Bloodtraitor by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes Page B

whenever he wants. They
trust
him.”
    And with those words, she made certain that Aaron never would. I wanted to defend myself, but what could I say? Except for my efforts to save Vance, I hadn’t been back to Midnight since Misha and Shkei were taken, but even to me that sounded like a lame defense.
    “Thank you for the suggestion, Malachi,” Misha added sweetly. “And you’re right, as soon as possible would be best. I’ll summon you back when I’m ready for a report.”
    I opened my mouth to argue, but the look on her face and Aaron’s warned me not to.
    “You may go,” Misha said, as if the dismissal hadn’t been clear enough yet. “I’ll let the others know where you are.”
    I’m sure you will,
I thought. I looked around for Vance and Kadee, but they had pitched their tents too far away to overhear my argument with Misha. When I reached out with my power, I could sense them curled uneasily together, sharing their fears and fragile hopes in hushed voices. Aika met my eyes briefly when I looked toward her, then turned her back after Torquil said something to her. She was far enough away that she would have heard Misha’s raised voice, but not her more quiet orders to me.
    There was no subtle way I could confer with any of them before I left without making Misha suspicious and getting my only allies in trouble. I didn’t have a choice. I changed shape and left the camp, hoping the others would trust me no matter what Misha told them about my disappearance.
    I landed in front of Midnight in the dark hours before dawn, and boldly sought Nathaniel’s room. We had recently sold a cobra. It would not seem odd for me to speak to the mercenary we had worked with. Like Misha had said, Midnight trusted me.
    I was frustrated to learn that Nathaniel was out. He had told me to stay with Misha and make sure she succeeded in taking the throne, and I doubted he would be happy that she had sent me here; I needed to know what he wanted me to do next. I also wanted his opinion on Misha’s mad plan, and how it would be helped or hindered by his own scheme. Midnight wouldn’t let her get away with it for long. When was Nathaniel planning to strike?
    “Out? For how long?” I asked the woman who answered the door. I recognized her as the second-generation slave who had been with Nathaniel when he picked up Hara.
    She responded to his question with a shake of her head. “I cannot answer that,” she replied.
    Because you don’t know, or you aren’t allowed to tell?
I wondered.
    “When did he buy you?” I asked.
    Nathaniel had long avowed that he had no interest in keeping personal slaves. This seemed an odd time to break his rule, unless her purchase was somehow related to his plan for Midnight’s fall.
    “Just over three weeks ago, sir,” she replied.
    That
sir
had always grated on me, even when I was twelve.
    “Would you like me to deliver a message to Master Nathaniel?” the slave prompted. A note of unease had entered her tone, warning me that further questions would draw suspicion. For all I knew, Jeshickah had forced him to take this slave on due to some suspicions of her own. I didn’t want her reporting anything unusual.
    “Tell him Malachi Obsidian was here to see him,” I said, “and that I will be in the building if he wishes to speak to me.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    I intended to go to the bloodtraitors’ village, both to obey Misha’s command and to gather information for myself, but I had to wait until after dawn. The vampires may have been up and alert, but the farmers who worked for them couldn’t force their crops to be equally nocturnal. For now, I would find somewhere to sleep for a few hours, so I could investigate agriculture once the sun was up.
    I started in the east wing, which held cell after cell of silent slaves, some engaged in work, and others sleeping. The cell where I had been born and lived for the first seven years of my life was currently empty. I stepped inside, drawn by the