“You have the right to ask,” she said.
“Is that a yes?”
“It is permission to continue the conversation.”
“Your negotiations are severe.”
“I learned from the imperial court.”
A pulse of warmth crossed the bond.
Then she remembered Aurel.
“The master seal was inside his coat.”
Lucian’s expression hardened.
“You heard it?”
“The bond allowed me to hear the false oath beneath his voice.”
“Can you identify it again?”
“Yes.”
“Then we arrest him.”
“No. The documents connecting him to Lord Veyne may be hidden outside the palace. If we move now, he destroys them and claims the bond has compromised your judgment.”
Lucian’s jaw tightened.
“He murdered Sorrel.”
“Probably.”
“He arranged the attack in Cinder Hollow.”
“Almost certainly.”
“He may have caused the death of your mother.”
Elara forced herself to remain steady.
“Yes.”
“What do you propose?”
“We allow him to believe the bond has distracted us.”
“How?”
“You behave like a wolf emperor who has unexpectedly found his mate.”
Lucian stared at her.
“And what behavior do you imagine that requires?”
“Cancel meetings. Ignore reports. Order absurd preparations for a royal ceremony. Make the council believe you care more about keeping me near you than governing.”
“That may not require as much acting as you think.”
The bond warmed.
Elara looked away.
“You will publicly announce a bonding celebration,” she continued. “Aurel will assume we are occupied. Meanwhile, Captain Rovan searches his external properties.”
“And you?”
“I return to the Archive.”
“It is not safe.”
“That is where the original transfer language must be stored.”
“I will send guards.”
“Visible guards will frighten every accomplice into hiding.”
“Elara.”
“Lucian.”
His wolf pressed against the bond, protective and furious.
She refused to yield.
Finally, he exhaled.
“Two guards disguised as clerks.”
“One.”
“Two.”
“One guard and Captain Rovan stationed outside the eastern corridor.”
“Agreed.”
She extended her hand.
Lucian looked at it.
“This is how humans conclude negotiations,” she said.
“I know.”
“Then stop looking as though I offered you a weapon.”
He took her hand.
The bond flared softly where their marks touched.
Neither of them released the other at once.
Chapter Seven: The Ledger of Names
The imperial announcement shocked the capital.
Emperor Lucian Draev had discovered a sovereign mate.
She was human.
She was a junior archive employee.
She had also been accused of theft, treason and assaulting her supervisor with an ink jar.
By noon, street vendors were selling small blue bottles in her honor.
The council demanded an explanation.
Religious leaders demanded a ceremony.
Wolf nobles demanded proof.
Human guilds demanded guarantees that Elara had not been coerced.
Elara approved of the final demand.
For three days, the palace became consumed by arguments about succession, species law and ceremonial clothing.
Aurel appeared satisfied.
He encouraged Lucian to postpone council meetings and focus on stabilizing public opinion.
Lucian performed the role of distracted ruler with alarming skill.
He ordered the throne room redecorated.
He rejected four ceremonial menus.
He summoned jewelers and dismissed them.
He held Elara’s hand during public appearances while whispering coded updates about Captain Rovan’s searches.
Aurel’s country estate contained nothing.
His city residence was equally clean.
Lord Veyne’s agents had begun withdrawing money from Valedryn.
Time was running out.
Elara returned to the Cipher Hall after midnight.
The Archive had reopened under military supervision. Half the keepers had been suspended. The remaining staff treated her with a mixture of fear, resentment and desperate curiosity.
Her disguised guard waited near the entrance.
Captain Rovan occupied the eastern corridor.
Elara descended to the oldest records chamber, where the air tasted of dust and metal.
The territorial oath would require a master ledger listing every property purchased by the Crown Exchange. Such a ledger could not be destroyed without breaking the contract. It had to exist somewhere inside imperial territory.
The bells listen.
She repeated Sorrel’s warning.
Not the verification bells.
The old listening bells.
Elara returned to the table where Sorrel had confronted her. Above it hung a narrow bronze bell used to summon assistants.
She removed it from the wall.
Inside the bell was a rolled strip of black parchment.
Elara’s hands began to shake.
The first line read:
LEDGER OF WESTERN ACQUISITIONS, HELD IN TRUST FOR THE EXCHANGE CROWN.
Below it were hundreds of names.
Mines.
Farms.
Mills.
Bridges.
Water rights.
Entire villages.
Each acquisition corresponded to a missing shipment or altered emergency order.