Cat looked a little relieved, although Emily knew better than to point that out. He’d need his sleep, yet he wouldn’t feel right forcing her to take a turn keeping watch. Emily doubted there would be any trouble in the middle of the night, but she knew better than to take that for granted. It was better to be ready for trouble than let it catch her by surprise.
She removed her shoes, then reached for her bag and poked through it until she found the chat parchments. Alassa’s parchment was completely blank, of course. She hadn’t written anything since she’d been arrested. Whatever had happened had clearly happened in a tearing hurry, if only because Alassa hadn’t had a chance to write anything. A brief statement of what she was planning would have made their planning much easier. Frieda’s parchment, on the other hand, was glowing with message after message. Emily smiled, wanly. Frieda had to be feeling better.
“Be careful what you tell them,” Cat said, as Emily started to write a reply. “You don’t want rumors to spread.”
“Duh,” Emily said. Sergeant Miles had drilled operational security into her head, along with quite a few other lessons she’d considered useless at the time. “I won’t tell her anything useful.”
She took a breath, then started to write a vague response. Frieda would know Emily was leaving out all the interesting details, but…she’d understand. She’d had good marks in Martial Magic, even though she’d kept getting into fights. God alone knew what would happen by the time she recovered–Emily had no idea if Frieda would be allowed to retake Fourth Year or if she’d be forced to start from Third Year–but at least she’d be safe. Gordian would take care of her.
The door shook. Emily reached for her dagger, just as it opened to reveal Jade. His shirt was stained with beer–Emily could smell it from right across the room–but he didn’t look particularly drunk. Emily wondered, absently, if he’d forgotten that they didn’t have any washing facilities. They’d probably have to stop by a stream to wash their clothes.
“I think you’d better go jump in a lake,” Cat said, wryly. “You stink.”
“Better to stink than to be drunk,” Jade said. He closed the door behind him and slotted the bolt into place, then hastily removed his shirt. “I think I was standing in a pool of beer.”
“No one will notice,” Cat said. “The whole place was practically drenched in beer.”
Emily made a face. “Yuck.”
“They really should have poured the beer back in the horse,” Jade said.
“This place isn’t that upmarket,” Cat said. “I think they should have poured it back into the dog.”
“And not the cat,” Jade said, deadpan.
“No.” Cat shot him a rude gesture. “Emily had a little adventure of her own.”
“Ah,” Jade said. “Another one?”
Emily shrugged, dismissively. “There’s something else I have to tell you,” she said. It wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have, but they needed to know. Now. “Paren was a traitor.”
Jade stared. “What?”
“It’s a long story,” Emily said. She winced, inwardly, as Jade’s face started to darken. He’d never liked secrets being kept from him and this one had blown up in his face. “Really.”
She took a long breath and started to explain.
Chapter Four
“PAREN BETRAYED THE KING?” JADE ASKED, when Emily had finished. She could see the anguish in his eyes. “Why?”
Emily met his eyes. “Five years ago, Paren and his allies sided with Randor and Alassa against the coup plotters,” she said. She had to think about how to say it without letting her feelings get in the way. “Promises were made, promises of representation and a say in affairs that were not honored. Paren was ennobled, but the Assembly was effectively neutered over the next couple of years. Reformers were purged, particularly the ones who wanted to smash the system.”
She took a breath. “And eventually, Paren decided that they needed to take more direct action before the king crushed them utterly.”
Jade’s eyes narrowed. “They tried to kill Alassa on our wedding day.”
“They tried to kill everyone in the chamber, including Imaiqah,” Emily pointed out. “Paren thought their forces could take control in the chaos. Nanette had other ideas, I think; their plan to take the city never got off the ground after their leader was killed.”
“How do you know all this?” Jade’s eyes bored into hers. “And why didn’t you tell us?”
“Paren confessed to me,” Emily said, flatly. In hindsight, it was clear that Paren had tried to recruit her before the wedding. “I…I believed it would be better if the secret died with him.”
Jade glared. “You should have told us!”
Emily looked back at him. It was an effort to meet his eyes. “And then what? What happens to the families of known traitors? Should I have put Imaiqah’s head on the chopping block myself?”
“Something could have been worked out,” Jade snapped. “Emily…”
“She’s right,” Cat said, smoothly. “Jade, what choice did she have?”
Jade opened his mouth, then closed it again. Emily understood. He–and his wife–had been blindsided because she hadn’t told them the truth. But how could she have risked telling Alassa, when her father could demand the truth from her at any moment? How could she have risked telling Imaiqah, when that would have robbed her friend of the chance to swear innocence of any plot against the king? How could she have done anything, but kept her mouth shut?
“You should have told us,” Jade said. “If Imaiqah was innocent…”
Emily glared at him. “Do you think Imaiqah would cold-bloodedly plot her friend’s death?”
“No,” Jade said. His eyes were very hard. “And an oath would have proved her innocence.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered,” Emily reminded him. “The families of known traitors are sentenced to death, from the oldest to the youngest. Imaiqah stands condemned by the mere fact her father became a traitor. And there would be no hope of hiding it if someone else knew.”
“Except someone did know,” Jade pointed out. “You. And Nanette. Is she involved in this, somewhere?”
“I don’t know,” Emily admitted. She’d assumed that Paren had covered his tracks very well, after the king’s investigators had failed to find anything that might have led them to the masterminds. “I don’t know how the king found out.”
Jade let out a heavy sigh. “Then we will have to watch for her. As if we didn’t have enough problems.”
“We had a problem we didn’t know about, an hour ago.” Cat gave Emily a fond look. “I’d say we’re better off now.”
“Only because Emily kept her mouth shut,” Jade said, angrily. “You should have warned us.”
“And then what?” Emily asked. “Imaiqah takes her family and goes into exile?”
“You never gave her the choice,” Jade snapped. He balled his fists for a moment, then–with visible effort–forced them to unclench. “You never gave any of us the choice.”
Emily nodded, shortly. Jade loved Alassa, deeply and truly. He’d do anything to protect his wife and unborn child. Emily remembered just how shaken he’d been when Emily had used a forbidden spell to save Alassa’s life. Jade was her friend, but she had no doubt that he would put Alassa first, whatever happened. She didn’t blame him, either. Indeed, she envied Alassa. Would anyone ever care about her like that?
“Alassa will have to decide what to do about…about you keeping the secret until it was too late,” Jade said, heavily. He leaned back on the bed. “You do realize what this means, don’t you?”
He went on before Emily could say a word. “We’re not talking about rescuing the pair of them, not now. We’re talking about…about kicking a king off his throne, perhaps even about killing him to prevent him from coming back and retaking the kingdom. We are talking about outright treason!”
“Shout a little louder, why don’t you?” Cat’s voice was very dry. “I don’t think the people at the far end of the corridor heard you.”
Jade scowled at him. “Whose side are you on?”