Aun lay under the bed where she had slept with Kaori that night. She held her son close with one arm and kept her other hand over his mouth, holding eye contact with him as they listened to the struggle in the other room. She could hardly see him in the darkness—just the blur of his features and, faintly, the shine of the moonlight in his eyes—but all the same, she hoped he could see her, see what she was telling him with her eyes.

Just breathe. Stay calm. I will protect you.

Had she been alone, Aun would have run to help Kaori without a second thought. She was no fighter, but she would not have had a choice. She loved him, and she was no soft-handed lady to be guarded from harm. But she loved Kaolo ten thousand times more than anything else in the world, even her prince. She had to protect her child. She had to survive so that she could keep him from harm. So, whatever was going on outside the bedroom doors—

There was a clatter, as of something metal striking the floor, and then a heavy thud that made Aun stiffen with fear—

Whatever was going on outside the bedroom doors, her first priority was the boy in her arms.

They heard the sounds of booted feet retreating, a sharp command, and then a deep and terrible silence settled over the prince's chambers. Aun did not move. Kaolo curled closer to her, his small frame trembling in her arms. She kept her hand over his mouth, hardly daring to breathe.

Minutes passed. Finally, Aun whispered so softly that her words were little more than shivers in the air. "You must be very quiet. Promise me."

Kaolo nodded his head beneath her hand, and she took it away from his mouth. Her palm was sweating, she thought—but then she realized that her fingers were wet with tears. She leaned in, pressing a kiss to Kaolo's forehead and drying his cheeks with the sleeve of her nightgown.

"Quiet, love." She breathed the words rather than speaking them.

She kissed his forehead again, and then she turned, flattening herself onto her belly. She peered through the darkness, turning her head to take in every corner of the room that was visible from her vantage point beneath the bed. There was one corner hidden from view because the comforter had been flung off of the bed in their hurry to get up, but for the rest of the room, she could see nothing moving, nothing that could be the booted feet of soldiers waiting to snatch her up.

"Stay here," she breathed to Kaolo. "Promise me."

Again, he nodded, wordless, and he waited there as she crawled on her belly out from underneath the bed, moving in increments, listening for any sound of danger.

There was none. Not here, at least; not now. Kaori's bedroom was empty.

When she crept out into the parlor, she found it empty, too, nothing out of place but for a poker from the fire lying on the marble floor...and a spatter of blood near to the door. Her heart trembled.

She moved as quietly as she could to the door and peered out into the hall. Part of her knew what she would see before she saw it, but the scene was still an awful shock: the bodies of two guards slumped on the floor, dead.

The hall was silent and still.

Aun had no idea what was happening, but she could make assumptions. These night intruders had come to collect Kaori, the prince. They would no doubt be after Mhera, too, whatever their loyalties. From her vantage point she could not see Mhera's chambers, although they were close, of course, being in the royal wing.

Where could she go that might be safe?

The answer came to her quickly. She hurried back into Kaori's room and knelt by the bed. "Come out, Kaolo. Quick. Quick."

He did. She took his hand and hurried with him down the polished marble hall.

***

Minutes later, Aun was in the bowels of the palace, where the kitchens, the laundries, and the storage rooms were located. While she had been given quarters in the guest wing of the palace, she was no stranger to these narrower, dimmer halls. The hour was late indeed, and all seemed quiet.

"Careful. Don't touch anything," she whispered to her son, leading him through the kitchens. If she could get to the servants' quarters, there might be a place for her to hide for the night as she tried to determine what her next move should be.

Suddenly, a strong arm snatched her from behind and dragged her back into shadow. She was holding tight to Kaolo's hand, so he was dragged, too, letting out a yelp of surprise and fear. Aun herself swallowed her cry of panic, because there was a blade at her throat.

"Who are you?" demanded a rough female voice. "What are you doing down here?"

Kaolo clutched Aun's hand tightly. "Mother?" he whimpered. "Let her go!"

"I'm just a servant," Aun replied. "Please, you're scaring my son."

"A servant. It's the middle of the night."

