Layla looked as if she couldn’t decide what to be irate about. She had been coerced to share her carriage—which, in fairness, was designed to seat six comfortably—with her brothers “miscellaneous ruffian tag-alongs,” as she had not hesitated to call them to their faces, and now was seated with them (all dressed in working-class attire) in a booth at a tea shop from which they had only barely avoided being thrown out on sight by the existence of a House Sakhavenid tab. More to the point, she had not, at any stage in the proceedings, got her way. This seemed to be a new experience for her, one whose novelty she was not enjoying.

“And that’s pretty much it,” Darius said with a shrug while his sister glared haughtily at everyone, holding her teacup in front of her face as if it could protect her from the impoverished influence of her table companions. “I had enough and left. I mean, I could go into detail about the increasingly ridiculous crap my father has been doing in the last few years… Hell, Layla and I couldbothspend the whole day telling stories like that. Doesn’t really matter, though.”

“Did we really have to come all the way down here to hear that?” Rasha complained. He was hollow-eyed from lack of sleep and more sullen than usual. “That’s basically nothing more than what we could’ve picked up from context.”

“I didn’t say it was a long story or a good one,” Darius said testily. “Isaidit needed to be told somewhereotherthan the steps of an Imperial police station!” He glanced at his sister. “Or a fancy hotel.”

“This ismuchless fancy, I’m sure,” Rasha muttered, glancing around at the posh establishment—several of whose patrons were looking at them with borderline disgust—but this time he was ignored.

“That may not be a minor issue, or only of concern to your family,” Jasmine pointed out. “The Imperial government has allowed Houses to be overthrown from within because they were abusing the citizens in their domains.PowerfulHouses, and quite recently.”

Layla looked at her sharply, as did Tallie.

“I’m not too worried about that,” Darius said, shrugging. “The old man is too clever to run afoul of House Tirasian’s policies; he contents himself with raging about them behind closed doors. And anyway, our brother Rostam will inherit the high seat, and he’s far more level-headed. It’ll be fine. I just was nearing a point where I had to either getoutof there or murder somebody.” He grinned. “And, y’know, on the subject of things the Empire doesn’t approve of…”

“All right,” Jasmine said. “That’s a relief, I guess. I just wondered if there might be more reasons than the personal why Lady Layla would be out looking for you. Based on the time frame, she was probably alreadyinTiraas when the dwarves found her.”

“Rails are a thing,” Ross pointed out. Jasmine shrugged and sipped her tea.

Layla set down her teacup hard enough to make a sharp noise that drew everyone’s attention. She was glaring pure fury at Darius.

“Youleftme,” she hissed.

Darius winced. “Layla, I left you a letter. Iwroteto you since I got here—please tell me that crook Collingsworth delivered them like I paid him to—”

“Oh, yes, how splendid,” she snapped. “His Lordship in his infinite kindness deigned tocommunicatewith me after abandoning me in that…place.We were going to do thistogether,Darius! Ever since we were kids, we talked about getting out from under the old man’s thumb until he finally died and Rostam took over. And then, one morning I awake to find what? You’ve taken off, without so much as a by-your-leave, throwing the entire household into chaos and leavingmeto deal with Father and Motheralone.”

“You know what it was like!” Darius protested. “Ever since I turned eighteen he’s been like a millstone around my neck! If it wasn’t an endless parade of idiot noblewomen he wanted me to marry, it was pressure to join the Imperial Army!”

“If you were being pressured into the Army by the high seat of a House,” Jasmine pointed out, “you’d probably have been routed directly into the officer corps. There are worse things.”

“Oh, the poorbaby,”Tallie sneered. “Having to date a bunch of hot noblewomen. My heartbleedsfor you.”

“Yeah, that’s easy to say if you’ve never been in that position,” Darius shot back. “Trust me, they were pickedsolelyfor political reasons, because their Houses had something my father wanted. I’m talking about an age range of fourteen to forty, and not only does good breedingnotensure attractiveness, an aristocratic upbringing tends to turn people into scheming monsters.Laylais probably the kindest noblewoman I know, and hell, you’vemether.”

