“But Talon volunteered?”
“Son of a politician. Wanted to make a difference. As do all of my messengers.”
“How did the Emperor find out about Degendhard?”
“That I don’t know, Areli. I wish I did though. It wasn’t until a year ago the Emperor had started to question the fact that people were able to pay on tax day. Previously, though, all the Emperor cared about was that he was getting paid and getting most of his money back. And in a way, he was getting exactly that.
“But before that year, he never cared about what happened outside the Mountains of Abhi. The people were paying, so he just had to find others to kill. Someone to satisfy his violent appetite. I was able to live with the fact that other lands suffered. But what other choice did I have. Our people were suffering here. I couldn’t allow that. Not after that day.
“In actuality, the Emperor’s mind is mainly concerned with two things . . . women and power. I think he actually believed that people were paying because they no longer wanted to suffer. And it took him almost forty years, Areli. Forty years to find out something was not right. I can promise you one thing. I will personally kill whoever looked into the matter. Whoever made Degendhard aware to the Emperor will not leave this world pleasantly.”
Now, Areli was in a position where she would kill to protect her friend. She would do whatever it took to keep Fides safe, and it started with Sofi’s informants. Cut off the veins and arteries, she would say to herself, to kill the heart. This had to be her focus. She fought hard to suppress any thoughts of Talon. She was with Yats now. She was with Yats.
Areli didn’t know where to start. But when school started the following week, she started to ask questions. She began with the students in her class, inquiring each student if they had been approached by anyone asking about Fides, but she did so with care. The boys were all too eager to talk to her, and the girls thought she wanted to be their best friend. Areli made light conversation with them and only casually brought up Fides name as if it was an afterthought.
Yats had better success, as Areli had no other option but to tell him. He was not at all hesitant to help. Areli was grateful for Yats, as he was the only one she could talk to about Fides’s father being Degendhard the Great. He seemed just as shocked as she was when he heard the news.
“Are you sure?” asked Yats when she told him.
“Yes, I’m sure,” said Areli, “do you think I would make something like this up?” He looked at her with an expression of doubt. The look hurt her, as did the length of time it took for him to respond. But in the end, Yats told her he believed her . . . and that is all that really mattered. She then told him about the incident that happened in the library and every detail concerning Sofi’s revenge.
“What do you need me to do?” asked Yats, his face rigid and serious. His eyes set to kill. He was prepared to walk the line of right and wrong with Areli, to protect Amer’s love.
“We need to know who the informants are,” said Areli, “and then . . . and then we need to cut the flow of information.”
As Areli walked through the halls of the school that first day back, it seemed like every eye was watching her. It could be anyone, she told herself. Her heart dropped . . . heavily . . . suddenly . . . as a poster remembering Amira was placed on her locker, with a note on it, bold in its demeanor, just like the person who wrote it.
It should have been you, Degendhard’s whore.
Tegan
Areli couldn’t help but burst into tears. She rushed to the bathroom, puked into the toilet bowl, and then ripped up the poster and threw bits and pieces of it into the water before collapsing onto the marble floor. When classes ended for the day, Fides was suspended from school again, and Tegan had to wear an extra layer of make-up to cover up the large bruise on her cheek. It brought a smile to Areli thinking about it. Sisters – friends – you had to love them.
Areli was actually glad Fides was gone for the week. It lifted some of the apprehension swirling in the air, and she could meet with Yats, uninhibited, to discuss one another’s progress. Yats promised Areli that he wouldn’t tell Amer, even though it pained him the same way it pained her, as she held steadfast to her decision not to tell Fides. The two shared everything together. And to have the heft of this secret creating an invisible distance between them was the hardest thing she ever had to do.
Areli talked to the tyros and the jejunes. And Yats questioned the unders and doyens. They met each day during lunch to discuss their results, narrowing the culprits to four people. One in each array.
“What do you want to do?” asked Yats.
“We are going to have to turn the tables on them,” said Areli, “we need dirt on them. Anything, everything. I want to bury them before they have chance to bury Fides.” Yats smiled. He liked mischief. And mischief to help a friend, was even better.
As the weeks traveled past, Areli competed and finished second in every short-go, while spending most of her spare time with Yats, either doing her little investigations or working on her present for Fides. Fides would get in her face only a couple of times about it, but Areli knew it would be worse if she didn’t have Amer.
“I miss my sister,” said Fides when Areli told her that she and Yats already made plans for another week together. “Okay, but you can’t keep ditching me. I love Amer, but sometimes . . . you know . . . there are just things that you can’t tell a boy.” Areli would only smile. She wished she could spend time with Fides or that the four of them could go out like they used to, but she and Yats were busy, secretly building a case to destroy lives if they had to.
The informant in Areli’s class was a girl, Evangeline Green. After some extensive searching, Areli found that Evangeline had her homework done for her by others. Compliments of Sofi. Areli enjoyed that particular day she sat next to her classmate at lunch, sliding Evangeline a paper saying that she wasn’t afraid to expose her to the principal.
“You can’t do anything,” sneered Evangeline, “I’m protected.”
