“Which are?”

  “One, get out of that damned black dress. I don’t want to see you in black again anytime soon.”

  She saluted.

  “And the second?”

  “Second, you’ll tell me what’s wrong.”

  Crap.

  She gave him a guilty look and turned her eyes to the ballroom, suddenly fully aware of the people pretending not to watch them. Punctuated by Eileen catching up.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed at Em. Then she turned to Flint. “And you! I know you throw decorum away whenever possible, but you shouldn’t encourage your sister to do so. For shame!”

  “And what is wrong with greeting her brother?”

  Em tuned them out. It would normally be amusing to watch. Eileen would get more and more flustered and angry. All the while, Flint calmly said things that implied the old woman was being ridiculous.

  Normally.

  Right then, though, Em was so sick of Eileen that she didn’t want to watch.

  Instead, she looked around the room for familiar faces.

  While she didn’t have many friends in the Capital, there were a few. And she spotted the little outcast group of nobles lingering near a window.

  Kalenna was watching the scene with an amused smirk. The blonde flipped open her fan and nodded to Em. Which caused the other three to notice and nod as well. All grinning.

  “Furthermore-!”

  “I’ll be right back,” she interrupted. Tapping Flint on the shoulder.

  Flint waved her away. Then, he extracted himself from Eileen’s company as Em worked her way to the window.

  Kalenna pulled her onto the sofa next to her. The space was so small that Em was half sitting on her. That earned the pair a glare from a nearby group of ladies. All of whom found a reason to migrate a little further from the outcasts.

  “Why is your brother single?”

  The question was a mournful whine as Kalenna eyed Flint openly.

  “Kay, pull your eyes back into your head,” her sister, Selene, commanded. “He’s what, twenty years older than you?”

  “Only fifteen.”

  “She’s right. You should only have eyes for me.” Jairo leaned down, almost in Kalenna’s face as he batted his eyelashes. “Aren’t I pretty enough for you, Kay?”

  “Warthogs are prettier than you.”

  “Don’t be mean,” protested their little party's fifth and final member. Whitney, the smallest and weakest of the girls, didn’t speak very loudly. So fortunately for her, her friends were used to catching her timid whispers.

  “I’m not being mean. I’m stating a fact.”

  Em giggled. “Don’t worry, Jairo. Whitney will always be your fan.”

  They exchanged a few more teasing spars before changing the conversation to ‘The Hammer’s’ latest article. A journalist for the Inquirer, he covered a wide range of topics, from politics to theater to even pets.

  It was odd because none of the other journalists bounced around topics like he did. But none of the other journalists were nearly as entertaining.

  Of course, Jairo supplied their group with the material.

  With a flourish, he started the conversation by pulling the neatly cut-out article from his pocket.

  “Today, it's on the disappearances of the highest classes. And you girls will like this. He’s calling to have women take over titles because men are becoming scarce.”

  The ladies all clapped or whooped. Or, in Whitney’s case, just smiled.

  “Where Have All the Men Gone? The stability of the highest ranks in society threatened-”

  While Jairo read the article aloud, Em’s eyes wandered around the room. She hadn’t expected to see Duchess Waghorn, but she was still disappointed the woman wasn’t there.

  Not that Em was timid.

  She just didn’t enjoy approaching complete strangers alone when she didn’t have to.

  Especially when proposing illegal deals.

  And especially knowing Flint may not be happy with her… but he’d probably take over the deal for her. Since he was just as desperate as she was for the income.

  And since he was much more likely to not get caught.

  “I think Em’s looking for her lover.”

  With a flinch, Em’s attention came back to the little group. They were all watching her and grinning.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “I don’t have a lover,” she said. Firmly.

  For some reason, a pair of bright, ruby eyes came to mind. Not because he was a lover! But she thought she’d have to love their eyes just as much as Asher’s eyes to call them ‘her lover.’

  She blushed.

  “Then what has you so distracted? Aren’t the disappearances of those stuffy noble sons interesting to you?”

  Em bit her lip.

  Her friends were all lower ranked than her. The children of barons and viscounts. So low on the food chain that Eileen often growled about it. What a useless waste of time for Em to be around them!

  Never mind that she, too, was a baroness.

  The thing was… Em knew those people who had disappeared while her friends did not.

  Some of them were arrogant, some of them timid, and some of them careless. She could be polite to most of them, even if she didn’t like them much.

  None of them were particularly malicious or deserving to die.

  She wasn’t friends with them before they disappeared… but she didn’t hate them, either.

  It hurt knowing the truth.

  They were all dead. Every one of them. Because they were too close to the throne. Too closely a threat to Thiago’s position.

  And she didn’t understand why no one even suspected that bas- that jerk.

  Or if they did… Maybe they were all wisely not voicing it.

  She forced a smile.

  “Sorry. It's just disturbing, you know? What if they give the men’s titles to women, and then we disappear?”

  Kalenna perked up. “You think it has to do with their titles?”

  “What else could it be?” Selene rolled her eyes. “Or haven’t you noticed the bias? Marquises, Dukes, even a handful of Counts. It’s definitely the title.”

  “Then why hasn’t Marquis Grimshaw disappeared?”

  “Maybe because he doesn’t live in the Capital as much? However, plenty of others in those ranks haven’t disappeared either.”

  It’s because his lineage is actually through a baron’s line and is too far from the throne.

  Em didn’t say it.