“And guess who’s the beneficiary of all that benign paternal attention now thatyou’regone,” Layla said venomously. “Believe you me, brother, at this point my options are to bring you home, run awaymyself,or commit suicide. Because being fobbed off on one of Father’s rich friends as atrade incentiveisnoton the table, whatever he thinks! Do you know that absolute poltroon Lord Quinian had the unmitigated nerve to approach Father about seeking my hand?”

“Quinian?” Darius repeated, appalled. “He’solderthan Father!”

“I am aware of this!”she snarled. “Imagine my relief when Father ever-so-gently rebuked him on the grounds of my age.”

“Well, thank the gods,” Darius said. “I guess even he—”

“Oh, yes,” she spat. “So His Lordship concurred that he had been presumptuous and they now have a gentleman’s agreement to revisit the matter in two years, when I am of age.”

“Theycan’tmake you marry against your will,” Jasmine said sharply. “That’s highly illegal. This is not the Age of Adventures.”

“Jas, honey,” Tallie said with a sigh, “there’s a large difference between what’s legal and what the nobility can make people do.”

“What’s worse,” Layla continued furiously, “is that you were thelastinfluence in the House curbing our parents’ excesses. Rostam won’t make so much as a peep to endanger his inheritance, and ifIregister a complaint about overtaxing farmers or cheating merchants or mistreating the servants, everyone carries on as if one of the hounds had performed a particularly amusing trick. Oh, thegirlthinks she has an opinion, isn’t thatprecious.”

“Hang on,” Ross protested. “Nobody’sthatbackward except the Huntsmen. Right?” He looked questioningly at Jasmine. “There’s Avenistseverywhere.”

“I’m afraid you’ve hit the nail on the head, Ross,” Darius said, now looking downright queasy. “House Sakhavenid’s lands are in Mathenon—pretty wild country, even these days. The House has given the local Shaathist lodges a lot of privilege and free reign in order to have them serve as free land managers and, to a limited extent, law enforcement. It’s a relationship that’s been going on for two centuries now, and some attitudes have, uh, bled across.”

“That’s sickening,” Jasmine stated.

“That’s the nobility for you,” Tallie said philosophically, taking a sip of her tea. “This is crazy good stuff, by the way. I’d almost be tempted to come back here if I wasn’t being stared at like a wet dog.”

“And that is what you’ve left me with, dear brother,” Layla said. Her voice remained low enough that she would not be easily overheard by nearby tables, but the fury in it was in no way diminished for that. “Things are worse than ever, because Father is lashing out in ire over your little rebellion. And withoutyouthere to take you share of the pressure,guessupon whose shoulders it falls?”

There was a pause at the table, in which Darius looked completely at a loss and Layla glared icicles at him.

“Dick move, bro,” Ross rumbled at last.

“I’m sure I have noideawhat that means,” Layla said with well-bred exasperation.

Jasmine cleared her throat. “He said that Darius was selfish and inconsiderate in his treatment of you.”

“Yes!Thankyou!” She nodded to Ross before turning back to her brother. “Itwasa dick move!”

Darius heaved a sigh. “Well, look at that. Less than half an hour before she starts learningthingsfrom my so-calledfriends.”

“Oi,” Tallie said scathingly, “lose the attitude. I’m pretty much over the shock of you being one of those inbred staff-up-the-ass blights on the face of the earth, but you’ve been arealasshole to your sister. I think some apologies are in order.”

Layla gave her a look, clearly uncertain how to feel about that.

“Well,” Jasmine said somewhat more briskly, “if you wanted to get out from under your father’s thumb, I suppose you came to the right place. There aren’t many organizations that can really afford conflict with an established House; basically just a comparably powerful House, or a cult. If he learns you arehere,though, with the Eserites specifically, there may be trouble.”

“You’ve actuallyjoinedtheThieves’ Guild,of all things?” Layla said, staring at her brother.“Darius.”

“Oh, don’t give me that look,” he retorted. “Webothread Foxpaw’sExploits,even after Mother found out and tried to ban it from the residence. We talked about this, even.”

