We settled on the sofas while Cellos occupied a furry stool he kept by the now-useless fireplace. He wrapped himself up in a couple of blankets and nodded at the others strewn around us. “Help yourselves. It’s freezing already.”

Riza, Herakles, Raphael, Taeral, Inalia, and Eira didn’t wait to be told twice. It was noticeably colder once we stopped moving. Varga, Eva, and I were more than fine for the time being, given our vampire nature.

“I’d offer you tea, but I’ve got no fire to boil the water with,” Cellos added. “Water, perhaps? The bottle hasn’t frozen yet.”

Eira shook her head. “We’re fine, thank you.”

“Okay, so… What brings you all here?” he asked, frowning at Inalia.

“Not my fault,” Inalia said.

“I know,” he grumbled. “I’m sorry this is happening to you. I suppose you all know what’s going on?”

“The Fire Hermessi was killed,” Taeral said. “The other three did him in.”

The revelation tore a gasp from Cellos. “That wasn’t mentioned in the emperor’s message.”

“I was there. I watched it happen,” Inalia replied.

“Cellos, you’ve probably heard the cultists already, since you told Inalia she’s in trouble,” Eira said, her gaze fixed on her former Armed Forces officer. He nodded. “We’re not sure her sacrifice is the only way to fix the problem. We strongly believe there is information in the original library documents that could help us.”

“Strongly believe?” he asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. I had a feeling he knew when Eira wasn’t 100 percent about what she was saying—though, in her defense, neither were we. Heck, we hoped there would be information in the original library that could help us. “Strongly believe” was somewhat over the top.

“It’s worth a shot,” Eira insisted. “You heard the emperor. Those twenty-four hours he mentioned? Those are for us. We’re doing this, and we need your help.”

He seemed confused. “How could I possibly help? I don’t even know what original library you’re referring to.”

“The Silvergate library was filled with copies,” Eira replied. “We recently learned that the originals are here, somewhere in Samotarcis, and that the Brothers of the Shadow have them.”

Cellos’s face blanched. “Oh.”

“The emperor is willing to offer them a full pardon and a chance to sit at the negotiating table if they help us,” Eira continued. “We brought the document with us, personally signed by Emperor Tulla himself, imperial seal included.”

“So, you know…” Cellos murmured. He didn’t seem happy, and I couldn’t quite understand why. I’d thought Eira came to him because of his Armed Forces rank and experience. He probably had some field knowledge about the local Brothers of the Shadow that the Silvergate garrisons lacked. Judging by the look on his face, that wasn’t exactly right.

Eira confirmed my suspicion. “About your partnership with the Brothers? Yes, I know.”

Zing! That was new and actually unexpected. It took us all by surprise. I had to give Eira credit. She knew how to withhold crucial information without making us suspicious, at least as far as Cellos was concerned.

“Why didn’t you tell us that?” Inalia asked her.

“I knew it might change your attitude toward him, and I didn’t want Cellos to feel like he’s in any kind of danger. We kept in touch over the years and… well, I kind of put two and two together about his collaboration with the Brothers. He kept traveling where they staged riots and attacks. The coincidences were too on the nose.”

“Wow. Consider me impressed,” Cellos replied.

“I also know you quit,” Eira said to him. “What got you in with them, to begin with, and what got you out? That, I could never figure out.”

He let a deep sigh roll out, then pulled the fur covers tighter around him, quivering from the chills. Cellos struck me as the kind of guy who was able to admit his past errors, no matter how questionable his choices. There was an ethical pride about him, noticeable in the way he spoke, and in the way he lowered his head whenever the Brothers were mentioned. He wasn’t proud of his work with them, that much I could tell, and I was willing to bet that Varga would confirm.

“After I retired from the Armed Forces and came back here, I was struck by the desolation, the heartbreaking disappointment,” Cellos explained. “The Brothers of the Shadow ran some serious propaganda in these border towns—or so I’d thought, at first, until I realized that they were actually telling the truth. There are domains who are being treated poorly, like the lesser parts of the supposedly grandiose whole. The outer regions, in particular, are woefully underfunded and neglected. Hence the slums, the rise in crime along the border towns. The Brothers were actually trying to keep it under control. And, after speaking to old friends of mine, I couldn’t deny it anymore. The empire is wrong and has been wrong in this matter for centuries.”

“So you joined forces with the Brothers, instead of using your Armed Forces credentials and reputation to gain an audience with the emperor and tell him about it?” Eira asked.

Cellos gave her a bitter smile. “Now, that’s something a kid like you won’t understand until it’s your turn. Ask me this again when you retire, Eira, but I doubt you will. Because you’ll know what I mean, then.”

“I’m not following you…”

“Eira, once you retire, your voice is gone,” Cellos said. “That’s how it works in the Armed Forces. Once you’re done serving the empire, you’re given a nice retirement package and politely asked to step away and out of sight. No one cares what you think or what you see wrong in this world. So, yes, I helped the Brothers. I didn’t participate in any of the attacks. I only provided on-the-ground support and directions.”

