Soriel entered Basileus Dio’s office in the afternoon with a joyous wave for his staff.
Dio stopped reading the reports from the military office and gave her his full attention. His wife looked radiant in a pink dress that whispered and shimmered with every step. Her long black hair fell down her back, pinned with butterfly clips that caught the light when she moved. She approached his desk with a smile meant only for him.
He pushed his chair back, and pleasure spread through him when she perched on his lap and wrapped an arm around his shoulders as she settled. The scent of roses filled his senses. He buried his nose into her shoulder and closed his eyes, savoring her warmth.
No wonder his mother said Soriel had bewitched him. He could not argue with the truth of it.
His heartbeat belonged to Soriel Maenaer. Her love was uncomplicated, fearless, and sure, an anchoring certainty in a world of shifting alliances. She had given him a son in the five years they had been married, but she had also given him something rarer: a partnership that did not bend. If he was bewitched, then he hoped to stay lost.
“My love,” Soriel said softly, stroking her fingers through his hair. “I want to go home tomorrow. There is news that my brother has returned from the border, and I want to see him at his house.”
“Your brother is back. He can come visit us in the palace,” Dio said, wrapping his arms around Soriel and holding her close, as though his body could make her change her mind. “I haven’t seen him in months.”
“I’m sure he’ll come to report to you,” Soriel said. “But I want to talk to him about his wife, Naeri. They have become too estranged. Mom says they are not doing well. It will hurt the children if they don’t find a solution. A while back, I thought I should bring Yulin to the palace so he could play with our son, but we have problems of our own with Mother-in-law.”
Soriel let out a sigh and rested her weight against him. Dio felt her worry, her responsibility, the way she carried family as though it were both shield and crown.
“Well.” Dio raised his head from her shoulder and leaned back to meet Soriel’s troubled gaze when she sat up. “What do you think they should do?”
“I don’t know,” Soriel said, shaking her head. “Naeri is not an easy sister-in-law. She won’t talk to Noriel or me. She only leans on our mother when she thinks it will force Raithion to do something. I’m at a loss, Dio. Mom thinks she should send Raithion’s children to our ancestral home in Draeya. I think it’s a good idea, but it is cruel to separate children from their mother. What do you think?”
Dio wished he had an easy solution for Soriel. He felt responsible for Raithion’s current predicament. He had heard the stories of Noriel’s attempts to secure her position in Raithion’s home: using potent aphrodisiac drugs to push Raithion into compliance so she could give birth to a Maenaer heir. Raithion’s reaction to his wife’s actions was extreme. He escaped the city in favor of border inspections, vanishing into duty.
It made Dio wonder if he had broken something in Raithion’s life when he chose what the kingdom demanded over what a man might have wanted.
“Soriel,” Dio said quietly, taking her right hand and turning it in his own as he played with the red jade ring on her index finger.
He had given her the ring during their wedding, making her his wife and the Basilinna of the Kingdom of Lyria. The smile on her face that day still lived in him, bright as a vow, sharp as a promise. Raithion’s toast for his sister’s happiness also lingered in his thoughts, refusing to fade.
What had Raithion said?
“Soriel, may you always be happy with your chosen love…”
Chosen love, Dio thought with a frown, the words turning in his mind like a blade.
“Do you think your brother had someone he loved before his engagement to Lady Naeri?” Dio asked, meeting Soriel’s worried gaze.
She studied him for a minute, then her gaze drifted to their clasped hands.
“I once thought so,” Soriel said, her voice low, as though afraid the people beyond Dio’s office door would hear. “Especially when he came back after the Sura purge, but there are no clues.”
“No clues don’t mean one doesn’t exist,” Dio said with a sigh. “I’ve wronged your big brother for the sake of our family.”
“Does this mean you’ll let me see him?” Soriel asked. “Yulin and Skye need help. I’m their auntie. There’s nothing to do but find a way for them to grow up happy.”
“I know,” Dio said. “You can visit him. But he should also come to see his Basileus when he manages his affairs at home. Tell him I want to see him.”
Soriel kissed his cheek, and Dio smiled, softened in a way he allowed only her to witness. “I’ll tell him. I’ll take Rane with me so he can play with his grandmother and cousin. It will be good for Yulin. You make sure to eat on time. If you can’t stand being at a table with Mother-in-law, go visit Auntie Sanan and Dowager Grandmother. She is always eager to feed you.”
