Dreamstrider by Lindsay Smith Read Free Book Online

information only adds to the urgency. The Minister of War is making all the necessary preparations to shield both our nations from an attack.” Durst holds up his hands. “But I need someone working with the Farthing envoys to ensure they give us their full cooperation—and that we don’t give them any more information than we absolutely must.”
    Brandt looks at me. With that darkness in his eyes, I fear I know what he’s about to say. “Do they know about Livia’s … ability?”
    A chilly perspiration plasters my dress to my skin. Alliance or not, I don’t want anyone else to know about dreamstriding.
    Durst puffs out his cheeks, the shadows under his eyes dark as bruises. “Not to our knowledge, no.” He swallows, and the apple in his throat bobs anxiously. “But the Farthingers are a wily bunch. I personally only trust them as far as I can toss them.”
    I nod. Some tunnelers used to speak of the Farthing Confederacy like a fairytale land, an idyll world far from the rigid hierarchy of Barstadt, populated by pirates and entrepreneurs. With enough wits, Farthingers may scrabble their way into wealth for a time, but there’s always another waiting to scrabble over them.
    Minister Durst clasps his hands together. “We haven’t much time to waste if we’re to foil the Commandant, so I’ve asked the Farthingers to meet with us now for an initial debriefing. After they are occupied, we can set to work stopping the Commandant’s plans.”
    Brandt ruffles the fringe of soft hair that hangs over his brows. “But who will act as our representative? You’re not going to reveal our identities to them, are you?”
    Minister Durst wrings his hands like he’s trying to scrub something from them. “Yes, as for that…” He glances at me. “I can’t risk exposing both of you as Ministry operatives to the Farthing team, so only one of you will serve as our official representative through all of this.”
    Brandt steps forward, fire in his eyes. “Let it be me, then. We have to keep Livia secret.”
    I shake my head. “Brandt’s the better operative—we have to preserve his identity. Besides, any time I work in the field, I’m not actually me. It’d make more sense for them to work with me, and not find out what you look like.”
    Brandt’s expression darkens. “Livia, please. These people aren’t our friends, even if they are our allies. If they were to learn the truth about you—”
    “No, Livia is absolutely correct,” Minister Durst says. “If they know Livia’s appearance, it won’t hinder her missions. But if they know what you look like, Master Strassbourg, all your future missions will be compromised. Who knows what the future may bring—our current alliance with Farthing is never a guarantee.” Again, he looks at me, but his gaze is reluctant, and I know he’s only picking the lesser of two poor choices. “I can’t take that risk.”
    “With all due respect, Minister—Livia’s far more important to the Ministry than I, and she’s never had proper field training. And if anything were to happen to her—”
    “Yes, Master Strassbourg, that’s why I’m assigning you and Jornisander to shadow her meetings with the Farthingers from afar. Will that allay your fears?”
    Of course, the future may also bring a better-trained dreamstrider than I to the Ministry. Hesse is always searching for another, and when he finds one, what use will my clumsy attempts be? I see this hope in the Minister’s razor-thin smile. Despite my gift, I could still be replaced.
    Brandt eases back on his heels, though the muscles in his neck are still taut. “It’s something, yes.”
    I relax somewhat, too. Jorn the Destroyer started his career in the tunnels as Stargazer gang muscle, but since he joined the Ministry, he’s proven himself an invaluable asset. He knows how to work connections throughout the tunnels and the gangs, and his days in the tunnel brawling rings certainly proved his skill at breaking