The Will of the Empress - By Tamora Pierce Page 0,133

from dressing the empress. Usually Rizu had some witty imperial remarks to share, but not today. This morning she was silent.

"Is something wrong?" Daja asked as she straightened her tunic. "You look, I don't know, concerned." She ran a finger down Rizu's forehead, still amazed at the good luck that had brought her to the point at which she could touch this vivid woman. "You'll get wrinkles," she teased gently.

"It's Her Imperial Majesty," Rizu explained softly. "Something's happened, something that's made her angry. She treated me all right, so it wasn't anything to do with me, but when I asked her what was going on, she said that I ought to ask your friends." She looked at Daja in confusion. "What do you suppose she meant?"

Daja shrugged. "Let's go to breakfast and see — if they are even out of bed."

As Rizu led the way out of Daja's rooms, she looked back over her shoulder to say, "I did talk to the servants. Finlach fer Hurich was arrested sometime after we left the ball, and some men he had hired with him."

Daja, who had been admiring the sway of Rizu's hips, halted. "Fin, arrested? Whatever for?"

A footman hurried past overheard. He paused, then came over to them. "There's more, Lady Rizu," he said quietly. "Word just came: Bidis Finlach's uncle, Viynain Natalos, was just arrested by Quenaill Shieldsman and a crew of mage takers. No law-court papers, only by imperial order."

"Does anyone know why?" asked Rizu.

"Only that the charge was high treason," whispered the footman. He bowed and scurried on his way.

"It must be serious," Rizu murmured. "To arrest the head of the Mages' Society for the entire empire? It has to be high treason, indeed." She and Daja and Rizu hurried to Sandry's rooms.

Gudruny let them in, but there was no meal set out on the table. "What's going on?" Daja wanted to know. "Where are Briar and Tris?"

For a moment Gudruny looked shocked. "You don't know? Oh, gods — you must ask my lady. She's in her bedchamber, if you'll follow me."

They obeyed, to find Sandry busily folding clothes. Trunks stood open on the floor.

"Sandry?" Daja asked, confused. "I feel like you started a forging without me."

Sandry looked up. Her face was dead white under its gold spring tan; her blue eyes were hot. "Ask her," she replied in a husky voice, jerking her chin at Rizu, who stood behind Daja. "Or were you two so wrapped up in each other that neither of you has heard yet? It should be all over the palace right now."

Daja sighed. "If she knew, why would we be talking to you?" she inquired reasonably. "Where were you last night? You didn't even come to say hello to us. And now there's a story going around the palace that Fin's been arrested." She kept her voice soft. She knew this look of Sandry's, though she had only ever seen it a handful of times. Whatever had brought Sandry to her boiling point, she required careful handling, or she would explode.

Sandry threw a gauzy overgown to the bed. "Fin crated me up for shipment last night. Crated me up like a, a cabbage, only you don't need unravelling spells to keep a cabbage from misbehaviour. I got this" — she rubbed her throat — "from screaming for someone to let me out. She had him arrested? I thought she would applaud his boldness. He certainly thought she would, or he never would have dared try."

"Not in her palace!" cried Rizu, shocked. "Not when there are so many women who look to her to keep them safe inside her walls. Sandry, how could you even say such a thing?"

"Because Fin kidnapped me inside these curst walls!" cried Sandry. She turned on Daja. "I tried to call you for help, but you were occupied." There was a cruel tone in Sandry's voice that cut Daja like a whip. "Luckily there are others who don't shut me out of their new lives."

"That's not fair," retorted Daja, her eyes stinging.

"Isn't it?" demanded Sandry, hugging herself around the waist. Her eyes dripped tears onto the discarded overgown. "Maybe not, but it's true all the same. Well, I'm not staying in this oversized cage one night longer. I'm not staying in this festering kaq cesspool of a country for so much more as a week. We're going back to Landreg House today. Briar, Tris, and I are going back to Emelan as soon as we can pack up. You