Without a word, Kee turned her slate around to face us and started the video. It took me a second to recognize the hallway Torran and I had entered earlier. Four soldiers in blacked-out armor came into view from the left. With helmets, body armor, and cloth covering every inch of skin, there were no distinguishing features visible at all, but they moved like humans.

Military-trained humans.

They swept down the hall and stopped at the second door on the left. Without a word, the first soldier held up a small square device to the lock. The door slid open and all of the soldiers disappeared inside.

Kee held up her finger, silently telling us to wait.

Less than thirty seconds later, the soldiers reappeared, but one of them was carrying something. As one, we all leaned forward, trying to see what it was.

The soldier shifted and the bundle in their arms resolved itself into an unconscious, dark-haired Valovian child, no more than seven or eight. The soldiers took the child and disappeared off the left side of the screen, presumably back out the same door they’d entered.

“Oh, fuck,” Eli breathed.

“That,” Kee said, her voice hard and angry, “was Cien Nepru, the empress’s grandson—and Torran’s nephew.”

Chapter Nineteen

Fury turned my vision red as I stalked out of the guest wing. “Torran!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. When no one responded, I turned and started for the family wing, shouting as I went. I would shout this building down if I had to.

I was nearly to the room on the video when I heard multiple sets of footsteps behind me. I spun to find Torran sweat-slicked and shirtless. The rest of his team arrived on his heels. It looked like they’d come from the gym.

Torran scanned the area for threats before his gaze settled back on me, confusion clear.

“You,” I growled, closing the distance between us with furious intent. “You lying, deceitful son of a bitch.”

Torran waved, and his team silently melted away, but not before casting sidelong glances my way. Once they were gone, Torran’s eyes narrowed.

“No,” I said, jabbing a finger at him. “You don’t get to be insulted. You lied to me. We’re not looking for some stupid ring, are we?” I didn’t give him time to answer. “No, we’re not. We’re looking for a fucking child and you didn’t think this information was important enough to share.”

Torran’s entire posture changed, transforming from confused to deadly in the blink of an eye. “What do you mean?”

I ignored the implicit threat and pointed a furious finger at the closed door. “You know exactly what I mean. You hired us to do a job. Did you think we were so incompetent that we wouldn’t find out? If so, why hire us at all?”