Forged in Blood I Read Free

shut it again without saying anything. Sicarius’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. Surely he’d wondered before if his parents were still alive. Or maybe that twitch meant he already knew they weren’t.
    “Whatever records remain of my training and inception would be in Hollowcrest’s office,” Sicarius said. “If his office hasn’t been disturbed.”
    “It hasn’t been moved,” Sespian said, “but Forge owns a number of my… the intelligence officers who work in the Barracks. I’m sure it’s been searched.”
    “But Forge didn’t have any knowledge of your true heritage until…” Amaranthe winced, reminded that she’d been the one to release the hounds, however inadvertently.
    “Hollowcrest was secretive in matters related to my upbringing,” Sicarius said. “The documents would have been hidden.”
    “Good,” Amaranthe said. “Maybe they’re undisturbed then. If you three can find something favorable to counteract the questionable nature of, ah…” She extended an apologetic hand toward Sicarius. The empire might be full of war-loving soldiers, but it favored those who won battles bravely and openly, not by sticking daggers in people’s backs. “It’ll be easier to put Sespian forward as the most promising scion if we acknowledge the truth. It’ll come out anyway, but maybe we can put a palatable sauce on it.”
    Sicarius’s grunt had a skeptical undertone.
    “At the very least,” Amaranthe said, “we’ll need to know who currently holds the Imperial Barracks.”
    “The last time I attempted to enter them, they were warded.” Sicarius eyed Akstyr.
    Without hesitation, Akstyr raised his hand. “I’ll go and check them out.”
    Eager, eh? Amaranthe wondered if it was the chance to study another practitioner’s work that interested him or if he was concerned about being seen on the streets. She didn’t know how many thugs would be searching for him—his bounty wasn’t as high as hers, and nowhere near Sicarius’s, but the gangs had more eyes on the street than the enforcers, so they might represent more of a threat. Things were also more… personal with them. She’d have to do her best to keep Akstyr out of sight until they could deal with the bounty or he could escape the empire. Though he hadn’t always been her most earnest worker, he didn’t deserve to have his loyalty rewarded with a crossbow bolt in the chest.
    “So, this leaves only Yara and Basilard to locate our new hideout?” Maldynado shook his head. “We’re going to get something sparse, I know it.”
    “Are you whining?” Yara asked.
    “No, that was observing.”
    “What’s the difference?”
    Maldynado snapped his fingers. “Professor Booksie? Would you care to explain?”
    “How a grown man can justify constant complaining to his lady?” Books tapped his bulging rucksack. “None of my texts has an answer to that.”
    “Let’s get started,” Amaranthe said before Maldynado’s sputtered protest could evolve into fighting words. The gray plumes of smoke from the locomotive had faded, and fresh troops were already piling into the city. “We’ll meet in the alley behind Curi’s Bakery at midnight.”
    • • •
    A faint breeze stirred the darkness in the underground passages, bringing the scents of fresh snow and damp fir needles from the Emperor’s Preserve. They’d entered the tunnel system through a hidden and booby-trapped gate in the park a half a mile back, one Sicarius had used often in the past. Hollowcrest hadn’t wanted anyone to know an assassin in the emperor’s employment came and went in the Imperial Barracks. The mundane booby traps were not a problem. The newly added Science-based ones were a different matter.
    Sicarius followed his nose back to the spot where he’d left the others. The air also carried mold and mildew spores, along with the sharp tang of pine tree resin mixed with bear grease. Akstyr’s hair concoction. The smell of ink verified Books’s presence.