“I do.” Thorda smiled. “Already the people view you as an assassin the empire cannot stop. When they see you call the shadows your home, their belief will only heighten. Know that the ring lacks the power and efficiency it once possessed. It will take several minutes between uses, so while it shall have its potential for battle, do not overly rely upon it. Save it for ambushes and escapes.”

“So it’s mine now?” he asked, having assumed his master only loaned it to him for their nightly parade among the wealthy.

“It is,” Thorda said, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “I pray you are worthy of it.”

“Well then,” Cyrus said, and he clapped his hands together. “Let’s not keep the people waiting.”

“Not yet. There is more I would have you do than lurk about. Of Thanet’s four lords, Lord Mosau is the only one I have investigated and deemed an ally. Yet one of his vassals, Kaia Makris, is proving… troublesome.”

“Define troublesome.”

“Her dedication to Thanet is beyond reproach,” Thorda clarified. “But it is her trust in myself, and in the Vagrant, that falters. She’s begun to whisper those doubts in Lord Mosau’s ear. I need her convinced.”

Cyrus frowned behind his mask.

“How exactly do I do that?”

“Talk to her. Deduce the source of her doubts, and allay them. We cannot allow any impediment to the progress we make.”

“Fine. I’ll try. How will I know who she is?”

“Clarissa will be at her side. Find her, you’ll find Kaia. Hold faith in yourself, and in my plans. Be brave. The time has come, I promise.”

Cyrus sensed those words went beyond a conversation with some random vassal. What would be asked of him now? He sensed another test, akin to his public execution of the imperial officer. His excitement over the ring was quickly replaced with a tightness in his stomach.

“Sure,” he said. “Whatever you say.”

Only the Coin was waiting for him outside the parlor door.

“Keles is amid the crowd, exaggerating your accomplishments as always,” he said. “Shall we join her?”

Cyrus flexed his fist with the ring.

“Yes, let’s.”

The two crossed the hall in the direction of the violin music steadily growing louder.

“I must know, how did you get roped into all this?” Cyrus asked as they walked. “Becoming the Coin, pretending to be Thorda in disguise, this whole bit?”

“My wife was a faithful priestess of Endarius,” the flamboyantly dressed man said. “Her faith was rewarded with a rope about her neck. I wanted to make them pay, yet I was a mere actor. What use could I be? Still, I pledged my services to the rebellion nonetheless. Not a year later, Thorda approached me at my home, alone, and offered me this honored role, one I cherish deeply. If I could do more for Thanet, I would, but this is where my talents lie.”