Kushiel's Mercy - Jacqueline Carey [16]
“Well,” I said. “I did. And I found out.”
I told her then. The truth, the whole truth, of what had befallen me in Tiberium. How I’d made inquiries. How I’d been seduced by Claudia Fulvia, the wife of a Tiberian senator, seeking to recruit me for a secret organization she called the Unseen Guild. A consortium of spies, reporting to persons in places of power all across the world, capable of influencing great events. They had attempted to recruit Anafiel Delaunay when he was a young man in Tiberium, training him in the arts of covertcy.
In the end, he had refused them.
So had I.
“It was a choice,” I said hoarsely. “Swear allegiance, or refuse and keep their secrets.”
“And you chose the latter?” Sidonie asked.
“Yes.” I took a deep breath. “But there’s more. I told you about Canis?”
“The man who took a spear for you in Lucca.” Her eyes were dark and unreadable. “The one who said, ‘Your mother sends her love’ before he died.”
“Yes.” I told her the whole truth of that tale, too. How Canis, who had seemed only an odd philosopher-beggar, had given me a clay medallion with the image of a lamp on it. How I’d learned in the Temple of Asclepius that there were words etched around the edge in a code invented by a blind healer. Do no harm. And how, when at last I’d confronted Claudia Fulvia about it, she had admitted that it meant a member of the Unseen Guild had placed me under their protection.
“Your mother,” Sidonie said flatly.
“I think so,” I murmured.
Sidonie rose without comment. She went to the balcony doors, gazing out into the summer night, her arms wrapped around herself. She was wearing a dressing-robe of thin, cream-colored silk, so fine I could see the silhouette of her body through it. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Because you didn’t want to discuss the issue of finding my vanished mother until we had no choice,” I said. “And because you could get killed for knowing it.”
She turned. “I’m the heir to Terre d’Ange with a hand-picked personal guard, not some fainting flower to be coddled from the world’s dangers.”
“The Guild employs assassins,” I said. “If Canis had been one, he could have killed me in my sleep a half a dozen times.”
“Yes, well, you’re not particularly careful of your safety.” Sidonie studied me. “It’s a fanciful tale. Do you believe it?”
“Do you remember the medallion I wore on the Longest Night?” I asked. She nodded. “It was a replica of the one Canis gave me. I wanted to see if anyone at Court recognized it.”
“And did they?”
“No.” I shook my head. “But the Ephesian ambassador who was visiting did. Diokles Agallon. He offered an exchange of favors. He said if I told him where and how I got it, he might be able to tell me where it originated.”
“What did he want in return?” Sidonie asked.
I smiled slightly. “For me to push the Sultan’s suit for your hand.”
She didn’t smile. “I take it you declined.”
“Sidonie . . .” I spread my hands. “At that moment, I realized I didn’t want anything to do with it. All I wanted was you. All I could think about was you. And at the time, no, I hadn’t thought so far ahead as to reckon that one day, the price of it would be bringing my mother to justice.”
“Does my mother know about this?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “Phèdre didn’t reckon it worth the risk. Not with so little knowledge. She’s the only person I’ve told, and she’s said naught to anyone but Joscelin, and mayhap Hyacinthe. I left the choice to her. She’s been trying to learn more.”
“Well, I can’t not tell her, Imriel,” Sidonie said. “It’s a matter of state. I can’t withhold that from her.”
“I thought you might feel that way,” I said. “Sidonie, listen. I don’t know the extent of the Guild’s power and influence, but I do know they’re real. Enough to be dangerous. Do as you must. Only please, please bid your mother to tread lightly in this matter. I am truly afraid that if she shows her hand, they might act.”
She sighed. “Imriel, why does everything in your life have to be so infernally complicated?”
“I don’t know,” I said humbly. “I wish it wasn’t.”
“Gods!” Sidonie blew out an exasperated