“This Forge group is behind the creation of those weapons?” Yara asked.
“It’s too soon to be positive, but we aim to find out.”
“And your train mission has something to do with finding out?”
“Not exactly.”
A part of Amaranthe wanted to tell her about their scheme to kidnap the emperor, if only so someone somewhere could come forward as a witness to testify on her behalf should things go… badly. She was still carrying around the note Sespian had given to Basilard. Though it wasn’t signed, if she let Yara see it, she might believe it was authentic. But Amaranthe hadn’t even spoken of the mission or shown the note to her journalist acquaintance, Deret Mancrest, and he was far closer to qualifying as an ally. Yara had grudgingly admitted that Amaranthe might have helped the empire get rid of the makarovi in the dam, but that was it.
Amaranthe wasn’t sure why she cared whether this woman might become an ally or not. Because they had similar backgrounds? Because she seemed to be in trouble with her superiors and might be open to stretching the rules of the law? Because Yara had an extra reason to feel loyal to the emperor too? Amaranthe wondered how much Yara had spoken to Sespian and how much he had looked into her record before promoting her. Had he simply been moved to encourage the satrapy’s female enforcers, or had he found something intriguing about her? Amaranthe wished she knew more about how Yara had first come to his awareness.
She laughed inwardly. Why? It wasn’t as if she was going to set them up on a date.
Her breath caught. Between one second and the next, an idea formed in her head. What if she could set Yara up with Sespian? Sure, emperors were supposed to marry warrior-caste women of suitable lineages, but Amaranthe had a feeling Sespian wasn’t the sort to fall for refined and sophisticated. Besides, anyone could look at Yara and see she had all the attributes imperial men supposedly wanted in the mothers of their children. Nobody would call her a beauty, but she could be considered handsome-when she wasn’t glowering-and with that height and brawn, she was sure to have strong children. Of course, Sespian would care more about love, but maybe they could have that too.
And if Sespian fell in love with Yara, Amaranthe wouldn’t have to worry that maybe he still held a hint of his former interest in her. She doubted he did anyway, but this would put the whole notion to rest. For her, and for Sicarius as well, because he claimed his main reason for not wishing to pursue a relationship with Amaranthe was that he didn’t want to give Sespian another reason to hate him. But if Sespian was happily in love with someone else…
“Should I be concerned that you’re grinning?” Yara asked.
“ Yes,” Books said. He stood at the corner of the shed, and he had been staying out of the conversation, but that question apparently tempted him too much.
Amaranthe dropped the smile. She hadn’t realized it had grown light enough to read expressions, but she ought to keep her scheming thoughts off her face anyway. Besides, the threat to the emperor was the paramount concern, not this relationship twaddle. “I was thinking that you might be the perfect person to help us.”
Books sent a wary look in her direction. Amaranthe was glad Sicarius hadn’t reappeared. Telling an enforcer that her team planned to kidnap the emperor might not be a good idea, but if Amaranthe could enlist Yara’s help, it could be worth the risk.
“How so?” Yara asked warily.
“You know the emperor has been out inspecting the various forts around Turgonia?”
“Yes… by train.”
“Indeed so. We believe kidnappers are going to strike at him during the last leg of his journey.”
Books made a choking sound. Amaranthe hoped the look she shot him said, “Sssshh,” sufficiently.
“Kidnappers?” Yara asked. “Who?”
“All we have is a note,” Amaranthe said, being careful not to lie outright. “But if he is in danger, we intend to help him. If you want, you could join us at Forkingrust Station. We intend to slip onto his train there and be ready in case something happens while he’s en route to Stumps. If you come, you could assist us if things get out of hand. Just to be honest with you, I wouldn’t mind having a third party along who, if things go wrong, knows our intent was to help the emperor. Perhaps we’re foolish to want to risk ourselves to help him, but, as I’ve told you, we’re trying to earn exoneration.”
Amaranthe had been speaking rather rapidly, probably because she was afraid Yara would stop her with curses for her dead, deranged ancestors. She paused to collect her breath and wait for a response.
“I have duties here,” Yara said.
Amaranthe had expected a protest or a snort of disbelief. This response startled her. It was as if Yara was actually considering coming.
“Surely you have some leave you could take?” Amaranthe figured she’d better press before the woman came to her senses. “One way or another, this will be wrapped up in a week.” Meaning her team would either be dead for their audacity to challenge a train full of soldiers, or they’d have the emperor with them and… well, she had little idea what would happen at that point. They would have to see what Sespian wanted from them. “You owe him your promotion, don’t you? And he’s your emperor. Can you stand back and let these Forge fiends threaten him?”
“You believe that entity will be behind the kidnapping?” Yara asked.
Careful, Amaranthe told herself. “I believe they’re the major threat to the emperor, and they may represent a threat to the entire empire with the changes they want.”
“What do they want?”
“From what we’ve gathered, power in the government, favorable economic laws for their businesses, and… possibly to get rid of Sespian and replace him with a more amenable figurehead.” Sometimes Amaranthe wondered why Forge hadn’t already made that last move, especially if they had people in the Imperial Barracks where they could strike at Sespian. Maybe they figured they had him sufficiently under control, or maybe they were biding time until they could raise a private army to ensure they could come out on top in the civil war that would likely rise should Sespian die without an heir.
Amaranthe swallowed. Maybe that was what the weapons were for. A private army.
“I see,” Yara said, her tone neutral. “I’ll consider what you’ve told me. I must go to work. My shift starts shortly.”
Her measured words drove a spike of worry into Amaranthe. Had she just made the biggest mistake of the year? What if Yara warned someone and arranged to have swarms of enforcers and soldiers at Forkingrust Station when Amaranthe and her team of outlaws arrived?
Yara pulled her parka tight about her and strode up the street. Thoughts gibbered in Amaranthe’s head. Mistake, mistake, was the foremost cry among them. For a ludicrous moment, she thought of chasing after Yara, cracking her over the head, and kidnapping her, if only to detain her until the team had left for Forkingrust, and it was too late for Yara to do anything.
A shadow stirred beside Amaranthe, and a hand clamped down on her elbow.
“What were you thinking?” Sicarius asked.
Amaranthe jumped. She shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d finished with the brother and joined them, but his appearance rattled her nonetheless. That she’d been thinking of setting his son up with a date was probably not the right thing to say.
“That we could use another ally,” she said. Yes, that sounded safer. At least he wasn’t asking about her sudden interest in the shaman’s workshop.
“We don’t need her. She hasn’t been training with the team. She’ll be like you were when we first met.”
“Gee, thanks.” Amaranthe clasped Sicarius’s hand and attempted to pry his fingers loose. He wasn’t hurting her, but it was definitely a firm, you’ve-irritated-me-with-your-unpredictable-antics grip. “I want an outside witness in case something goes wrong. I don’t want to lose everything we’ve fought for because the papers assume we’re the villains again.”