Alicia gave her a despairing look. “Do I have a choice?”
Emily hesitated. Alicia had almost no defenses against magic. Randor had presumably forbidden her from wearing any kind of protection, even after Alassa had briefly turned her into a rat. What Alicia did have wouldn’t stand up to Emily for a second. It would be easy–it would be very easy–to put a compulsion spell on her, to turn her into a spy…it would be easy, but it would be wrong. Emily knew, all too well, that Alassa would do it without hesitation, yet…yet she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t deprive someone of their free will.
“Yes, you do,” she said, as gently as possible. “If you want to stay with the king, you can do so. I won’t try to stop you.”
Alicia looked bitter. “Thanks.”
“If you don’t want to help, throw the parchment in the fire,” Emily told her. “And if you do, just prime the parchment with your blood and write to me.”
“I’ll think about it,” Alicia said.
“Just don’t get caught with the parchment before you make up your mind,” Emily said. She smiled, humorlessly. “Put it in your underclothes or something. Don’t let the maids see it either.”
Alicia colored. Emily had to smile, even though it wasn’t really funny. Strip-searching a noblewoman was unthinkable, no matter what the noblewoman had done. Even now, Randor probably couldn’t get away with searching a girl who could trace her linage back over centuries. But Alicia probably needed help to get in and out of her courtly dresses. The smiling girls who helped her dress every morning–and undress every night–couldn’t be trusted. If they saw Alicia concealing a piece of parchment in her underwear they might think it was a love letter…or something that should be reported to their superiors.
“I’m serious,” Emily said. “If Randor sees you with it, he’ll never trust you again.”
“He never trusted me in the first place,” Alicia said. She picked up the parchment. “I…Emily…”
“Then think of this as a chance to get some of your own back,” Emily told her. She knew it wouldn’t be easy. Alicia had spent too long in Randor’s power. “And, perhaps, a chance to carve yourself a place in a world without him.”
She took a breath. “There’s a spell I can use to make sure you don’t breathe a word of this to anyone, even by accident,” she added. “Do you want me to cast it on you?”
Alicia looked terrified. Emily understood, all too well. She’d been terrified of magic too, when she’d fallen into the Nameless World. The knowledge she could be hexed at any moment had scared her utterly. And Alicia didn’t even have magic of her own. She had to be aware that Emily didn’t need her permission to put a spell on her. Hell, enchanting her to keep her mouth shut was the smart move no matter what choice she made.
“Just you,” Alicia said, slowly. “Please…”
Emily nodded and cast the spell. “One question,” she said, more to keep Alicia concentrating on something else than to satisfy her curiosity. “Who was the drunkard I met as I made my way upstairs?”
Alicia colored. “A very distant cousin. My parents…they let him stay in the mansion, in exchange for him not putting up a fuss when he was removed from the family line of succession. He just…he just drinks too much.”
“So I saw,” Emily said. She winced in bitter memory. Perhaps her mother would have made something of herself if she hadn’t climbed into a bottle and stayed there. “There are potions that can help with that, you know.”
She finished casting the spell, then stood. “Write to us soon or burn the parchment,” she advised. “And…whatever choice you make, make it yourself.”
Alicia nodded, slowly. “Thank you,” she said, slowly. “And Emily…how did you get in here?”
“Your defenses are flimsy,” Emily told her, bluntly. She wasn’t going to go into details, although a skilled wardcrafter could probably close most of the loopholes and a small army of guards would close the rest. “But I don’t think they can be improved.”
“The king wouldn’t let anyone improve them,” Alicia agreed. “I…goodbye.”
Emily nodded, shortly. “Good luck,” she said. “Be seeing you.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
EMILY HAD HALF-EXPECTED TO RUN into a force of guards as she made her way back down the stairs to the scullery–it was quite possible that Randor had the mansion under covert observation–but the corridors were as dark and silent as the grave. She altered her spells as she passed, ensuring they would release as soon as she was safely out of sight. The maids might wonder at how late it had suddenly gotten, but they wouldn’t think anything of it. They probably didn’t know that freezing someone’s thoughts–as well as someone’s body–was possible.
She took extra care as she sneaked back through the garden, watching for patrols as she reached the walls. A competent guard force would make sure to vary its routines, in hopes of trapping someone who watched them before trying to sneak through, although she hadn’t had time to conduct any surveillance before crossing the walls. It seemed odd, she thought as she scrambled over the wall and dropped down into the alleyway, that the king wasn’t investing much time and effort in protecting his bastard son. Was Randor pinning all his hopes on Alassa’s child being a boy? Or was he unwilling to obviously favor Alicia over the other nobility?
Emily tensed as she saw someone moving in the shadows, then relaxed as Cat stepped into view. “How did it go?”
“We had a chat,” Emily said, as Cat’s magic probed her. She could have been captured, subverted and returned to them in less than–she glanced at the moon–two hours. Her defenses would have lasted longer, she thought, but the boys were right to be careful. “I’ll tell you the rest later.”
“Got it,” Cat said. “Come on.”
Jade was standing at the top of the alley, hidden behind an obscurification charm. Emily nodded to him as he joined them, then led the way back onto the Royal Mile. It was quieter now, save for the sound of music and happy–almost desperate–laughter from the taverns. The only people on the streets, save for the ever-present soldiers, were a handful of young men making their way home. There were no women within eyeshot.
“A bunch of guards nearly caught us as we waited,” Jade muttered, once they were some distance from the mansion. “I thought someone must have tipped them off before they marched past.”
Emily glanced at him. “Where were they going?”
“Somewhere north,” Jade said, darkly. “If they had been looking for us, they would have quartered the entire area.”
“And probably searched the mansion too,” Emily said. Alicia had the right–technically–to refuse a search without a royal warrant, but Emily doubted she had the nerve. Even if she did have, the king would just brush her concerns aside…if she was lucky. “As long as they didn’t see you, we should be fine.”
She looked up towards the castle, still glowing against the night sky, and shook her head. If they could get inside…she knew it wouldn’t work. Randor had protected his castle so thoroughly that Emily doubted anyone could get inside. The parchment trick might work twice…
“Crap,” Jade said, as they slowly headed northwards. “Can you hear that?”
Emily listened, carefully. She could hear a loud noise in the distance, people shouting for…for something. She couldn’t make out the words. But the racket had to be terrifyingly loud, down by the docks, for her to hear it at all. Her blood ran cold as she realized the implications. The soldiers Jade and Cat had seen heading north had been moving to quash a riot.
Cat swore. “We should hurry back to the townhouse.”