“We werekids!Darius, it’s one thing to have problems with one’s parents or disagree with how one’s House comports itself. But running away to be athief?”

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“It isn’t about stealing,” he said seriously. “Thieving as a means, not an end. Eserion’s cult is about resisting the powerful, about bringing them down to a level they deserve. It’s livingfree,and always having your skills and wits to rely on. Yeah, I’ll admit it, I joined up basically on a whim and because I didn’t have any better ideas, but that was then. Layla…the Guildiswhat we always talked about. It’s exactly the solution we were looking for.”

She twisted her lips, manifestly unconvinced.

“When I said there may be trouble,” Jasmine interjected, “I didn’t mean for the Guild, or for you. The Guild isnotintimidated by aristocrats; humbling presumptuous nobles is more or less its entire purpose. But if your father is rash enough to assault Guild interests, therewillbe retaliation. And that’s not even raising the issue of the dwarves after us, specifically, and the risk to your sister of being involved in this.”

“Father won’t attack the Guild, except with his mouth,” Darius said dismissively.

“That may be enough,” she insisted. “Depending on what he says and who hears it. We’veallhad occasion to see how Eserites are about their credibility and reputation.” Unconsciously, she touched the side of her face where the ugly bruise had been. “Tricksmightfeel the need to respond to even an insult, it it came from the high seat of a powerful House.”

“You’reawfullyconcerned about this guy,” Tallie said sourly, “considering we know nothing about him except that he’s an asshole even by noble standards.”

“No, I’m not,” Jasmine replied patiently. “But when you pressure the nobility, they have a way of deferring the pain to those underneath them.”

“Boss knows that better’n anyone,” Ross grunted. “He won’t let that happen.”

“And anyway,” Jasmine added, “I don’t know what your reasons are for mistrusting nobles, Tallie, but be careful about prejudging people. People are people, pretty much anywhere. Among the noblesI’veknown have been some truly wise, compassionate people, possibly the most depraved ass I’ve ever met, and multiple points in between.”

“Met alotof ’em, have you?” Darius asked her, arching an eyebrow.

There came a clatter as Tallie nearly dropped her teacup, barely catching it in time to avoid a spill. She was staring wide-eyed at Jasmine, though, paying little attention to this.

“Omnu’s balls,” she breathed, “I get it now.”

“You do?” Jasmine asked warily. “What do you get?”

“You’re abastard!”

Jasmine’s lips thinned. “Assuming you mean the word in its literal sense…yes, I am. Thank you for bringing it up.”

“No no no!” Tallie waved a hand in exasperation, nearly upsetting her cup again. “This is the twelfth century, nobody cares about stuff like that anymore. Except!” She pointed at Layla, who sniffed in disdain. “People who are heavily invested inbloodlines!”

“You’ve lost me,” Jasmine admitted.

“Let’s review.” Tallie folded her arms on the table, now wearing a predatory grin. “You’ve clearly been trained from the cradle in Avenist combat—that takes resources that most people don’t have. Yousomehow,after that, have managed to travel around picking up pieces of other fighting styles, and we don’t even knowhowmany, but Tar’naris and Puna Dara were mentioned specifically by Silence, who would know. Ordinary people whoaren’tin circuses don’t just roam the Empire at their leisure! You’ve obviously had an expensive education apart from that, too. I mean, what kind of person who’snota Salyrite or something knows how fae witchcraft, divine healing, and modern enchantment work? Not to mention having had analchemytutor!”

“A teacher,” Jasmine said testily, not meeting her eyes. “Not a tutor.”

“And now this! You claim to have known multiple nobles, you know enough about their politics toapparentlybe in on some kind of inner-House shenanigans that aren’t common knowledge. You eventalklike a noble!”

“I do?” Jasmine frowned. “What does that even mean?”

“You enunciate,” Ross said helpfully. “I’ve noticed. You use complex grammar and have a larger-than-average vocabulary.”

“And that makes me a noble?”

