Wolves of Empire [EPIC DARK FANTASY] [Book One Complete]

Fifteen

Sephara

Empyria, the Imperium

18th of Satimus

When Sephara awoke from her pain-induced slumber, it took far too long for her throbbing mind to comprehend where she'd been slung. The stone was slick and slimy beneath her, and when she glanced around, she found herself the only occupant of a dank cell. Iron bars comprised three sides, giving her a view into the neighbouring cells, and out into the central space.

Poor lighting afforded the place a hellish aspect, and after her eyes adjusted to the pitiful glow of several guttering torches, she took further stock of her surroundings. The cells described a circle, the centre dominated by a spiralling stone staircase. Several guards stood silent as statues, visible only by the glimmer of their eyes in the torchlight. Faces she recognised occupied most of the cells nearby.

There, a few down from her, sat Caelinus Naevon, Corajus of Asineo, elder brother of Arch-General Ricardus, and one of her father's most steadfast allies. In the cell beside him was a young woman she assumed to be his daughter and heir. Further down from them she caught a glimpse of the Corajus of Quendinther, Calvus Valens, similarly allied to the Boratorrens. Other faces she had to strain to remember, but she knew them all to be in some way affiliated to her family.

No Iana and Lexia, thankfully. No Kesa and Bekker, either, so at least the Castrians hadn't targeted everyone.

But there, in the cell next to her, pressed up against the bars, crouched her father. His shirt and face were smeared with the dirt of their surroundings, but he seemed otherwise unharmed.

She couldn't say the same for herself.

Her stomach and ribs ached from the kicks she'd received, and the right side of her head felt swollen and heavy. Her hearing on that side had been rendered woollen and distorted by the guard's kick, and if felt as if she'd partially submerged her face in water. The throbbing headache made itself known when she clambered to her feet and shuffled towards her father, and she nearly collapsed beneath the hurt.

"Se-Silvia," Valerian hissed when he saw her, correcting himself at the last moment. "Are you okay?"

She cupped her injured ear with one hand and winced. "I think so. What's happening?"

"Our allies have been arrested. The Castrians oversaw it all, but I expect the Caetoran ordered it. I assume he will blame us for Endarion's defection, and for the recent assassinations."

She sat down before him and gripped at the bars, giving them an experimental tug. Her chest smarted at the movement. Before she could move away, Valerian set his hands over hers. "I will make sure you are released," he murmured.

"What about you?" she asked. "You said they wouldn't kill you."

He shrugged, looking small and weak and young. "I did not think they would. Maybe I am more expendable than I assumed."

Maybe they all were. There were three Corajus here, after all; three-sevenths of the Imperium's political power. It was only a stroke of luck they hadn't also secured Kaeso. Sephara supposed, with the Caesidi's failure to properly cull Boratorren authority, the Caetoran had tired of knives in the dark and had adopted a more direct approach in removing his enemies. She just wished she'd predicted this.

"We should've left as soon as Endarion defected," she said.

Her father nodded weakly. "I can see that now."

The aggressive clacking of boot heels on stone as someone descended the staircase aborted further conversation. Guards challenged a shadowed figure, who pushed them bodily aside and approached Sephara's cell. His face, when it came into focus, was warped with anger, his teeth bared like a rabid animal, his hands fisted at his sides.

"I swear I didn't know this was happening," Dexion said. "They deliberately went beneath my authority." He turned to the nearest guard and snapped his fingers, then pointed to her cell. "Get her the fuck out." When the guard hesitated, his bellowed, "Now!" was perhaps the loudest thing she'd ever heard. It was the closest she'd yet come to picturing him as an Arisen.

She looked to Valerian. "What about…" She caught herself just in time. "What about the Corajus?"

"I can't release him, only you."

"I don't—."

Her father cut her off before she could finish. "Take care of her, Mendacium. She is not involved in any of this."

Dexion glanced briefly at Valerian. "I know." Once the cell was unlocked, Dexion shouldered the guard away, then held his hand out for her. She let him guide her towards the staircase but turned to catch a glimpse of her father. Valerian's smile was thin and wavering, and though she returned it, she couldn't help but feel like she left him here to die.

No, there'd be a way out of this. She could talk to Dexion, find out what evidence there was, and undermine it somehow. Her father wasn't condemned yet. None of their allies were.

