Kushiel's Chosen

lady. I am."
    I had guessed that they were lovers; rightly, it seemed. "You read the Kore's letter. Will he treat kindly with me, do you think?"
    Timanthes studied the beams of the ceiling. "He will hear you out in fairness, my lady. As much would he do for any supplicant, and the children of Minos heed one another's advice, most especially when it comes from the Temenos. Will he grant you aid?" He looked soberly at me. "I cannot say. If I have read aright, you have incurred the enmity of a mighty nation, and La Serenissima lies closer to Kriti than Terre d'Ange. Consider your request wisely, my lady."
    "I will," I said. "Thank you."
    He left me, then. I made shift to freshen myself, washing my hands and face in a basin of water set out for that purpose, and then sat and waited, thinking on what I would say. The fine speech I had polished once upon a time had gone clear out of my head in the cavern of the Temenos, shredded to bits and lost forever by what I had undergone there. Even so, I had composed it with a very different audience in mind; I did not know what to make of this Archon, who thought nothing of receiving petitioners on the wrestling floor, whose gaze hinted at an intellect his manner belied.
    In the end, I resolved to tell the truth. If there was one thing I learned in the cavern of the Temenos, it was that my efforts to be clever had led only to a bad end. So it was that when I was sent for at last and received by Demetrios Asterius in his throne room, I laid out my tale earnestly, speaking in Caerdicci for the benefit of Kazan, who stood glowering beside me.
    The Archon listened thoughtfully, interrupting me only to ask for a point of clarification here or there, and his questions were sensible. In white robes of state trimmed with purple-and-gold borders, he seemed more the ruler. A finely wrought gold diadem adorned his head, though I could see his black, curling hair was still damp from bathing. Timanthes stood beside his throne, and by his fresh attire, I guessed he was of noble birth, too.
    When I had done, the Archon nodded soberly. "Your dilemma is clear, my lady Phèdre, and what you say, I believe. The Kore would not have commended you to me if you did not speak the truth. What is the nature of your request?"
    I drew a deep breath. "My lord Archon, my needs are twofold. I fear it is too late for me to intercept the Queen on her progressus. My only hope of preventing her assassination is to go to La Serenissima itself, and pray that I reach it before her. In this matter, I ask only that you lend me passage and an escort, that I might gain the city safely."
    "And in the other?"
    "A swift ship and a courier, my lord Archon, to bear a letter to the Lady of Marsilikos." I met his eyes. "Betrayal lies at home and abroad in this, my lord. If I fail in preventing the death of my Queen, still I may prevent the seizure of the throne."
    Demetrios Asterius touched his fingertips together, glancing at Kazan. "And what is it you say, pirate? You will do what I will not?"
    "I have said it," Kazan said shortly.
    "So you have, and in a very succinct manner." Ignoring Kazan's muttered growl, the Archon returned his attention to me, raising his brows. "Forgive me the crassness of this question, my dear, but it is one I must needs ask. Many of the Kindred of Minos are gifted with insight, able to discern the will of the gods; I am not one such, and must rely on what small skills I have in the way of ruling. So I ask: What merit in this boon is there for Kriti?"
    I was ready for the question. "If I succeed even in part, my lord, you will earn the gratitude of Terre d'Ange, and may name your own reward. Money, do you wish it, trade rights with Terre d'Ange and Alba, or the skills of D'Angeline engineers; mayhap even alliance through marriage, although that is not mine to promise."
    "And if you fail entirely?" he asked, not unkindly.
    I paused, and shook my head. "I can make no guarantee, my lord. Still, there is much to be gained, and little to venture."
    "Fairly stated, my dear, though there is more to weigh than you may reckon." The Archon steepled his fingers once more, touching them to his lips and staring into the distance. "Please believe me when I say I understand the urgency of this situation," he said abruptly, coming to some conclusion. "But it is not a request I can grant or deny on a moment's whim. Allow me one day to consider it, and on the morrow I will have an answer for you. Is that acceptable to