Emperor's Edge Republic by Lindsay Buroker Read Free Book Online

last year,” Sespian said. “Now and then, my intelligence department actually told me things.”
    “I’ve already read everything in my father’s records. The old chief of intelligence salvaged everything possible from those offices in the Imperial Barracks.”
    “Ah, of course. You’d have access to far more information than I these days.” Sespian didn’t sound regretful; he was merely making an observation. Though did his mouth turn down an iota? At the notion he couldn’t be as useful as he once had?
    Mahliki should have asked for his information instead of squelching him. She had wanted something to discuss, and that would have gotten him talking. Fool.
    Sespian lifted a hand toward someone in the distance. Between the not-entirely-frigid spring air and the plant spectacle, the wide waterfront street was bustling with people, everyone from enforcers in their gray uniforms to vendors hawking “I saw it first” shirts with vines snaking around the sides and backs of the garments. It took Mahliki a moment to spot the recipient of Sespian’s wave.
    The man strolling toward them was one of the first Turgonians, aside from her father, Mahliki had met. He wore a tastefully cut—if flamboyantly colored—suit and great coat that accented his height, broad shoulders, and muscular build. His facial features were strong enough so as not to seem feminine but elegant enough to draw the eyes of those who appreciated the aesthetically pleasing. Although the green hat on his head might make the owner of that same eye curl a lip—it was sprouting vines, not dissimilar to those on the garish shirts being hawked.
    A woman in a crisp gray enforcer uniform walked at his side, her long strides matching his, though she was a few inches shorter than he, her height equal to Mahliki’s own six feet. No one would call the enforcer woman a beauty, but she had handsome features that bespoke strength and determination. Her broad utility belt housed a dagger, a short sword, and a pistol, and her hand rested on the latter as she scowled out at the invasive plant. Mahliki hadn’t yet seen anyone trying to shoot the biological curiosity into submission yet, but, this being Turgonia, it was only a matter of time.
    “Hello, Maldynado,” Sespian said as they drew closer to the other couple. “Sergeant Yara.”
    Maldynado swept the hat from his head and bowed, a tumble of brown curls falling about his cheeks. “Good evening, Sespian, and Ms. Starcrest. It’s delightful to see you both.”
    He gave Mahliki what she would consider a flirtatious smile, and Sergeant Yara—his... friend? Lover? Arresting officer?—rolled her eyes. When Maldynado turned the smile on Sespian it was almost as flirty. Maybe he simply didn’t know another way to stretch his lips. He added a wink to Sespian along with an unsubtle nod toward Mahliki. At least she found it unsubtle. Sespian’s return smile had a faintly baffled air about it.
    A sheltered upbringing, Mahliki decided, though, for all her travels, her upbringing also hadn’t been as ecumenical in the ways of lovers and suitors as she might have wished, not with her very tall and very imposing father looming in the background. Amazing how little a man with his reputation had to do to make boys trip over their own feet in hasty retreat...
    “Are you working?” Sespian asked.
    “ Some of us are.” Yara slanted an exasperated look at Maldynado, or perhaps his newly purchased hat, though a fondness seemed to underlie her glare.
    The exasperation bounced off Maldynado, who simply smiled wider. “Some of us are offering emotional and physical support to those who are working.” He slugged Sespian in the shoulder, a common male-to-male Turgonian greeting, Mahliki had noticed, though it would have knocked a slighter man over backward. “Where have you been? You missing your loving pa?”
    “Er,” Sespian said.
    “Want to come to the baths one of these nights? We’ll box and throw the sand bags