HAWK & SABLE | TWENTY-SIX

THEY DID SOME basic questioning first. It wouldn't properly begin until tomorrow, but they wanted to pry some answers out of him first. Ciri watched from the back of the room. Zhang daren led. Irina and Ryan weren't here, but the rest of them were. Even Io, who watched with macabre delight and intrigue in her dark, wide eyes.

"Who do you work for?"

The smile on "William's" handsome face was ugly and twisted. Or perhaps Ciri was biased. "Wouldn't you like to know, countess?"

Asteria was unimpressed, turning her signature cool stare to Zhang daren, who nodded in return. "The Meliqueans. You're a Cuckoo. What happened to the real William Hua?"

The questioning room was bare save for the chair in the centre of the room, and the table before it. The walls were built of stone, and there was no window. The questioning room was underground, after all. A few torches lit up the entire room in a warm glow, but it did little to quash the coldness and discomfort the basement of the Iron Wolves' headquarters exuded, a strange contrast to the upper levels, well-lit and comfortable. One was for welcomed guest, the others for those who intruded upon their peace.

Zhang daren's voice was smooth, silk over steel, honey over poison. "You could tell us now and save us a lot of trouble. This won't be as pleasant tomorrow." They had given him water and some dry buns. They had no qualms about torture if it was truly deemed necessary. It would start slowly, bit by bit, as there became less water and less food.

"William" just smirked, mocking and vicious.

"Who are you?" Dominic asked, completely calm.

"You know, don't you?"

"What name did you go by before you became William Hua Lin?"

He looked up, eyes burning with barely repressed fury. How did that fury get into his eyes? How did the Meliqueans turn these Saian-looking boys and girls against them? "If you must know. They called me Diego." Diego. A Meliquean name. Someone off the streets they found, probably, who they groomed into this broken, foolishly loyal boy. She wondered, momentarily, how many others like him were out there, living right under their noses. It was not a pleasant thought.

"Diego," Zhang daren murmured, studying the boy in the chair. "Were you one of Anthony Contreras'?"

He didn't answer, dark eyes glimmering. Pain or rage, she wasn't sure.

"He's not going to answer." Dominic shrugged. "We'll take out the big guns tomorrow. Push him a bit further and he's going to break."

Io raised a brow. Ciri knew what she was thinking. Diego looked far too calm to break. It would take a long time. Why was he so calm? He wasn't betraying even the slightest bit of concern or worry. The Meliqueans had to know they weren't exactly merciful. Something was wrong, but she didn't say that aloud. They'd all realise it. She noticed Danna frowning.

"Curb your thirst for blood," the daren snorted. "We'll try some non-violent ways first. Are you not going to cooperate, Diego?"

He didn't answer, just spat at the Iron Wolf's feet. Zhang daren sighed. "I suppose not so easily. Political idealists your age are the worst to deal with. That's what you are, aren't you? A budding little philosopher? We found some of your notes, you know. Very clumsy. Those shouldn't have been left around. If you were one of mine, I'd have taught you to burn those in your second lesson."

"They weren't for your eyes."

"Well, they are now." He spread his arms. "Should have destroyed those when you had the chance. They were quite revealing."

"The Republic is the future." His eyes were glowing like dark, burning coal. "Look at the countries that have risen in the past few years. Melique. Caershire."

"And Sai," Zhang daren shrugged. "Kon Ria too, to be honest. Dumah is gaining power and wealth rather quickly, and heaven knows they aren't a republic. Besides, Caershire isn't exactly on your side." No. If things went the way they seemed, Caershire would be on theirs.

"Then they will fall." Brainwashed. Utterly, completely brainwashed. She'd met people like this on all sides. Hers, too. It was never pleasant. Extremists, who wouldn't be convinced by any evidence or reason. A few of the older lords and ladies were like that. She tried to stay away, because they'd just start ranting and raving. It was embarrassing even if you agreed with them.

"This is pointless," Asteria murmured. "Let him break."

Zhang daren eyed him. "Unlike you youngsters, I tend to prefer trying more pleasant methods first."

Dominic snorted, "You're like, barely ten years older than me." She could see it, suddenly. She'd always thought the daren was in his early-thirties. But now that she took a closer look, he could have been in his late-twenties as well. He had one of those ageless faces.

Zhang daren shook his head in exasperation. "Not my soul, unfortunately. But Lady Asteria is correct. Nothing we could get out of him past his own name for now."

"Not ever," Diego hissed with conviction.

Danna snorted, taking a few steps forward, every inch the apex predator. "We'll see about that, won't we? We can get very, very creative. I have a few ideas I've been dying to try out. It'll be a very educational experience for Io."

"You act as if you've finished your education." That was how sure they were of this boy's fate. They openly discussed secrets in front of him. He would not be alive for long.

"Compared to you?" Danna replied, nonchalant, circling Diego. "Last chance, buddy."

"You're not getting anything out of me." His smile promised vengeance. Too bad he wouldn't be alive long enough to claim it. They never were. Gan jing li luo. Clean and tidy. Quick and agile. That was the way they've always done things.

