“Did you...?”
“Sleep, love. We found no signs of Owen.”
She patted the space next to her.
“Wish I could.” He pulled the blanket over her as he told her about the afternoon meeting. “I’ll have the kitchen staff send up a late breakfast for you. I want you to eat it all. Understand?”
“Yes, love.”
“That’s my line. You’ll have to think of something else.” He kissed her and left.
Exhaustion dragged on his body like a sopping-wet cloak. Valek stopped at the kitchen for a few bites to eat and to order the tray for Yelena. Sammy, the head chef, promised to send her a huge stack of sweet cakes.
The combination of the food and a cold shower revived him. Dressing in a clean uniform, Valek combed his hair. The wet strands hung past his shoulders. Valek tied it at the base of his neck with a leather string. The Commander had stopped remarking on the length when Valek explained that he might need to go undercover as a female. Since playing Valma, the beautician, had gotten Valek close enough to assassinate the King, the Commander didn’t insist Valek buzz it close to his head like all his other male officers and advisers.
Valek arrived outside the Commander’s war room just as the sun rose. No surprise the Commander had beaten him there. The man never slept more than five or six hours a night. The two guards nodded at him, but remained silent.
Bracing for the inevitable argument, Valek knocked and entered.
The Commander sat at the head of the large wooden conference table, eating breakfast. His uniform had two real diamonds secured to the collar. Not a wrinkle or crease rumpled his clothing.
A wedge of strengthening sunlight shone through the stained-glass windows that faced east. Colors splashed on the ceiling. The tall, thin windows covered three-quarters of the round room—the Commander’s favorite place.
Valek stood at attention.
“Sit down.” The Commander gestured to a chair a few places down the table on the left. “Report.”
Perched on the edge of the hard wood, Valek detailed the mission to stop the smugglers, including his detour to Sitia after he’d learned from Maren about another tunnel north of Lapeer. He ended with Owen crossing into Ixia. “And I believe he’s headed this way, although we’ve seen no signs of him.”
The Commander’s gaze grew distant. Valek kept quiet. He’d learned to let the man absorb all the information. Questions were only a matter of time. After that, Valek had many of his own.
“Why do you assume Owen is coming to harm me? If he claims to have something better against magicians than Curare, wouldn’t you think I’d be interested?”
A cold brush of dread swept through Valek. “Owen’s a power-hungry magician who can’t be trusted. He can erase memories and implant new ones. It’s...insane to let him close to you. With that type of magic, he can influence your decisions. He can make you give up command and appoint him as your successor. Owen is the embodiment of all the reasons you hate magicians.”
There was no reaction to Valek’s outburst. Instead he said, “The magic detector Opal gifted to me, that—”
“Won’t provide protection. It just lets you know there’s magic in use.”
Annoyance flashed in the Commander’s golden gaze. He hated to be interrupted. “I know. And I’m also aware that a null shield provides the necessary protection, which is why I have a null shield woven into all my uniforms.”
That surprised Valek. “How? When?”
“Yelena’s brother provided the protection for me. I asked him to keep it a secret. And, guessing from your expression, Leif hasn’t informed his sister.”
Ah. There it was. “Yelena and I do not share classified information.”
No response.
“You know I wouldn’t jeopardize your safety. I’m thrilled you’re protected. I would have suggested it, but I believed you wouldn’t be...comfortable with magic that close to you.”
The Commander brushed his hand along the sleeve of his uniform. “These are dangerous times.”
“Indeed.” And it was about to get downright perilous for Valek. He drew in a steadying breath. “Which is why I need to know everything. Why didn’t you inform me about your...arrangement with Owen Moon and the Curare?”
“Why did you disobey a direct order?” the Commander countered.
Thrown, Valek searched his memory. “What order?”
“The one not to get involved with Ben Moon’s escape. You were heading to Sitia to help Yelena before you ran into Maren.”
“How—”
“It doesn’t matter how I learned of this. What matters is you failed to inform me of your change in plans.”
“An assassin was after Yelena.”
“That is the answer to your original question, Valek. Why didn’t I inform you about Owen? Yelena.”
“I wouldn’t—”
“You wouldn’t have told her? Truly? He’s a dangerous magician, and she’s the reason he was caught. She’s the reason his brother went to prison. You wouldn’t have warned her?”
Now Valek didn’t have an answer.
“Your loyalties are divided.”
“Yes. They are. But I passed all your tests. I returned even after Yelena was shot with Onora’s bolt. I found and shut down the smuggling operation as ordered. It wouldn’t have been as successful if I hadn’t taken that detour to aid Yelena.”
“You had no way of knowing that before you left. And Owen still managed to escape.”
Valek bit down on his first retort. If he’d known about Owen in the first place, this whole smuggling mess never would have happened. “You used to trust my judgment.”
Commander Ambrose leaned back in his chair. “I did.”
“What changed? Was it because I didn’t tell you that I can be trapped by a simple null shield?”
“No. Everything changed the night an assassin crept through my window.”
“Onora?”
“Yes.”
But he’d been there with the Commander. Unless... Onora had said she’d been working with him for six months. “You mean the first time she arrived? Not the second time, when I was there, which was just another one of your tests.”
“Yes. The first time played out almost identical to the second. But instead of you fighting her, I recruited her just like I had with you.”
She had the C-shaped scar to prove it. Just like his. “It scared you.”
“Damn right, it scared me. The fact that she could get in so easily and you were in Sitia, helping Yelena. Helping the Sitian Council. Helping your friends solve puzzles while I was in real danger.”
Not quite accurate, but Valek knew not to contradict him. “All sanctioned by you. You know if these people gain power in Sitia, it’s only a matter of time before they set their sights on Ixia.”
“That is no longer a concern of mine. I’ve decided that there will be no more helping Sitia with their difficulties. You’re staying in Ixia and dealing with Ixian problems. If Sitia has a revolt and the victors attack us, then we will defend ourselves at that time. My army is quite capable, and it will give all those young hotheads something to do. As of now, you no longer have the freedom to assign agents and go off on missions as you see fit. You must clear everything with me