To Bind in Blood

Chapter 8

Aelider stood on the rise overlooking the harbor, watching an arriving ship slide along the length of one of the docks. He could almost hear the ship groaning in the wind and the flapping of the lowered sails. He breathed in the salty smell and wanted to close his eyes and dream of the sea, but now was not the time for such frivolity. He was here on Empire business.

Something pressed against his leg, and when he looked down, his gaze slid down a slender, graying muzzle into brown eyes clouded with age. He smiled and bent to scratch the hound behind the ears. "Aya, old girl. Did you follow me here?"

Though her joints were stiff and her steps slow, Aya rarely left his side. She'd been a gift from Nadeina's father who'd kept an assortment of hunting dogs as a sort of hobby, which had also proven useful in battle. The empress had inherited her father's interest in hounds, but Aelider knew Nadeina thought his attachment to Aya ridiculous. She is no use to anyone anymore, she said, to which Aelider replied, She keeps me company. Is that not use enough?

His mind turned from their little tiff to the issue of Quelle's Great Lord and that servant-guard, Wrell Draekon. Nadeina wanted to bloodbind to Jurion Calustus when he was already bound to another woman's blood? He felt his hand fist, and he forced it to open and his fingers to flex.

Aya whimpered, and Aelider looked down at her once more. "Is it time?"

He undid one of the buttons on his shirt to loosen the collar, the heat beginning to make him sweat, and began his descent down the rise. There was a path somewhere around here, difficult as it was to see. The steep hillside was covered in bushes and flowers jutting up through loose rocks. He checked on Aya behind him and saw she was doing her best to stay at his heels. He slowed for her, picking his way carefully down.

Soon they were trotting up the gangplank of the ship he had been watching earlier. A woman came out of the cabin just as he stepped foot onto the deck. Approaching middle age but still fit and strong, there was a swagger in her step that spoke of confidence from years of experience and perhaps a little arrogance as well. She pulled up short when she spotted Aelider, her brows shooting upward.

"Captain Pereza," he said in greeting, and she laughed aloud.

"You still have that old dog with you, Aelider? I thought it'd be dead by now."

"And you are as forthright and impolite as ever, Ilanya," he said, his patience already worn thin by the mere sight of her. She loved to get under his skin, but she was too valuable an informant and errand runner for him to cut ties with. Her connections from Remas to the Empire to countries across the Western Sea had proven useful to him in his investigations.

She took the handkerchief tucked in her belt and used it to wipe the railing leading to the quarterdeck. "What can I do for you this time, Aelider? I'm rather busy."

"I followed your lead, tracked him to the border."

"Ah yes, how was that little trip? Cold? I'll bet you were absolutely miserable."

His cheek twitched. "The Reman is dead. But he suggested there may be more. A traitor at the palace, even. Spies."

"Spies?" Eyes wide with mock horror, Pereza leaned against the railing, pursing her lips. "Well, I could have told you that."

"I want you to speak to your contacts. See if they can give us an idea of who, and where. Anyone with even the slightest connection to the Reman court. I want names."

She sighed, pulling away from the railing and planting her hands on her hips. She rolled her head back, then down, tipped it to the side and eyed him with a lip curled. "You know that they don't give information like that willingly."

"Do what you have to do."

She scoffed, her smile disbelieving. "You really are something, Aelider. Making me do all your hard and dirty work."

"I compensate you well enough, do I not?"

"Ah, that you do." She lifted a finger. "Pay me double, General, and I'll find you your man. I might lose a few contacts in Remas, but I think we can both live with that."

"Do what you must."

"Dangerous words to say, and twice! I beg you, tell me, who can determine what is truly necessary?"

"I trust your judgment in this matter."

"Of course. That way I take the blame if something should happen, is that right? You wouldn't want to upset Her Imperial Majesty, especially after the latest spectacle with her hounds. Heard it was a good one, too. Sorry I missed it."

He clenched his teeth at Pereza's offhand remark. He'd thought the chatter had died down long ago. Normally something like that was nothing too unusual in the Empire; examples had to be made to prevent future occurrences. He was tired of cleaning up the messes, though, and he did not always agree with the way things were run. But again, Nadeina had her views and he had his, and he had pledged his loyalty to her and her will over his own.

"Well." Pereza drew herself up, signaling the end of the conversation. It irritated Aelider to no end, how she pretended she was always the one in control of their interactions, like he was her lackey and not the other way around. She bent and took Aya's head between her hands, crooning some inane nonsense to the dog as if speaking to a child, and then straightened. "Get me the money, my dear general, and I will find your names."

"You will have it within the hour."

Snapping his fingers at Aya, Aelider left with Pereza's smirk burning into his back. He forced himself to take deep breaths, to resist the urge to fling something at the captain's head. His previous informant had not been nearly as provoking nor greedy. Then again, the man hadn't been as competent as Pereza and had met his end at the end of the empress's sword.

Aelider returned to the palace and sought out Nadeina in her usual place. She was not there; after inquiring of the guards as to her location, he found her in the library instead. It was an uncommon place for her to be, as she had never been particularly fond of books since the death of her mother.

Shrouded in the shadows of tall shelves laden with dusty tomes, she sat in the chair in the corner, away from the window. He could not see her face, but her posture indicated she was deep in thought, and perhaps somewhat fatigued.

"Empress," he said with a bow. His side felt empty without Aya, but he had left her outside, away from Nadeina's disparaging eye.

"Aelider." She stood, and in her hand, clenched between long, scarred fingers, he saw a piece of paper. A missive, the seal belonging to the Great Lord of Quelle. He could tell, even from several strides away.

Nadeina smiled at him, but he knew it was fake. Forced. He'd seen it too many times before, the smile that she was pleased, that she was satisfied, that she had everything under control. Nadeina Vian always had everything under control, after all.

"Nadi?" he said, knowing what news she would soon deliver.

"Quelle's Great Lord . . . has accepted."