“So am I,” said Areli, “it’s your choice Evangeline. Is the Emperor going to side with me, a column racer, or some nobody, eeking by on the labor of others? I don’t think I need to remind you what happens to cheaters . . . especially here.” In some cases the students were simply expelled. In other’s, tortured and killed.
“What do you want me to do?” asked Evangeline.
“I want you to stop asking questions,” said Areli, “because trust me. You don’t want me to expose you. This is only a grain of salt at the top of a meal. I have a whole file of nasty secrets on you. And if you continue sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, I will make it my life’s mission to destroy you.”
Areli had never felt so in control as she did in that moment. So alive. The rest of the informants went down just as easily. Jimena Leach, the jejune informant, had a drug addiction. The under informant, Sage Marshall, had an aborted baby. And Amir Sharp, the doyen spy, was Sage’s lover. It almost seemed too easy, but Areli knew just how hard they had to look for that information, and the results were gratifying.
While Fides and Amer were out enjoying the night or making out during lunch hours, Areli and Yats were asking questions. It helped that Yats was allowed a hefty allowance. Some of the information they collected was bought with money or with the promise of prominent introductions to senators or merchants. Other information was charmed from the mouths of the informant’s friends and more from just plain observation, as Areli and Yats followed the informants every moves. Areli could recite from memory what each informant liked to eat, what subjects they liked, who they liked, who they hated, and almost every significant and insignificant detail about their lives. She could have easily been a reporter, and she was glad she was using her newly acquired talent to chop at the roots of the tree that was Sofi. She was also proud of herself for not thinking much of Talon. But now that the informants were subdued, Areli feared thoughts of him might come roaring back.
Areli w
as flying high after she and Yats were successful at taking the informants down, but that was until she received a letter. It wasn’t a letter she found in her locker, but a letter that was handed to her personally by her driver. She hoped it was from Yats. It was in a gold envelope and her name was displayed on the front with a delicate hand. She opened it and pulled out an elegant parchment with gold bordering.
Areli,
I’m going to first have to commend your efforts for slowing down my cousin. Your boldness is much admired. But if you truly want to save your friend, then you’re going to want to meet me. Visit me at Flame, have your driver take you there after you meet with your parents. You won’t want to miss this.
Haskel
Areli wanted to rip the letter into pieces, but what could she do? Maybe Haskel had some vital piece of information. Would he actually betray his cousin? Doubt it, thought Areli to herself. But she felt compelled to find out what he had to say. When she returned home, she kissed her parents and only stayed for the length of time it took to inhale and exhale, and then she was back in her carriage, heading to Flame. What is he up to? thought Areli. She started to have her doubts, but Haskel’s words came funneling back to her, like fish swimming in her mind. She read the letter again, using the lights of the city. She had to find out what was so important to give a message to her driver, making sure she received it.
She entered into the beautiful restaurant. Areli was greeted by the hostess, who told her her party had been expecting her. She followed her to a private room she didn’t even know existed. The walls were a combination of dark green marble columns, elegant paintings of dragons, black marble floors, and a gold table in the center, along with gold chairs adorned with comfortable red cushions, all bathed in the shadow of a hanging chandelier.
Haskel stood up. He wore an all light blue outfit, everything from leather trench coat to the pants to the jacket he wore underneath and his silk shirt and shoes. He waited to seat himself until Areli took a seat next to him. She hated him. She hated everything he stood for. Her heart was racing. She couldn’t understand why. She narrowed it to nerves.
Areli watched as he picked up a menu and started to look through it.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” asked Haskel casually. She glared at him, into the eyes not used to the word no. She wanted to smile as she said the word he was unaccustomed to, wanting the sting of it to spread across his face. But he wasn’t hurt. He simply set the menu down, and said “okay.”
“You said you had something to tell me,” said Areli, “I’m only here because of that. You said you had information pertaining to Fides.”
“I did?” asked Haskel, “my bad.”
“Then we have nothing to discuss,” said Areli with bitterness in her notes. She stood from her chair and slapped the napkin into the gold plate for effect.
“No, what I have to talk about,” said Haskel, “pertains to you.”
“I’m not here for me,” snapped Areli.
“Well . . . you’re not going to be of any use to anyone if you’re dead.”
“What did you say to me?”
“Trust me . . . you are going to want to hear this . . . now sit.” Areli took up her place next to Haskel. “Napkin,” said Haskel staring at it. She swiped it off the table and placed it in her lap. The waitress came in through a special door and took their orders. Haskel ordered for them. Steak for him – bloody and a medium-rare porterhouse for her. Areli could stab her fork into him. Maybe his neck or his stomach. She found everything about Haskel disgusting to the senses.
“Why did you ask me to come here, Haskel?” asked Areli with spite and malice. He smiled at her and then reached into his bag, pulling out a gold folder. He tossed it in front of her.
“Read it,” said Haskel, “you can keep it, that’s just my copy.”
Areli opened it. It had personal information in it. It contained everything about her. Her entire life written out in elegant writing.
