The witch hunt at the palace was in full swing, with the Emperor leaving no stone unturned in his investigation into how his carefully raised little wives had managed to escape.
The guards who had been on duty at the Lantern Festival had already been executed.
Commander Meyer was extremely grateful that the Honour Guard hadn't been there that night, though he wasn't convinced he and his team would have been so stupid as to lose them in the first place.
He was incredibly suspicious of Miss Chastain, so he would never have left her unsupervised for even a moment.
"Commander Meyer, the Emperor will see you now," called the Chief Eunuch, ushering the young man into the Emperor's throne room.
"Your subject greets you, my Lord," said Alton, kowtowing.
"Rise nephew," the Emperor said coldly. "Come closer and sit beside me."
Alton Meyer was the son of one of the Emperor's sisters, which made him a prince, but he wasn't in the succession path, so he was blessedly clear of the worst of the palace politics and in-fighting.
He noticed he was the only person in the chamber, alongside the Chief Eunuch, which was highly unusual. The place normally bustled with servants and supplicants.
He approached the Emperor's throne with caution and sat on the low stool his Lord had indicated. It was the first time he had ever been invited to sit in the Emperor's presence.
"I've rooted out their accomplices in the palace," the Emperor jumped straight into business, clearly enraged. "They're all consorts I've known and trusted for years. Not one of them is talking, even under torture," he spat. "They'd all rather die! Hmmph. Well, I won't let the ones with children die. I've locked them up in the cold palaces. We'll see how long they can hold out. The ones who haven't borne children for me are already dead."
"Very good, Lord," Alton nodded impassively.
The Emperor might appear unhinged, but you underestimated him at your own risk.
Alton hadn't expected anything different. He was actually surprised the bodies hadn't been strung up at Salamanca Place as a warning to others. But the Emperor seemed to want to keep the whole thing quiet.
"This is to be kept secret at all costs," said the Emperor, as though reading his mind. "I don't want any of my other wives getting useless ideas, and I don't want these females being canonised by rebels or women outside the palace. Which leads me to why I called you here. I want those girls back alive, particularly Delphine Chastain. And no one can know they've been outside the palace. Make sure your men understand that."
"Yes, my Lord, understood."
It was honestly the last thing he wanted his men to be dragged into. The collateral damage from this incident was going to be huge and anyone involved in it at any level, was putting themselves in harm's way.
"A select group of my most senior eunuchs and Colonels know what's happened, and they're all involved in the search for them. We've discovered that they hid a boat on Fryingpan Island and set their horses off as a distraction. An unknown sailing boat was spotted off the coast at Bicheno last night, so they're making their way north. We don't know their final destination, but they're acting in concert, and they have a plan."
"You don't think they'd be crazy enough to sail north of the Wall, do you Lord?" asked Alton.
"I wouldn't put anything past Delphi, and she thinks very highly of her own abilities, so possibly. I want you to try and head them off at the pass. See if you can catch up to them before they clear the Wall. If they plan to go into hiding somewhere on the Island, we'll find them. Check in with any of the Colonels stationed along the Coast, they'll be able to update you on the latest intelligence we've gleaned. You can send news back to me through them."
"Yes, my Lord. We'll set out immediately. We need to make up for lost time."
"There's a boat already prepared for you. The ladies shed their veils and head scarves on the beach, so I suspect they're travelling uncovered. You don't need me to tell you this, but as a reminder," the Emperor pinned him with a chilling gaze, "you and your men are not to look at them directly. And you're most definitely not to touch them. I want them brought back alive, preferably all of them, but definitively Delphi, if you have to choose. Whatever it takes. Tell your unit they'll be extremely well-rewarded if you're successful. Life-changing wealth and ten wives for every man in the Honour Guard."
Alton's eyebrows rose. The stakes were incredibly high. The Emperor didn't need to tell him that failure would have consequences that were just as dire as the rewards were lavish. Niko would be in seventh heaven when he heard about the wives.
"Thank you, my Lord, I'll tell the men. They would already be motivated to serve you, but such generous rewards will push them to give the pursuit everything they've got. We won't let you down, Lord."
"I have trust in you and your team, nephew. That's why you've been given the job. Don't prove me wrong."
The unspoken warning hung in the air between them.
"No, my Lord. Thank you for your trust. I'll take my leave if you don't mind. Every minute counts. They're sailing further away from us into significant danger they can't possibly hope to survive with their upbringing."
"Agreed," said the Emperor with a mixture of anxiety and irritation on his face.
He rubbed his forehead, "I've waited a decade for these women and invested too much of my time and energy into them. Bring them back to me before they get themselves hurt."
"My Lord," Alton bowed deeply before backing rapidly out of the throne room.
He headed off down the palace corridors at a dead run.