The Emperor's Bone Palace

The Emperor’s Bone Palace INFERNAL WAR SAGA II HAILEY TURNER © 2023 Hailey Turner All Rights Reserved Cover design by James T. Egan, www.bookflydesign.com Map by Daniels Maps: www.danielsmaps.com Professional Beta Reading by Leslie Copeland of LesCourt Author Services. Developmental editing by Mackenzie Walton. Edited by One Love Editing. Proofing by Lori Parks: [email protected] Proofing by M.A. Hinkle at LesCourt Author Services Contents Guidance Hymn Map of Maricol Divergence Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Deception Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Resistance Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Betrayal Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Crossroads Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Revelations Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Glossary Author’s Notes Connect with Hailey Other Works By Hailey Turner To Katia Tsvetkova. For always being there when it mattered most. Pray for a star to burn as a guide Never to live, always to die A road is a future and it carries a past For what is burned is only ever ash ~ Guidance hymn from a Star Order prayer book Divergence 936 A.O.P. One VANYA Some roads would always be lonelier than others, but they all had to be walked beneath the stars. Emperor Vanya Sa’Liandel, of the House of Sa’Liandel, holder of the Imperial throne and ruler of Solaria, arrived back in the capital city of Calhames in the early hours before dawn three days after the rionetka attack in Oeiras. The trade talks with the Tovan Isles ambassador had been hastily concluded, and he’d returned by way of airship to a city he couldn’t assume was safe and a palace that didn’t feel like home—not without Raiah and Soren by his side. Stalking through the low-lit corridors of the Imperial palace, Vanya made his way toward his private office in the family wing. The praetoria legionnaires guarding the antechamber to it made Vanya want to flinch, but an emperor never took a step back. Besides, the ones guarding him were at least trustworthy. Captain Javier Molina, in charge of the praetoria legionnaires who’d escorted Vanya to Oeiras, planted his feet before the antechamber doors, fists on his hips. “Step forward.” The praetoria legionnaires standing at attention on either side of the entrance obeyed immediately, saluting the captain before bowing to the Imperial degree at Vanya’s presence. The ones surrounding Vanya kept their hands on their pistols, eyeing their fellow soldiers. If the pair on guard duty were uneasy at the distrust being shown them, they didn’t acknowledge it. “Strip off your shirts and jackets,” Javier ordered. One of the praetoria legionnaires seemed taken aback by the order. She hesitated a couple of seconds before obeying. In that time, Vanya noticed the way the praetoria legionnaires around him tightened their grips on their pistols. No weapon was unholstered, but the sentiment of being willing to shoot was there. The pair stripped, baring their chests to Javier’s critical eye. Their skin was unmarked, carrying no vivisection scars, and the praetoria legionnaires around Vanya relaxed ever so slightly at the proof they weren’t facing off against rionetkas. Javier nodded sharply. “You may dress.” While the two hastily redonned their uniforms, Vanya swept past everyone into the antechamber and headed for his private office. “Work with Alida to clear my household, the praetoria legionnaires on duty, and the staff.” “Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.” Such an undertaking could not be done quietly. Whatever spies from other Houses might be in the palace would be put on notice, but it couldn’t be helped. Everyone who stayed within the palace walls would be required to prove they weren’t a rionetka before sunrise. All the rest would arrive at a security check Javier would oversee until the higher-ranking praetoria legionnaire officers could be cleared. If any rionetkas were within the palace’s employ, Vanya hoped to ensnare them. It was why he hadn’t formally announced his return to Calhames. The flag indicating he was in residence would not be flown over the palace until after the sun broke the horizon. Vanya turned on the gas lamps once he entered his office, illuminating the space. The windows overlooking a narrow arcade and private inner courtyard were closed against the heat the flagstones hadn’t yet given up during the night. Vanya went to crank them open, the panes folding outward to settle flat against the exterior wall. He drew in a breath, smelling the blooming flowers spilling over the edges of the pots scattered across the tiled floor outside in the courtyard. The riot of plants had been picked out by his mother, Empress Zakariya Sa’Liandel, and Vanya’s staff carefully tended the flowers she no longer got to enjoy. Oeiras had smelled of the sea, but here, in the private wing of the Imperial palace, it smelled like home. The sound of raised voices in the antechamber caught his attention. Vanya stepped away from the window, moving to seat himself behind his wide wooden desk. Everything was exactly how he’d left it before departing for Oeiras weeks ago. His records of the newly signed treaty with the Tovan Isles would be presented to the Senate at some point, but for now, it would be delivered to the care of his chief minister. Vanya reached for the framed tintype photograph of Raiah, her laughing face smiling up at him. He wondered where she was, if she and Soren had made it safely