“I feel like you’re planning to leave me for many days,” Dio complained, tightening his arms around Soriel. The words were petulant, but the truth beneath them was not. “Won’t you miss me in your bed? How about I sneak into the Maenaer manor…” His voice trailed off as he leaned in to kiss her cheeks, angling for her lips.
“Dio,” Soriel said. “Behave yourself. We are in your office. Your attendants could walk in at any minute. And I’d like to see you sneak into a house with my brother and father there.”
“I’m not worried. I married you fair and square,” Dio complained, and finally he kissed her lips, smiling against her mouth as he swallowed Soriel’s soft chuckle. Her laughter always felt like victory, sweet, private, and entirely his.
A knock on the door interrupted their kiss, and Dio sighed when Soriel hid her face in his shoulder as though it might hide her blush.
“Yes,” Dio said, lifting his gaze. He was surprised to find Theod Dorn, head of the palace guard, standing at his door with a panicked expression. “What is it, Theod?”
“There’s been a development at the Maenaer Manor,” Theod said, making Soriel sit up to look at him despite her blush-stained cheeks.
“What development?” Soriel asked.
“Um.” Theod hesitated, then entered the office and held out a note to Dio.
Soriel grabbed it first and unrolled it. It took her a moment before she jumped off Dio’s lap in alarm and handed the note to Dio.
Dio read the note aloud. “Commandery Princess poisoned. Draeya Prince has locked down the manor.”
“I have to go home,” Soriel said, already turning to leave.
“Wait. I’ll go with you,” Dio said, dropping the note on his desk as he started after her.
“No.” Soriel stopped him with a gentle hand on his chest when he reached her. She looked at Theod, then let out a controlled breath. “This is not as simple as it sounds. My brother has returned home, and now his wife is poisoned. We have been dealing with Lord Gesi Ajai’s machinations in the court for the last six months as he finds a way to weaken our bond and the traction we’ve built in the court. Raithion’s wife is Gesi Ajai’s daughter. This is not so simple.”
“The Basilinna is right,” Theod said, giving Dio a firm nod.
“You stay,” Soriel said. “Look after our son. Let him stay with Princess Sanan and Dowager Grandmother if you need to go to court. I’ll manage my brother’s house.”
“What if it’s dangerous?” Dio asked, pulling Soriel into his arms.
“I have guards to protect me,” Soriel said, her voice steady. She did not flinch from danger. “Don’t worry.”
She leaned up and kissed him on his lips, a sweet kiss that had Theod turning away at once, offering them the dignity of privacy.
“Gesi Ajai has been unable to hurt us,” Soriel said, the certainty in her tone making Dio’s chest tighten with pride and unease in equal measure. “So, he’s gone after my brother. I’ll go help Raith however I can. After all, thanks to him, we’ve become a bit stronger.”
“You’re right,” Dio said, hugging Soriel tight for a moment, as though he could lend her his strength through skin and breath. “All right. Call me if you need help. Keep me updated.”
“I will,” Soriel said and rushed out of Dio’s office.
Theod watched her leave with admiration, then turned to Dio.
“Draeya Prince and Gesi Ajai are about to lock horns,” Theod said. “Are you satisfied?”
“I’m apprehensive,” Dio said, moving to look out the windows at the bright garden. He caught sight of Soriel running along a path toward Rose Hall so she could change for her trip out of the palace. Even hurried, she moved with purpose, like a woman born to command.
“My wife is very attached to her family. I’ve tried to win her brother’s confidence, but Raithion has been closed off for five years. He marches to orders without question, and my tenure as Basileus has gained strength thanks to his efforts,” Dio said with a sigh. “Raithion’s determination to clean out military ranks within the capital city, Genad, and at the border has left Gesi Ajai without a route to manipulate cases in court, the economy he almost ruined, and even my palace staff.”
“Draeya Prince has held up the front against Gesi Ajai,” Theod said. “It has left his family life open to Gesi Ajai.”
“We are now in a critical moment,” Dio said. “I can only hope Raithion makes it to the other side, and whatever Gesi Ajai does will not rob him of more.” His voice lowered. “I have sinned, Theod. Do you think Raithion will ever forgive me?”
“That’s up to fate,” Theod said.
Dio nodded once.
“Tell the silent guard to support Draeya Prince and the Basilinna however they can,” Dio said. “I want this resolved as fast as possible.”
“I’ll tell them,” Theod said.
