“I need to take Lin’s sword to Kaphra. I’m going to replace it with the one we found and hope she doesn’t notice a difference. In exchange, Kaphra will smuggle caro nuts to Anau.”

“You’re afraid of hurting Lin.”

I rubbed a hand against my forehead. “Does she deserve to be deposed? Does she deserve to be executed?” I could barely force the words past my lips. Was it possible to start anew when the shadow of the old Empire still lived? “Everything is broken and I don’t know how to put it back together in a way that makes sense.”

“Have you thought about telling her the truth?”

I gave him a rueful look. “Have I thought about it? Yes. But have you listened to Lin at all? Where do you think that conversation goes? ‘Hello, I sent information to the Shardless Few behind your back. I’ve stopped, but oh yes, I agreed to steal the strange sword you have for the Ioph Carn so I can make sure the people I care about still get the cure for the bog cough.’” I rubbed at my neck as though I could already feel the blade cutting into it. “That has a very poor end for me, I’m afraid.”

Mephi wound around my legs, reminding me of when he was kitten-sized, his horns still just buds and his legs short. “I will be with you either way.”

“I know. And I’ll always keep you safe, Mephi. I suppose I am a smuggler at heart. I’ll have to do what I’ve done so many times before.”

“Which is?”

“Figure it out as I go along.”

I set guards on rotation outside Lin’s room and waited until I judged most of the household to be asleep. And then Mephi and I took a lamp and left the guest wing under the pretense of making sure there were no assassins lurking in corners.

The rain had lightened outside. Even now, Lin might be creeping over the rooftop, searching for a way into the governor’s rooms. Easy enough for her – what could anyone do if she got caught? She was the Emperor.

The hallways of the palace were dark, my lamp casting wild shadows as it turned in my hand. Except for the rain, I heard nothing. It felt less like a palace and more like a tomb. No footsteps except for my own, no murmuring, nothing.

The courtyard of the palace was still, though out here I could hear insects and bird calls. The guards on the walls shuffled back and forth, keeping an eye out for intruders. The gate was closed.