Empire of Night Read Online Free

that.”
    â€œYou’d have burst otherwise. So tell me again how you are not thinking of him, not pining for him.”
    â€œYou make me sound like the fainting heroine in one of your ridiculous bard tales.”
    â€œThe lovely fair maiden, bound by destiny to a life of spiritual service, pining for the dashing thief, who escaped his fate, only to be torn from her side—”
    â€œHe hasn’t escaped his fate,” Ashyn muttered. “He’s out there, hiding like a criminal, when all he has to do is let us speak to the emperor on his behalf, and he’d be a hero.”
    â€œWhich would make a very happy end to the story. Unless the emperor doesn’t pardon him, but throws him into the dungeons as an escaped criminal. Given the choice, I can see why Ronan’s not eager to take the chance.”
    â€œHe would be spared. He’s being stubborn.”
    Ashyn opened the door to their quarters.
    â€œI suppose you don’t want to hear what he said about you?” Moria said. “What message he wished me to convey?”
    â€œMessage?”
    Moria laughed and continued into their rooms, with Ashyn trailing after her.

FOUR
    M oria hated court life. By the second day, she’d been eyeing the gates, plotting her escape. Admittedly, her attitude had been different when they first arrived. After they’d spent nearly ten days on the road, the imperial court—with its gardens and lake and forest and hushed tranquility—had been welcome sanctuary. That had changed once they were told that the emperor wished them to stay within the court walls until this matter was resolved . . . and Moria learned that the word “wished” meant something entirely different when it came from an emperor.
    The court had quickly become a cage. It didn’t matter if it was nearly as big as Edgewood. In their village, they’d been allowed to venture beyond the gates. That made all the difference.
    The minister had tried to entertain them, in all the ways heexpected young women would like to be entertained. He sent dressmakers and hairdressers and arranged teas and puppeteers. Moria had no interest in dresses or hair or tea or puppets. Ashyn was more inclined to enjoy them, but even she could not while the children of Edgewood were held captive. They’d spent their days in the library and the gardens, in the temple and the training grounds, and they’d listened to whispers that the Keeper and Seeker of Edgewood were very odd girls, uncultured, perhaps slow-witted, which was not surprising, given that they were Northerners.
    That afternoon, Moria sparred with Tyrus. The court Seeker—Ellyn—had tried to stop the lessons, because Moria wasn’t allowed to carry a sword until her eighteenth summer. Others seemed more concerned about Tyrus, who was learning dagger throwing from Moria in return. Warrior daggers were considered more tools than weapons. To Tyrus, though, any battlefield skill was useful.
    As for the swords, someone—she hated to name him—had told Moria that she would never be able to wield one as well as a male warrior. She was determined to prove him wrong. At first, that task had seemed more daunting than she expected. The typical warrior’s sword was a long, slightly curved, single-edged blade. But there were other types, and Tyrus had called in the imperial swordsmith to help. They had decided Moria would be best served with a side sword. It was a shorter blade, sometimes worn instead of the dagger, generally used as an auxiliary sword for close-quarter fighting. It was also used for beheading an enemy, which meant that the blade was as sharp and as strong as any other.
    That day, Moria did not practice battle decapitation, Tyrus having drawn the line at offering himself up for that. They sparred while Daigo lounged, dozing. For Moria it was a full workout, leaving her drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. Tyrus didn’t even get