“As he should,” Moria said.
Tyrus smiled and nodded. “As he should, because they came to his home with treachery in their hearts. They accepted his hospitality while plotting his demise. Now, like the men of the story, there is an invited guest on the palace grounds who came with treachery in his heart, and plots with Alvar Kitsune to bring about my father’s demise.”
“Either the Sultan of Nemeth or the King of Etaria.”
“My father has entertained them sumptuously for two nights. This is the third night.”
“Meaning whoever betrayed him will die.”
Tyrus laughed. “No, that’s where the story diverges, because it would hardly be in my father’s best interests to murder a valuable source of enemy intelligence. Each night, while the food has grown richer and the entertainments more exotic, the number of invited guests has dwindled, allowing a more intimate affair… and allowing my father more time with his guests. Tonight it will be a very small gathering, with much wine and diversion, and he will determine who is betraying him.”
“And the dinner will take place in that room.”
“Yes.”
“Where I can listen in.”
“Yes.” He moved so close their legs rubbed. “This will not help you get the children back, Moria, but it may help you see that progress is being made. We are all frustrated, but if we swoop into Fairview with an army, they will see us coming and slaughter the children and villagers. Alvar Kitsune is playing a game. A terrible and cruel game, but a game nonetheless. We cannot break the rules. We must find a way to subvert them. That’s what my father is doing.”
She nodded.
He leaned in further, taking her hand in his. “I can see how much this is hurting you. I just want… I want to make it stop hurting, and I know it won’t until you have some resolution, not just with the children, but with Gavril —”
She pulled back so fast she nearly fell off the bench. “Don’t —”
“Yes, I know.” He straightened, anger spiking his voice. “We cannot say that name. We cannot discuss what he did. But you need to speak of it, Moria. It’s like swallowing a dagger – it’s ripping you apart from the inside. You can talk to me. He was my friend, too.”
“If that’s what you think, then you were as deluded as I. He told me you were simply someone he grew up with and trained with.”
“Which for Gavril is as close to a ‘friend’ as one gets, as you well know.”
“I don’t know anything about him. That is obvious.”
“No, you do. You know what kind of man he is, and for all his faults, lack of honor is not one of them. Nor is cruelty. Whatever is happening here, it is not what it seems. The Gavril I know would never have condoned the massacre of a village. When he realized what had happened, how did he react?”
I told him and he wouldn’t believe it. He said I was mistaken. A foolish child. Then I took him back and he saw the bodies and…
She sucked in a breath at the memory, the look on Gavril’s face.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “He was playing a role. He told me he was guilty. That whatever I thought he’d done, he had done. Those were his exact words.”
“To protect you. Because…” Tyrus sighed as she rose. “All right, I’ll stop. Deep down, you want to believe he didn’t do this, which is exactly why you refuse to believe it. You will not be made a fool. Back to tonight – if you choose to listen in, wait until late. It will be a very long meal.”
FIVE
Moria told Ashyn she was meeting Tyrus that night. Her sister didn’t question the lateness of the visit. She’d made it clear that she thought the young prince was the perfect remedy for what ailed Moria, and a nighttime meeting seemed to prove the situation was progressing as hoped.
Before leaving, Moria had casually asked Ashyn about the king and sultan. Ashyn said both were minor players. Royalty whose land hadn’t been taken during imperial expansion primarily because of their friendships with Marshal Kitsune. In return, both paid homage to Emperor Tatsu, as did most of the border rulers. The emperor had risen to power not by lineage but because of the vital role he’d played in the empire’s expansion push. Since then, there’d been only minor skirmishes. An era of peace and prosperity. Which meant, as Moria knew Tyrus worried, that the army was ill-prepared for war.
By the time Moria arrived at the dinner party building, they were clearing the fruit course inside, and she wondered if she was too late. But it turned out the meal was only the opening act. Then came the entertainment. Eventually the troupe of performers left, replaced by courtesans.
There were many women in the palace, most of whom seemed to exist purely to serve the whims and pleasures of the emperor. Two wives, four concubines, and six or seven master courtesans. Moria was somewhat confused about the function of the courtesans. There were also houses of them in the city. The bards’ songs made it clear they were not prostitutes, and yet sex certainly seemed to be part of the “entertainment” they provided. When she’d asked Ashyn for a more detailed description of their function, her sister had turned bright red and stammered meaningless nonsense.
While the palace courtesans were for the emperor’s bed, it also seemed they could be lent to guests who had not come with their wives. Rather like fresh clothing, if they forgot theirs at home. At dinner that night, the courtesans sang and played the lute and recited poetry – and flirted. Moria wondered if they were doing more than flirting, but it did not sound like it. Which was rather disappointing. How was one to learn such things, if one had no exposure to them?