“Makes you formally educated,” said Rasha, who looked slightly less bleary after getting a cup of the strong black tea down. “Which isn’t the same thing…”

“Exactly!” Tallie said triumphantly. “We know your mother is athoroughlydisreputable character—a Guild thief and anelf!So if you were some aristocrat’s by-blow, obviously they couldn’t just have youaround.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Jasmine protested. “House Maduri deliberately intermarries with elves every few generations to keep their bloodline rejuvenated. They’re the oldest continuously reigning House in the Empire, so clearly they’re doing something right.”

“House Aldarasi is older,” Darius commented idly.

“I saidcontinuouslyreigning. There have been three Aldarasi dynasties in Calderaas, two in the Imperial period, because they keep losing the throne. The Madouris have governed Tiraan Province since before there was an Empire.”

“There!” Tallie pointed dramatically at Jasmine. “That, right there! Nobody who doesn’t move in aristocratic circles evenknowsstuff like that, much less cares!”

Jasmine snapped her mouth shut, looking around the table for support. Ross and Rasha were nibbling on scones and watching all this with mild curiosity at best; Darius and Layla were now studying her with identical expressions of speculation that highlighted the resemblance in their faces.

“I wonder if she couldbea Madouri by-blow,” Layla mused after a moment. “The old Duke wasquitethe reprobate.”

Jasmine let out an irritated huff. “Hardly. I somehow doubt that anybody who’s even a potential threat to Duchess Ravana’s position is still alive.”

“An illegitimate daughterisn’ta threat to her inheritance.”

“Have youmetRavana?” Jasmine countered.

Layla’s answering smile was distinctly vulpine. “I have not, in fact. It begins to sound as ifsomeoneat this table has, however.”

“You’re still doing it,” Tallie agreed with visible satisfaction.

“There’s also the tradition of using bastards as bodyguards and companions for legitimate heirs,” Darius suggested. “It would explain all the martial training.”

“Darius, no one has done that since the Enchanter Wars,” Layla said condescendingly.

“OurHouse hasn’t, and I’ll grant you it hasn’t been a popular practice since then, but come on. You and Ibothknow old Houses keep their own customs, and don’t appreciate people prying into their business.”

“Old Houses keeping their own customs isnotencouraged in this day and age,” Layla retorted. “That’s how House Leduc ended up the way they did, and good riddance to them. Right, Jasmine?” she added with a honeyed smile.

Jasmine groaned and covered her eyes with a hand. “I think you’re all getting the wrong idea…”

“Can I just say something?” Everyone turned to look at Rasha, who had just set down his half-eaten scone. “None of this is anybody’s business but Jasmine’s, and she clearly doesn’t wanna talk about it. Weallhave pasts, and it isnobody’s concern.”He stared flatly at Tallie. “Some of us in particular need to start keeping that in mind.”

“Hey, give me a break!” Tallie protested, unable to keep the smugness off her face. “I figured something out based on the clues. I think I’m entitled to be alittlepleased with myself. I mean, it’s not every day you find out there aretwosecret nobles in your social circle.Riiiiiiight,Jasmine?”

Jasmine sighed heavily. “Okay, look. If I admit it, will youdropthe matter, finally?”

“I think that would be fair,” Tallie said primly.

“Fine. Consider it admitted. Now let’smove on.”She scowled at the rest of them. “We have much more pressing things to consider. Dwarves are still after us to be their moles in the Guild and help them find where those weapons came from—generously assuming that’sallthey want. We’re somehow caught between two factions of Avenists, respectively represented by Locke and the actualBishop.Not to mention the factions in the Guild itself that we’ve been sucked into, and between Webs, Ironeye, Glory, Grip, and whoeverelse,we hardly even know who the parties are, much less what they’re after. Andnowwe have an unaligned young noblewoman involved.” She looked pointedly at Layla, who was studying her fixedly in turn. “If she manages to get caught up in this, to say nothing of the inherent shame of letting a teenage girl come to harm, there are likely to beconsequences.Guild or no Guild, if a powerful House’s underage daughter gets tangled up inwhateverall this turns out to be, there’s a very real possibility of Sakhavenid reprisal againstallof us, potentiallywithImperial backing.”

