‘…repeat, this is a code one emergency! Intruder in east wing, abnormal abilities, possible teleportation, armed and dangerous. Chief Krane is dead, I repeat, Chief Krane is dead…’

Chetta’s mouth was dry. She knew that voice, and she prayed to the Emperor that DeShelle was still alive. But she had another concern as well.

‘How in the warp’s name did you get access to our encrypted security channels?’ she snarled at Ngiri.

‘You didn’t think Sef was with me at the funeral as a bodyguard, did you?’ Ngiri snapped in response. ‘Chetta, there’s apparently an assassin loose in the Brobantis palace as we speak. We can go there to address matters, but you’ve already survived one attempt on your life this evening. Our other option is the ship Kennevario and I travelled here on, which is in orbit. I can safely say that’s the last place any assassins will have expected you to be, so I think the likelihood of security being compromised there is very low.’

Chetta stared at the speaker as though she could somehow see through it and get a picture of what was happening, but it was a futile endeavour, and she had an inquisitor waiting on her word. She took a deep breath.

‘My people are in danger. Get us to the Brobantis palace as quickly as you can.’

Revealing the Serpents

Revealing the Serpents

Security hadn’t wanted to let Ngiri’s gun-cutter land at first, refusing to believe that Chetta was on board until she got onto the vox herself, and then they hadn’t wanted to let her land due to the ongoing security breach. Chetta had to threaten each and every one of them with summary dismissal before they capitulated. Now she hurried towards the security control centre as fast as she could, with a loose screen of house troops ahead and behind her, and the imposing, armoured shapes of Zaretta Ngiri and Davis of Rawl to her right and left respectively.

‘My lady!’

It was DeShelle, hurrying towards them and fiddling with her ebony metal choker. ‘My lady, you shouldn’t be here! We–’

‘Vittariel’s dead,’ Chetta snapped, without slowing her pace, ‘and I’m only alive thanks to Lady Vass.’ Ngiri had requested that her identity stay secret for now, and Chetta was willing to oblige. It was precious little leverage to hold over an Imperial inquisitor, but she’d take what she could get, just in case she ever needed it. ‘I’m not safe anywhere, it seems, so I may as well be at home. Where are my children?’

‘Lord Vit– Your children? Yes, my lady,’ DeShelle stammered, cutting herself off in mid-sentence and reversing the direction of her walk to keep ahead of them. ‘I had them brought to the control centre as soon as we realised the nature of the breach.’