Widows of the empire, p.1
Widows of the Empire, page 1
Widows of the Empire
The Unari Empire Trilogy, Volume 2
JD Byrne
Published by JD Byrne, 2021.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
WIDOWS OF THE EMPIRE
First edition. November 10, 2021.
Copyright © 2021 JD Byrne.
ISBN: 979-8201922986
Written by JD Byrne.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Part II
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Part III
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Epilogue
Also By JD Byrne
About the Author
For Zaria & Kalindi – my goofy, snuggly fluff balls
Part I
The truest friend is one who
Aids without asking,
Expects no return,
And does not yield to failure
Ayrs of Galen, Book 10 Chapter 10.25
Chapter 1
“No peeking!” Aton said as the cab lurched to a halt.
Kaisia, who had been giggling uncontrollably for the past ten minutes, shrieked, but didn’t let her hand slip from over her eyes. “I’m not, I’m not!”
“Wait right here.” Aton hopped out of the cab and paid the driver. He waited for Xaria to extricate herself from the other side, then leaned in for his daughter. “Promise you won’t look until I say?”
Kaisia nodded vigorously.
“Give me your hand.” Aton took her outstretched hand and pulled her gently toward the door of the cab. When she was close enough, she wrapped her arm around his neck instinctively. He picked her up and perched her on his hip.
“Can I look now?” she asked.
“Not yet.” Aton wondered how much longer he’d be able to cart her around like this. She was still small for a girl her age, body stunted and weak from the circumstances of her birth, but she was eight years old now. He’d have to make arrangements, but they could wait. Today was about joy, and he wasn’t going to let anything else ruin the fun.
The cab driver clicked his teeth and the pair of sleek black horses turned and began to amble back down the hill. It was an impressive sight, but the stench made Aton long for Bolik’s ban on horse-drawn conveyances. In spite of what Laffargue had paid him already, an autocar was an out-of-reach luxury. For now, at least.
Aton waited for the dust to settle and walked a few paces back. He looked at Xaria, who was grinning like a schoolgirl herself. He took a deep breath. “All right, sweetheart, open your eyes.”
Kaisia spread her fingers, just enough to peek through, before she let her hand drop away completely. A smile began to spread over her face, but vanished before it was fully formed.
“Do you like it?” Aton asked, unable to suppress a wide grin. He could see Xaria start to tear up.
Kaisia took a moment then crinkled her nose in confusion. “What is it?”
Aton laughed. “What do you mean? This is our new home!”
He wished it looked more impressive, uncertain whether an eight-year-old would understand that the most important factor when it came to real estate was location. The hills around Cye had been sought after as places to build homes since the city was founded. Aton had wanted to find a home on a hill with a view of the city, but that was out of his price range. Older homes facing the other direction, however, had at least proven manageable.
“Our home?” Kaisia asked it in such a way as to bring Xaria into the group.
“Of course,” Aton said, holding out his other arm. Xaria slipped underneath it, close to him. He was still figuring out just what she was in relationship to him and Kaisia, but whatever it was, she was now clearly a part of their household. “Don’t you like it?”
“It’s,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “It’s flat.”
Aton suppressed another laugh. “It is that. No stairs! You’ll be able to go everywhere inside. Won’t that be great?”
A single-floor layout was one of the two things Aton required from the agent who found the home for him. Not only were the days of carrying Kaisia up and down stairs over, but with the leftover from Aton’s last job, he could finally search out a doctor to see if Kaisia’s condition could be treated. The other thing Aton had demanded was a good plot of flat land to use as a garden. Living in the hills meant that stopping in the Cye market square every day was no longer an option.
It didn’t look like Kaisia was buying it.
“Let’s go around back,” Xaria said.
Aton swallowed the thought on his lips and followed her around the corner of the house, happy to be able to support his daughter with both arms again. He watched her face, ignoring the very thing Xaria was leading them toward.
After she squinted against the setting sun, Kaisia’s eyes went wide. “Wow.”
Aton kissed her on the cheek, then turned to enjoy the view. The home was perched on an outcropping, and this small side yard provided a stunning view of the valley below. It was enough to make Aton wonder how he ever lived in the city to begin with, hemmed in on all sides by buildings and people. A ruined stone wall ran along the edge of the cliff, to provide a very slight barrier to falling down to the valley below.
“What’s that down there?” Kaisia pointed.
“Farms, mostly,” Aton said. “Each of those are fields full of wheat or corn or who knows what. But see there?” He pointed a little further away. “That’s the Valley of the Queens.”
The little girl nodded, drinking it all in.
