The dungeon guards let me pass, and I stopped in front of the cell where the not-so-old man slept. I rattled the bars to wake him up, and he almost fell onto the floor.

“Well, look at you,” he said. “Nice uniform.”

I gestured for him to come closer, then grabbed his shoulder and pulled him against the bars, pressing the hidden blade in my right hand against his throat. “It’s just for show,” I whispered. “Act scared.”

“Well, that’s easy.”

“You said you helped convince the Council to elect Lenan. Do you know where the Grand Councilor lives?”

“Yeah. What’s in it for me? Other than not having my throat slit.”

I smiled. “I’ll see if I can pull some strings.”

“One day you’re breaking out, the next you got friends in high places, eh? Okay, then.” He didn’t know the exact address of the Grand Councilor’s manor, but he gave me detailed directions. “Can’t miss it.”

I patted his shoulder. “Thanks.”

“Best of luck, kid.”

***

Wearing plain clothes, I walked down Kes Ulra’s main streets until I found the right manor. My prison friend wasn’t kidding, it was impossible to miss. It looked like a smaller version of the castle, all white stone and heavily guarded with a high wall around the property. Barbed wire covered the top of the wall, not that I could have climbed in my condition anyway. I ducked into a dark alley to study the entrance. This would have been so much easier with Nal’s help.

I paced around the alleys, trying to think of a way through that gate without raising an alarm, but I drew a blank. Until a little boy darted around a corner and nearly ran into me. He gasped and ran the other way.

“Hey, kid!” I hissed.

He stopped and looked back, skeptical.

“If you make a distraction for me, I’ll give you some change. Want to cause some trouble?”

“What kind of trouble?”

“Just stay right here, wait a minute, and scream as loud as you can. Make it dramatic, like you’re dying or something. Can you do that?”

He crossed his arms. “How much?”

I pulled three gold coins from my pouch, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“Deal!”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

I handed him the coins, told him to run when the guards got close, then hurried back to the alley entrance closest to the gate. The kid’s blood-curdling scream carried down the street, and the half-asleep guards jumped. They exchanged a look, and one of them ran toward the sound. Only one.

Damn it. I turned invisible, crept up on the guard, and rammed my knife’s pommel into his scalp, knocking him out. I dragged him around the corner and set him down, then picked the lock on the gate, shutting it after me. The other guard came back, lifting his arms in a “what the fuck” motion and taking up his post again.

Idiot.

I snuck around the side of the manor, picked the latch on a window, and climbed inside. Now I just needed to find the Grand Councilor. His study and bedroom would have to be on the second floor, so I started there.

Every door looked the same, but shouting voices came from a room down the hallway.

“You never come to dinner!”

“I have work to do, woman!”

“You need to eat!”

“I will eat when I please! Leave me!”

The old woman stormed out into the hallway, grumbling to herself, and I caught a glimpse of a bearded old man with excessively long hair sitting at a desk. I waited until his wife passed around the far corner, then knocked at the door.

“What is it now?” The door flew open, and I shoved the man back with my knife at his throat, kicking the door shut behind me.

“I have some questions for you, Grand Councilor,” I said, becoming visible again.

“Lenan’s murderer.” He eyed my cast. “And Eujia’s new guard captain. You’re playing a dangerous game, boy.”

I backed him against the desk. “Where is Ranine Levie?”

“Safe. Or she was, until you barged in here. What do you think the other Councilors will do once they find out you’ve been snooping around?”

I dug the blade into his skin, drawing blood. “I’d answer the question if I were you.”

He laughed. “Who do you think you’re fooling? You’re going to kill me no matter what I tell you. Burn in hell.”

A tablet on his desk dinged. “You unlock that with fingerprint?”

The old man paled.

“Great.” I stabbed my knife through his neck, severing his spine, and I caught his weight to lower him quietly to the floor. I brought his tablet over, placing his thumb over the little scanner, and the screen lit up.

I found arguments between Councilors, long legal documents, invitations, family photos… But there was one icon I didn’t recognize, so I pressed it. It was a live video feed of what looked like a prison, with multiple views displayed in a grid. A girl sat curled up in a corner of one cell. Ranine. But where was this?

I closed it and skimmed through the messages again. A chain from today caught my eye, between three of the Councilors.

“We received another threat today. If we don’t hand her over, we’ll never keep an emperor.”

“Even after Henlas’s blessing?”

“It’s bullshit, and you know it.”

“It looks like a curse to me.”

“Exactly. He’s already corrupted her.”

“Tonight, then. Let him break into the castle and kill that cocky little shit of a guard captain.”

“What about the girl?”

“We don’t need her anymore, right?”

“Should we be rid of her?”

“Grand Councilor, are you there?”

This was from a few minutes ago. Shit.

I typed up a message. “I’ll have someone handle it. Send me the coordinates again.”

One of them replied in seconds. Those coordinates… That was in Jakasi, Nal’s hometown.

But I couldn’t save both Eujia and Ranine.

I forwarded the coordinates message to Gasni, and he called me almost immediately. “I just received coordinates from the Grand Councilor. What the hell are you doing?”

“Ranine is in the prison there. They’re going to kill her tonight.”

“Why would they—”

“Because they’re giving Eujia to that Givel who killed Yesida. I need to get back to her.”

“I’ll take care of Ranine.”

“I’m sending you an address. Take her there and tell them I sent you.”

“I will. I’ll move Eujia to the inn off the main road. Meet us there, room four.”

I hid myself and hurried out, throwing the gate open and not caring if the guard noticed.