HAWK & SABLE | TWELVE

THEY DIDN'T SEE RHYS the next day, but they'd all expected it. The list was long. How Rhys intended on checking every person on it, Ciri had no idea, even with her wiccai powers, but Rhys had always managed to weave something from nothing, so she wasn't too worried. Even if Rhys didn't complete the entire task, she'd hand in something useful.

In the morning, Ciri paid a few calls to the female officials and the wives of the Treasury Department men. She'd done her best to talk to as many of them as possible the night before so that her visit wouldn't be out of place. The girls hadn't found anything, but that didn't mean they were innocent.

But nothing. Whoever this mole was, they wouldn't be flushed out through morning calls and pleasant dinners. Ciri hadn't expected much, so she didn't feel much disappointment.

On the second day, Ciri found herself invited to join Miss Ai and her friends for tea outside the Palace. Taking the chance to stretch her legs and clear her mind, she accepted. Irina wouldn't have any tasks for her, and Lady Kuroki had been remaining unnaturally taciturn and reserved in the past few days. Laurence seemed to have joined a group of gentlemen, consisting of Lord Hua, Lord Jing, Lord Guang and Mr Kwan. Well, he needed some friends who wouldn't have too much to hide from him.

And, Ciri recalled, one of William's uncles worked in the Treasury, and she thought that his father, the Marquess of Naining was on the board that oversaw the department in name. Maybe Laurence would be able to glean something there. And if William was lovers with Jinyao, he might have seen or heard something. Unlikely, but worth a try while Rhys was busy ensuring the innocence of children.

The carriage she took dropped her off in front of a cha guan, bustling and filled with people. It was two-storeyed, with a grey tiled roof and white and red walls. Lanterns hung out the front. It seemed decently upper-class, with most of the customers well-dressed and groomed. A few waiters ran around, and one spotted her. Eyeing the carriage, he instantly straightened.

"I'm looking for Miss Ai's table." Ciri clasped her hands before her.

With a quick, polite nod, he said, "Of course, xiaojie. Right this way."

The three women were sitting in a private, secluded corner behind a large pillar on the second floor, in front of a window, with an excellent view of the market streets underneath. Spotting her, Jiaqi smiled. "Ciri! How great of you to join us!"

"It's my pleasure," Ciri gushed in response, offering a quick bob of the head. "It was getting a bit boring in the Palace. This was a welcomed reprieve."

"It's why we gather here weekly," Jinyao smiled. "That, and the tea is great." As Ciri sat, she picked up the teapot and poured some hot tea in.

Ciri glanced down at it. "Longjing tea?"

"Hope you like it." She looked apologetic. "We ordered before you arrived, sorry."

They were feeling comfortable around her. That was a good sign. You didn't get information easily out of people who viewed you through a lense of ceremony. Their mind would be infinitely more alert, every word carefully selected before they left their mouth, even if they had nothing to hide. You wanted them relaxed. Feeling amongst friends, tongue loosened.

She waved her hand. "It's perfectly alright. My fault for arriving late— I underestimated the amount of time it'd take to get here."

"Have you been here before— ah, never mind. That was a stupid question." Zhuying blushed. "Sorry, I forgot about your family."

Ciri shrugged. "I've probably been here before. This seems the kind of place I'd have been taken to as a child, maybe. I can't remember, though. My sister might."

"You must bring her here if she ever visits!" Jinyao grinned.

"I shall," Ciri agreed, enjoying a sip of the hot tea. Excellent as they had claimed. She placed the small cup down. "Do you mind if I order some dim sum? I'm a bit hungry."

A moment later, a small basket of choi bao, served in the Xiang Zhou-style was served. Ciri took one and placed it in her plate before tearing it into smaller pieces. The other girls each took one as well.

"When do you graduate from your school?" Jiaqi asked curiously.

Ciri replied, "Technically, I already have. I'm nineteen. But Lady Kuroki's school isn't any ordinary boarding school for girls. She helps us carve our way into society. Some of us stay with her until we marry. I intend to do much the same."

"Any plans on that?" Jinyao's eyes glimmered at the idea of prospective gossip. Ciri didn't take the bait.

"No, I'm afraid not. I'm rather fond of my current situation, travelling around. Matrimony isn't in my near future, I think."

"Cheers to that!" Jinyao chirped, holding up her cup. Ciri knocked her own against it. This was an opportunity Irina and the Empress had managed to secure for the women of Sai. The ability to work in court. Work anywhere, to have a future other than marriage and bearing babies of a man they might not even care for, if the meritocratic exam used for selecting officials were still barred from women.

In the past dynasties, these three ambitious, brilliant girls wouldn't be chirping in a cha guan about politics and work. They'd be maids serving their masters and mistresses, subject to their every whim and want. That any of them were here felt like a miracle.

