Selene had agreed that I should prioritize staying hidden while Helian was at the estate, which meant significant changes to my daily routine. I had to admit it was making me nervous, but there was no other choice.

  The longer we kept my presence secret, the more opportunities we would have to prepare for the climax of the next part of the story. I had to stay hidden (even as my exact motives were kept secret from the countess), but with the dame’s help it was relatively easy. We worked together to ensure Helian wouldn’t see much of the training field, and that I’d remain undisturbed in my room on the second floor.

  Even if I wanted to be by Helian’s side, it was a relief to know that she would be somewhere safe, if only for a while.

  Predictably, the countess rapidly lost interest in me after our new guest arrived. This meant my schedule and responsibilities were entirely up to Selene. I had my evening instruction from a rotating group of specialists, and every morning, one of the vice commander’s aides delivered a tall stack of documents to my desk. When I asked her about it, Selene smiled and responded, “if the saintess walks by, you can hide behind the paperwork.”

  A significant portion of our workload was related to the Rydberg barony, which had now fallen under the countess’s purview. The continued investigation had resulted in the demotion or firing of a dozen ministers so far and we had identified a suburban manor used by the baron for his own weekend entertainment, resulting in a steady influx of evidence that the Lady Solana would review (and eventually forward to His Majesty).

  The week’s end arrived swiftly, and as our scheduled meeting with the countess ended, Lady Solana stared into her wine glass and spoke to Selene. “What of the tree-huggers?”

  Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  “My apologies, Sola, but that investigation has been going poorly. I have nothing new to report. The marchioness seems to have identified our agents and, as such, become selective about recruitment.”

  Solana smiled and glanced over at me. “What a dilemma. Perhaps the saintess is a solution for our problems? I’ll wager Lady Marigold would salivate at the thought of recruiting such a prestigious young lady to her little cult. And Helian has certainly demonstrated a talent for wrapping nobles around her finger…”

  The countess relished identifying a staffer’s weak points and exploiting them for her amusement. Selene had cautioned me about this at length during one of our planning sessions, and I was starting to understand why. Were I not preoccupied with the vast quantity of work assigned to me, tonight’s harassment would probably weigh upon my mind for days.

  Despite my best efforts, my expression soured and the countess laughed in response. “Not to worry, little bird. I’ll ensure your treasure doesn’t come to harm. I’ve taken good care of her thus far, have I not?” She swirled the wine in her glass, then downed the rest in one gulp. I really needed to work on my poker face.

  … what was a poker face, again? Another thing to search for in my notes.

  This mention of a cult had me on edge because as far as I knew, it was never in the novel. Either Helian had kept this information to herself, or worse, still, it was a new introduction to the plot. If only I could ask her...

  The revelation of Helian’s status as the saintess had already put much of my plan in jeopardy. It filled me with dread to imagine some sort of religious power struggle entering the picture. If the priestesses managed to sequester her in the temple, we would have no choice but to beg for the king’s assistance.