“Did Raumesys… beat him?” Amaranthe wondered if that might explain the emperor’s premature demise. The newspapers had claimed Raumesys had succumbed to a fatal heart condition, but many poisons could simulate such a death.
“Physical abuse was rare,” Sicarius said. “Verbal assault, less so. Raumesys was disgruntled that Sespian showed no interest in military and combat studies. He told the boy. Often.”
“Mental abuse can be as cruel as physical. And it’s difficult to watch when it’s happening to someone you care about.”
Sicarius grunted.
“Did it bother you?” Amaranthe asked. “Raumesys’s treatment of Sespian?”
“Yes.”
“But not enough to kill him over it?”
Sicarius glanced over his shoulder. His sure strokes had brought them into the shadow of Marblecrest Island more quickly than Amaranthe would have guessed. She feared their approach meant she wouldn’t receive an answer.
Above the fog shrouding the beaches, verdant foliage bathed steep hills with deep draws that might hide numerous secret nooks. Near the island’s high point, the roof of a log structure came into sight. Amaranthe would call it a mansion or lodge, but Maldynado’s family probably thought of it as a rustic cabin.
Sicarius took a few extra strokes on the right side to angle the rowboat toward a cove with a dock.
“Sicarius,” Amaranthe said, taking one last stab at pulling the answer out of him, “Sespian will want to know.” All right, she wanted to know.
A few more strokes passed in silence as he made adjustments to their approach. Finally, he pulled them in, letting the boat’s momentum carry them across the serene, misty water. “Sespian was a catalyst. I had many missions and was rarely in the Imperial Barracks. Had I witnessed more of his interactions with Raumesys, I may have… rethought my allegiance sooner. It wasn’t until I stood before Raumesys and refused an assignment that my relationship with the emperor changed. My declination of the mission did not mean I had thoughts of betraying the throne, but he interpreted it that way. I believe he had long feared me. I’d always been Hollowcrest’s employee, more than his, and we rarely interacted. Shortly after that day, Raumesys tried to have me poisoned. I learned of it ahead of time and meant to discuss the situation with Hollowcrest, but he was away from the city. Before he returned, I walked in on Raumesys berating Sespian. That was when I decided.”
“To kill him?” Amaranthe’s voice came out as a whisper.
“At fifteen, Sespian was still too young to rule in his own stead, but I imagined I could stand at his back and protect him from those who sought to connive or ingratiate themselves to him. I did not anticipate him… ”
“Firing you?”
“Essentially.”
The rowboat glided up to the dock, bumping softly against a wood piling.
“What was the mission you turned down?” Amaranthe asked.
“A story for another time.” Sicarius secured the boat and hopped out.
Amaranthe hmphfed, but she supposed she’d gotten more out of him than expected.
Despite his threat that he’d resume her training soon, Sicarius extended a hand. She accepted it and climbed onto the dock. A rat skittered out of a clump of grass at the base and disappeared through a crack in the boathouse. Sun-faded and peeling, the dock had not seen a maintenance man in many years.
“I guess the Marblecrests have been too busy plotting coups to enjoy their vacation getaway in recent years,” Amaranthe said.
Sicarius did not comment, and they were soon pushing through foliage, walking up a gravel road so overgrown a machete was almost required. More of the log home came into view as they climbed, including expansive glass windows that promised no less than fifteen or twenty rooms inside. Halfway up the hillside, the path meandered past a rocky precipice that was bare of grass and trees. Amaranthe diverted from the trail to walk to the edge. It overlooked the lake and offered a view of three nearby islands, all dark and quiet in the early morning light.
“Are those the ones on the map?” Amaranthe asked when Sicarius joined her. “The ones that form a rectangle with this one?”
“A trapezoid,” Sicarius said.
“Forgive my imprecision. I wonder if… should we be looking under the island instead of on top of it?”
“For entrances to mines?” Sicarius asked.
“Or whatever it is they were doing down there. Let’s check the house first though. Just in case.”
Amaranthe and Sicarius continued up the main path, which dove into a stand of trees clogged with blackberry brambles. A few minutes into the copse, a hiss sounded to their right. Amaranthe jumped.
“Hot springs.” Sicarius pointed to a side path barely visible through the overgrown shrubbery.
“Of course,” Amaranthe said, remembering Pabov’s tour.
On a whim, she veered onto the path. Wordlessly, Sicarius followed. Thorny vines grasped and scraped at exposed flesh, but it was a short trek. Tiny, steaming pools appeared through the trees, connected by a natural lava rock deck that overlooked a cliff on the north side of the island. Only one of the neighboring islands stood in view along with a river that flowed out of the lake a mile away. After another hiss sounded, a geyser to one side spewed a fountain of water.
Amaranthe bent and dipped a hand in the closest pool. Hot water caressed her fingers. Forget the beach, she thought. This was a bathing spot. Too bad they had other priorities; though she flirted with the idea of sending Sicarius to explore the house on his own while she tore off her clothes, flung herself into the pool, and soaked blissfully in sybaritic indulgence.
Sicarius’s hand came to rest on her shoulder. Maybe he was thinking of a soak too. But, no, he was pointing past the lake and toward the river. A three-decked steamboat was barreling up the waterway, gray plumes of smoke flowing from its twin stacks. It looked like one of the vessels that plied the Goldar River, carrying passengers from Stumps and other cities around the Chain Lakes down to the Gulf and back. For some reason, this one had diverted to Lake Seventy-three, something that might be normal during the summer season, but now? It seemed unlikely.
“It’s going too fast,” Sicarius said.
Now that he mentioned it, the steamboat did seem to be exceeding its typical speed. The paddlewheel was churning so quickly that water flung in all directions. Two smaller craft plowed up the river behind the sternwheeler. Painted black with pointed bows and sleek, compact frames designed for speed, they were gaining on the steamboat.
Amaranthe recognized the symbols on the sides. Enforcer boats. If Forge saw the authorities swarming into the area, would they cancel their meeting before it started? “What idiot is leading enforcers down here?”
“Sespian.” Sicarius had a spyglass to his eye.
“Er, levity?” As much as Amaranthe wanted to see her men again, she didn’t want their arrival to spook Forge.
“He is at the wheel inside the pilothouse. Alive.” Uncharacteristic relief had seeped into Sicarius’s tone. “Though he looks concerned.”
“Understandable if they’re being chased by enforcers. It looks like they’re coming in our direction. We better get down to the beach.” When Amaranthe turned toward the path, she found that Sicarius had already disappeared, leaving only a few leaves rustling in the wake of his abrupt passing.
Chapter 19
Maldynado stood at the rear of the hurricane deck, next to the paddlewheel, with a row of loaded muskets and rifles leaning against the railing. Three pistols protruded from his belt where a cutlass and more knives hung. He felt like a Sicarius caricature.
A brisk wind tugged at his clothing and swept hair into his eyes. The steamboat bumped and swayed as it picked up speed, fighting the river’s current. At last glance, the lake hadn’t been in sight. The sky had lightened, and
