On the way to the tower, Lorraine instructed her shinobis with a few swift signs, commanding them to keep an eye on the woman her father held hostage. Instinct whispered that the woman knew more than the simple truth that Hadrian Arvand had killed his wife to wed his mistress. That alone would never be enough to bring him down.
No, if Lorraine's suspicion was correct, that woman carried knowledge of the "secret" her father had once hinted at, the very one he claimed could topple the empire. If he hadn't been exaggerating, then the Dowager would surely be after her as well. Lorraine could not allow the Dowager to reach the woman first.
Leroy said nothing, only observed. He watched the way the shinobis, those same men he had fought days ago when he tried to seize Lord Cassian, moved around her. Silent, skilled, deadly. They needed no words, only gestures, and yet he could feel the weight of their loyalty. The reverence they had for her as they bowed to her.
A commander.
