Far from dozing off in a chair, my mother stood by the fireplace, leaning against the mantel, mulled wine in hand. Deep shadows cradled her eyes.

“You no longer need to remain in our palace,” she said. “It should be no more dangerous than usual out there.”

“Did you catch Leodra?”

“No. He’s disappeared most thoroughly, at least for now. But I’m sufficiently confident we’ve uncovered and neutralized any remaining resources he had.” She sipped her wine, savoring it a moment on her tongue, with the lingering relish of a woman who hadn’t done anything for her own comfort in some time. “We have more than enough evidence to hang Leodra for treason. It seems he sent the letters with the imperial seal and the false writs to Ardence through Orthys—we found an extra copy of the writ on Orthys’s ship, which I suspect the scoundrel was keeping for his own purposes. But we still don’t know who received the papers from Orthys in Ardence.”

“Perhaps tracking down Leodra will uncover new leads,” I said hopefully. “There has to be some trace of what happened to those children.”

“If so, we’d best find it soon.” My mother’s mouth settled into a grim line. “The doge wants the Ardence situation resolved swiftly. No matter how hard we try to keep secret that there was a traitor among the Council of Nine, rumors will spread. The Serene Empire must appear more unified than ever, so that we can move past this moment with undiminished grace.”

Domenic’s assessment of the Ardentine side of the equation didn’t seem to suggest a swift solution was likely, barring the return of the missing children. “And how does His Serenity plan to bring Ardence back under the Serene Accords so quickly?”

La Contessa set down her empty glass on the mantel. “That,” she said, “is a matter currently under some debate. I expect we’ll come to a decision tomorrow.”

There was a certain ominous finality to her tone. “What …? Do I want to know what that means?”

“That depends on what we decide. Which reminds me. The doge requests your presence tomorrow, at the Imperial Palace.”

“What for?” I could think of no reason that didn’t add another handful of cold pebbles to the growing mound in my stomach.

“He wishes to tell you himself.” She paused on her way to the door to lay a hand briefly on the top of my head, a touch light and quick as the stroke of a dove’s wing. “But make sure you have plenty of elixir on hand, Amalia, and decline your invitations for next week. You’ll need to prepare for a trip.”

“Ardence. Of course you’re sending me to Ardence.”