Shadow Empire (The Shadow Saga Book 4) by J. L. Lyon

Author:J. L. Lyon [Lyon, J. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

20

Liz closed the door to the grottoes and turned to face the room. She was in the basilica, but that was not her ultimate object. While Sullivan loved the symbolism of the basilica as the seat of government, there was a more modern building that had been built onto the back of the old structure, and it was there that he kept his living quarters. In a crisis, that is where he would be.

She pulled up the hood of her jacket to conceal her signature blonde curls, so all she had to worry about was if someone caught sight of her face and recognized her. She had to admit that even with the short distance from here to Sullivan’s quarters, the likelihood she would be stopped was extremely high.

Explosions in the distance told her the battle on the shore had begun, and once or twice she thought she caught the sound of something happening nearby. The others, perhaps?

The best she could hope for was that everyone here would be so distracted by the battle that they wouldn’t look twice—

“Aurora!”

She froze in her tracks, on the verge of passing from the old structure into the new, and reached slowly for her Gladius.

“Don’t,” the voice said, more entreating than threatening. “You’re here on behalf of Admiral Holt, aren’t you?”

Liz turned to see General d’Artusio standing alone in the hall, one hand on his sidearm and the other outstretched as though to calm her.

“I’m not a wild animal, General,” she said. “Lower the hand or lose it.”

No doubt thinking of the last time she had kept that promise with someone, he complied.

“Have you come to kill the emperor?”

“I’d prefer not to,” she replied, unsure if that was completely honest. “But I will, if he won’t step down peacefully.”

“Perhaps you can reason with him. He always liked you, despite how things ended.”

“You mean when he left me to die in the Wilderness?”

“You defied him in front of the full session of the Citadel. You didn’t leave him much choice.”

“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that, General,” she paused for a beat, waiting for him to make a move that never came. “Why are you not calling for your guards? And what do you mean, maybe I can reason with him? You’re the most senior member of the Imperial Guard. If you think he’s unreasonable, just stop listening to him.”

“It’s not that simple, you know that,” d’Artusio said. “I mutiny against the emperor, my subordinates have a reason to mutiny against me, then everyone is fighting everyone and no one really knows who is on what side. He must officially cede command to the admiral.”

“That’s not what the admiral wants,” Liz said. “He wants to give power to the Citadel. Who’s in charge there now?”

“A woman named Eva Jaworski, from Berlin. You’d like her.”

“So what are we doing here, General?” Liz said. “Are you taking me to Sullivan, or am I going to have to fight my way there?”

“I can’t take you there, for the same reasons I can’t ignore the emperor’s orders,” d’Artusio replied.

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