LITMIR.BIZ

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it. But he waited. “The first was a man selling a cure for baldness that actually appeared to work—instantly.”

      He raised one pale brow. “It is Elani street.”

      “Sir.” This time she did glance at Severn; his chin dipped slightly down. “We took the merchant’s name. Corporal Handred acquired a sample of the tonic.”

      “You…believe that this was genuine.”

      “Much as I hate to admit it, yes.”

      “Go on.”

      “The second incident of note, you’ve already heard about. Alyssa Larienne.”

      “Lady Alyssa Larienne is young, idealistic, and convinced of her own importance.”

      Severn cleared his throat.

      “Corporal?”

      “I would say that she is young, insecure, and in need of someone to convince her of that import.”

      “She throws her weight around—” Kaylin broke in.

      “If she was certain she had that weight, she wouldn’t need to throw it.”

      Kaylin shrugged. “For whatever reason, she’s been a client of Margot’s for many months.”

      “Margot Hemming?”

      “The same.”

      “Margot Hemming is not, to my knowledge, and to the knowledge of Imperial Records, a mage. She has no training, and no notable talent or skill. She is, by human standards, striking. She is forty years of age—”

      “She can’t be forty.”

      “She is forty years of age,” he repeated, spacing the words out thinly and evenly. “And she has twice been charged with fraud in the last twenty-five. She is not violent, she has no great pretensions, and for the last decade, she has settled into the life of a woman of modest, respectable means.”

      Kaylin glanced at the flat surface of a mirror that reflected nothing, and the Hawklord continued. “She has no known criminal ties, she is despised by the merchants’ guild, she donates money to the Foundling Halls.”

      Kaylin’s brows disappeared into her hairline. “She what?”

      “She can afford it.”

      “That’s not the point.”

      “No. It is not. She has very few clients of any significant political standing. Garavan Larienne does not travel to her shop, nor does his wife. She supports no political causes that we are aware of, and believe that I have demanded every possible legal record that she might be associated with, however distantly. But she has, today, single-handedly caused the Hawks—and the Swords, and possibly indirectly, the Wolves—more difficulty than the Arcanum has in its entire history.”

      Kaylin closed her eyes.

      “What did Margot Hemming do, Private?”

      “She told a fortune, more or less.”

      “I am aware of the fortune’s contents.” He turned. “The other difficulties?”

      “After the incident with Margot, we paid a visit to Evanton’s. Evanton said that…there was an incident in the store, involving his apprentice.”

      “Did it also involve the future of arguably the most politically powerful human in Elantra?”

      “No, sir.”

      “Then I am not interested in the details at this present moment. Continue.”

      “It was also of a magical nature. Evanton thinks—thought—that there is an unusually strong flux in the magical potential of a specific area, and it’s causing things to go completely out of whack.”

      “His words?”

      “Not exactly.”

      “What, exactly, were his words?”

      “He thought I should speak with Sanabalis—”

      “Lord Sanabalis.”

      “Lord Sanabalis. Now.”

      “Far be it from me to ignore the urgent advice of so important a man,” the Hawklord replied.

      “He thinks it could be disastrous if we don’t—”

      “It has already been almost disastrous. At this particular moment in my career, I fail to see how it could be worse. Take Corporal Handred with you, avoid any discussion of Larienne, and avoid, as well, any men who obviously bear his colors. Go directly to Lord Sanabalis, make your report, and return directly here. If I am absent, wait.”

      “Sir.”

      The Imperial Palace, home of future etiquette lessons, loomed in the distance of carriage windows like the cages outside of Castle Nightshade. The flags were, as they almost always were, at full height, and the wind at that height was impressive today; it buffeted clouds.

      Severn, seated across from Kaylin, glanced at her arms. It wasn’t a pointed glance, but she rolled back one sleeve, exposing the heavy, golden bracer that bracketed her wrist. The unnatural gems, socketed in a line down its length, gleamed in the darkened interior of the carriage. He nodded, and she rolled her sleeve down, covering it. By Imperial Edict, and by the Hawklord’s command—which were in theory the same thing—she wore it all the time.

      It prevented the unpredictable magic she could sometimes use from bubbling to the surface in disastrous ways. It unfortunately also prevented the more predictable—to Kaylin—magic that was actually helpful from being used, so it didn’t always reside on her wrist, edict notwithstanding. Her magic could be used to heal the injured, and it was most often used when the midwives called her in on emergencies.

      But it was this wild magic, and the unpredictable and unknown nature of it, that was at the root of the Magical Studies classes she was taking with Sanabalis. The Imperial Court reasoned that if she could use and channel magic like actual working mages did, she would be in control of it. And, in theory, the Court would be in control of her, because indirectly they paid her salary, and she liked to eat.

      It was also the magic that was at the heart of etiquette lessons. The Dragon Emperor was not famed for his tolerance and sense of humor. He was, in fact, known for his lack of both. But Sanabalis, Tiamaris, and even the ancient Arkon who guarded the Imperial Library as if it was his personal hoard—largely because it was—all felt that she would soon have to come to Court and spend time in the presence of the Dragon who ruled them all. They wanted her to survive it, although Sanabalis on some days seemed less certain.

      The carriage rolled to a halt in the usual courtyard. It was not an Imperial Carriage; most Hawks who didn’t have Lord somewhere in their name didn’t have regular use of those. It did bear the Hawk symbol, and a smaller version of the Imperial Crest, but it also needed both paint and a good, solid week’s worth of scrubbing.

      Still, it did the job. The men who always stood in the courtyard opened the side doors, but they didn’t offer her either the small step that seemed to come with most fancy carriages, or help getting out of the seat that was so damn uncomfortable on long, bumpy rides. They just opened the door, peered briefly in, and got out of the way.

      She handed one of them the letter Caitlin had written. Marcus had signed it with a characteristic bold paw print under a signature that was—if you knew Leontines—mostly legible. Caitlin, on the other hand, had done the sealing. Marcus didn’t care for wax.

      He hadn’t much cared for her destination, either, but only barely threatened to rip out her throat if she embarrassed the department, which was bad; it meant he had other things on his mind. His eyes had never once shaded back to their familiar gold.

      The man who had taken the sealed letter returned about fifteen minutes later, accompanied by a man she recognized, although not by name.

      “Lord Sanabalis,”

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