"If not matrimony," Ciri asked, "what do you see in your future?" She picked up her tea cup and gave it a small swirl, watching the leaves rise and fall.

"After a few years in the Treasury, I want to get a transfer. Personnel Administration, preferably." A grin. "I want to show the bastards at home that they were all wrong."

"Ambitious as always, Jinyao," Jiaqi laughed. "I'm content where I am. A promotion wouldn't hurt, obviously."

Zhuying gave it some thought. "Honestly? I'd like to get married. I'll keep working, unless it becomes too stressful."

"Anyone in mind?" Ciri teased.

Zhuying blushed. "I'm figuring it out."

"Well, we can choose not to get married," Jinyao mused, eyes travelling to Ciri. "We could remain unwed forever if we want to. What about you?"

Between sips, Ciri said, "Eventually I'll tie the knot. Preferably with someone pleasant and respectful."

"Like a certain viscount?"

Ciri blinked, nonplussed. "Who— oh! Laurence. Oh no. Oh, no, no. He's just an old friend. My sister's best friend, actually. I've known him since we were children."

Zhuying shrugged. "Sounds like a good romance novel."

Ciri stifled laughter. "No. Not happening."

"It would be romantic—"

"No."

Zhuying didn't look convinced. "I've read enough romance novels in a lifetime to know where this heads." How she said that with a straight face, Ciri wasn't sure.

"This is no romance novel," Ciri said firmly. "And that's the end of that particular conversation." Jinyao sent her a long-suffering look of sympathy, and Ciri rolled her eyes jokingly in return. These girls must have known each other for a while. While there were female officials, they were still relatively rarer. Perhaps these ones had found it prudent to band together.

"Ignore Zhuying," Jiaqi snickered. "She'd always had her head in one too many novels. Always dreaming of her own prince charming coming to rescue her."

The girl in question looked horrified. "I do not!"

"It's true," Jinyao said with a nod. "She's every bit a romantic."

Ciri shrugged. "Nothing wrong with that. I've been around enough practical, rational women. Romantic ones seem to be in scarce supply these days."

"You would not say that," Jinyao declared, "if you've met half the girls back at my hometown. But the again, the people you usually hang out with..."

"They can't exactly afford to be romantics," Ciri finished. "Very true. More often than not, that applies to me too."

"It's sad, really," Jiaqi murmured. "Back home... we envied you people, did you know? You ladies in your palaces, born with silver spoons in your mouth. You never have to worry about your next meal. But then I actually got here, and I see these girls forced to marry men they never care for, the other option being to join Hongyun's services. I'd still take this over starvation, but..." Her eyes turned a bit bleak.

"It has its advantages. And its disadvantages. Boils down to luck at the end of it," Ciri agreed with a nod. "This conversation has become morbid."

"Difficult for it not to be. With everything going on."

Ciri arched a brow at Jiaqi, who took it as confusion and smiled. "War's coming, haven't you heard? We've been tasked with saving money and buying resources, thank god our coffers are full."

"Already preparing?" Ciri asked, letting false shock flitter through her face. "I thought we'd have a little while more, honestly."

Jinyao bit her lip. "The Minister's going insane over it. I've never had this much work before, I'll be honest. I'm running ragged. We all are. War's never fun."

Ciri tipped her head back. "Does explain why they want my family back fast." Something Irina herself had stressed multiple times. The Duchess of Dai's information network was open knowledge. Something she could openly admit to without casting suspicion upon herself.

"Maybe. Though the Duke of Shui Xiang could match the Duchess, couldn't it?" Asteria's father was powerful, but his network was much newer. Her great-aunt had decades of friendships all over the world. Nothing could replace that. Even now the woman could write a single letter and people from Engleraine to Eirao to Dumah would respond with vigour. That had been why her family was exiled. They were simply too dangerous to keep around, even with their powers stripped. No hard feelings there.

But Jinyao, only a secretary and so young, wouldn't know that.

"Two spymasters are better than one," was what Ciri said in reply.

✢

"THE HELL, RHYS?"

Io could recognise Dominic Lang's voice anywhere. In court, Io was an anomaly. No one knew who she was but anyone could tell she didn't belong. She had her mother's features. Her father's eyes. They told her no one would recognise her, but Io knew better than that. So she stuck to the shadows.

She didn't have to act around the Iron Wolves. She wasn't the only one hiding when she was with them. All of their men— and women bore scars they didn't want to share. No one asked questions, and no one got too curious. That was how they worked.

"Do you trust me?" Came back Rhys' snappish reply. Rhys was mysterious to a new level. Even Io hadn't been able to figure out her true history. She'd been trying to figure out if she and Ronan were siblings for ages.

"No evidence? No description of your methods? If you were reporting to Zhang shifu—"

"Good thing I'm not."

Dominic and Rhys' relationship had been surprisingly rocky in the past while. Io frowned. They were distracted enough that neither had even noticed her presence, and while she was being quiet about it, they were both wiccai, with enhanced senses.

