To Seduce An Assassin (The Omaja Series Book 2)(13)
But things were as they were for now, and they would get better eventually. She would live to see Nandala prosper someday, and become as rich, peaceful, and happy as her home country of Villeleia—that was her goal and her prayer.
The twins came back inside and found her sitting by the fireplace in the library, waiting for them.
Jiandra rose to her feet. “What did you find?”
“Let’s go to my study where it’s more private,” Yavi suggested.
Once there, the three of them went inside. Yavi shut and bolted the door before turning to face her and Yajna. “Someone must have stolen the body. There is no other explanation. As much as I hate to consider the possibility, we have another traitor among us, an accomplice to Terijin.”
Jiandra took a deep breath. “All right. But who? It isn’t Liel, Shandri, or Kitran. I already used Knowing on them yesterday.”
“I say you check everyone,” Yavi said. “Every last serving-girl, stable boy, guard, and the cart driver. We’ll round them up in the Great Hall tonight, see who knows something about this missing body. Someone must have seen or heard something out of the ordinary.”
Jiandra nodded. “All right. Let’s get moving, then. It’s getting late.”
§
Thirty minutes later, twenty guardsmen, three serving girls, three stable boys, the cart driver, the horse caretaker, and the dungeon keeper were all lined up in the Great Hall, their nervous faces lit by the torches hanging on the side pillars.
Jiandra stood near the throne with Yavi and Yajna.
Yavi spoke to the staff in Nandalan, then repeated it in Villeleian so Jiandra could understand. “The body of Terijin has been stolen from the burial cart. I have asked the queen to find out who among you may have had something to do with its disappearance or knows something about it. This isn’t the way I would have liked to accomplish this task, but no one is going to bed tonight with a possible enemy or enemies living among us. And no one leaves this room until the queen has an answer. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Sire,” many of them murmured, bowing their heads to him. They stood and waited while Jiandra palmed the Omaja stone and moved along the line, focusing Knowing on each person one by one.
She learned several surprising, personal things about their staff—one of the guards had a lover in town who was expecting his baby, a stable boy had big dreams of raising race horses on his own ranch someday, and two of the serving girls had crushes on Wolfan. But none of them, from the strongest guard to the skinniest serving girl, knew anything about how or why Terijin’s body had disappeared.
Jiandra went down the row again, just to be sure. She saw that every last one of them was loyal and faithful to the Zulfikar twins, and innocent of any knowledge about Terijin’s disappearance. Their expressions of concern and obvious love for Yavi and Yajna brought tears to her eyes as she returned to the emperors’ side.
“There is no traitor here,” she announced, loud enough for all to hear. “These people are completely loyal to the Zulfikars. None of them knows anything nor had anything to do with Terijin’s body going missing.”
Yavi frowned at her in puzzlement, then looked out at his staff, his expression softening. He pressed his palms together and bowed to them. “I thank you for your faithfulness and patience tonight. I am sorry we had to test you this way.”
“Sire, we understand,” Liel responded for the group. “You are protecting us.”
“Long live the Zulfikars,” one of the guards called out, and the other guards echoed his sentiment. “We are with you, Mahajin.”
Yajna spoke up. “All right. It’s nearly midnight, and we are all exhausted. Everyone to bed except for the night watch. Wolfan, be vigilant at the gates and on the walls tonight, and wake me and my brother immediately if you notice anything out of the ordinary.”
Wolfan stepped forward and placed his fist over his heart. “As you command, Emperor Yajna.”
As the palace staff filed out of the Great Hall, Yavi motioned his brother and Jiandra to follow him upstairs. The three of them ducked into the library, and Yavi closed the door.
He turned to Jiandra. “You’re certain about what you saw down there?”
“I am. I read everyone twice. I saw far more about them than anyone should, and I can assure you that every last one of those people is loyal to you down to their boots. None of them knew anything about the body.”
He put his hands on his hips, sighing. “All right then. There is nothing else to do but seek Tejeshwar’s help in this matter. I will seek him at the temple tomorrow.”
“I will go with you, brother,” Yajna said.
“As will I.” Jiandra smiled, touching Yavi’s arm. “Rest tonight. You are very tired.”
He met her gaze, the weariness in his face making him look older than his thirty years.
“Good night, brother,” Yajna added, placing a hand on Yavi’s other shoulder.
Yavi nodded. “Tejeshwar guide us.”
§
Once he was alone, Yavi walked over to the fireplace, braced one hand on the mantel, and stared down at the glowing embers, all that was left of the fire Yajna had built earlier to warm his wife. The image of the two of them holding one another, silhouetted by the flames, came to his mind. Yavi suddenly felt an intense wave of longing to feel a woman’s arms around him, to bury his face against her warm neck, and to savor her solace and comfort.