Heir Apparent

Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Sybilla

The day was nearing its peak as I led Archer-boy through the increasingly crowded streets of Blader's Bay. If he minded the press of bodies that we pushed through, he didn't express it. Nor did he question when I turned this way or that, taking the longer paths through small alley-ways I remembered from my time in the bustling port city. There was something to be gained in his quietness. I could see why Jade entertained his presence. Hiding who you were was impossible with Xavi, and there was freedom in it.

The closer we got to the docks, the less people crowded the streets until we were able to walk side by side. I noted how some of the working women eyed Xavi, his sharp features and long lashes and wanted to outright laugh. He ignored them all except for a courteous nod whenever one bumped their hip against him. A man like him could have the pick of women, men, anyone really, and settle into a wholesome life, but instead, he had become a killer for hire. For all his good looks and quiet nature, I knew this was a man I could never trust, especially around my empress.

I led us down to the quieter side of the docks where men met for business, changing money legally and illegally behind stucco walls and gaudy parlours. When I stopped in front of a fairly modest but immaculately kept brick building with sculpted scrubs, it was Xavi who I caught eyeing me. I sighed. "Let's just get this done." I felt his gaze on me the entire way up the steps to the door, where I simply swung it open instead of knocking.

Once instead, nostalgia hit me. When Icarius had landed himself a seat in the Capital, I thought I would never have to step foot inside ever again. The spy-master was still a couple months away from installing himself into that position yet and the Sybilla of this time had full access to the lavish rooms of his business building.

The front entrance was marble and gold leafing with old statuary busts in little alcoves and exotic plants in elaborately painted vases. The ceiling had a classical scene from eras where men and women dressed in draped yards of fabric and reached across clouds to gods. Beautifully woven carpets from across the seas muffled heeled shoes, acquisitions that Icarius had confiscated from several merchant ships.

A footman came to greet us but stopped when he recognized me, smiling. Little Jeofrey, who was far from little anymore, I had known since he was waddling around in baby clothes. His mother had been a frequent business partner of Icarius, a shrewd woman, but Jeofrey was far from her. He was sweet, pleasant, and good natured, and I hoped I could do everything to keep him that way. I patted the boy's shoulder, then ruffled his hair, smiling when I heard him groan behind me as I continued to lead the way with Xavi at my heels. No doubt he was smoothing it back into place.

We passed two smaller sitting rooms on our right, each boasting its own brocaded color scheme: one blue and one red. The blue, the front room, was usually reserved for public, social occasions, though a peek inside revealed at least two of Icarius's guards taking the opportunity to lounge. One dropped his feet when he saw me, but I waved him off. The red room was for more secretive conversations, usually of the business nature. A couple of the accountants who regularly ran letters about the town to various business men were squabbling over some book or another.

I ignored them, walking past until I stopped before a well concealed door, it's handle barely noticeable. Icarius hadn't designed for it to be secret, but he hadn't exactly ensured that it stood out either. I glanced over my shoulder at Xavi who was noting the men and women who sat in the other two rooms, nudging my elbow into his rib to get his attention. "Careful what you say around here. Even you lot have underestimated the ears Icarius has." Xavi nodded in understanding and made a show of pressing his lips tight, just a hit of amusement in his eyes.