Chapter 5
Five
Dante cupped a black-gloved hand over his mouth, then ran it through the chin length strands of his hair, tousling them. His stomach toppled with sickness.
Autumn’s aircraft sat at the far end of the city with the control seat door wide open. It was like she’d abandoned it, or worse, been snatched.
As he swallowed, his throat went bone dry. He inhaled before exhaling slowly.
“Sire, this is how we discovered the Empress’s aircraft.” The soldier averted his eyes to the ground. His entire body quaked.
“Leave us,” Dante ordered. The group of onyx-clad soldiers dispersed at his command. He fell to his knees and took a series of deep controlled breaths. He grabbed hold of the gravel as his vision blurred. This couldn’t be happening.
It was like losing Maeve all over again. He tried his hardest to maintain his composure, but he was losing himself to the situation.
A gentle hand squeezed his shoulder and his muscles relaxed, then went taut.
“I know Autumn is alive,” his mother’s voice was soothing and even. “She’s a strong girl with a good head on her shoulders who’s been through so much. She can take care of herself, my love.”
He brushed her hand away and rose to his feet. His heart hollowed at his mother’s betrayal as well. She was no better than his brother.
Yes, Autumn could take care of herself, but he didn’t want to imagine her hurt or in danger or…no, he couldn’t allow himself to think that way. If she was gone, he couldn’t go on living.
He circled the aircraft, his boots falling in line, carefully weighing his options in silence when?—
A twinkle of red on the seat of the aircraft caught his eye. He went over to investigate. Upon further inspection, two black velvet pouches spilled over with sparkling rubies.
What on earth? What was Autumn doing with so many rubies? Thousands of them. The same ones gifted to him by the Grand Supreme on the day of their wedding. They were stamped with his despicable headless crest.
How could she have gotten them without his knowledge?
His heart pounded and his imagination ran wild. She must’ve been in some sort of trouble she didn’t feel comfortable enough to discuss with him.
He levitated and crossed his arms, falling into a period of deep thought. I need to get back to the palace at once. In an instant, he was gone.
Dante stormed into the treasury, his crimson velvet cape whipping over his shoulders. His mother flanked him in complete silence. She hugged herself, clearly uncomfortable.
Treasure scattered over a long rectangular table in the dead center of the room. Gold jewels and rubies glimmered in the light of the stained-glass windows.
The black-cloaked treasurer ambled over and fell into a deep bow, his knobby knees knocking together.
“Your Imperial Majesty, how may I be of service to you?” His eyes were affixed on Dante’s boots.
“Don’t ‘Your Imperial Majesty’ me,” his jaw snapped tight, eyes thinning to slits. “You’ve been slacking. Provide me with a recent list of transactions effective immediately.”
The treasurer ran a scan through his pad. Holographic numbers and symbols swirled through the air. Dante tapped his foot, overcome with impatience. His tolerance had been nonexistent since his wife disappeared.
Finally, anxiety got the best of him. He succumbed to a wave of panic.
“Here, give it to me,” he gestured with his black-gloved hand. The treasurer obeyed, glancing away. Dante’s eyes widened with disbelief as he examined the numbers. “Who authorized the removal of twelve satchels of rubies from my personal account?”
“Um, well,” the treasurer stuttered between dry cracked lips. “The empress did.”
His mother looked at him and shrugged.
“Forgive me sire, not the empress dowager. I mean—your wife. She told me you were aware of the transaction and used two of your credit chips to deduct the sum in full. I had a feeling something was off.”
“Why didn’t you bring this to my attention earlier?”
He glanced at the floor without answering.
Dante recalled entrusting her with the chips before his successful mission on Varz. Autumn had every right to access the money, but why didn’t she tell him?
What was she hiding?
“Did she mention what she needed the money for?”
“No sire, and I failed to ask. Please forgive me,” he pressed his frail palms together, bones cracking. “I should’ve been more diligent.”
Out of anger he raised his hand, conjuring a ball of crackling fire to punish the treasurer but then thought better of his inclination. He didn’t want to be like Valdez, who murdered for sport, or his master, the greatest butcher of them all. Besides, Autumn, sweet innocent Autumn, would be displeased if she discovered he’d murdered one more, adding to the endless tally of bodies he’d racked up over the years.
He couldn’t imagine her thinking less of him again. The thought frightened him. They’d come too far. Before this nightmare, they were finally starting to live the life he’d only dreamed of.
The treasurer slammed his eyes shut, preparing himself for certain death.
Dante lowered his palm. “On second thought, I won’t waste my energy. Instead, you’re relieved of your duty as treasurer effective immediately. That means now .”
He turned on his heel and stormed from the vault. It was his good deed for the year. His lips flickered.
Anger coursed through his veins. How could the treasurer have no clue what his wife needed the money for? What a fool.
He stopped for a moment, stroking the cleft of his chin. His mother caught up with him. Suddenly, it dawned upon him like a spark of electricity to his brain. There were two lazy hybrid maids who could bring him closer to Autumn’s disappearance.
He cracked his knuckles. He couldn’t wait to interrogate them, and hopefully extract some answers.