2 - Ghost in the Veils: Ghost Armor by Jonathan Moeller

Author:Jonathan Moeller [Moeller, Jonathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Ghost Armor#2
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Artuk strode through the corridors of the Golden Palace, and Kalliope walked with Caina and the others.

Truth be told, Kalliope found the Golden Palace to be a little intimidating. The noble houses of New Kyre lived in their own fortified pyramidal towers, and the Tower of Agramemnos was a strong and splendid house.

Yet it would have fit comfortably within the complex of the Golden Palace.

Kalliope pushed aside the thoughts. She was here for a purpose, and it was best to focus on that.

“What have you sensed?” murmured Caina in Kyracian.

“That Radiant Guard,” said Kalliope. “Artuk. He is afraid of you.”

“I know,” said Caina. “There’s a chance I fought him before Sulaman took the throne as the Padishah. What else have you observed?”

“Lady Azar is very tired, and frightened,” said Kalliope. “Though the fear does not show. She is indeed born to command. She is frightened more for her child than for herself. Which is not surprising. Her hips are narrow, even narrower than…”

Caina glanced at her with faint amusement.

“Even narrower than yours,” admitted Kalliope. “Childbirth will be very difficult for her, with much possibility for something to go wrong.”

“She will have the most skilled physicians in Istarinmul on hand to help when the time comes,” said Caina.

“That is well,” said Kalliope. “I fear that she will need it. At least she is taking proper rest. That is the best approach.”

“You’ve delivered many babies,” said Caina.

“How did you know?”

“You told me you were a physician.”

“Oh, yes, of course,” said Kalliope. “I am not sure how many. Five hundred, at the very least. Certainly every one among the slaves and servants of House Kardamnos, and many among the lesser merchants allied with us.” She sighed. “I only lost a few of them in the process, though there were some stillbirths. And some were carried off by illness soon after. It is regrettable that a woman so ill-suited to childbirth as Lady Azar should have to serve as a…as a brood mare.”

“Best not to say that in Anshani within anyone’s earshot,” said Morgant.

“Lady Azar’s path was chosen for her,” said Caina, “but if she could have chosen her own, I suspect she would have picked this. She was born to marry a powerful man and raise his heirs. Do you believe the next ruler of Istarinmul will be the worse for having Azar Valshahzon to guide him?”

“No,” conceded Kalliope. Belatedly she realized this might be a painful topic for Caina, but she seemed wholly absorbed by the problem at hand.

“But we’re here to make sure Azar lives long enough to become a mother,” said Caina. “What do you think of what we have heard so far?”

Kalliope shrugged. “Certainly the First Royal Concubine seems to have the most motive for sending an assassin. I fear Lady Azar might perhaps underestimate the lengths a mother will go to for her son.”

“Such as sailing across the Cyrican Sea and begging for aid from the father’s wife?” said Morgant.

Kalliope gave him a sidelong glance. He really was an irritating man, and Kalliope wondered again what possible use Caina found in him.

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