“What in the stars is this?” asked Areli as she continued to flip through pages. And then she found the sheet. Her fingers could do nothing but tremble when she saw it. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t think she could breathe. She felt tears rise viciously to the corners of her eyes. She let the rest of the folder drop to the table, except for that single sheet.
“The warning is from Sofi,” said Haskel, “not me. Quite frankly I’ve had enough of her. She has a vengeful temper and too much pride. I want to assure you I had no idea she was planning to sabotage your run like that. I knew she cut up your bag, but that’s the extent of it.” Areli could hear Haskel talking, but she could barely hear his words. This is where Sofi had disappeared to, thought Areli.
“Areli,” said Haskel, “if you keep on interfering with Sofi’s mission, she has told me to tell you . . . she will not hesitate to share your folder with the Emperor . . . and I assure you – it won’t end well.”
Areli spent the entire carriage ride home in silence. She wondered if this is how Kaia felt, knowing she is capable of flight, but locked in a stall for most of her life. Areli looked at the folder she had let slip from her lap, its contents strewed across the floor of the cab. She couldn’t hold it in anymore. She cried. She sobbed. She felt like she let Fides down. Areli couldn’t protect her. She couldn’t save her . . . and trying to do so anymore would lead to her and her family’s execution. And in this moment, she knew exactly how Edsel felt. The hopelessness of the situation – the chains of past events. They sought to drown her.
Areli had her driver bring her to Yats. There, she told Yats everything. She showed him the folder and cried into his arms that were wrapped around her. She couldn’t believe how careless she was. She couldn’t believe just how evil Sofi was.
“You know what we need to do,” said Yats.
“There – there is nothing we can do,” said Areli, “didn’t you see the folder . . . if this gets in the hands of the Emperor.”
“Don’t talk like that,” said Yats, “Fides is your sister . . . your sister Areli.” Areli cried even harder into Yats shoulder, turning his shirt into something that looked like it was just washed but not yet dried. “If Sofi wants to play this way,” said Yats, “we are going to have to do the same.”
“But the folder.”
“The folder doesn’t matter,” said Yats, “as long as we get as damaging of information on Sofi.” Areli looked at him, and then his words struck her. It was what they should have done in the first place. The informants weren’t the ones they should have subdued. Why chop away at the roots, when you can cut down the entire tree?
Chapter Thirty-One
The first thing they had to do was find Sofi, but without knowing her whereabouts, Areli and Yats knew their most ideal plan would be to keep a close eye on Haskel. However, Areli and Yats tried to come up with an easier way to find her, a less dangerous and exposing approach. They went through everything they knew about the informants, wondering if there was a correlation between each of them – a certain location that they went to, perhaps, or a location particularly out of the way.
“You know,” said Yats, “we aren’t going to do this by ourselves.”
“What does that mean?”
“We’re going to need help.” Areli didn’t want to say he was right, but she knew he was, and she hated that fact. Yats told her in politics, there was a student in her array he knew would have access to the community used by the Emperor, his siblings, his closest advisors, the Senate members, and most importantly . . . Haskel and Sofi.
“I hope it’s not who I think you’re talking about,” said Areli.
“We have no choice.” Yats was right. Areli lived in the Riding Community, Yats in the Roping Community. “He will be perfect for us. He’s rebellious, intelligent . . .”
“Cold, opinionated, and stubborn beyond reason. Besides, why would he help us? He hates me.”
“Are you done?” asked Yats, “Listen, Areli, I don’t like the guy any more than you do. But if
we are going to have eyes and ears beyond those walls, then there is nothing else we can do . . . there is one more other thing.”
“And what is that?” asked Areli with a venomous tone.
“We are going to need another set of eyes around school,” said Yats.
“And . . . and what does that mean?”
“It means that Haskel knows the kids in his array. There is only so much I can do until he suspects me.”
“Are you saying there is nothing you can do from your end?”
“He would see it coming, Areli,” said Yats, “there is only so much you can do as well. If we are to pull this off, we are going to have to tread lightly.”
“And what do you have in mind?”
“Finn . . . Finn Sparks.”
“Absolutely not!” said Areli, “I’m not . . . I can’t. I don’t want anything to do with him.” It took all her resolve to agree to Yats first issue, but to agree to bring in Finn Sparks, the person who had a deep crush on her and was unafraid to show it . . . an un-late Talon. She couldn’t do that to herself, or to him. It would bring about too many memories of Talon. And those were things she wanted to avoid right now. If not forever.
“I can’t exploit him like that,” said Areli, “there has to be another way. Why can’t we have a jejune or a doyen for an extra pair of eyes?”
“Because who would we ask? They wouldn’t want to help Fides or you. But Finn would. And so would . . .”
“Stop!” said Areli, fuming, to Yats delight. Somehow, he settled her. He told her she was beautiful when she was mad. Not as beautiful as when she was happy, but beautiful nonetheless. How could she stay mad at him? She also knew Yats was right about Finn, and it killed her to tell him so. Protecting Fides was her responsibility, but to do so, she and Yats had to be resourceful and avoid detection.
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