink. The cool beverage tingled her tongue, giving way to the sweetness and the burn that arrived in alternating waves. The faint aroma of citrus faded as she lowered the drink back onto the table, the mellow scent of coffee wafting in from the kitchens to replace it.

“You could have made points with Raid and Bale instead of forcing them into their roles,” Wicker said. “That was reckless. You could have ended up without either of them.”

She used her straw to play with the ice cubes that had shrunk considerably in the last hour. “They stayed because of who they are; their integrity, their code. Raid stayed because of his debt to Bale. Bale needed a harsher approach. I had to bait him; make him use the only argument I could turn against him, and then take control. When people accept that type of control even once, subconsciously they grow less resistant to it.”

“Was it really so important?” he asked. “As I see it, your role in the investigation is practically non-existent right now. They’re both doing things on their own.”

“That’s how I wanted it, and why Bale even agreed to all this.” She looked at him. “I didn’t want the role so I could actively play it. Those two, they’ll honour their promises of following my orders when I do give them. I can’t say the same for myself, and I couldn’t allow for a chance of that splitting the group.”

A silence. “They’re fine, just so you know. The injuries were minimal, and the consequences of the burnout will fade in time. I checked everything after I gave them the forensic report.”

“I don’t care.”

“You do.”

Alright, she did. So what? “Focus on the present, Wicker. This meeting has to go well.”

He gave her a brief nod, then his gaze whipped up towards the inside of the cafe. “Madam Tiegwin has arrived.”

Seyleen licked her lips. “Ascendants’ grace be with me,” she whispered.

The older woman sauntered over to Seyleen’s table, frail hands holding her handbag in front of her. A soft smile bloomed on the woman’s face. Potentially fake. Tiegwin eased herself slowly onto the sofa across from Seyleen – a deliberate gesture. A barely audible groan of pain escaped her. Definitely fake. Her old age and masterful performance blended into an almost perfect guise of an innocuous and kindly grandmother.

The Tether Stone on her palm, however, had been there for nearly eighty years, and the woman had gotten more practice with it than most veteran soldiers in the army. ‘Weak’ could only be attached to her if accompanied by ‘deceit’.

“Seyleen dear,” Tiegwin said. “It’s been too long. I hope you’ve managed to entertain yourself until my creaky, old bones got me here.”

The woman cupped Seyleen’s hands in her own and leaned forwards. Her eyes, bright, blue eyes with enough sharpness to rival Raid’s – yes, she was definitely not frail – gleamed with a jarring eagerness and anticipation considering her age. Like a child who had been handed a new toy to play with; until it grew bored and dismantled it to make something better.

“It was a pleasant wait, Madam. I’ve reached out to people I’ve not seen in a decade or more. I was embarrassed to discover how little I knew of them, and then I remembered you. My grandfather always said connections should be treasured. He would never allow them to fade into obscurity. I’m sure you’re the same.”

The woman grinned and released Seyleen’s hands. “At least you’ve still got wits about you, girl.” Strength and life flowed together with her words, drifting through the resonance of her hoarse voice. “I thought Ascion might have coddled you into foolishness and eroded your will. I see it has not.”

“Ascion is not weak.”

Tiegwin barked a laugh. “Yes. Ascion is not weak. Aster turned that world into a fortress to protect the Oracle. The rest of the Kingdom?” She scoffed. “They might as well be leaves scattered in the wind. Loosely tied alliances held together by tradition and their fear of Aster’s power. Do you still think they aren’t weak? Wars aren’t fought by individuals, girl, but by armies. You did the smart thing in coming back here.”

“I came because of my father.”

“Of course, you did,” Tiegwin said offhandedly. “I was shocked by the news. Don’t fully believe them even now, despite Hand Ravena’s testimony. After all, I taught the man.” She glanced at Seyleen’s left hand. “I could have taught you as well.”

Seyleen clenched her fists.

“All that drivel they said about incompatibility? Bah. You just needed a stricter teacher.” She waved dismissively. “The past is the past. Now, tell me what this is all about. I have a war meeting to go to in a few hours.”

“The Lendrins.”

Tiegwin tapped her chin in thought, glanced at Wicker, then turned her gaze back to Seyleen. “I guess they do have a grudge against you. But to ask for their weakness?” She raised her hand. “Don’t even pretend it’s anything else. It’s a lot to ask. You don’t think I’ve gone senile in my old age, do you?”

“This is a trade, not a favour.”

The older woman snorted. “A trade? You’ve had too little time to dig out anything meaningful.” Her gaze searched Seyleen’s face for any sign of emotion. There was none. “Well… perhaps you do have something.”

“Do we have a deal then?”

“Just speak, girl.”

“You’re losing your hold over Ganor because Hessinor is selling information on your business ventures to Adroc. The failures in your facilities? All sabotage missions that they—”

Splinters burst from the large crevice that almost split the table, harmlessly hitting the shield of air in front of Seyleen. She knew it was Wicker’s. He stood just behind her, his hand placed in front of her face for extra protection. When he lowered it, she saw Tiegwin breathing deeply to calm her anger, her fist pressed against the wooden table. Cracks webbed out from where her strike had made a large dent.

“I underestimated you,” Tiegwin said, her voice level. “That is very useful to me. But I have something else to offer on my end.”

“All I want is House Lendrin.”

“Your bodyguard’s life.”

Seyleen flinched.

“You want to protect him, no?” Tiegwin smirked. “He’ll die without this.”

Carefully composing herself, Seyleen said, “That’s something that should come as a bonus considering what I’ve delivered.”

“Don’t play coy with me, girl. Both you and I know that the only reason we’re still talking is because you think I’m bluffing or exaggerating. Information is only as valuable as the other person makes it, and I am certain you would trade everything you have gathered up the past few days if you thought it would save his life.”

“Don’t presume my intentions, Madam.”

“Oh? You’ve got some bite in you at least. How will you protect him, then? You’re powerless, and the only reason you’re still alive is because of House Trianos. At least until the party. Face it, girl, you have nothing to protect your own with, and yet you dare go against giants.”

“I am well aware of my limits,” Seyleen said through gritted teeth.

“Prove it then.” The woman crossed her arm. “House Lendrin or your guard, choose one.”

Why? The void-born woman had no reason to make trouble now. She had gotten all she wanted. Did she find pleasure in this? No. The glint in Tiegwin’s eyes said otherwise. Seyleen had seen that look before. This was a test.

How important was her revenge? Could she give it up? She’d let the killer get away, and the highborn would continue to dismantle her father’s legacy, leaving her with nothing. The last part she couldn’t care less about, but she wouldn’t allow them to defile his memory. Never. But if Wicker dies because of my revenge?

Twenty years. Twenty years of being with her, supporting her in everything she did in every way he could. Twenty years of being a friend, one of the few she could sincerely call as such. She couldn’t see him now, but he was looking at her. She felt his eyes on the back of her head. Confident eyes.

Seyleen looked to her left towards the flower bed of roses – the crimson red of their petals. What would you do, Father? Not hesitate as she did, that was certain. She closed her eyes. Plants wouldn’t answer her; neither would he.

“Well?” Tiegwin raised a brow at her. “Come now, girl, it isn’t so hard.”

I’ll trust you, Wicker, Seyleen thought. “I want everything on House Lendrin. Down to the last detail.” He would handle whatever it was that came at him as he always did. And may the void rip me to pieces if I’m wrong.