Danna sighed. "I was hoping you'd make this easy. I suppose I shouldn't have held out hope. We'll be back for you tomorrow, have a good night."

✢

"COLONEL LAN RETURNS tomorrow." Irina smiled from her seat at the front of the room, yellow and white embroidered seat contrasting her dark purple qipao. "Lord Farnsworth and Miss Diao the day after, if all goes to schedule." She'd clean up nicely after the morning's activities, not a hair out of place. Two jade ji protruded out of the tight bun on top of her hair.

"Excellent work, Your Highness." The Duke of Shui Xiang sat next to his daughter and his wife, every inch the subtle and careful spymaster, looking regal in his robes, his hair tied up in a bun. It was clear where Asteria's strong features came from. "The Emperor is very impressed."

Irina tilted her head in acknowledgement, but her joy at the compliment was clear to all. Ryan said, filling in the momentarily silence, "Questioning would begin tomorrow. He might not be the only Cuckoo within our Palace walls."

The duke seemed troubled. "The existence of these Cuckoos complicates matters greatly, truth be told. It might be time to start sending more spies of our own into Meliquean territory, if only just to root out the ones in ours. The Briar, I'm told you have a way of discovering them."

Rhys picked at her sleeves from where she was standing besides Irina. "I suppose you could put it that way. I'd prefer you didn't ask any questions regarding it."

The duke studied her for a moment, and whatever he saw, it reassured him. He nodded, giving the Iron Wolf an indecipherable look that made her close her eyes.

Ciri had questions. Lots of them, really, but she doubted she'd be getting a single answer out of Rhys' mouth. The duke turned to Laurence and Ciri. "Lord Archsham, Miss Diao, how have you found your stay in the Scarlet Palace?"

Laurence answered first, offering a toothy, pleasing smile. "Most eventful, Your Grace."

The duke snorted at that, clearly amused. "That's one way to put it. Miss Diao?"

"Most pleasant, for the most part, with some exceptions." Like the murder of two maids right under our noses.

That sobered everyone up. The duke nodded, slowly. "Rather unfortunate. All the victims' families have been given proper compensation, but no amount of material goods could heal that hole their passing has left in their hearts."

The duchess, a short woman with a wily smile, said, "It all fits together now, does it not? I was always curious why Hua daren did not get along with his son. He must have taken a look at the boy and thought him his wife's bastard. Hua furen hadn't been faithful."

"There's a pattern in these Cuckoo's backstories, then?" Asteria asked, placing down her cup. "There has to be a place where the Meliqueans could have replaced them with imposters."

The duke gave it some thought. "I'll discuss with the Emperor the option of doing a large background-checking operation. Taizi dianxia?"

Ryan shrugged. "It would be useful, but such an operation of such a large scale would not be under my jurisdiction. You are the spymaster, Duke."

"Fair enough, Your Imperial Highness." The duke tilted his head. "Have the guest quarters been prepared for Lord Farnsworth and the older Miss Diao?"

"I have been told that Cassalyn is living with me," Ciri replied.

"We were going to move you into separate palaces," Irina said, "but since the main section of Zui Hua Gong is now empty, we'll move the two sisters there instead. Lord Farnsworth can occupy Ciri's current ones." Convenient. And the palace could be host to important things they hadn't discovered yet. A few weeks living there would give both sisters plenty of space to prod around.

The duke nodded. "Excellent, Your Highness, as always. Lord Archsham, how much longer would you be remaining within our country? You're free to stay as long as you'd want, of course, but it would be better if we got an estimate."

Laurence's shoulders rose and fell. "Truth be told, I don't know. I haven't received instructions yet. Perhaps Lord Farnsworth would carry some." Mr Cadieux of the Arecian Secret Services had been keeping uncharacteristically quiet. Perhaps too busy dealing with his upcoming nuptials. Those always seemed to serve as great distractions.

The duchess made a humming sound. "We shall wait till then, then. There isn't much else to discuss, really. Should we take our leave?"

Ryan opened his mouth to answer, but footsteps cut him off. Everyone turned expectantly towards the door as a servant walked in. "Your Imperial Highness," he kneeled to Ryan. "I have just received a message that Colonel Lan has arrived at the Eastern Gate."

Irina shot up like an arrow, both excited and confused. "She wasn't supposed to arrive until tomorrow."

Ryan shrugged and stood up as well. "She must have returned early. Might as well welcome her. Perfect timing anyways. Duke, Duchess, would you like to come with us?"

Both shook their heads. "We shall be alright. We'll see Colonel Lan later anyways. You kids have your reunion. Heaven knows you deserve it." The duchess grinned, giving her daughter a loving peck on the forehead. "I'll see you later, my dear."

Asteria stood and curtsied deep. "Of course, 'eniang. Fuqin." The perfect daughter. Ciri sometimes envied the young countess. Most of them weren't so lucky. In this room alone, most of them hadn't had loving, living parents. Asteria often didn't realise just how fortunate she had been to be born into such a family.