****
Soriel rode her horse hard, followed by Meira and Vanya and the formal guard from the palace as they headed for her parents’ manor. She was dressed in black, a dark veil with gold embroidery covering her hair and part of her face to keep interested eyes from lingering too long. Nervous energy coursed through her veins as she thought about her brother and his estranged wife, Naeri. What bad fate had Raith triggered to have so many problems at home?
She turned onto the affluent street that led to their manor and slowed when a ruckus met them like a wall. A woman was wailing loudly, calling out to the gathering crowd with the practiced desperation of someone who knew exactly where shame landed hardest.
“They have poisoned my daughter to death and won’t let me enter to see her. Look what they have done. She was fine this morning. We had a lovely meal together, and now they say she is poisoned. What kind of in-laws are these? They won’t let me see my daughter.” Her voice broke, then sharpened again. “What about my grandchildren? How can I be sure they are fine in a place where their mother was poisoned?”
The wailing woman stared at the closed gates as if grief alone should force them open. She cried louder, dragging the crowd into her pain until the murmurs turned into demands. Voices rose. Insults snapped against the closed wooden gates like thrown stones.
Vanya got off her horse, handed the reins to one of her sisters, and hurried ahead, melting into the crowd. Soriel dismounted, followed by Meira. The team of ten guards did the same and waited by a low wall until Vanya returned.
Vanya came back minutes later, shaking her head.
“It is Lady Benira,” Vanya said. “The Commandery Princess’s mother. She has been here for an hour. The manor doors were already locked when they arrived. Draeya Prince’s guard won’t open without an order from him. She is making a ruckus to force the doors open.”
“So petty,” Soriel said, though her eyes hardened as she watched the crowd swell with borrowed outrage. Raithion likely had his hands full with his wife inside the manor. The locked doors would be a security measure. Soriel’s mouth tightened. “Has my sister arrived?”
“Yes. Lady Draug is already inside,” Vanya said with a wince. “She is part of the reason Lady Benira is causing a fuss. Apparently, the guards allowed Lady Draug in without much issue, but they won’t let Lady Benira inside. She thinks it is because Lady Draug is a Maenaer and she is not.”
“Grinding gossip to make our family look bad,” Soriel said, adjusting her gloves with deliberate care. She looked to Meira. “Let’s go deal with this one. Vanya, I’ll leave you to manage the crowd. Clear this place after we enter and send anyone who wants to make a scene to the side entrance.”
“Yes, my lady,” Vanya said.
Soriel steadied herself and stepped into the clamoring crowd that was now shouting insults at her family’s main gates. Meira flanked Soriel, watchful and ready, while Vanya and her team guarded the rear.
“How dare a noble family keep a mother away from her child when she is in trouble?” someone called out. “Worse than dogs.”
“Duchess Maenaer,” Benira called out, her voice dripping with tears. “Let me see my daughter. How can you keep me away from her like this? Is it because we come from a lowly family? I will kneel down to beg you to open the door. Do you dare see me beg?”
“And why can’t she dare to see you beg?” Soriel asked, her voice cold as she stepped out to face Benira Ajai. “What do you think she is guilty of, that she doesn’t dare to face you?”
Benira turned eyes red and gleaming, and snapped as though Soriel were only another obstacle.
“And who are you to meddle where you know nothing?” Benira asked.
Her gaze flicked over Soriel’s veil and black attire with contempt.
“Lady Noriel walked into the manor not thirty minutes ago, and no one dared stop her. What of me? Where is their recognition of my place as the Commandery Princess’s mother? Are they looking down on me? Don’t I have a right to demand attention from my son-in-law?” Her voice rose, aimed at the crowd as much as Soriel. “Who are you to question me?”
Soriel narrowed her gaze as she took in the crowd of attendants clustered behind Benira, five visible at Benira’s shoulders, and more pressing at the edges of the crowd. Then, with a soft scoff, Soriel pushed the veil back to reveal her face.
The shift was immediate.
Benira’s breath caught. Her expression faltered as recognition struck. She gasped.
“I am the youngest daughter in the Maenaer clan,” Soriel said, her smile small and controlled. “Am I not allowed to question you when you slander my mother in front of such a large crowd?”
“Your Majesty,” Benira said at once, pressing her right hand to her chest and bowing her head.
The crowd quieted as if a hand had closed around their throats. Then, as if waking, they followed Benira’s lead: bows, murmurs, whispers threaded with excitement.
“Your Majesty,” they repeated, the words spreading through them like sudden fear.
Benira glanced up with apprehension, even as she pressed a handkerchief to her eye as though to wipe away tears. The performance did not stop, but it changed.
