CHAPTER SIXTEEN Sev

The Garden of Hearts was the one closest to my chamber. I’d heard that the first Flame of the West buried the hearts of his enemies here, but that story was far from corroborated. Whatever the truth, it was now a traditional garden. Despite the emperor’s murderous proclivities, someone was still employed to keep this place a pristine retreat from the court’s politics. Well, I supposed being a murderous tyrant didn’t mean one couldn’t also appreciate plants.

This garden was made up of long walkways bordered by thick shrubs and tall trees, a perfect place to walk and not be seen, or bothered. Piera, if she was here, could be anywhere.

My race to get here unseen had been fueled by adrenaline. Now it was dissipating, leaving me cold and tired. I was still carrying the sword, I realized suddenly. The sword I had used to kill Owain, to chop through his—

I dropped it, and it fell to the earth with a dull thud.

You have to hold yourself together.

The sword. It was just a sword, just a blade on the ground. Think.

It was a weapon. I had to hide it.

I looked around. There were several likely spots under shrubs. I picked one and dug up some dirt, then buried the sword shallowly in the earth. A rotten hiding place, but it was the best I could do right now. I wiped my shaking hands on my trousers—stop shaking—and walked to the fountain at the center of the garden. I cupped water in my hands and drank.

It’s not your fault. That was Maren’s voice in my head. She was loath to think well of any Zefedi, especially the tyrant, but she was forgiving when it came to me. She would tell me there was nothing I could have done. What had happened to Owain was the fault of the emperor and no other. But my own vicious thoughts disagreed. There had to be something I could have done. If I had killed him back in the city, the way Rafael had wanted me to, he wouldn’t have been tortured. His body wouldn’t have been torn limb from limb and devoured by the dragons. I had tried to keep my hands clean, but I had only succeeded in prolonging his agony. If only I had—

“You came.”

I whirled around. Piera stood on the other side of the fountain, looking at me solemnly.

“Piera.” My voice was suddenly hoarse.

She came quickly around the fountain, and it was like standing before a ghost, an apparition. I had thought I would never see her again, and here she was. Whole. And an empress. Fury rose within me. How dare she stand here, alive, when my brother was dead? How could she, after everything she had seen, turn her back on Ruzi and marry such a creature?

“You’ve raised yourself high,” I said bitingly.

She took my hands between hers, giving them a squeeze. Her eyes were shining—were those tears? “Everything comes at a price. You must know that.”

“You’re a noblewoman of Ruzi. There were so many paths open to you. And you chose him?”

She shook her head. “I did what was necessary to survive. But we do not have time for such pettiness,” she hissed. “We’ll be missed soon enough.”

“Then tell me why you brought me here, Your Illustriousness,” I said mockingly.

“Because—” She threw up her hands, turning away from me. “Because this place is a pit of vipers, and my husband’s war against the Seda Serat is wrong. The way he treats his people is wrong. The way he conducts his court… it sickens me, and I can do nothing about it. He listened to me, once. But he’s losing control, and he’s too proud to admit it. He’s turning all of his allies into enemies. I need to get out, and I need help to do so.”

I felt as though all the air had been sucked from my lungs.

“You want—my help?”

She turned back around, tears streaming down her face. “We were like family, once. Please. I cannot ask this of anyone else.”

“I’m a prisoner here. Why do you think I could help you, even if I wanted to?”

“You’re the shadow prince of Ruzi. The people outside speak your name like it’s a prayer. You spent years in hiding. Surely you must have allies.”

“I haven’t received word from anyone since I was captured,” I said, truthfully. “I can guarantee no assistance.”

“But you could try, couldn’t you?”

“Piera…” I stepped away from her. “I don’t even know what you are asking of me.”

A light breeze blew through the garden, ruffling her hair. She patted it back into place with a casual hand. “I have friends in Old Zefed. If you can get my son and me safe passage to Ruzi, I can take him out of the empire.”

A door slammed nearby, and we both flinched. Our time was running short. I shook my head. “You’re talking about the emperor’s heir.”