"He had nightmares." It was the first thing that sprang to her mind; she pursued the lie, fumbling to ground it in reality. "We went on a walk to calm him."

Silence descended, except for the sound of Kaolo's soft sniffling. There were tears streaming down his face, but he was doing his level best to stay quiet, and Aun's heart broke for him. She wanted to comfort him, but she was trapped by the stranger behind her. Just as she was drawing breath to speak, the stranger released her and turned her with a rough wrench on her shoulder. Aun's hand slipped out of Kaolo's; he sprang forward, clinging to her skirt and staring up at their aggressor.

It was an Arcborn woman. She was wearing the imperial silver and soft blue, but the marke she wore, barely visible in the shadows against her dark skin, showed her to be one of Aun's people. She had a scar on her chin, a deep one. Aun recognized it distantly.

"...Danya?" she tried, hoping that she was remembering aright.

The woman's aggressive scowl softened, slipped. "You're the healer," she said. She lowered her gaze, taking in the sight of the unmarked child at Aun's side. "And that's—"

"Please. Something's happened," Aun whispered, cutting her off. She did not want anybody to speak her child's name, nor to hint at his identity.

"I know." Danya glanced around the kitchen again, grim. "Come with me."

***

Aun and Kaolo followed Danya deeper into the kitchens and then through the corridors that led to the servants' quarters. There were others down here. Aun could hear a rough whisper before Danya turned them down a hall, and then she could see eight or nine soldiers assembled in the dark. They all turned, some with weapons drawn and others reaching for them, when Danya and Aun arrived.

"The Lorekeeper has been taken, too," said Danya at once. "I tally six dead. What of Prince Kaori?"

"They took him," Aun replied.

"His guards?" prompted Danya.

Aun shook her head.

"That's eight. We're a third unaccounted for."

"Bremon and—" The speaker paused, snapped her fingers, then shook her head— "The dark-haired one, the youth. They've gone to the gatehouse to alert the rest of the palace guard. They will send reinforcements."

"On whose command, Oanara? If they're seen—"

"On my command. You weren't here, and we had to act, Danya. They went through the gardens, and in stealth. Trust them. Who is this?" Oanara was the speaker, but more than one head turned Aun's way.

"I'm Aun of Hanpe. This is my son. I am a healer. If I can secure my child's safety, I am ready to help you in whatever capacity I may."

Danya thumbed the scar on her chin, offering Aun a grim smile. "Good. Thus far the interlopers are confined to the royal wing, but they'll waste no time branching out, and it should turn every heart present cold that they were able to surprise us. If they take the palace—"

"They won't take the bloody palace," Oanara said. "But they've taken the empress, and that's where our concern must be focused. We don't know their numbers yet, and I have no doubt that they will expand them at the soonest opportunity."

"Where will they have taken them?" asked Aun. "There are dungeons here, are there not?"

"Aye—on the other side of the palace, and locked fast. The Sovereigns haven't used them since the war. For now, they're likely to keep them quiet in quarters they can control—depending on their numbers, they would risk much by moving out of the heart of the palace. We don't know their plans for the coming hours. Mayhap they have reinforcements prepared to strike from without."

"In the city?"

Danya ignored Aun, turning back to the other soldiers. She surveyed their faces and then issued a series of rapid commands. "Oanara, go to the back courtyard. If the guards are still at their posts, give warning. I need the city guard on high alert and braced for an attack from any angle.

" Aun: stay here and await the men she sent to the gatehouse. I want you to keep the servants calm. You two: remain here with the staff. I want you out of your uniforms and into plain clothes as soon as they can be found for you among the servants. When dawn comes, take up tasks to blend in. You may keep a knife, but—"

"We can hide your swords in the pantry," said Aun at once. The shelves that lined the walls were lifted slightly off of the floor to discourage any seeping dampness; the space between the lowest shelf and the floor would hide the weapons well enough. "Come. I'll show you."

Danya looked pleased. She turned to the remaining men and women. "The rest of you, check your arms. We will stand watch and keep the intruders confined to the Royal Wing."