She found herself, out in the daylight, standing in the Empyrian Tower's shadow as its malevolent bulk blotted out the sun. They'd been thrust into the cells beneath the Tower's base, then. Aside from the Praevin compound's holding cells, this was the only place in the city where criminals were kept for anything longer than an overnight stay.

The journey from the Tower's prison to the Praevin compound was both the longest and shortest walk of her life. Long, because she'd left her father behind, and each step symbolised a deeper betrayal of him. Short, because the sudden barrage of sound and light and sensation assaulted her already damaged ear and flattened her into a strange kind of waking coma. She trudged numbly beside Dexion, who thankfully didn't try to talk to her, and her gaze skidded across a city she no longer recognised.

Judging by the height of the sun in the sky and the fatigue draining her limbs, she'd been imprisoned, unconscious, for an entire day. What had happened since? Had anyone noticed the absence of all her father and uncle's chief supporters? Was the Caetoran making further moves against her family? What did it mean that Dexion hadn't been consulted? She supposed it was retaliation for his Caesidi targeting Janus's allies, but then that led her to another series of questions concerning Dexion and his own loyalties. Surely, he no longer stood with the Tyrannuses? Was it possible to turn him into an ally?

When they arrived at the compound, he bore her to the office that overlooked his domain and seated her at his desk. He disappeared for a few moments, returning with a plate of what she guessed were leftovers of the compound's lunch, and a metal pitcher of cold water. As hungry as she now knew herself to be, she felt too faint to take anything. Her head still pounded, the tinniness made her dizzy, the dizziness made her sick, the sickness made her tired. Only the fact she was already seated prevented her from keeling over.

"The soldier who kicked you has been dealt with," Dexion growled as he settled in opposite her, his meaning clear in his tone.

She nodded, wincing.

"I would have got there sooner, but no one told me what'd happened," he continued. He glanced between her and the plate of food, but she shook her head and he inched it aside.

"How did you know I was taken?"

"An anonymous message," he said, then scratched his chin. "I suspect it was Kesa Hult, though I can't be sure." His eyes trailed back to her. "Iana Mallian and her daughter are fine, by the way. I know you're friendly with the girl. Kesa has them under her protection. Being a Castrian herself means Nazhira's men won't raise a finger against her. Not that they know to go after her yet."

Sephara released a shaky breath, for the moment ignoring the fact that Dexion knew of her friendship with Lexia. Two of her cousins and their mothers escaping the purge meant the majority of the Boratorren family—or at least those Sephara herself recognised as family—remained free. Only her father had been secured, but he was arguably the most important of them. He'd always feared what his brother would be capable of if left unchecked. It seemed they might soon find out, if Valerian was no longer there to restrain Endarion.

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"He's innocent," she said, slapping at Dexion's desk. The sound was a whipcrack delivered straight to her brain, and a wave of nausea rocked her. She tilted sideways, the floor suddenly where it shouldn't be, and would've toppled from her seat had Dexion not shot to his feet and caught her. For a long moment he held her head in his hands, his eyes roving her face for signs of serious injury. Her blurred vision distorted his features, and for a moment his mouth seemed to fold into a bloodthirsty grin.

Dexion waited until she blinked through the pain to reply. "Before I came to get you, I challenged the Caetoran on his decision to arrest the Boratorrens and their allies. I say Boratorrens plural because it was Janus's intent to also secure Kaeso. Where is he?"

Sephara shrugged, and Dexion released his hold on her. "He wasn't with Valerian when we were taken," she said, hoping the lie didn't show on her face. By now, her brother would be with their uncle, who would already know about Valerian's arrest. Endarion was too far away to intervene, but at least he was prepared.

Dexion frowned as if he meant to press the issue, then waved his hand and straightened. "Anyway, the Caetoran showed me several incriminating documents. They're all that's needed to ensure your employer and his allies are executed for their crimes." He reached into a desk drawer and plucked out a thin sheath of papers, then slid them to her. "These are copies, for my archives, but the Caetoran has the originals." He flashed her a sorry attempt at an amused grin. "I'll let you read through them now so you don't need to steal my keys again later."