  Instead, she again looked over the crowded ballroom. Filled to the brim with people who will smile to your face and bad mouth you behind your back. Something Em had, at first, found insulting.

  Then she realized that many of those people were just covering up their fears by trying to connect with nasty gossip.

  That didn’t make it right. But it lessened her disgust. And she could be gracious when she dealt with them.

  There!

  She finally spotted what she was looking for.

  A man and woman pair wearing a matching set of ornate bird broaches.

  Em smiled and turned away. Now that she knew who she was looking for, they’d be easy to find later during the banquet.

  Feeling more at ease, she chatted with her friends until she had to return to Flint. With a selection of specifically picked nobles, her family went back outside and entered the provided black carriages.

  The trip to the Palace’s private chapel took ten minutes. During which Em watched Eileen with amusement.

  The old woman pretended that neither Em nor Flint existed. With pinched lips, she crossed her arms as she glared out the window.

  That was fine with Em.

  She asked Flint how things were going in the March. The crops were planted before she left, and everything was on track for a good harvest. The ball games were still going strong, with about six more members than when she was a child.

  And there’d been an organized protest from the women against having an extra exercise session in the evening.

  Em swallowed a giggle.

  She could have told Flint that wouldn’t go over well. Ralph probably did tell Flint. And her brother tried anyway.

  When the carriage stopped, Flint handed both women down. Eileen barely glanced at him but accepted his hand as her due.

  Once inside the chapel, Em waved a sad goodbye to Flint. Then she glumly found a seat with Eileen on the women’s side of the room.

  Whichever god insisted on this division, she’d have to have Loki punch him.

  Her insides froze.

  Loki.

  While the priests double-checked the table and offerings for the service, Em looked down at her hands.

  It had been a while since she’d seen the god.

  Since she couldn’t bring him with her to Eileen’s (not as a slime anyway), he’d made the slime disappear. After that, he came when she least expected him and in forms she could never predict.

  Last time, he’d showed up as a bird. Singing obnoxiously on her windowsill to wake her up.

  It took her a while to figure out that the obnoxious and strangely brave creature was Loki.

  They chatted for a while, had tea together, and he disappeared.

  Once, he’d been at a bookstore in his human form. But a younger version. Dressed like a poor boy with a cap pulled low over his eyes. As soon as she whispered his name, he grinned at her, put the book he held in her hands, and walked away.

  Jokes to Tell When Your Wife Isn’t Listening.

  Then a whole bookshelf tumbled over at the back of the room.

  Sometimes he left notes.

  Because he was a god of tricks, it took her several years to realize that his nonsense notes were a message. Meant to let her know he was still there. But who would have caught on when he talked about rude or embarrassing topics?

  Who cared why a fart stank, anyway?

  Loki, are you here today? If you are, please let me know.

  Loki didn’t answer before the ceremony was ready to start.

  That was when Thiago appeared.

  With great dignity, the newest Emperor entered from the front. Everyone stood and swept into royal bows and curtsies as he strode slowly down the central aisle. Head held high, charming smile in place.

  Em’s back was aching when he reached the room's head and signaled that everyone could stand.

  Jerk.

  She sat down again and glowered at the Emperor’s head.

  One day, he wouldn’t be smiling anymore. And no one would be listening to his nonsense.

  Thiago knelt by the altar, and the priest began the prayers. They were longer and more elaborate than the prayers done for Felix, Em noted wryly. Of course they were. You don’t do things by half if it’s for an Emperor.

  The smoke from the oversized brazier swept through the crowd.

  It had an oddly hypnotic effect, and Em fought to stay awake.

  Em woke right up as soon as the priest burnt the Emperor’s hair. She wrinkled her nose. How could something so small produce such a huge stink? It was like a barn full of hair had been burnt instead of one small tuft.

  She heard someone gag. This caused a chain reaction of gags around the room before they controlled it.

  The priest ignored it all.

  “Blessings on your house, Your Majesty.”

  And with that, the ceremony was finally over.

  “I’ll be riding back with Marchioness Angla,” Eileen announced as soon as they left the chapel.

  She didn’t wait for an answer before stomping off. Skirts raised off the ground but kept primly around her ankles.

  “Will you be alright riding by yourself?” Flint murmured to Em as he helped her into the carriage.

  “You’re not coming?”

  He grimaced.

  “The Emperor has requested my presence.”

  Em glanced around. She couldn’t see a carriage with the Imperial flag.

  “We’ll be leaving last.”

  “Oh.” Em bit her lip and nodded. “I’ll be fine. Just don’t let him bully you too much.”

  Flint raised an eyebrow and closed the carriage door.

  Em flopped back and covered her eyes. How exhausting.

  And she still wasn’t done for the day!

  What she really wanted to do was get back to her room and sneak out one of those romances. Forget the world existed for a moment while she drooled over the handsome men in stories.

  She grinned.

  Then flinched in surprise when her door suddenly opened.

  Sitting up straight, she opened her mouth to demand who it was. Then stopped cold because she glimpsed his face under that stupidly big hat.

  She couldn’t do anything but gape as the man settled in and closed the door.

  He kept the hat brim down as the driver peeked in.

  “Everyone ready, my lady?”

  “Y-yes. Proceed.”

  The carriage started moving a minute later. With the creaking of wheels to mask their voices, her visitor finally spoke after a long, tense silence.

  “You’re ravishing today, Lady Emmaline.”

  Licking dry lips, she whispered back. “I thought my brother was meeting with you, Your Majesty.”