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Kellen s skip, and we survived that. The rest will be a cakewalk. Even sarcasm couldn t make it sound
like the truth, and she checked her kit again, just to be safe.
You re going to get us both killed, aren t you? For all his protests, Tal was suited up too, if lacking
quite the same array of weapons.
It s nice that we both look good in black, she told him, completely ignoring his hopefully rhetorical
question as she checked her pocket one last time to make sure her ancient access card was there. They had a
backup plan, obviously, but she was almost hoping that Elain had ignored her advice and left her with a
back door after all.
If this doesn t work, you d best hope that we both look good in prison orange.
Vanya was pretty sure that his uncharacteristic show of cynicism had more to do with who they were
visiting than how they were visiting, and she squeezed his arm in passing as she headed towards the door.
You really have to get over this someday.
The hatch sealed behind them, and they crossed the well-lit ship lot in a deliberate march that took
them into the shadows as soon as they could manage. I m sorry that my ex-girlfriend has the power to lock
you away from the stars and make your own family forget that you ever existed. I know you never believe
me, but she really doesn t hate you.
Tal made a high-pitched sound in the back of his throat, too quick to be called anything but a squeak.
You re really aces at this cheery thing, Van. Of course she doesn t hate me. Who could? My head is fuzzy,
and I have it on good authority that people want to rub it. He came up beside her at the mouth of an alley,
his fingers trailing over hers as they waited for a break in pedestrian traffic. Plus, I m kind of adorable.
Vanya hadn t spent years of her life as a human weapon in the Empress s arsenal just to have her
cover blown by her own husband. Still, it was a damn close thing, and she refused to meet his eyes,
steadfastly scanning the thinning crowd as the desire to laugh faded away enough that she could look at
him and manage to thwart it. And you think Kellen was a bad influence on me? Her incredulity was no
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less potent for being whispered, but before he could answer they got their dead spot in the street. They left
the conversation behind, skirting the shadows in an ever-tightening spiral that finally left them crouched
next to the fifteen-foot-high walls of the Imperial residence, hidden behind the overgrowth of a night-
blooming jasmine vine.
So you really think this will still wo Tal fell silent as the wall moved under Vanya s hand, the
absolutely normal-looking stone pivoting away from her touch to reveal a narrow passage that disappeared
down into the dark.
This shouldn t be here, she told him in a whisper barely louder than the rustling leaves surrounding
them. I told Elain years ago that it should be sealed up, but she found them when she was a little girl, and
she never listened. It s just about a half a kilometer underground, and then five floors up through the walls.
There should be a card scanner as we enter the palace itself, a retinal scan when we hit the door to Elain s
room, and then if she s been serious about her safety, probably a scuffle with whoever the new me is.
This is the stupidest thing I ve ever done, Tal replied, pulling his cap lower over his ears and
waving his hand at the gaping hole in the wall. After you, my darling.
Really? I m sure it ranks even with at least one other thing we ve done recently. She went through,
waiting for him in the slightly wider alcove provided by the door mechanism until she could push it closed
behind them. The dark seemed impenetrable, and she struck a light without fear, the pale radiance lost only
a few feet ahead of them as they moved deeper into the tunnel.
Frey would hate this, Tal murmured, shuffling sideways down the path behind her.
I don t know. We re moving, and we re breaking in someplace fabulous. I bet he could overlook the
tight quarters long enough to get to the prize. Remember that museum job on Haffa? You know he got in
and out through the air shafts, and those things can t have been much more than half a meter wide.
Tal grunted, and she paused to wait while he maneuvered himself past a spill of earth that she d had to
squeeze past herself. I m not even sure he s claustrophobic. Maybe he just can t stand to be still for any
length of time.
It was probably an accurate assessment, but Vanya only smiled. Up ahead, just at the edge of her
light, she could see the marker that meant they were passing into the palace foundation, and soon after the
shaft began to widen until they came to a solid metal door. The card scanner mounted on the wall was an
older model, installed a century ago or more, and Vanya breathed a sigh of relief when the light flashed
green and the door mechanism clicked. Tal pulled it open, the hinges making only a faint grinding noise as
he and Vanya slid through and the lock engaged again.
A steep wooden staircase rose directly in front of them, and though wider, the steps themselves were
shallow and high. It could almost have been called a ladder. The thick layer of dust on the stairs was
undisturbed, the only footprints visible so old that they were almost lost beneath the grime as well. The
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lights that seemed to have been placed at random gave off just enough illumination to cast shadows, and
not much else.
Vanya went up first, her shoulder protesting as she steadied her precarious climb with her hands. Tal
was close enough that the motes of dust left in her wake hit him hard, and he turned his head to muffle a
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