“Don’t worry, I’ll fix the wall here so you don’t go tumbling over the side, all right?” In his mind, Aton could see her running and jumping through the tall summer grass, but didn’t want to get her own hopes up. He could handle life not matching his expectations. He didn’t want to inflict so much disappointment on his daughter.
After they surveyed the view for a few more moments, Aton turned to Kaisia. “How about we go find your room?”
“Yes!” She squealed and threw her arms around his neck.
~~~~~
Aton had decided to buy the house now because he wasn’t sure there would be a better time.
For one thing, the last job for Laffargue had been the most lucrative yet, even though, on the surface, it was the easiest. Unlike the Orb of Triska, which Aton had stolen from a wealthy collector’s home, or the Scepter of Uvona, which he had liberated from a collection of religious fanatics, all he had to do with Barbarro’s Pyramid was to make a winning bid at an auction. It wasn’t an auction that was open to the public, of course, so Aton had to craft a new identity and play at being someone he wasn’t in order to take part. It was only after the job was done that Laffargue told him the price of being found out.
That Aton could have been killed if his cover had been blown probably explained the extra large fee for that job. “Hazard pay,” Laffargue had called it. All Aton had been worried about was having his forged travel papers too closely examined by authorities and spending some time in a cell. When he found out that the auction house itself was lethal to infiltrators, he nearly walked away from Laffargue and any more jobs. But the money was too good, the opportunity for a better life too tangible. At least now he could say he’d been to Baldomar, the great city of canals.
Laffargue had told him it would be a while before the next job. That was the other reason Aton had decided to buy the house and move out of the city. He knew it would take time to find the right place, and he needed some time for everyone to settle in. The last thing he wanted was to uproot Kaisia from the only home she’d ever known then run off on another adventure. She’d be fine in Xaria’s care, but Aton didn’t want to put her through any additional stress.
So they settled into a routine over the weeks after the move. Aton spent most of the daylight hours fixing up the place or working in the quickly developing garden. The house didn’t have any major problems, but there were small things that needed attention in almost every room as well as outside. Between that and planting vegetables and spices, Aton managed to keep himself busy most of the time.
But there was still the elephant in the house. He still wasn’t certain about the relationship he had with Xaria. It was, at least, no longer just business. Xaria wasn’t an employee, but a member of the household, part of the family. Beyond that, Aton wasn’t quite sure. The conversation with Ethyna after he’
Xaria’s affection for him, and for Kaisia, was undeniable. His feelings weren’t so clear. He was fond of Xaria, yes, but he wondered about wanting something more passionate. His relationship with Mara, Kaisia’s mother, had been vivid and sensual and ever-expanding. Xaria didn’t have that kind of personality, at least so far as Aton had seen. But she was gentle, caring, and fierce in her own quiet way. She was also smarter than Aton had expected, given her line of work. Apparently the half-Imperial novels of which she was so fond weren’t the only things she read.
The routine could only mask the awkwardness for so long. Aton had agreed to give Kaisia the larger of the two bedrooms, since it had a window that looked out over the valley. That left Aton and Xaria sharing a bed that would have been too small anywhere, but seemed particularly tight in the smaller bedroom. It wasn’t that Aton was opposed to being an unmarried couple. He and Mara had lived that way for more than a year before Port Ambs. It was more that he wondered if he didn’t need to give up something else, or someone else, before he could fully dive into life with Xaria.
Thankfully, there was enough work around the house to keep his mind occupied.
~~~~~
One evening while he was helping Xaria make dinner, there was a knock on the door.
She looked at him. “Expecting someone?”
He shook his head.
“I didn’t know you’d left a forwarding address.”
“I didn’t,” he said, wiping his hands on a dish towel. “I only told a few folks.” Of course he had told Laffargue, but he hadn’t expected him to come calling so quickly.
There was another knock, steady and deliberate.
Aton could see concern flash across Xaria’s eyes. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Probably just one of the neighbors, come by to say hello.” He doubted that, since the next house was over a rise perhaps a quarter of a mile away. Neighbors who might pop by at any moment were something he’d hoped to leave behind in the city.
Aton took a deep breath and pulled the door open. “Yes?”
Standing on the stoop was a middle-aged man dressed in the plain grey uniform of one of the city’s high-end messenger services. Most people used the services that employed young boys to run a letter somewhere and disappear. Aton had only had a grey come to him once before, years ago. The resulting job hadn’t gone well.
The man tipped his cap. “Aton Askins?”
“Yes?” Aton answered. “Who wants to know? Did Laffargue send you?” He’d certainly have the money but had never shown the need for this level of service.
“No, sir, I do not know anyone of that name,” the man said. He reached into a pocket, pulled out a small card, and handed it to Aton.
