“What do you need from me?” I asked her, trying to focus.

“Plans—Arinaas says it will be most expedient if we catch him in transit. Any itineraries for the coming weeks and months. The more recent, the better.”

My mind raced with possibilities. The crowning jewel of the planetary tour was its end: the Court of Lions. It was a historic site, and for long ages had been the planet’s capital until it was moved to Walili. From it had sprung a hundred empires in our long history. It was where Maram and Idris would conclude the celebrations of their marriage with an enormous parade, peopled by all the major houses on the planet. If Mathis died there—

It would be a symbolic end, and a new beginning before the entire world. The galaxy.

“He will join the tour at its very end,” I said, voicing my thoughts. “I don’t even think he’s planetside now—but we know for certain he’ll be at the Court of Lions in Qarmutta.”

“We need details, Amani. An itinerary. You will need to get one from Nadine.”

My jaw went slack. “I’ve spent the last few weeks doing everything in my power to extract her from Maram’s inner circle and have therefore antagonized her completely.”

“She’s the only one who will have the true route—anything else you secure will be a decoy.”

I came to my feet and tried to think. I could not regret what I had done—“forced Nadine from her perch,” as Rabi’a had said. It was necessary. For as long as Nadine had cast her shadow, Maram was plagued with doubt about herself, her worth, her ability to succeed her mother. There had to be a way to secure the information we needed without compromising all of my work. Hadn’t I spent the last few weeks arming myself with information to better defend against her?

“Did you know that Nadine is not from an ancient and noble house?” I said into the silence. Furat’s eyebrows rose. “She was a foot soldier and came to Mathis’s attention when she razed a village on Cadiz to the ground. They needed to establish a supply port before they launched the campaign against the planet. The village wouldn’t yield, so she burned it and its inhabitants out of existence.”

She had made her marks in the ranks by being a ruthless military commander and ascending quickly during the war. But the fact was, the Vath prized blood and lineage over all. And nothing that she did would move her bloodlines from common to ancient and noble. She understood, I knew, the precarious position she occupied.

“A person like that,” Furat said, coming to stand beside me, “would do anything to secure her position. Whatever the cost.”