Maya glanced at the waiting guards, and Beq paused, then nodded fiercely. Maya didn’t move until the door closed behind her.

Focus, Maya. She sat down by the meal Beq had brought and ate every scrap, dutifully chewing the too-tough meat. Get out of here first. Jaedia needs your help.

Nevertheless, when she fell asleep again, she found her dreams considerably more pleasant.

*

Days passed. The last of Maya’s fever vanished, and her mind felt like her own for the first time since she’d left Deepfire.

A copy of the Inheritance arrived with one of Maya’s meals, and not long after, a thick tome detailing Council precedents in serious judicial matters involving centarchs, going all the way back to the founding of the Order after the Plague War. Maya finished her report of the events of the mission, then threw herself into reading. It wasn’t her favorite activity at the best of times, and the judicial book made for exceptionally slow going, but there wasn’t much else to distract her. She took to pacing quickly while she read, trying to work up a sweat, or putting the book on the floor and doing a handstand.

It was the latter exercise she was engaged in when she heard voices outside the door. She held her pose, arms beginning to ache and sweat trickling down her nose, but stopped trying to focus on the technical merits of the argument made by a century-dead Kyriliarch and listened. Someone snapped an order, and she heard the stamp of boots. Then the door lock clicked open.

Beq? It didn’t seem likely. Maya tensed, then sprang back to her feet, breathing hard. The door opened, and she found herself face-to-face with Nicomidi. The Kyriliarch was alone, without even the usual pair of door guards in sight.

“Agathios,” he said with the hint of a smile. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Just trying to keep busy,” Maya said carelessly. “How can I help you, Kyriliarch?”

He stepped into the room, glancing around curiously. “I’m told your health has recovered.”

“It has.” In truth, Maya still didn’t know what to make of the fever and nightmares. Shock, maybe. But they seemed to have passed. “Thank you for asking.”

“I have been looking into your case, as you might imagine,” Nicomidi said. “And I have reviewed Tanax’s reports of your conduct. I am starting to believe that I may have been … overhasty in my judgment.”

Maya hesitated, sensing a trap. “How so?”

“The picture that Tanax paints of you is a young woman dedicated to the highest principles of the Twilight Order.” He coughed. “If, perhaps, somewhat impulsive and inclined to disrespect authority. It seems out of character for you to have been involved in a plot with Jaedia against the Order.”

“It’s out of character for Jaedia, too,” Maya said, then frowned. “Tanax said that about me?”