Chapter 25
Eleanor swung the harping knife around, using the long blade to block Lauren’s dagger thrust and flicking her wrist around to pin her back against the wall with the second, shorter blade.
“You’re almost as good as Ivan with that thing,” Lauren said, moving away from the wall and dropping into a low guard ready for another bout of sparring. “I never could get the hang of it myself.”
“It took me a while,” Eleanor said. “But it’s the one weapon that makes me feel confident in hand-to-hand. You know I’d generally prefer to take down my enemy from a distance.”
“That’s why you prefer a longer blade.”
“I think so, yeah.”
Eleanor spun the harping knife casually between her hands; Lauren was far enough away that she could afford to be flashy without risking the initiative. The twin blades glinted in the lamplight.
“When are they going to start trusting me?” Lauren asked, watching Eleanor’s movements but making none of her own. “It’s been three months, and still the only job they’ll give me is training the kids.”
“Patience,” Eleanor said. “There are plenty of good people who’ve spent years training new recruits. It’s not the worst job.”
“It’s not the best.”
“No. Would you prefer to go back out into the districts? I could give you your own guard unit.”
“I’d prefer to be useful. To the fullest of my abilities – not as a guard or a glorified schoolteacher.”
Eleanor dropped her arms to her sides and sighed. “You were a Shadow,” she said. “Their first instinct is to kill you, as was mine. We just need some way to prove your loyalty really is with us.”
“Like what?”
“There’s a list of Imperial family to deal with, we could pick up one of those. Come back with Imperial blood on your hands and there won’t be space for any doubts.”
“That could work.”
Eleanor started to work through the list, counting names on her fingers as she dismissed them one by one. As Crown Prince, Leon should be the best protected, and she didn’t much feel like trying to assassinate him anyway. His brother Rowan was known to be the Empress’s favourite, so she would have made sure he was well-guarded, too. Daniel had already worked his way through the Empress’s siblings with a series of carefully planned ‘accidents’. There were a few cousins, but she wanted something a bit more high-profile to serve her purposes with Lauren.
“Rowan has three sons,” she said at last. “Aged eight, eleven, and thirteen. I think any one of those would show you mean business. We can set out in three nights, when the moon is dark, unless there’s a good cloudy night before then.”
“You don’t have to come with me. I’m a grown-up, you know. I’m quite competent.”
“This isn’t about getting the job done, it’s about getting you accepted. That means you need a witness.”
“Okay. Do they live at the palace?”
“So far as I know. We have a couple of spies in the household staff who can get the details for us.”
“Great, who are they? I’ll go to Almont and ask them. You can come out and do your witness thing once I’ve got a plan.”
“Sorry,” Eleanor said. “But even most of the council don’t know exactly who my spies are, just like they didn’t know you were working for me. We can go to Almont together but you’ll have to let me do that part alone.”
“I understand,” Lauren said. If she felt at all put out by Eleanor’s reticence, she didn’t show it.
As it happened, there was solid cloud cover the following night, and no reason to delay any longer. Eleanor shivered as they rowed towards the mainland; it was a cold night, and it would only get colder as the winter months drew in. She’d told the council of their plans, though she’d phrased it in such a way as to invite no argument. Laban had looked a little surprised – of everyone, he best understood Eleanor’s reluctance about assassinating the Empress’s every relation – but he’d said nothing to dissuade her. Daniel had been thoroughly overjoyed that she’d apparently come around to his way of thinking, so much so that he’d even kept quiet for once about Lauren’s part in the mission.
Lauren paused for a moment, oars resting above the water, to pull her woolen cloak more tightly around her shoulders.
“Cold, isn’t it?” Eleanor said. “It’ll be a bit less harsh in Almont.”
“I should have worn more layers,” Lauren said. “It’s so warm inside, I hadn’t really noticed how close we’re getting to winter.”
When they reached Woolport they tied up the boat and went to Violet’s rooms for the night. The rebel district had loose boundaries here; the town was a trading port above all, and the traders cared for neither the rebellion nor the resistance above their profit. The area wasn’t heavily guarded – they were far enough from the heart of the war, here – but Eleanor preferred to keep the Association’s location a secret even from those who claimed to be with the revolution. Violet, though, she trusted.
Sally let them in, hung their sea-sprayed cloaks up to dry by the fire, and gave them a pile of blankets.
“I’d join you for a drink, but it’s late,” she said. “Help yourself to whatever you want, and we’ll catch up at breakfast.”
“Sounds perfect,” Eleanor said. She wanted nothing more than to warm up and rest her aching arms.
“I’d just assumed we’d be riding straight away,” Lauren said as they curled up on the floor, close enough to the fire to feel something of its warmth, but far enough to avoid stray sparks.
“Travelling by night looks suspicious,” Eleanor said. “And there are spies everywhere. If we can’t avoid being seen, we have to look inconspicuous.”
Revolution (Chronicles of Charanthe #2) Page 70