to be careful. Sudden movements could pop a stitch or two, and the last thing I needed was a hemorrhage midride.
Despite all the violence and mayhem that seemed to have befallen Visio, I couldn’t help but grin as I made my way into the bedroom and found myself an adequate change of clothes for what was bound to be a long mission. Trev wasn’t going to allow us to easily find him.
I decided not to tell Amal and Amane of this little road trip until I was away from the palace. They cared for me, and I knew they were both going to blow a fuse once they heard where I’d gone.
Tristan
The sky seemed suffocated by its reddish haze today, the air thicker and harder to breathe than usual. The silence surrounding the palace was almost deafening. It was as if the entire planet understood the gravity of the events that had rattled the empire and my crew since we’d first set foot on Visio.
Muted anger dwelled in the aching pit of my stomach as I stood at the top of the palace stairs. The entire front area was packed with gold guards, both on- and off-duty soldiers summoned by Corbin Crimson, their master commander. Valaine was next to me, though she had few words to offer. The guards eyed us all—some curiously, others with clearly strained nerves.
“There are one thousand and five hundred of you,” Corbin said, his voice booming over the silent crowd, their gold armor glistening in the faded daylight. I had my hood and mask on, my gloved hands tucked in my pockets. “One thousand and five hundred soldiers of the Gold Guard, sworn to defend the Aeternae’s most powerful and respected representatives, many of them living here, in this palace.”
Corbin had summoned the entire golden guard from all over the city for what was bound to be a potentially brutal shakedown. He’d interviewed most of these people, but the presence of Darklings in the palace basement had obviously indicated that the conspiracy went much deeper. The discovery of the black-and-white braid used by the Darklings as a signal to recognize one another—well, that was an absolute gamechanger.
Joining Valaine, Corbin, and I were a dozen of the Crimson dynasty’s personal guards. We’d already vetted them, and they had proven themselves loyal to their master commander, as well as to his family and the empire.
“One thousand and five hundred.” Corbin repeated the number, his gaze wandering across the crowd. I could almost feel the rage simmering beneath his ornate gold-and-silver armor, the dark red cape fluttering loosely behind him. “One thousand and five hundred, some of whom have not been truthful during our recent interviews.”
That caused a stir among the gold guards, but no one dared say anything. Not yet, anyway. Valaine looked at me, her black eyes wide with a mixture of anger and curiosity. “They’ve really brought out the darker side of my father,” she murmured. “And the price the traitors are about to pay is… steep, to say the least.”
“The Darklings are dangerous and evil,” I said. “None should be allowed to serve as guards, especially not after what we’ve discovered in the dungeons. Not to mention their attempts on your life.”
“It has come to my attention that there is a concerning number of service members among you who are, in fact, Darklings. Traitors who have lied to my face during the interviews,” Corbin said to the crowd. He took out a black-and-white braid, raising it so everyone could see it.
In that instant, I could see at least five guards who recognized it. Five guards who were definitely Darklings. We’d kept this entire braid thing under wraps, and I knew the soldiers we’d had with us the other day had stayed silent on the matter. There were murmurs rippling through the palace square. Murmurs of concern and dismay. Stolen glances. Yes. I could see them. There were more than five Darklings here. There were dozens.
Valaine stepped forward, hands at her sides as she descended the stairs.
“My personal guards will now proceed to search each and every one of you,” Corbin continued, his brown eyes piercing through their very souls, his jaw clenched and ticking angrily. “Whoever is found in possession of such a braid is a Darkling and stands accused of conspiring against the empire. That is treason. That is punishable by death.”
One of the gold guards moved through the crowd, looking to leave. “You’ve already interviewed us. We’re innocent. I’m leaving. I will