“When I have the time.”
It had become Winter’s mantra. When she’d accepted Raesinia’s offer to lead the new Ministry of the Occult, she’d had no idea that the work involved would dwarf even what she’d had to deal with as a division-?general. Fortunately, we’ve got a few more years to get things up and running before the demons really start popping up.
“What about Abraham?” she said, as the orchestra wound down. The couples on the floor broke apart into a milling crowd, and the buzz of conversation rose. “Have you heard anything?”
“I got a note from him from Mohkba,” Alex said. “He convinced the Church to let him go through their records—?don’t ask me how—?and he thought he knew where he was going. He said he’d write again once he got there.”
Winter nodded silently. I hope he finds what he’s looking for.
“I should pay my respects,” Winter said. “I’ll find you later.”
Alex lifted a strawberry in salute. Winter stood, pushing past the assembled grandees to the royal dais. It was flanked by a pair of statues, larger-?than-?life abstract female figures, carved from marble, with vast, curving wings. They mirrored a similar pair out on the grand drive, at the front of the palace. Raesinia had ordered them made not long after the battle. Winter looked at each of them in turn, then lowered her eyes.
Thank you.
When she looked up again, the king and queen were both watching her. Marcus sat awkwardly in his throne, less than comfortable in his court finery. He’d gained weight in the past year, and the streaks of gray in his hair had grown. When he caught her eye, though, he grinned and scratched his beard.
Raesinia, for her part, looked perfectly at ease in an elaborately frilled and bejeweled dress, which must have had to be resewn quite recently to accommodate the bulge of the royal belly. She was taller, too, and her shoulders were broader. Winter thought she looked radiant.
“Winter!” she said. “It’s so good to see you.”
“And you, Your Highness.” Winter bowed to the couple.
“We were just talking about the new flik-?flik lines,” Raesinia said. “There are at least two commercial companies pushing to link Vordan City to Hamvelt, and competition is getting quite vicious. I was telling Marcus that we might have to put the whole affair under the purview of the Ministry of Finance. Surely having an efficient communications network is in the national interest. I’m sure Cora can work something out.”
“And I was just telling Raesinia that she ought to stop working for the night,” Marcus said. “How are you, Winter?”
“Good,” Winter said. It still surprised her that she could say that and actually mean it. “It’s still a mountain of work at the Ministry, but I think we’re making progress.” She hesitated. “I got a report yesterday that I thought you might want to know about.”
Raesinia raised an eyebrow. “Something interesting?”
“In a way,” Winter said. “There’s a trader from Khandar in the city, and he’s been talking to sailors from the south who stopped at Ashe-?Katarion. Apparently there are... rumors.”
Raesinia and Marcus looked at each other.
“What kind of rumors?” Marcus said slowly.
“A gray-?eyed foreigner has led a great revolution,” Winter said. “He’s struck the chains from the slaves and helped the people defeat their cruel overlords. Now he’s leading an army into the depths of the south, in search of the lost city of the gods.”
There was a long moment of silence as the chatter of the court washed over them.
“I thought,” Raesinia said, “he told you that he was done with campaigns and armies?”
“He lasted a year.” Marcus sighed. “I suppose that’s better than I expected.”