“So this is what it’s like to be your citizen,” he said, his eyes narrowed. “Followed at every turn, every move watched. How like your father.”

I was on my feet, Thrana growling next to me, before I could remember having risen. “In case you’ve forgotten, you broke into my private rooms. You seem to always find yourself in places I’d rather you not be. And now you accuse me of having you followed? Are you really in any position to accuse me of anything?”

“As I already explained, it is my duty to protect you,” he said. “Who will everyone blame if you turn up dead?”

He sounded like he believed it, but all good liars believed their lies. “You’re my Captain of the Imperial Guard. You’re supposed to obey me; you’re not supposed to be poking around my things!”

Mephi only looked at Thrana, his head tilted to the side. But then Jovis was standing before me, just as angry as I was, and I hated that I had to lean my head back to look him in the eye.

“Then maybe you should have chosen someone you felt you could trust,” he said. “Instead you chose a half-Poyer smuggler who defied your father.”

Someone I could trust? There was no one I could trust. No one who knew me, who cared about me, who understood what I’d faced. All I had was Thrana. To my abject embarrassment, I felt hot tears prickle at my eyes. I swallowed past the lump in my throat and steadied myself. “And you think these things make you untrustworthy?”

For a moment he just looked confused. And then all the fight drained out of him. “No, Eminence, that’s not what I meant to say. I swore to protect you. I also swore to serve the people. If I seem overly curious, that’s why. No one really knows who you are. Not yet.”

Of course. It had seemed a grand gesture at the time, making that the focus of his oath. Now I was the one who felt foolish. I chose my next words carefully. “I did not have you followed. I should have led with that.”

He studied my face for a moment and then let out a breath. “I believe you. And I suppose I couldn’t fault you if you had. I will try to be more open with you, but I need the same back from you.”