It was thick and beige with fine black handwriting on it. All it did was identify the man, Nexo Vesper, and his messenger service. “All right,” was all Aton could muster, stuffing the card in his pocket. “What do you want?”
“I represent someone who would like to hire you, Mr. Askins,” Vesper said, as simply as if he was asking him to lunch.
Aton sputtered, then asked, “How did you find me?”
Vesper chuckled. “While I am certainly not on your level, Mr. Askins, it is not infrequent in my line of work to have to track someone down to deliver a message. In truth, your former landlord proved fairly easy to persuade.”
Aton had a quick nightmare flash of the old woman he’d rented from for years being subject to some kind of force or threats, but then remembered her fondness for spiced wine. He cursed himself for confiding in her. “Congratulations on your successful pursuit, but I’m afraid I’m not accepting work at this moment.”
Vesper furrowed his brow but maintained a polite smile. “Have you retired, sir? Or found a new line of employment?”
“No,” Aton said, too quickly. “Not that it’s any business of yours or your client.”
“You are, then, still in the business of finding things?” Vesper asked, pausing. “Or people?”
Aton stepped out of the doorway, pulling the door shut behind him. “Listen, my current work is none of your concern. All you need to tell your client is that I am not, at this moment, taking on new business. If you like, I can provide the names of a few of my colleagues who could certainly do the job.”
“No, sir,” Vesper said, taking a step back but taking a firmer tone. “My client was very clear that only Mr. Askins would be able to help with this situation.”
Aton had to admit Vesper was good at his job. He hadn’t let slip any information that might identify this mystery client, even whether it was a man or a woman. “Please extend my appreciation for their evaluation of my talents, but I assure you, I’m not special.” He turned to head back inside.
“I will relay that to my client, Mr. Askins,” Vesper said behind him.
“You do that.” Aton closed the door.
“What was that all about?” Xaria asked when he returned to the kitchen.
“Nothing,” he said, taking the time to kiss her on the forehead. He never thought he’d be able to turn away business.
Chapter 2
Out on the balcony, Belwyn kept her eyes closed and wrapped her robe tight against the chill. Mornings on the lake were always cool, even in summer. It was part of why she loved Annanais. No matter how hot or cramped or chaotic it seemed, the mornings were always fresh and crisp. A slight gust blew in off the lake and she shivered.
She wondered how long the charm of these mornings would last. It was one thing when she was growing up here or when she and Oudrick came to visit. Now she was stuck here, with a cadre of armed guards charged not with protecting her from any threat, but with keeping her in her place. A prison perched on the side of a mountain beside a jewel of a lake was still a prison, no matter how comfortable it might be.
As if to drive home the point, there was a sharp knock at the door. She sighed and walked back inside, pulling the door open slowly. At least she could still lock it from the inside.
“Lady Belwyn,” the frail, young cook’s assistant said as she shot directly to the table by the window. She set down the tray with Belwyn’s breakfast on it then disappeared just as quickly.
Taking her place in the doorway, keeping Belwyn from closing the door, was Neven. The stern woman, face shaped by generations of Cye high society, glared at her. “Good morning, Lady.”
“Neven,” Belwyn said, giving her as little recognition as possible while sitting down to breakfast. “What’s on the agenda for today?” The question caught in her throat a little bit. She’d said that so many times to Hagan, but he would only relate things she had agreed to do, if not wanted to. Neven’s schedules were always about keeping Belwyn occupied and out of trouble.
“One of the maids has run off with one of your guards,” Neven said, contempt dripping from every word. “They’ll be tracked down soon enough, but, needless to say, we need to make arrangements for an addition to the staff. The applicants will be arriving in an hour.”
“An hour?” Belwyn said. Any time there was a position open in her household, dozens of young women would come and apply, each just wanting a chance to get close to her. It was exhausting.
“There will be many applicants,” Neven said. “In addition, you have a reception with the mayor of Coombe this afternoon that I had to work around.”
Coombe was the town on the other side of the lake from Annanais. The two had always had a friendly rivalry, but Belwyn couldn’t imagine what the mayor wanted with her. Between him and the fawning young ladies wanting to be in her employ, Belwyn could take pleasure knowing that she was still as well loved as ever out here, even if Chakat had made her a pariah in Cye.
At least, that’s what she assumed. “Do you have the news for me?”
Neven stepped forward and handed her a collection of newspapers from across the Empire, Belwyn’s breakfast reading material.
Belwyn took the one on top, opened it, and then held it up. She eyed Neven through the square hole cut in the front page. “Really, can’t your people be more subtle than this?”
