Read Kushiel's Mercy for Free Online Page B

deal easier. And if she’s not, at least I’ll know where not to look.”
    “In time,” Sidonie murmured. “Gods, I hate this.”
    “So do we all, your highness,” Mavros said with a rare note of genuine sympathy in his tone. “Believe me, House Shahrizai does not relish its role in your plight.”
    “Will they support me in this?” I asked him. “You know it means my mother’s death.”
    “Yes,” he said without hesitating, and Roshana nodded in agreement. “There may be a few who are uncomfortable with it. It goes against the grain, turning on family. But what she did is unconscionable. Her sentence was just. No one likes it, but no one denies it.”
    “Our kinsman Marmion Shahrizai did turn on her years ago,” Roshana reminded him.
    “And Duc Faragon sent him into exile for it.”
    “Duc Faragon sent Marmion into exile because he caused the death of his sister Persia,”
    Phèdre said thoughtfully. “Not for trying to bring Melisande to justice.” She was silent a moment. She had known my mother very, very well. I tried not to think about that. “You know, I wouldn’t put it past her to contact Marmion.”
    “Seeking vengeance?” I asked.
    Phèdre shook her head. “No. He was always terrified she would, of course. But Melisande’s too cool-headed for vengeance. That’s part of what made her so damnably deadly. If anything, she’d use his guilt and regret to turn him back into an ally.” She glanced at Raul L’Envers y Aragon. “Is Marmion still in Aragonia?”
    “Oh, yes.” Raul nodded. “He’s among the King’s favorite drinking companions.”
    “Mayhap your mother will make some discreet inquiries.” Phèdre smiled. “Lady Nicola had a certain fondness for him once upon a time.”
    “My mother is a woman of varied tastes,” Raul said diplomatically. “I will ask. I am told that matters are uneasy in Aragonia these days and tongues are wagging in all directions.”
    “Uneasy?” I asked.
    “Carthage,” he said briefly. “The Council of Thirty has elected a new general, young and ambitious. There are rumors that he means to move against Aragonia and reclaim it for Carthage.” He smiled sardonically. “All the Carthaginian ambassadors deny it, of course, and I am told the King accepts their gifts and believes their smooth lies. But my brother, Serafin, is worried.”
    “Terre d’Ange stands with Aragonia,” Sidonie assured him. “We have not forgotten that when Skaldia invaded, Aragonia came to our aid.”
    Raul gave her a brief bow. “Aragonia knows no better ally than Terre d’Ange.”
    I shuddered. “Let’s not discuss Carthage further today.”
    He gave me an apologetic look. “Of course.”
    It was unreasonable to hold an entire nation to blame for the actions of two men; nor did I.
    Still, I could not forget that the men who had abducted me and sold me into slavery were Carthaginian. It is not the sort of thing one ever forgets.
    We spoke for a while longer, speculating and planning. Although I’d rather have been elsewhere, alone with Sidonie, there was a comfort in knowing we had friends and allies.
    And, too, what was said here today would be carried forth as rumor and gossip. Terre d’Ange would know that I was not sitting idle, that foreign dignitaries and the Master of the Straits himself were assisting me.
    I hoped Hyacinthe’s search would be lengthy.
    I hoped against hope that he might find her.
    In my heart, I didn’t believe he would. But it would buy us time to enjoy this brief respite, Sidonie and I, before the suspicion grew that I was merely biding my time, going through the motions of looking into the mystery with no intention of actually searching for Melisande, let alone bringing her to justice.
    When it came to that point . . . ah, Elua.
    I knew what had to be done. It was the one secret I’d kept from Sidonie. Not a-purpose, not really. It was the sort of secret that got people killed. Before I wouldn’t have dared risk it. We were too