She looked at Councilor Triune, who flinched back. There was no hint of magic, no hint he’d been manipulated... it proved nothing. She’d seen chat parchments used to influence students without leaving any obvious traces... she wondered, suddenly, if the whole crisis at Laughter had been nothing more than a test run. If whoever had enchanted the book could pull off such a stunt in the middle of a school of magic, they could do it somewhere - anywhere - else.
“And you expect me to listen to a girl who...” Dater bit off the rest of the remark. “I will honor the safe conducts. I keep my promises. And if you refuse to accept my terms, we will settle the matter in blood.”
Emily gritted her teeth. There was no hope of getting Dater to listen to her now. He’d see her as a silly little girl who’d slept with Aiden... she cursed her unknown opponent mentally, as savagely as she knew how. There was no point in revealing Aiden’s secret. Even if she did, no one would believe her. Even Councilor Triune didn’t know about his daughter’s double life.
“The matter will indeed be settled in blood,” Althorn agreed. He stood. “Inform your aristos that any who remain within the country, on their estate or with your army, will be exterminated root and branch. Those who leave the country will be permitted to remain unmolested, as long as they do not seek to regain their former possessions. The people want to be free. And they will be free.”
He strode out of the tent, Storm following in his wake. Emily wanted to say something, anything, but nothing came to mind. Her enemy had poisoned the well quite nicely. She wanted to scream in frustration. She’d grown so used to the lack of misogyny in magical communities that it had caught her by surprise. No one would dare say that if she’d been a man.
I suppose that’s why Aiden chooses to run around in male guise, Emily thought. They wouldn’t take me seriously if I didn’t have a reputation.
She threw caution to the winds and reached out with her senses. The wards buzzed around her, but she brushed them aside. There was no hint that either Dater or Triune had been manipulated. There might be something subtle, something she wouldn’t be able to detect without a more careful probe... something she knew they’d never allow. She groaned, inwardly, as she turned away. There was no proof, nothing she could present to the White Council. There was going to be war.
She half-expected to be called back, as she stepped out of the tent, but no one said a word. Dater was probably already planning how best to reduce the walls and take the city... she winced, feeling cold and empty as she looked at the ruined village. Freedom City - Jorlem City - was several orders of magnitude larger. The bloodbath was going to be horrific, no matter who won. She didn’t want to think about it.
Althorn and Storm were already in the coach. She scrambled up to join them, unsure of what she should do. The first part of her mission had failed. She couldn’t think of any way to stop the war, not even with magic. Anything she did would be either useless or worse than useless. And yet...
“It was a good try, Emily,” Althorn said. He sounded as if he were trying to be reassuring. “I didn’t expect it to work, but it was a good try.”
Emily had the feeling he meant it. “Thanks,” she said. The moderates would have failed, if they’d presented their proposal openly. The hardliners hadn’t needed to crack down on them. “I wish...”
“We had to try.” Althorn sounded oddly relieved. “And now we prepare for war.”
He leaned back in his chair. Emily tried not to show her displeasure too openly. Althorn’s life would be a little easier, now they’d tried and failed to put together a proper compromise. He would no longer have to worry about pleasing the moderates as well as the hardliners. He could prepare for all-out war, with the entire council behind him.
Storm cleared his throat. “Will you leave the city, Lady Emily?”
Emily knew she should. Dater’s complaint was probably already heading to the White Council. Master Lucknow would use it as an excuse to rescind her commission. And then... she could go back to Void and resume her apprenticeship, leaving the city to die in fire and blood. She shuddered, trying not to retch. She couldn’t turn her back. She’d seen too much to let her enemy have a win, not without a fight.
“I’d like to stay, if possible,” she said. “There may be something I can do.”
“There’s nothing you can do without shattering the Compact beyond repair,” Storm said, quietly. “Go. Leave. Now.”
“You can stay if you want,” Althorn said. His eyes were half-closed, as if he was on the verge of falling asleep. “But I fear it will be pointless.”
Emily feared he was right. And yet... if she could track down her enemy, if she could present him to the White Council, perhaps she could avert the coming horror. One of the councilors had to be under enemy control, even if he wasn’t the enemy. And if she could trace him back to his master...
It wasn’t much, she acknowledged as the coach rattled on. But it was all she had.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“WE NEED TO TALK,” LADY BARB said, when Emily stepped into the house. “Now.”
Emily had the sudden sense of an angry mother waiting for her misbehaving daughter to come home. “Can I have a wash first?”
“Quickly,” Lady Barb said. “Time is not on our side.”
“I’ll be back,” Emily said. She glanced past Lady Barb and saw Prince Hedrick sitting at the table, reading a book. “Give me a moment.”
She hurried upstairs, splashed water on her face and changed into a new dress. Silent had been
