a few months ago if given the chance. Some of them look like they still might; their gazes are that sharp.
To my surprise, Ada is the one to move first. She slides a single page out from her stack of papers, her eyes scanning it thoroughly. “A progress report from the Scarlet Guard is not needed. We have more than enough information to go on.”
At her table, Mare’s mouth falls open in confusion. “Ada . . . ?”
Ada merely speaks over her, the words coming out rapid-fire.
“Based on fluctuations in shipping and unscheduled troop movements in the Lakelands, you’ve been fighting along the Ohius River border. And if the recent trade patterns of the rivermen smugglers are any indication, you’ve been using them to ferry resources and personnel in and out of Sanctum. That’s a good amount of Guard traffic, much more than usual in other cities. It’s matched only by the patterns I observed at the Piedmont base you once held. I believe you took the Lakelander city approximately three weeks ago, and are using it as a base of operations in the southeastern Lakelands, allowing for easy cooperation with the rivermen of the Disputed Lands. Not to mention the news out of Citadel of the Rivers.”
The silence that follows is deafening. Ada merely flips another page, the movement of paper soft as the beating of a bird’s wing.
“The Lakelander fortress sits at the confluence of the Ohius and the Great River, with quick access to the Tanasian into Piedmont. It’s a very important military installation servicing both the Lakelander river navy and their land army. Or at least, it was until you occupied it—two days ago, perhaps? That’s what I gathered from the sudden flood of Lakelander soldiers fleeing upriver, as well as the cessation of Lakelander communications to the Citadel.”
The warmth that bleeds through me is born of pride, not anger.
I could hug Ada. I really could. Of course this was all in our reports, sourced from Montfort’s shared intelligence, our own operatives in the region, and even simple news from citizens living on the border. But only she could connect the dots so thoroughly and perfectly. She’s truly brilliant. If I still believed in royalty, she’d make a fearsome queen.
And though this is not a royal court, I do my best to gauge the library the way I would a throne room. The Guard generals remain still, but their aides exchange worried looks and even whispers. I force myself to look at Mare, at the mask she maintains so well. Her face doesn’t move, but she glances sidelong at Farley. Clearly she has no idea if anything Ada says is true. I’m guessing she didn’t spend much of her time away poring over war reports. Typical. I almost laugh to myself.
The young general is much easier to read. Farley’s eyes narrow and her brow draws down into a familiar arrow of irritation. Ada avoids the stern look deftly, though a blush rises high on her cheeks. It’s taken a lot for her to say such things. It probably even feels like a small betrayal.
Another Silver fortress burning flashes in my head. The flames are my own, all-consuming, leaving ash in their wake. I return Farley’s gaze. I know what it’s like to destroy a city piece by piece. “Same as Corvium,” I breathe.
“Less for us to defend, less for them to win back.” Her words are knives thrown in every direction “And fewer Silver monuments to Red death.”
Farley has always been the Scarlet Guard attack dog, and she plays her role well today. The Reds of my delegation look on her with pride. The Silver nobles would leave the room in protest if they could.
“May I remind you there are Silvers in the Montfort delegation?” Again, my grandmother rises to Farley’s bait, eager to bicker. She flicks one wrinkled hand toward the premier’s table and the two steel-haired siblings sitting in the rows behind him.
Evangeline and Ptolemus look as they did on the day of the abdication, hiding their nerves behind a performance of cold detachment. Both wear green banded with metal—iron for Evangeline, chrome for her brother.
In front of them, Representative Radis shifts to shield the scions of House Samos from view. He drums his long fingers on the table. One corner of his mouth rises in a feral smile, showing a glint of teeth.
“And we’ve proven our loyalty to our Republic, Anabel,” he says in