Soriel smirked and climbed two steps so she could face the onlookers Benira had gathered at the Maenaer front gate.
“My brother’s wife has been poisoned,” Soriel said, her voice carrying the weight of authority. “I, too, have received a message and have come to see how I can help. We do not know how or why this happened, but I can imagine the Draeya Prince has locked the manor doors to capture the culprit.” Her gaze swept the crowd, steady, unafraid of their earlier insults. “Anyone would move quickly to discover who has harmed a member of their family. I beg you not to speculate until more information is provided.”
“What about Lady Benira?” someone called out. “Why not let her in?”
“Look. She came to call on my mother’s house with over ten attendants. If I were investigating a crime, I would want to clear those inside first before I had to clear the ten attendants coming along with others,” Soriel said, and she did not soften her voice. She let the truth stand like stone. Her eyes slid to Benira and the attendants hovering behind her. “Surely one or two will be fine. It is not like the Draeya Prince can’t afford attendants in his house. We all want the culprit caught.” Soriel’s gaze sharpened, pinning Benira where she stood. “Or isn’t that what you want, Lady Benira?”
“I-I—” Benira began, then stopped, caught between the crowd and the Basilinna, her mouth suddenly unable to keep pace with her scheme.
“Her Majesty speaks sense,” someone in the crowd said. “Surely you’d want the investigator to catch the culprit in time. Adding more people will delay the work.”
“That’s true.”
“But why did Lady Draug enter?”
“She brought one attendant,” someone else answered, “a girl who is from the Maenaer home to begin with. They know them.”
“Mm, that makes sense. Even Her Majesty has only brought one attendant with her. What’s with Lady Benira’s horde of attendants?”
Soriel raised her hand slightly, and the crowd’s noise dipped, as if they were conditioned to obey without realizing it.
“Okay,” Soriel said. “I’ll vouch for Lady Benira to enter the manor with me, but I can only take one attendant of hers inside. We need to cooperate with my brother’s efforts to catch the culprit.” She looked directly at Benira, leaving no room for argument. “Isn’t that right, Lady Benira?”
“Yes,” Benira said, her voice suddenly small.
“Let’s all wait for news,” Soriel told the crowd. “I’ll make sure the truth is laid out to everyone in a clean manner. I, too, want to know who would dare harm our family members.”
Soriel turned to the guard standing at the Maenaer front gates and produced her entry token. The guard nodded and knocked on the gate.
Soriel was not surprised to see Kailu and Haedor waiting for them as the gates opened.
“Your Majesty, we were just about to open for Lady Benira when she started the ruckus,” Kailu said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Soriel said, keenly aware of Lady Benira hurrying behind her with one attendant while the others were held back by Vanya and her team. Soriel’s voice stayed level, but her pace did not slow. “How is my brother’s family?”
The gates closed behind them, sealing out the noise, and Kailu let out a soft sigh.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” Kailu said. “It is bad news. Her Highness has been poisoned to death. Prince Yulin is poisoned, too. The healers are inside working to save him. Lady Silveren has started preparing the Commandery Princess’s funeral.”
Benira let out a grief-stricken scream, sharp enough to scrape the air. Her attendant held her tight as she swayed, suddenly a mother again instead of a woman wielding scandal as a weapon.
Soriel winced at the tragedy and closed her eyes for a heartbeat, one breath to feel it, one breath to set it aside, because a Basilinna could mourn later.
“Haedor,” Soriel said, opening her eyes, calm and commanding, “lead Lady Benira into the house to see my mother.”
Haedor nodded to Benira’s attendant, who led the grieving woman to follow him into the main house.
Soriel’s gaze shifted to Kailu, then to the house, to the unseen corridors where her brother waited. “Where is my brother?”
“He is with Prince Yulin,” Haedor said. “He has asked Kailu and me to find the culprit. Lady Silveren is busy with the funeral arrangements, while Noriel is assisting her. We need someone to report to as we find clues.”
“I’ll take over,” Soriel said, and the words landed like a decree. She glanced at Meira. “Send a message to Lord Ajai and to my husband about the Commandery Princess’s fate.”
Meira nodded and hurried away to find the manor’s aviary to send a message.
Soriel turned to Kailu. “I’ll see my brother first, then you can report your findings to me.” Her eyes hardened with purpose. “We need to close this case before the funeral if my brother is to have peace from his in-laws. Let’s get it done.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Kailu said, leading her to Raithion’s house.
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