The second was that while she let the Claremont twins listen along to her conversation with Ghreni Nohamapetan, they didn’t know one important piece of information that Kiva did, discovered through the graces of the investigators that Magnut paid a frankly rapacious amount of money to in order to discover:

The Duke of End never told Ghreni Nohamapetan to ask the Count of Claremont to release imperial funds. And he certainly never authorized Ghreni to fucking kidnap one of the count’s children and hold him for ransom. He did both of those things on his own.

What the fuck are you up to, Ghreni? Kiva asked herself, as her groundcar lumbered off to port. What are you planning?

And while we’re at it, what is the rest of your fucking family planning, too?

Chapter 9

“The forensics from the scene are confused, Your Majesty,” said Imperial Guard head Sir Hibert Limbar. The Guard was responsible for the emperox’s security. Sir Hibert was pretty sure that he would soon be out of a job. “Some witnesses said they saw something launch from the crowd outside the cathedral and strike the balcony, but there is no conclusive video of that. Even if there was something launched from the crowd, the balcony is intentionally designed to withstand anything short of an artillery attack. We figured whatever was exploded there was planted there some time before. But we don’t know. It will be a bit of time before we have it sorted out.”

Cardenia nodded. She was in her private apartments at the palace, ears still ringing and on a medical watch due to concussion, but otherwise unharmed. At least physically. Where her heart was, there was a Naffa-shaped hole. She was attended by Limbar, by Archbishop Korbijn, and by Gell Deng, who was at least temporarily acting in the role Naffa held. Also in the room, Amit Nohamapetan, for reasons Cardenia did not understand yet but assumed she would soon learn.

“Reports are additionally complicated by the bombs that went off in the crowd near-simultaneous to the explosion on the balcony. It added chaos to an already chaotic scene,” Limbar concluded.

“How many dead in the crowd?” Cardenia asked.

“Ma’am, you shouldn’t worry about that right now—”

“Why not?” Cardenia said, and slipped into imperial mode, which gave her just enough emotional distance to deal with these people in her space, telling her horrible things. “Are we not emperox? Are those not our citizens? How many?”

“At least eighty, ma’am. Another hundred wounded, many critically.”

“And in the cathedral? How many dead?”

“Two, ma’am. Naffa Dolg and a member of the guard. Another guard member is critically injured.”

“And who was responsible?”

“We don’t know for sure. No one has come forward.” Limbar nodded to Amit Nohamapetan. “But Lord Nohamapetan has some information you may find relevant.”

Cardenia turned to Amit, regarding him tiredly. “What is it, Lord Nohamapetan?”