Ash Princess (Ash Princess Trilogy #1)(32)

“And if they’re found?” I ask.

“They won’t be,” Artemisia says. “We tied rocks to their corpses and dropped them in the ocean. They must be a hundred feet deep, at least. Give it a few days and there won’t be anything left but bones.”

She says it so distantly, as if she weren’t speaking of people at all. Then again, I’ve heard Kalovaxians refer to Astreans as things instead of people; I can’t exactly fault her for holding the same view of them.

“Any progress, Theo?” Blaise asks. “We saw that lovely meeting with the Prinz, but we couldn’t hear a damn thing. What are you planning?”

“You did tell me that he’s interested in me because he can’t have me, didn’t you?” I say. “So I’m becoming more interesting. And sowing tension between him and the Kaiser, which I imagine can only be good for us.”

“Why?” Artemisia asks.

I shrug, but my smile is feral. “The Kalovaxians have every advantage. There are more of them; they’re better armed and better trained; they have the advantage of already holding the land. Blaise was right when he told me we don’t stand a chance against them on an even field. But if we could turn S?ren against his father, the court will take sides, and they’ll be distracted enough fighting each other that we might have a better chance. We’ll still need to amass more numbers and more weapons, of course. It’s not much of a plan,” I admit. “But it seemed like a good place to start.”

“If it works,” Blaise says warily. His skepticism prickles at the back of my neck.

“It’ll work,” I say, though my own doubts pool in the pit of my stomach. “S?ren is easy to twist; all I need to do is convince him that I’m in need of saving, and that his father and his people are the ones I need saving from. If I can turn S?ren against them, at least half the court will eagerly follow in hopes of putting S?ren on the throne without waiting for the Kaiser to die.” No one has a reply to that, so I continue. “You saw his face in the garden. Do you think it worked?”

“Yes,” Artemisia admits. “He had battle in his eyes, that one. The falling sleeve was a nice touch. I suppose that was intentional?”

I shrug. “He wants a damsel and I’m giving him one. How long have you been watching me, anyway?” I ask.

“Only today,” Blaise says. “Your friend found us a couple of days ago. Elpis. We were already trying to find a way to replace your Shadows, but she’d seen their movements up close and knew how they operated, how often they reported to the Kaiser, when it would be easiest to overtake them. Their monthly report to the Kaiser is tomorrow night, so we knew we had to do it before then or they’d tell him about your conversation with her. They sleep in shifts; it was simple to replace them one by one.”

Replace them. He says it as naturally as Artemisia did, as if killing came easily. Maybe for him it does, maybe it wasn’t even his first kill. In fact, it likely wasn’t if he escaped the mines and has been running with Ampelio as long as he has. The realization sits strangely. I can’t help but think of him the way he was as a child, quiet and inquisitive. He wouldn’t even kill bugs back then.

I push the thought aside and focus on the here and now. “Sooner or later, someone will miss them,” I point out, irritated at their shortsightedness. “And what exactly are you planning to do when you meet with the Kaiser tomorrow? I’ve never seen their faces, but he certainly has.”

“It’s actually not as much of a risk as it seems,” Heron says. His voice is quiet, but there’s such a solid quality to it that I don’t have to struggle to hear him. It’s the kind of voice that reverberates through your whole body. “Your guards’ only duty is watching you. The Kaiser is very particular about it, doesn’t want any mistakes. They don’t have families or attend any social events that you don’t. No one will miss them.”

“And this meeting with the Kaiser?” I press.

“Ah, that,” Blaise says, but he doesn’t sound wary. He sounds triumphant. “Artemisia and Heron were working in the mines as well before Ampelio snuck us out. Why do you think he would have freed us out of everyone there?”

“You’re Guardians,” I say as I realize it.

“Not technically,” Artemisia says. “There was no formal training, though Ampelio tried to make up for that.”

“Still, the gods saw fit to bless us with their gifts. Unlike most of the others forced to work down there,” Heron says.

I don’t have to see his face to know the words cost him. I’ve seen many awful things since the siege, but from what I hear, it’s nothing compared to the nightmare of the mines. I’ve heard that a dozen people go mine-mad each week. They’re immediately put to death in front of their friends and families, who must watch and not say a word or risk sharing their fate.

“Magic is well and good, but it doesn’t make an even battlefield between the three of you and the Kaiser’s guards when he learns who you are,” I point out.

“That’s just it, though. The Kaiser won’t learn anything. Only one Shadow meets with him at a time, so the other two can stay with you. And Artemisia has the Water Gift,” he says.

The pieces fall into place.

“Which includes crafting illusions,” I finish.