was referencing the law against pagan worship, along with its punishments. To his right were several sheets of paper—the agreement between the Maarin people and the Empire. “What are you doing?” she repeated.
“Trying to find a loophole.” Reaching for a glass of water, he drank deeply and then shook his head. “There’s nothing. Of course there’s nothing, or he would’ve seen it closed before beginning this fell quest of his.”
He. Lucius.
Every day, Lucius had been convicting Maarin sailors in the Forum, all of them charged with the same crime, his supporters screaming their support even as they demanded more blood. And her father had done nothing, said nothing, unwilling to do anything that he perceived might risk Lydia’s future. “Why now?”
The glass in his hand trembled. “The Quincense has been taken. She suffered damage, but wasn’t sunk, which is more than I can say for some. She’s being towed into the harbor—should be here this morning.”
“No.” Lydia sank to the floor, her skin growing cold. “You should’ve let me go. Should’ve let me warn them. He’s going to kill them because of—” A sob choked off the last word. Me. It was her fault.
“Cassius is after information. If they give it to him, it’s possible he’ll be lenient.”
“Like he’s been lenient with the rest?” she whispered.
“None of them have given him what he wants.”
Which meant none of them would. Tears leaked down her cheeks.
“He wishes to see you.”
It was the last thing she’d expected him to say. “Pardon?”
“Cassius pulled me aside after we adjourned tonight, and he asked that you attend him first thing this morning at the baths.”
The library was sweltering, but Lydia pulled her wrap tighter around her shoulders, hugging herself. “Did he say why?”
“The usual reasons, I suspect.” Her father’s tone was flat. “You need not go. I can tell him that you wish to wait until after the wedding.”
Lydia closed her eyes, focusing inward in an attempt to steady her breathing. It was so tempting to say yes, to spare herself—even if it was only for a few days. But if she went through with it, gave Lucius what he wanted, perhaps she might be able to sway him to be lenient toward Teriana and her crew. If it meant saving them from the noose, she’d sacrifice herself a thousand times over. “I’ll go.”
“Lydia—”
“It’s fine.” She rose to her feet. “I’m going to dress.”
* * *
Stepping out of the litter, Lydia climbed the white steps of the baths. The frescoed portico was all yellows and blues and pinks, and she stared at it for a heartbeat before pushing in the golden doors to the women’s entrance. The halls were quiet at such an early hour, the patricians of Celendrial preferring to gather late in the evening in the lounges and lecture halls, then sleep late, so the faint click of her heels against the tile and the splash of fountains were the only sounds as she made her way into the dressing room.
There was a single servant present, a tall girl with the fair skin and reddish hair of those from Sibern Province, her nose lightly dusted with freckles. She silently took Lydia’s garments, supplying her with a blue silken robe that belted with a woven cord. The servant gestured for Lydia’s spectacles, but she felt unnerved enough as it was without wandering about half-blind and waved the girl off.
Steeling herself, Lydia abandoned the room and walked barefoot down the hall to the first pool. It was open to the sky above but shaded by the tall walls surrounding it.
It was empty.
Lydia’s skin crawled with apprehension, the sensation intensifying as she skirted the pool and went inside, the high vaulted ceiling supported with columns, the floor covered with tiny red and white tiles. The still pools she passed reflected her face like glass, and no sounds emanated from the gymnasiums to either side. Entirely empty. Entirely devoid of life. And not even the early hour could account for that. No, this was a display of Lucius’s power that he was able to commandeer a facility used by all the patricians for his own personal use.
Do what he wants, she told herself, ignoring the sour burn in her throat. Apologize for your behavior. Do whatever it takes to learn where Teriana is being kept. Then do whatever it takes to get her free.
Heart pounding, Lydia eyed the long hallway leading to the golden doors of the last pool. The room itself was built into the side of