The Power and the Glory

Book 3 Chapter XXII: Face to Face

She didn't even notice when the welcoming ceremony was over until Aunt Jiarlúr elbowed her in the ribs again. Abi bit her tongue to stop herself crying out. Did her aunt have bludgeons attached to her elbows? At this rate she'd have broken ribs before the day was over.

Keep your mouth shut, she told herself as she got up. Don't look up. Just follow dear old auntie.

She hoped there wouldn't be any fish-ponds around the palace like there were in Seroyawa. If there were, she'd have real trouble resisting the urge to throw her aunt into one.

~~~~

There was only one good thing about this whole sorry mess. Lian could cross the Noble Royal Consort off the list of suspects. Both of her sons had died. So now he had a place to start his investigation. The queen was the only other woman to lose a child, and she still had two living children after Zi Xiao's death. Which of the royal family disliked the Noble Royal Consort enough to kill both of her children?

It was a long list. None of the concubines liked each other and none of the princes or princesses liked their mothers' rivals.

While Zi Yao was asleep Lian went out to check the other palaces for any traces of evidence. He slipped in and out without the guards ever seeing him. Nothing. Not a single trace of the curse. 

On his way back he rounded a corner and saw Mirio talking to a Saoridhian girl. Lian dived back behind the corner. He glanced around to make sure no one had seen him. Carefully he peered out. The two of them were walking in the direction of the palace gardens.

"She's a complete nightmare!" the girl was saying in Saoridhin.

"I can't imagine what that's like," Mirio said in the same language. He kept his face perfectly straight even though his voice was laden with sarcasm.

They disappeared from view. Lian ventured out of his hiding place and stared after them in confusion. The girl had to be Abihira. But why was she surrounded by an aura of dark magic?

~~~~

Talking to Mirio was the first peace Abi had gotten since leaving Saoridhlém. Not coincidentally, it was also the first time Aunt Jiarlúr had left her alone. She complained at length about how she was treated. Mirio listened with the blank expression that suggested he was trying not to laugh.

"You brought all of this on yourself," he said when she was finished.

Abi scowled. "I know, but couldn't you be a bit more sympathetic?"

As she spoke she absently fiddled with the locket around her neck. Her aunt had insisted she wear it because it contained photos of her parents. Apparently Aunt Jiarlúr sincerely believed that would stop Abi doing anything to embarrass them. To be blunt it only annoyed her. She wasn't used to wearing necklaces all day and it was heavy. Without noticing what she was doing she snapped it open then closed it again several times, just so her hands had something to do. She only became aware of it when she noticed Mirio was staring at the locket with a confused look on his face.

"Could I see those photos?" he asked.

Bemused, Abi took off the locket and held it out. She opened it and pointed to the photos. "That one's my mother and that's my father. When they were children, obviously."

Mirio looked from the photos to Abi and back again. "Your parents?"

What's gotten into him? "Yes? Is there something wrong with that?"

Mirio hardly seemed to hear her. He was muttering something in Seroyawan under his breath. Abi could just catch the words, "Makes no sense."

Louder he said, "It's nothing. I just thought I'd seen those photos before."