Burning Glass (Burning Glass, #1)(95)
Valko regarded me. “Do you know that unfortunate soldier?”
I nodded in a daze. “He has been my escort on many occasions.” When the emperor’s brow arched, I felt the depth of my precarious position. As sovereign Auraseer, it was my job to detect any kind of threat or danger to the emperor, and I’d just admitted that I’d been with—on more than one occasion—a man wanted for treason. “I swear to you, My Lord, I never felt anything suspicious about him.”
That wasn’t true. I’d found out Yuri was in league with Anton before the prince ever admitted to it. Then there was the snaking darkness I’d sensed the night of the ball. Could that have belonged to Yuri? Anton said some of his men were growing impatient for Valko’s reign to end. “What has he done?” I asked again, and hoped the question would deflect my failure to act in this matter.
Valko cast a bored look at Bartek, who stood on the balls of his booted feet, ready for permission to address the emperor once more. “We have first accounts of Yuri working with the wanted traitor, Tosya Pashkov,” Valko answered.
I swallowed and scanned the room again. Where was Anton? Would he come to defend Yuri?
The emperor sighed. In it, I felt his tedium at having to reprimand one of his soldiers, just as tiresome as helping the woman with her well. The only silver lining was that the emperor didn’t seem to appreciate how real and far-reaching this revolution was growing. Nevertheless, my heart ached for Pia. There was only one punishment in Riaznin for treason—death. She would lose the man she loved.
“Bring forth the soldier,” Valko said. “You will have your reward.”
Behind Bartek’s oily grin, I felt his twinge of discomfort. “Yes . . . about that. Yuri is still at large.”
Valko’s brow furrowed. “You said this bounty regarded him.”
“It does. You see, I’ve captured another person—not a known fugitive, but I’m confident you will reward me, Your Imperial Majesty, once you learn she is just as treasonous as her lover.”
My face prickled as my blood drained away. “Whom do you mean?” I asked him. The aura of the nobles in the room blazed with censure at me, but I didn’t care that I’d spoken out of turn. My heart seized in my chest. Bartek couldn’t be implying what I thought.
He put two fingers to his mouth and released a shrill whistle. The nobles jerked back. Some covered their ears. Behind the long line of peasants, someone whimpered as she was roughly ushered inside. I tamped down my awareness, too afraid to let myself sense her aura just yet.
Feya, don’t let it be Pia. Let Yuri be a scoundrel and have another lover. Only don’t let her be my friend.
Two brutish men, traveling companions of Bartek, dragged a young woman forward. Her head hung, her brown hair masking her eyes. Bartek yanked her up by the chin. Her hair parted around a heart-shaped face. My body turned to ice.
Pia.
A purpling bruise marred her left check. Fear overwhelmed her aura and made my hands tremble, my throat thicken. A tear slid down her cheek and stung my eyes.
“What have you done to her?” I gasped, rising to my feet.
When I made a move to descend the dais, Valko commanded, “Sit down, Sovereign Auraseer.”
I whirled on him. “But it’s Pia. You know her.” He had singled her out months ago and tried to seduce her. “She’s harmless, and she needs our help. That man”—I pointed at Bartek—“cannot be trusted!”
The bounty hunter’s braids swung as he let go of Pia. She collapsed and a small cry escaped her. “Rumor spread that this girl went missing this morning,” Bartek said coolly, as if he hadn’t heard me at all. “I caught her outside the city walls.” He grunted a laugh. “She didn’t even think to travel off the road.”
The emperor’s gaze swept over Pia without emotion as he spoke to Bartek. “You’re very bold to presume I’ll pay a bounty for someone I’ve never found guilty.”
Heart pounding, I moved closer to Valko’s side. He is handling this well. He will see she is innocent.
“I did not first think her guilty,” Bartek admitted. “I sought this girl out as a means of tracking Yuri. She revealed nothing as to his whereabouts, but she did confess to aiding his friends in the palace. They used her room for secret meetings.”
My pulse thundered in my ears. This couldn’t be happening. Pia . . . accused of treason? And by a bounty hunter, of all people? I took in my friend’s skirt, bloody at the knee. The way she held her arm at a funny angle. No doubt Bartek used torture to glean his information.
Valko’s aura darkened another shade. His boredom transformed into something ugly. “Whom did she aid?” He positioned himself on the edge of his throne. Not knowing what else to do, I set my hand on the emperor’s arm below the shoulder and hoped to distract him with a calming touch. But he shrugged me away, his aura bristling with the sting of needlelike lances. “Did she give you any names?” he prompted Bartek again.
“She insists Yuri never told her.”
My shoulders sagged with relief. For one terrible moment I thought the bounty hunter might say Anton. Thank the gods Yuri never shared with Pia any more of his revolutionary scheming. I inhaled a deep breath and lifted my voice to the bounty hunter. “I do not see why this maid is guilty of anything. For all she knew, she was granting her room so Yuri’s friends could play a game of cards.”