“Darius,” Layla said slowly, “what on this benightedearthhave you got yourself into?”

He sighed. “Well, Layla, that message you got, telling you to find me at the police station? That’s from a group of dwarves who have been stalking and harassing us. Involving you was a way to hint that they can get at our families—they’ve clearly dug into Rasha and Tallie’s pasts too, and probably the others as well. We know nothing about their origins except for one expert opinion that they’re government agents from one of the Five Kingdoms.”

“What do these individuals want?” she asked sharply.

“We were verybrieflyinvolved in moving some weapons they were trying to buy from the Guild,” Jasmine explained. “Experimental and possibly illegal devices. The trade was broken up and the weapons seized by the Silver Legions. Those dwarves haven’t given up, and since they’re apparently not willing to take on the Legions or the Guild directly, they’ve been leaning on us. A few apprentices are, as Savaraad pointed out, a comparatively soft target.”

“And we don’t evenknowanything, is the pisser,” Rasha said bitterly.

“We know our way around the Guild,” said Darius. “We’ve mentioned several times to the dwarves that we don’t have useful information, and they’re still coming. That means they want us to do something moreactivefrom within the Guild to get what they want.”

“Or they just don’t believe us,” Tallie suggested.

“Yeah, well, forgive me if I leap to the worst case scenario,” he replied with a sardonic grin. “It’s been that kind of week.”

“I see,” she said thoughtfully.

“Oh, I don’t like that look,” said Tallie, staring at the young noblewoman. “That’s an intrigued look. That’s how I looked when I was your age and about to do something extremely dumb.”

“Whenyouwere my age,” Layla said primly, “I doubt you’d had the merest fraction of my experience at maneuvering around hostile factions capable and willing to inflict veryrealharm. Honestly, Darius, how have you let them come to this? You’re supposed to provide an example and support, you and even Jasmine, here. Aristocracy exists for a reason beyond fattening its own purses. How could you expect a group of disaffected farmers to contend with this?”

“It might be best,” he said thoughtfully, “if you stopped talking. Like, several sentences ago.”

“Excuse you,” Tallie said with a savage grin, “but nobody here’s a farmer. I’m a circus freak, thank you very much.”

“Sailor,” said Rasha, raising a hand.

“Bard,” Ross grunted. “Half-trained, but still.”

“I thought you were an acrobat?” Jasmine said to Tallie.

“All right, fine, I guess that was a little rude to the actual freaks. There were none in my parents’ outfit, but still.”

“Oh, this just keeps getting better,” Layla said, rolling her eyes.

“Okay, seriously, Layla, shut up,” Darius said curtly. “I’m not hanging around with these people because I couldn’t do better. They canalltake care of themselves just fine, and also, Ilikethem, so stop being rude.”

“Very well,” she said indifferently. “What, then,isyour plan?”

“Well,” Tallie said brightly, “upon advice from legal counsel,nextwe’re going to go visit the prostitute who just bailed Rasha out of jail!”

“It wasn’t bail,” Rasha muttered. “She paid for a lawyer.”

“Prostitutes, now?” Layla sniffed. “I appreciate you leaving that untilafterthe preceding revelations; somehow, it’s just not shocking anymore.”

“Glory isn’t a prostitute,” Jasmine said sharply. “She’s a courtesan.”

“There’s a difference?” Rasha asked.

“There most certainlyis,”Layla interjected, looking suddenly a lot more interested. “Prostitutes are the lowest dregs of civilized society. Acourtesan,depending on her clientele, may be a welcome guest of nobles, kings, or emperors. Which one is this? Did you say Glory?”

“That’s her Guild tag,” Jasmine replied. “Her name is Tamisin Sharvineh.”

“Oh!” Layla positively lit up in delight. “You mean, you have an established acquaintance with Tamisin Sharvineh herself and an invitation to visit her? Then by all means, let us be off! One does not keep someone likethatwaiting!”

“Whoah,” Tallie said in alarm. “What the hell do you mean,us?”

“Yep,” Darius said resignedly. “Allow me to introduce my baby sister.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com