Her Reputation (The Empire: Book 1)

by Laura R Cole

CHAPTER 15

  Rhys tugged on his clothing and scowled at the flock of ladies crowding around the two heralds. They had certainly wasted no time in charming the lot of them. Not that he cared, but seeing as how there were far too many women crowding around for anyone else to get close enough to relieve the visitors of some of their possessions, he didn’t see why he had to be there at all. Granted, he no longer needed the money quite as urgently now that his debt with Jak had been taken care of, at least for the moment, but there were still other expenses in his venture. If he was to succeed in getting Alina’s ring, no doubt he would have to pay someone off or buy some expensive charm.

  Once he’d made the necessary appearance at the feast, he slipped quietly out the back. He was not in a festive mood. Back in his chambers, he stripped off the constrictive clothing and collapsed on his bed in his nightclothes.

  Someone knocked at the door, startling him; he hadn’t heard anyone approach. He frowned. That could only mean one thing. He got up and opened the door. Sure enough, it was his mother. She stood there staring at him for a long moment. He stared back before stepping back and motioning her in.

  “May I help you with something, Mother?” he asked.

  She didn’t answer right away but moved to stand near the window. A small box was in her hand. Rhys grew curious despite his displeasure. Finally, she turned to him.

  “I’ve gotten the feeling lately that you’re angry with me,” she stated.

  Rhys sucked in the side of his cheek and bit it. He sighed. “I heard some disturbing rumors about you.”

  She looked at the floor. “I figured as much. What have you heard?”

  “It seems as though you have some distasteful connections in the underworld. A group called the Shadow Sisters? And I heard mention of something involving a snake.”

  She sighed. “It is time that you met someone.”

  Rhys looked at her skeptically. She opened the box to reveal a small armband in the shape of a snake. Rhys reached out to it, and touched its head. Suddenly, the snake came to life and slithered up Rhys’s arm before he had time to move away.

  “He likes you,” she said.

  The snake slid up his arm, and Rhys tore aside his nightshirt to watch the thin creature’s path. It snaked its way up past his shoulder and down onto his chest. Rhys sucked in his breath as the snake shimmered and flattened, coiling itself into a spiral above Rhys’s heart. It became difficult to focus on the shifting form, and as Rhys’s eyes became clear once more, it had become a tattoo. Rhys’s eyes grew wide.

  His mother was smiling. “Rhys, meet Marak.”

  “Is it supposed to do that?” he asked, eyes wide and focused on his chest.

  “I’ll admit,” she shrugged, “that he’s never done that with me, but he has a mind of his own. Probably just wanted to make sure I wouldn’t put him back in the box. He’s been in there for far too long.”

  “Soooo,” Rhys started, “this is the snake. What does that mean?”

  Katya appeared to be steeling herself to tell him something unpleasant. “When I was just a child, I was taken as a slave.”

  “What!? Why didn’t I know this?”

  “It’s not a part of my past that I’m proud of though I have come to terms with it. I was fitted with a magical collar which dulled my emotions and controlled my actions.” She paused and took a deep breath. “During that time, I was used as an assassin for one of the noble families who was part of the Order.”

  Rhys was silent for a long moment. “You’ve killed people?”

  “Yes,” his mother admitted in a whisper. “Marak was my partner. He is equipped with many enchantments to help neutralize victims before I disposed of them. It is this reputation that makes me known in the ranks of the Shadow Sisters, though I assure you I was never part of their organization.”

  “But you didn’t have a choice,” Rhys clarified. The idea of his mother killing anyone should seem absurd, but somehow, it wasn’t.

  “No,” Katya repeated, “I didn’t have a choice. Please don’t hate me.”

  Rhys felt a wave of emotions rolling over him, the predominate one being guilt over the thoughts he’d had about his mother the past few weeks. And to now find out that her own time in the world she kept him from had been enslavement…

  He drew her close for a hug, a rare occasion in their family, and Rhys witnessed something he didn’t ever think he’d see. A tiny, glistening tear was forming at the edge of her eye. She was crying.

  “I just didn’t want my past to rub off on you,” she said. “You spend so much time with the darkness of the city. I don’t want the evil in me to have drawn you to it.”

  “It’s not,” he assured her. “I promise.” He paused a moment in indecision before making up his mind. “All the things I do with the ‘darkness’, as you call it, is so that someday I can hopefully make it better.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, drawing back to meet his eyes.

  “A while back, I got to know the inner workings of one of the gangs, the Falcons, when I investigated an overdosed child. I was able to work with the gang leader so that it improved his business while ensuring that the drugs wouldn’t end up in the hands of children. Not a perfect solution, but an improvement. Then I heard about a new gang that was planning on moving into the city. This gang is a large group of bandits that have been organized under one leader and have been taking over smaller towns for weeks now. Things are getting really ugly, and now they’re coming to the city. The gangs here obviously don’t want that and have each been planning their own methods of dissuading the new players, but they are all disorganized. There are no rules.”

  “So you want to make organized crime?” his mother asked skeptically.

  “Yes. No.” He gave her an exasperated look. She clamped her mouth shut and allowed him to continue. “I want there to be rules. I want them to answer to the Queen. She’ll, of course, have to make some sacrifices as well. They’re not going to give up crime, but maybe we can stop them from selling drugs to kids or be warned if there’s an assassination attempt.”

  “Why would they go along with this?”

  “Because of the protection.” He cut off the protest he could see coming, “Not from the crown, but from outside gangs. If they were all organized together, there would be no way that this new rival could come in, but as it stands, none of them is strong enough separately to stop it. I’ve gotten three of the four biggest groups to agree to listen to my plan, but I’m still working on gaining the respect of the fourth. Then, of course, I’ll have to convince the Queen.”

  “What did you have to do to gain respect?” his mother asked worriedly.

  “I helped free some caged animals.” He knew that his mother had a soft spot for anything caged, and now with the insight into her past he could understand why. “And show another that I could take the Bloodstone from the vaults – but I returned it,” he added quickly.

  Katya simply nodded. Apparently, Queen Layna had shared that with her.

  “My last task is to steal Alina’s ring.”

  His mother’s face didn’t move a muscle, but he knew her well enough to see the laughter in her eyes.

  He glared at her. “Well?” he demanded. “Out with it.”

  “Oh, nothing,” his mother answered. “Good luck with that.”

  “Mmm,” he replied. “So what do you think?”

  She took her time contemplating this new information. “I think,” she began slowly, “that you could be onto something. I have heard about such things as thieves’ guilds but never really thought about them existing here or on such a large scale. I suppose if it could really cut down on the horrific crimes, the Queen might go for it. I’ll put in a good word for you with her when you approach.” Rhys was surprised. He hadn’t really expected his mother – who yelled at him for being out too late – to approve of his plans to create a thieves’ guild.
“But Rhys,” she pointed out, “you do realize that it will most likely be Phoenix who will end up making that call, not Layna, don’t you?”

  Rhys was taken-aback. He hadn’t ever thought about that. His mother made a few other suggestions, and he soon found himself unveiling his entire plan to her. Much to his surprise and gratitude, she not only accepted his goals now that she realized that his involvement in that world was out of a desire to better it, but was willing to help him achieve them.

  As they ended their conversation with plans to continue it in the future, Rhys pulled her close for another hug.

  “Two in one day,” Katya commented.

  “I just want you to know how much it means to me to be able to share this with you,” he told her. “And I don’t want you to ever think that I hold you in any less regard because of anything you did in the past. You are my mother, no matter what.” He squeezed her tight.

  “Thanks, Rhys.”