“He’s a child,” Piera said, her voice shaking. “My child. He’s barely more than a baby.” She touched my shoulder gently. “Please, Sev,” she whispered. I could smell her perfume, a dark, heady scent I couldn’t identify.

We were close enough to embrace—to kiss. Once, I had been in love with her. But how could I trust her now?

“What happened in the great hall today?” I said. “I know the emperor did not destroy Lumina himself. And the Aurati are no traitors.”

She bit her lip, looking away. I stepped back, and her hand fell to her side.

“You’re asking me to risk everything for you. Tell me.”

At last she nodded. “You’re right. Rafael knows that someone else brought down Lumina, but most others don’t. The destruction was so complete—whoever did it must be powerful enough to rival any Talon. Even the emperor. It was a major attack. And he fears that if people know that someone else did it…”

“They’ll believe he can be brought down,” I finished.

“Exactly,” Piera replied. “That nonsense about the Aurati was just the lie he told to explain why.”

“The Aurati can’t be happy about that,” I mused.

“Rafael has always been impulsive,” she said. “I fear he hasn’t thought this through. But, Sev—I have to go. Will you help me?”

I was making a mistake. I knew it even as I nodded. “I’ll try,” I said.

She smiled brilliantly, and for a moment I saw the girl I had grown up admiring. She pressed a kiss to my cheek and squeezed my hand once more. Then I saw the mask she pulled over her face, the face of the empress of Zefed, as she swept out of the garden and away.

I waited an appropriate amount of time before leaving, but I walked quickly once I did. Better that I be discovered in a hallway than in the gardens—otherwise, they might take it upon themselves to investigate what I had been doing there.

As I approached my rooms, I saw Faris coming toward me from the other end of the hallway. Her face was pinched with worry, though it smoothed as soon as she saw me.

“Where have you been?” she demanded.

“I got lost,” I said. “It was chaotic back there. I couldn’t find you.”

She looked at me for a very long moment. “Well, get back into your chambers. The emperor will want to know that you found your way safely home.”

“I will.”

There was no reason to linger—it had been a long night already—but something made me pause before entering my chambers. “Faris? Are you… all right?”

She just looked at me, perplexed. “What?”

“Before—what he said about the Aurati. You must have lost someone at Lumina. And I know the Aurati are no traitors. It must have hurt to hear them slandered. It would have hurt me.”

She swallowed hard, but her eyes flickered toward the guards at my door. “Go to sleep, Sev. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She did feel something; I was certain of it. But I went without complaint. I sank onto the floor, staring up at the ceiling.

Piera, Piera, Piera.

I’d only had a few confidantes as a child. Most of them were dead now.

I thought of Callum, the day before he’d ridden into battle against the emperor. He’d known he likely would not survive—we all had. My mother had begged him to swallow the story of my father’s death, to kiss Rafael’s ring, to do whatever was necessary to spare himself. Callum had refused. “Father’s death is our sorrow, but make no mistake—the empire is watching,” he had told us that day. “They wait to see whether anyone will stand against the Flame. I cannot be the man who betrays his own convictions out of fear.”

Mother had wept at that. But then, after Callum had led his army out through the streets of Ruzi, she had distributed the majority of her jewels among our servants and dismissed them. By the time Rafael had landed triumphantly in Ruzi, the castle stood empty. We were long gone.

From Callum I had learned conviction. But from my mother I had learned how to survive. Who would I be betraying now, if I committed to helping the empress of Zefed?

I had to help her, didn’t I? She’d been so young when she’d married. She’d claimed she’d done it to survive. How was that worse than what I’d done? And the way she’d looked at me and begged me to save her son, who was innocent in all this… She couldn’t have lied about that.

And yet, Maren could never do what Piera had done, no matter what price she might pay. I wished so badly to speak to her now, to ask her advice.

I cursed, hating my sympathetic heart. I had given my word to help them both, and I would honor my promises… though I had to be careful. Piera and I had been like family. But even family was capable of the cruelest betrayals.