"How can you be sure none of those kids were moles?"

"I just can." Io could practically visualise a composed but irritated Rhys raising a shoulder and then dropping it as Dominic circled her like a hawk. They always bickered, even during their best days. But on the job, they were the perfect team.

"Rhys."

Io appeared from behind the arched door of the garde she'd been hiding from, keeping her footsteps light. "You should be more quiet."

Two pairs of dark brown eyes snapped to hers. They stood near the centre of the garden, surrounded by tall bushes and blooming flowers, looking rather out of place in their black and white robes. She never understood why people liked to argue in gardens. Weren't they meant to be peaceful?

Rhys replied, voice steady as steel, "You should eavesdrop less. It's going to get you into nothing but trouble."

"I get into enough already," she replied, offering a shrug. "A little more doesn't matter."

"Spoken like a child," Rhys purred. A natural predator, that was the Briar. She couldn't even be older than eighteen, but even Io could see the shadows she bore on her back.

"Says a child," Dominic snaps.

"I haven't been a child for years." Not a declaration of age, but one of the rare hints of her past the Wolf ever revealed. Whoever she had been, she hadn't had it easy.

Dominic's face softened. "Rhys. I'm being serious. How can you be sure those kids weren't moles? What did you do?"

"Nothing you have to worry about. They won't be going around screaming about it. None of them are the moles."

He threw his hands up in frustration. "Iolanthe, help me out here."

"How?" Io asked, raising a brow. "She's Rhys."

Rhys grunted. "I'm taking that as a compliment."

"Oh, being Rhys is a good thing." Io offered that smile that showed off her dimples. The one she used whe she needed to play the innocent, naive, likeable child. Her most usual role. "I'm a big fan of Rhys."

"At least someone is." Irina was more than sufficiently bothered by Rhys' recent secrecy. Dominic much more than that. God knew what Zhang shifu, the head of the Iron Wolves, thought of her behaviour.

"I'm not counted among those numbers right now," came Dominic's scowl. "What did you do?"

Rhys levelled him with a cool stare that would have made Asteria proud. "Nothing much. Just a few questions here and there."

Dominic clenched his jaw. Oh, Rhys was really pissing him off this time. The girl always seemed to take some perverse joy in it, and not even Io could truly discern their relationship. Were they close friends? As close as siblings? Or was there something else?

"Oh, buzz off," Rhys scowled. "I'm leaving. This isn't going anywhere."

"Where are you going?" Dominic yelled after her, eyes narrowed. "Don't you have work to do?"

Rhys glanced back. "I think the world won't crash and burn if I go relax for once," she shot, pulling down her bunned hair, the long ponytail snaking down her back. No question where— or who— she was going to to relax.

Dominic realised it the same second Io did. His face darkened. Protective bastard. Rhys usually kept her affairs private and discreet, even among her own friends, but she hadn't kept this one much shielded from her friends. God knew why. Maybe she did it just to piss Dominic, who'd never quite liked Lord William Hua, off.

When she was sure Rhys was out of earshot, Io murmured, "What do we know about Lord Hua?"

"Irina trusts him. God knows why. I don't trust men like him."

Io flicked him a look. "Fashionable dandies?"

Dominic didn't bother with a reply. "He's the kind of man who could capture the attention of even someone like Rhys. I don't want her to get hurt."

"She's Rhysa Jiang. She doesn't get hurt."

"I know. I know. She's the damned coldest bastard I've ever met."

"But seriously," Io mused. "What do we know about him? He's the son of the Marquess of Naining and took a lengthy stay in Lasyan, and was summoned back three years ago and here he's stayed since. Somehow, his relationship is strained with his father for unknown reasons."

"He's useful enough they gave him part of Zui Hua Gong," Dominic pointed out. "Marquess of Naining... He's one of those old bastards overlooking the Treasury, isn't he? Completely useless, of course, but gives the older nobles the feeling of power." The Yie dynasty had had to play a lot of games to keep everyone relatively content. So far, it was working.

"Met him once. Very nasty. Can't blame the younger Hua, honestly." Io shrugged and scratched her head. "He's not going to hurt Rhys. She doesn't care for him." Rhys was one of those who froze out any softness in herself in a desperate attempt to protect herself. No smiling rake was going to ruin that. Io had seen Rhys around Lord Hua. She treats him like entertainment, an amusement. She'd get tired of him soon, and he of her. Then they'd part ways amiably.

But Dominic didn't seem relieved. In fact, he looked even more troubled. "Hopefully," he muttered, before a gush of wind lifted him into the air and he was blown off, leaving Io standing awkwardly in the middle of the abandoned garden.

She kicked at a stray pebble that had made its way onto the path, watching it slam against the bushes before vanishing out of sight.

Damn wiccais, always showing off.