Page 32 of Silver & Gold
“That is because you’re from the west, and no such thing has ever existed in Masir. You’re in the Gold now. The legend comes from here—because the Stone is here. It is lost, though, because the city of its origin is lost. That city is Ulam. Do you know the name?”
“No.”
“The sands swallowed Ulam ages ago, but it was real, and you will find it for me. There, you will find me the Alchemist’s Stone—you and Shashem and a company of my choosing.”
“And in return?”
“In return, you will both go free. The existing story will stand: that Kahzir murdered my father.”
Seth’s eyes darted to the knife yet at Raider’s throat. “And if I don’t do this, you’ll declare him guilty and execute him.”
“I can justly execute you both. You have aided him, obstructed justice. For all I know, you are also an agent of Kahzir. After all, you crossed the Sands on his orders to stop a man from reporting him to me.”
“That’s not what happened. I had an official assignment from the Arcanum. And Raider was never an agent of Kahzir. You have the book. You must know what Kahzir did to him—”
“The truth is often difficult to parse out from amid cluttered facts.”
“Easy to obscure, you mean.”
The empress’s mouth tightened. “Regardless, you will do this. And if you attempt to escape, to evade this assignment, the Arcanum will receive word of your treachery, and both your and Shashem’s guilt will be publicly declared. I will place a bounty on your heads so high that you will both be hunted across the Sands to the end of your days. Or … you can do this one thing for me, as my allies, as my valued guests. What do you say, Curator? Will you work for me, as you have so often done for your College?”
“You give me only one possible thing to say.”
Her lips quirked. “And yet you will not say it?”
“Fine. Yes. Of course I’ll do it. Just let him go—gods, please, just let me have him.”
The empress shared a look with Nasrin, and the warrior whisked her blade away from Raider’s throat. She let him slump to the floor and stepped back.
Seth ran to him. Raider’s eyelids fluttered as Seth gathered him close.
The empress turned to go. “Nasrin will show you to your room.”
“Fuck you.” The words leaped out, unwise but irrepressible.
Snarling, Nasrin took a step toward Seth, but the empress, halting, held up a hand to stay her. The empress spoke over her shoulder.
“It is a rocky beginning, yes, but I think you’ll soon see how much better it is for us to be friends than enemies.”
CHAPTER 12
“BABY, WAIT HERE, I’m just going to check the room.”
Raider didn’t respond, but Seth wasn’t sure if that was because he wasn’t yet fully awake from the drug-laden dart or if he was just … disconnected.
Seth didn’t like leaving him like that, even for a minute, even while he was still in sight, but he couldn’t be comfortable in this suite until he’d checked it out.
There were two levels: the sumptuous bedchamber and, down a short flight of steps that ran the width of the suite, the bathing chamber. Seth left Raider sitting on those steps, leaning against one of the supporting columns, while he made a circuit of the bedroom.
The rich space looked surreal, almost ridiculous after the dungeon. The ground-level bed was a plush feather mattress swathed in pink silk sheets and mounded with colorful pillows. A slatted arcane fan rotated lazily above it.
Near the bed there was a low table surrounded by cushions. Platters of fruit, bread, cheese, and smoked meats cluttered the surface, and a pitcher of wine stood waiting.
The latticed windows offered an elevated view of sprawling Kastari and, to the south, a glimpse of the sparkling sea. There was no balcony, no access to the room from those windows. As for the walls, Seth’s careful scan found no spyholes or hidden entrances.
He returned to the steps, where Raider was still slumped against the column. Seth brushed Raider’s head with his fingertips as he passed. He didn’t like how the empress had been touching Raider’s hair.
Raider’s hand came up and caught his, halting Seth mid-step. Seth closed his eyes briefly. Thank the gods. It had scared him to see Raider so out of it.