He wouldn’t tell all. Not even his most trusted servants knew that much. But all wouldn’t be necessary.
“Close the door.”
Kayiv and Nitara exchanged a look. Then he pushed the door closed and they returned to their seats. They made a fine pair, he slender and muscular for a Qirsi, she lean as well, but with a round, attractive face, and full lips. Just the kind of young nobility that the Weaver would need to lead the Forelands when the Eandi courts finally fell.
“You need to learn when to speak your mind and when to remain silent,” the Weaver said, taking a seat near theirs. “You’ve nearly got old Stavel convinced that you’re a traitor.”
Kayiv looked away. “We’re all Qirsi here,” he said, a bitter note in his voice. “We should be able to say what we wish without worrying that others will go running to the emperor spouting tales of the conspiracy.”
“Come now. You can’t really be that simple.”
The younger man glared at him, but Dusaan was watching Nitara. All this time he had been planning to turn Kayiv, with the hope that the woman would follow. But it suddenly occurred to him that she was the more reasonable of the two, the one who could control the other.
“What do you mean by that?” she asked, clearly understanding already.
“Just what you think I do. To say that we’re all Qirsi is to ignore the lessons of our people’s history. No doubt the Weavers who led the Qirsi invasion nine centuries ago thought much as Kayiv does, just before Carthach betrayed them to the armies of the north.”
She sat forward, light yellow eyes wide and eager. “Lachmas was killed by the conspiracy, wasn’t he?”
Dusaan smiled. He wasn’t ready to answer her just yet. “Why would the conspiracy want him dead?”
Kayiv shrugged. “Because he’s Eandi.”
“You think that’s reason enough?”
Nitara shook her head. “No, it wouldn’t be. They have to see some gain in it, some way in which it would weaken the empire.”
“Good,” Dusaan said, nodding. “Can you think of any?”
She sat still for several moments, her eyes trained on the floor, as if she were looking for answers in the patterned carpet. “Lachmas and Curtell were rivals in the earliest days of the empire,” she said at last. “But for the past several centuries, the lords of Lachmas have been among Curtell’s more reliable allies.” She looked up. “Is it possible that they wanted to make it seem the act of one of the other houses, say Qestryd or Hanyck? Houses that have been more vocal in their dissatisfaction with the Curtell Dynasty.”
Dusaan pressed his fingertips together, watching her reason it out. She really was quite lovely. “Perhaps. To what end?”
Nitara frowned, looking to Kayiv for help. “Could they be trying to start a civil war? That’s been their aim elsewhere. At least that’s how it seems.”
Kayiv shook his head. “It wouldn’t work here. The ruling houses in the other realms need at least a few allies among the rest of the houses. Without it they could be overthrown. But here. .” He shrugged. “House Curtell is really the only power in Braedon. The emperor could crush any dissent before it became a threat to his hold on the throne.”
Dusaan nodded. “Good,” he said again. “Very good.”
“So then why was Lachmas murdered?” Nitara asked, her brow creased.
The Weaver regarded her placidly. “Actually he wasn’t.”
Kayiv narrowed his eyes. “You know this for certain?”
“Yes, as it happens, I do.”
“How?”
Dusaan could hear it in the man’s voice. He knew already, just as she had before. They both would serve him well.
“Because if he had been, I would have been the one paying the assassins.”
They shared a glance again, and Nitara grinned as if to say, You see, I told you.
“You’re with the conspiracy?” Kayiv asked, sounding doubtful.
“We prefer to call it “the movement,’ but yes, I am.”
Nitara started to speak, but the minister stopped her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Why should we believe you?” He gave that same small laugh again, his eyes darting about the chamber as if he expected the imperial army to appear at any moment. “Why shouldn’t we just go to the emperor right now and reveal you as a traitor?”
“You’re welcome to, if that’s what you wish to do. I’ll deny it, of course. I’ll tell the emperor that I was testing you, that after your strange comments in our discussion today, I feared that you had betrayed the empire. Your decision to inform the emperor will have established your innocence, and so life in the palace will continue on as if nothing happened at all. Except that the three of us will know the truth, and eventually, when the opportunity presents itself, I’ll have you both killed, or imprisoned as traitors, which I suppose is the same thing.”
The blood drained from Nitara’s face and even Kayiv looked unnerved, although he managed to hold the Weaver’s gaze. Dusaan continued to stare at them for a few moments, his expression grave. Then at last he smiled, though neither of them looked relieved when he did.
“But I don’t think that will be necessary, because I don’t think either of you is going to repeat any of this to the emperor.”
Kayiv took Nitara’s hand, his eyes never straying from the Weaver’s face. “You sound so certain.”
“I’ve been watching you both for some time now.”
“Watching us?”
“All of you, really-the emperor’s ministers and chancellors-trying to decide which of you might be prepared to join the movement.”
“And you chose us.”
“Does that surprise you?”
Kayiv didn’t answer, but Nitara released his hand, shifting in her chair. Her color had returned and she was eyeing the Weaver with interest.
“What would we have to do?”
“Not much at first. Mostly you’d act as though nothing at all had happened. The three of us would meet from time to time so that I might inform you of how our plans are progressing. And you’d probably receive some gold.”
To their credit, neither of them asked the obvious question.
“How long have you been with the movement?” she asked instead.
Forever. Iam the movement. “A long time. Since its inception.”
“Are you one of its leaders.”
“The movement is led by a Weaver. None of those who serve him know his name or where he can be found. But all instructions come from him.”
“A Weaver,” she repeated breathlessly. “I thought they were all gone.”
Dusaan had to smile at the irony. Somewhere in the Forelands, another Weaver, a man named Grinsa, searched for him, even as he hunted the man in turn. “I believe you’ll find that there are more of them than any have imagined. With the Eandi ruling the Forelands, they keep themselves hidden, fearing for their lives. But when this war is over and the Forelands belong to the Qirsi, they’ll be free to reveal themselves.” And then the Eandi will see how powerful our people truly can be.
“A Weaver,” she whispered again, as if the word itself were new to her. “How does he-”
“He walks in the dreams of those who serve his cause.”
Kayiv nodded. “Of course. How else could the consp-?” He stopped himself. “How else could the movement strike at so many courts at once?”
“The realms of the Eandi are weakened already. It won’t be long until the Weaver reveals himself and asserts his power over all the Forelands. When that happens, the men and women who serve him will take their place in a new pantheon of Qirsi nobility. Those who oppose him-Eandi and Qirsi-will perish.”
“What if his movement fails?” the younger man asked.
“It won’t.”
“The invasion,” Nitara whispered. “The invasion is part of his plan, isn’t it? First he weakens the kingdoms, and then, when the Eandi go to war, further weakening themselves, he strikes at them.” She stared at Dusaan, as if seeing him for the first time. “You’ve been pushing the emperor toward this invasion all along, haven’t you? That’s your role in this.”