The topmost sheet was part of a letter penned in her father's hand, addressed to Endarion. It was a draft of what he'd ended up sending to his brother alongside everything Sephara had found, asking him not to defect just yet. The resulting disaster at Varanos showed just how seriously the Iron Wolf hadn't taken his brother's placating words. Thankfully, for the sake of her own cover, the documents she'd stolen using Dexion's key hadn't been included in this stack, suggesting the Caetoran's agents didn't have them. However, it made it clear that Valerian's attempts at distancing himself from his brother were in vain, because here was proof of her father's involvement in the insurrectionist plot.

The rest were also written by Valerian, and addressed to several of their chief allies, Caelinus and Calvus chief among them. Sephara knew even as she started reading what the letters contained, because she'd been present during some of the discussions that had dictated them.

Matters of the Boratorren insurrection, and how Valerian and Endarion intended to unseat the Caetoran. Mentions of specific details, including the intent to make Kaeso the new Caetoran, and the first mentions of the title of Paramount-General. Her uncle had wondered how Khian knew of it all, when the young Warmaster had first elevated Endarion, and here it was. Someone had leaked their letters, correspondence going back years. Here was all the ammunition the Caetoran needed to doom them all.

"How?" was all she could manage once she'd finished.

"How?"

She swallowed, composed herself. "Where were these letters found?"

"They were given to a Tyrannus agent who was posing as a merchant interested in allying with the Boratorrens."

"By whom?" she asked, dreading the answer.

Dexion measured her for a moment. "Valerian's son."

Of course. Her brother was the only one among them inexperienced enough in politics to have fallen for such a trick. Even as Dexion spoke, she'd known, and yet the impact wasn't lessened. She reeled back in her seat as if punched in the face, and for a breath forgot to mask her reaction. As far as Dexion knew, Kaeso was her employer's son, a man he'd seen attack her, but nothing more. Not her older brother. Not the man who'd just escaped an execution he'd inadvertently caused, leaving their father behind to face the fallout.

She doubted he'd betrayed them on purpose—he'd probably been trying to impress their father by securing an ally of his own—but he'd still as good as murdered Valerian and the others.

"If it's any consolation, I don't believe Valerian, or any of those arrested, will be executed yet. He's too valuable a bargaining tool for if the Iron Wolf makes it as far as the Imperium's border." Dexion reached out towards her and splayed his hand on the desk, an invitation for consolation. "I didn't realise you cared for him so deeply."

There was the ghost of accusation in his tone, a question unasked. She swallowed again, her throat thick and hot. "Without him, I have no job, no home, no purpose." And no father, no family. "Can I please speak with him? Later, if possible. There are things I need to sort out."

Dexion nodded and withdrew his hand. "You need to rest first, but I'll see if I can arrange a visit tonight. You can stay here as long as you want."

"With you?" Though she'd shared a bed with this man only a day ago, she needed to be alone. Needed to mourn her father where no one would question why a bodyguard cried for her employer.

He must've seen that in her expression because he shook his head. "There are spare rooms next to mine. Take one, have it as long as you need it."

She rose on shaky legs, her blocked ear and unsteadiness making of her stride a faltering limp, and let Dexion guide her out of his office.

―

Returning to the Empyrian Tower's underground prison so soon after escaping it made for an ominous experience, and Sephara found herself wanting to shy away even as she approached the heavily fortified guardhouse jutting from the side of the Tower's massive base. Dexion was an unobtrusive presence at her side, and he bartered with the guards with the same level of contempt he'd shown them when he'd come to free her. Unsurprisingly, the guards were all Castrian soldiers; she doubted the Caetoran would trust Dexion's Praevin with watching over his key political prisoners, and his own personal force, the Caetoran's Guard, wouldn't be wasted on such a matter.

"You can have ten minutes," Dexion said as the two soldiers he'd been muttering with stepped aside and swung the guardhouse door open. "I'll be waiting out here for you."

She fortified her courage and, with head raised and back straight, paced past the Castrians and into the guardhouse. Only the vaguest memory of her brief stay in the cells guided her towards the spiralling staircase and down through the first few levels.

Her breath spiralled sharp and light in her lungs, more a product of nervousness than exhaustion, and the sound of it echoed oddly in her damaged ear. She concentrated on that as she dismounted the staircase at her father's level, spied his cell, and approached.

Not much time had passed since he'd been seized, and even less since she'd last seen him, so she didn't know why she was surprised to find him intact and hale. Maybe she'd been expecting interrogations and torture already, but it seemed the Caetoran didn't yet have time for Valerian and his allies. No doubt he would, but for now Valerian clung to the final scraps of his dignity with a tensed jaw and hard eyes.