The Duke and Duchess took their leave, and the rest of them prepared to go meet Justine. Ciri took care to stick by Rhys, who had chosen to be taciturn today. Something to do with William's capture, Ciri thought. For some reason, it had taken a toll on the girl. Perhaps there had been some degree of more personal betrayal felt. Rhys had always been far too good at not letting herself feel things.

✢

THE WALK TOOK a little while, with people making small talk once in a while. Laurence stayed quiet. Tried to keep his eyes off Ciri, tried to ignore the questions that had been buzzing in his head since yesterday night.

As they neared, Princess Irina's footsteps seemed to hurry. From the way she had spoken of the colonel in past conversations, it was quite obvious why— the two were obviously dear friends.

"Lan Zhenfei!" Justine Lan Zhenfei. That would be the colonel's full name, then.

The woman standing next to a horse before the gates was dressed in white robes not unlike the Iron Wolves', a golden belt wrapped around her waist, and a red cloak on her back. Her hair, dark as the midnight sky, was tied up much like how the Briar's usually was, up in a high ponytail. Her skin was tanned healthily. Her eyes were alert and wary. There was a sword strapped to her side. Instantly, she kneeled. "Gege, taizi dianxia."

Prince Ryan was much more composed than his cousin. "Lan shangxiao." That would be colonel in Saian. "Please stand. This is Lord Archsham of Arecia, I'm not sure you've met."

The woman turned his attention to him. Upon closer inspection, she had a stern face carved out of stone, beautiful in a timeless, regal way. She didn't look fully Saian. Mixed, perhaps. Epimurean, maybe? There were a few noble or at least well-known Lans running around, but he didn't think any of them had married foreigners. She stood and bowed. "Lord Archsham."

"Colonel Lan. Pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, my lord." Her Arecian was accented, but she still spoke it fluently and without hesitation. The way she stood and acted screamed soldier.

"It's been a while, Justine," Ciri beamed in front of him and offered a quick curtsy. "How was Yue Qin?"

"I suspect my reports already conveyed my opinion on my trip," Colonel Lan's lips twisted up slightly, the only sign of humour in her words, "it was pleasant, but mostly boring. Nothing much worth conveying back to the Palace."

"All is well, then?" Lady Asteria asked, tilting her head.

"Of course, Lady Asteria." Colonel Lan seemed to take formalities seriously, or perhaps it was just because they were in public.

Prince Ryan nodded. "Excellent work, my friend. You must be exhausted after your journey. Did you travel alone?" The prince watched as a stableboy started to lead the horse away.

"I did. I did not wish to be hindered, you understand, Your Imperial Highness, in case my aid was necessary." Did they keep her alert on the traitor business? He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Letters could be so easily intercepted. Many a secret had been exposed after being transferred to paper.

"Of course. Come, Justine, it has been far too long. And we have quite the story to tell you..." Laurence had realised for a bit now that Princess Irina loved to talk. He could already imagine her on the battlefield, giving speeches. He wouldn't be there to listen to them, of course, too busy slinking behind enemy lines, or attached to diplomatic brigades travelling from kingdom to kingdom, empire to empire trying to convince them towards Arecia's cause.

It took mere minutes for him to drone out. Cadieux would be impressed by the princess's attention to detail. He was not.

It took him a near minute to realise he was standing at the back of the group alongside Ciri, who was doing her damndest best not to glance in his direction. He let the back of his hand brush against hers. She instantly stiffened and jerked her hand away.

"What are you doing?" she whisper-hissed.

"Testing something," he replied. "Trying to get the answer to a question."

"Well," she retorted, still between gritted teeth, "did you get your answer?"

He let his shoulders rise. "Not yet. I'm hoping to soon." She ignored him, not being obvious about it. That was what a good education did. Let you ignore people while seeming perfectly polite. He'd been taught much the same, both as a lord and as a spy. Interesting how many similar things he was taught from those two seemingly very different things. But those lessons also taught him how to deal with such a situation.

"You've been avoiding me," he murmured.

"We have had a busy day, my lord, and not everything is about you." She was annoyed. Good. He'd been half-scared she'd be employing the indifferent tactic. Those were the worst to deal with, brought nothing but a splitting headache. And he'd watched Marcus pine for six years, he could manage a day or two. It wasn't pleasant so far, but what was?

Seriously, how did Marcus manage this for six years? He was growing more and more respectful of his childhood friend by the minute, which was never a good thing.

"This is," he replied with all the patience he could muster. "You've been avoiding me. Face the facts."

"Now why on earth would I do that?"

He frowned. "Good question. Why would you do that?" They didn't delve deeper than that, since they were surrounded by people, some of whom had enhanced hearing. They wouldn't say anything about it, of course, but who knew what would happen if an argument began? Ciri had learned long ago to never let her friends know anything too embarrassing about her. It was a one-way trip to disaster.

She glared at him and he smiled. "Be awake tonight, darling."

"Do not call me that."

He couldn't help it. He threw his head back and laughed.