“Not surprised, given your tactical experience. If anyone can scan a town and devise the perfect infiltration, it’s you,” Eira replied, the shadow of a smile crossing her face.

“You didn’t tell anyone about me,” Cellos said. “Why?”

“You didn’t do wrong by me, and I owe you a lot. I learned from you. I worshipped you,” Eira murmured. “I didn’t think it was right for me to destroy the sunset of your life. But I did breathe a sigh of relief when I realized you weren’t with them anymore. Which leads me to my next question.”

“Why I stopped helping the Brothers of the Shadow. They were getting too violent. Innocent Cerixians were hurt. I’d specifically told them not to target certain areas, to steer clear of heavily populated streets, and they went and did the exact opposite. I couldn’t bring myself to help them anymore, so I bid my farewells and took an oath to never reveal their identities or location—which is what you’re asking me to do now.”

The irony didn’t escape any of us. But Eira was determined and relentless. “Cellos, they were entrusted with the original library documents, long before they renamed themselves the Brothers of the Shadow and started rebelling against the empire. They essentially stole the library and hid it somewhere. We need to get to it, and we’ve got a little over half a day to do it.”

“The information there could yield a solution for Cerix’s fire problem, one that may exclude Inalia from sacrificing herself,” Taeral added. “The Hermessi are up to something dark and dangerous, and this situation here doesn’t even scratch the surface. If we manage to get some leverage again, we could not only save Inalia, but also Cerix and many other worlds from impending doom.”

Inalia broke into a cold sweat. I could see the droplets trickling down her forehead. Orange flakes sparkled in her brown irises. I had a feeling the gravity of her situation was coming back to hit her harder than before—a natural development as the hours went by, and we got closer to our deadline. My heart hurt for her, but there wasn’t much else we could do other than track down the damn library.

“And if you don’t find the library, then what?” Cellos asked, looking at Inalia. “You sacrifice yourself and become the new Fire Hermessi, like those crazy cultists said?”

“I take it they’re telling everyone in Samotarcis, now?” Inalia mumbled, barely holding it together. Taeral pulled her closer, one arm wrapped around her shoulders. She was also getting colder, and that had to further contribute to her overall state of discomfort.

“I think they’re spreading the word far and wide across the empire by now,” Cellos said, then shifted his focus back to Eira. “The Lemnos Woods. But do not under any circumstances tell them I sent you. If we survive this frost, I’d like to live out the rest of my days in peace, not fearing for my life.”

Eira smiled. “They’re based in the Lemnos Woods, huh? Smart.”

“Where’s that?” Raphael asked.

“About five hundred miles north of Mykos,” Eira said. “It’s a pretty wild area. Deep lakes surround most of the woods, and there are lots of animal predators in there. It’s not easy to move through. Many Cerixians have gotten lost and died in there.”

“I can see why they chose it as their refuge, then,” Herakles replied. “Let the natural wildlife keep the outsiders at bay, and you’re good. I’m willing to bet they also feed whatever predators prowl those woods.”

“They do.” Cellos chuckled. “You know your stuff, I see.”

“I was a rebel myself once,” Herakles declared with a strong sense of pride.

“And look at you now,” Raphael shot back without hesitation.

It made me chuckle. A split second’s worth of tension relief, and I couldn’t be more grateful for it. But Cellos brought the conversation back into focus before Herakles could retaliate against Raphael. The odds were stacked against our prized Faulty, and I hoped he’d get to deliver a solid burn soon. I was pretty sure the two lived and thrived off each other’s snark.

“I will show you the best way to approach the Brothers,” Cellos said, then got up and padded over to the corner desk, still covered in his furs. He fumbled through the drawers, then returned with a rolled-up map of the Samotarcis Domain, which he carefully unfurled over a small table in the middle. “I don’t know if they’ll be willing to help you, but I can at least show you the way to their campsite. It can get tricky and dangerous if you don’t know where you’re going.”

We craned our necks so we could all see the map clearly. Inalia shot to her feet, trembling. She didn’t look so good. “Can I use your bathroom, please?”

Cellos gave her a concerned look. Taeral was tense, watching her like a hawk, ready to catch her if she passed out. She did look like she was about to.

“Are you unwell, child?” Cellos asked.

Inalia nodded briefly. “I just need to wash my face. It’s been a long day.”

“I can’t blame you. Head down the corridor, and it’s the last door on the left,” he replied, pointing behind her.

She walked out and vanished into the narrow hallway, while the rest of us refocused on the map and Cellos’s instructions. Part of me wanted to go after Inalia and make sure she was okay, but I had a feeling she just needed a moment alone to pull herself together.

Sometimes, all the company in the world couldn’t fix certain states of anguish. This was most likely one of those instances, so I chose to pay attention to Cellos instead, and make sure we had all the right information for finding the Brothers. Whether they, in turn, had what we needed to stop Cerix from claiming Inalia’s life or not… well, that was a bridge we had yet to cross.