"You returned," he stated as she stopped in front of his cell. He climbed to his feet.

She glanced around the room, ensuring the nearest guards couldn't hear, then leaned close to whisper. "I'll get you out, somehow."

He wrapped his hands around the bars and shook his head. "That is not a good—."

"—Kesa managed to get Iana and Lexia, so maybe she'll help. If not, I'll get word to Uncle somehow and he can have Palla worldstride some soldiers over. We'll storm this place and get you out. It'll make the whole situation worse, I know, but I can't let this happen."

"Sephara, listen to me."

"If you don't want to start a fight, I'll see if I can talk Dexion into taking you into his custody. You'd still be a prisoner, but he won't hurt you like the Caetoran will."

"Please," Valerian hissed, reaching a hand through the bars and resting it on her shoulder. He'd never pleaded with her before, and the mere utterance of the word from his mouth temporarily blinded her. She realised a guard had slunk over, no doubt reading her father's contact as threatening; she waved the man away.

"You are not to interfere in whatever happens," Valerian continued after a moment.

Her tongue was a leaden lump in her mouth. "They're going to hurt you. Kill you." Hot pressure behind her eyes signalled tears, and it proved an effort to swallow them.

"I told you once that sacrifices needed to be made for our cause," Valerian said, squeezing her shoulder. "At the time I meant my brother, but now it seems it is to be my fate. I would be a hypocrite to try and save myself."

"You know we can't do this without you," she said.

Her father's face softened in a rare show of emotion. "I feared what my brother would be capable of without me there to restrain him. I feared what would become of you and your brother, and Daria." His gaze became every bit as iron as his brother's. "But I shouldn't fear anything. You and your cousin are far more capable than I give you credit for, and you can keep Kaeso safe. As for my brother, I think this Imperium deserves to have the wrath of the Iron Wolf levelled upon it."

For a moment her father was again the lofty, invincible deity she'd often seen him as when younger. But she no longer had the naïve eyes of a child, and the man she'd believed untouchable had been condemned.

"I don't want you to die," she said baldly.

"And I do not want to die," Valerian replied. "But even more than that, I do not want you putting yourself in danger on my behalf. Palla will not worldstride back to my estate now, so we cannot contact your uncle even if I wanted to." She went to challenge him, but he made a silencing gesture with his free hand. "No, listen to me. If you try and interfere, you may compromise your guise. If anyone else knew who you were, you would be in this cell with me, facing the same fate. I will not have that."

"But—."

"—I refuse to let you injure yourself or get yourself killed on my account. What you have accomplished in a few months as Silvia Barum is more than I have in a lifetime as Valerian Boratorren. You are the safest of us all, and at Mendacium's side you are best placed to help your uncle bring this empire down from within." His free hand settled on her other shoulder, and he pulled her as close as the bars between them allowed. "You are the best of us, Sephara. I am sorry it took me so long to realise it. For so many years I was striving to achieve something great, when you were my finest achievement all along. I am so proud of you, Daughter."

"But this is all my fault," she argued. "I insisted we give Uncle the documents."

The embrace he yanked her into was awkward, made almost painful by the press of the bars, but she savoured it all the same. "Never blame yourself. Endarion and I set our family on this path the moment we decided to topple the Tyrannuses. You were only ever doing what we asked."

When he released her, she was reluctant to step back. That would be to acknowledge their lives were now disconnected, that she'd lost her father. Though he'd never been an attentive parent, he was still the man who'd raised her, who'd shown her brief flashes of treasured affection, who would walk unfalteringly towards his end because he didn't want to endanger her by seeking help.

She'd come with the intent of telling him Kaeso was the leak, but now the words clotted in her throat and she couldn't voice them. Let him go to his death still thinking positively of his son.

Movement behind her heralded the guards, and the end of her ten minutes. Valerian locked eyes with her. "Make them pay a thousandfold for everything they do," he said. "Help your uncle in any way you can. Make sure the rest of the family makes it through this."

She felt a hand around her arm, dragging her away. She threw a panicked glance over her shoulder, scrabbling for one last glimpse of her father. He inclined his head to her, mouthed the words, "I love you, Daughter," and was then obscured by the staircase's merciless stone.