General Arum called together his three most trusted captains, including Artibus, to a secure location.

"I have received information that there are spies in the palace. I know that I am currently under surveillance, and I suspect that you may be as well. But I don't know to what end. I need you to select your most trustworthy men to try and sniff out what is going on. Only pick as many men as you can be certain you can trust. I know that Captain Emit is involved somehow. Artibus, send someone to get close to him."

The captains were dismissed to carry out their assignments, and the Lion General paced the room thinking. There weren't any good reasons for him to be under surveillance, and the list of possibilities looked even uglier knowing that at least one, and he suspected more, of his subordinates were involved. Captain Emit in particular wasn't Torvus's favorite person. He was ambitious, well-connected, which is how he became a captain, and ripe for corruption. Emit wouldn't have the brains to come up with a good reason to spy on the Lion General, but he would be an opportunist that supported the brains with promises of promotion or other rewards. And to solicit the Wolf Tribe princess so shamelessly, Emit must be feeling confident.

So then, what was the plan? Whatever it was, it involved the military, or at least a part of the military… the part with questionable allegiances and a lust for power. A coup?

Torvus hoped he was wrong, but he had a sinking feeling that he wasn't. Coups are messy. A coup would weaken the Lion Tribe military substantially, regardless of which side won. Right now especially, with the threat of war on the horizon, a weakened military could spell disaster.

If a coup were to be successful, it would need powerful backers, a legitimate claim to the throne, sufficient military support, and a precision take-over. King Hospes and his family would be in danger along with all military personnel loyal to the crown.... And the enemy had a head start.

Torvus knew that, even before he received confirmation from his own network of intelligence agents, he would need to prepare for that possibility. But who could he trust? The integrity of the military had been compromised.

Torvus smiled as his thoughts drifted to his son. Fortus was a model soldier, loyal and disciplined, but more than that, he was careful and intelligent, a credit to his long line of military heritage. And now Fortus had a friend that he could trust.

Huo Loshe Lang was certainly a worthy friend. She seemed to bring out the best in Fortus. He was definitely more confident and self-assured around her, and Torvus had been pleased to watch him develop as a leader over the summer with her as a sort of co-captain.

Huo Lohse was also loyal and quick on her feet. Torvus liked that. She'd even covered for Fortus by glossing over the fact that he'd also been having nightmares since the Dragon Tribe exchange. Fortus hadn't told him directly, but Torvus had pieced it together on his own. It was hard to miss hearing Fortus fit in his sleep and get up to take long walks in the middle of the night. What had the dragons done to his son? He was tired of imagining the worst.

It seemed to make sense that the wolf princess had nightmares too. There were definitely parts of the Dragon Tribe exchange that Fortus had omitted from his report. Torvus hadn't pressed the issue, sensing that, whatever he was leaving out, it was probably painful to talk about but not necessary to understand the tactical points. However, it was clear that Huo Lohse was somehow involved, and, for just a brief moment, Torvus was tempted to ask Huo Lohse the questions that he couldn't ask Fortus. For Fortus to come out of something too traumatic to talk about, traumatic enough for both of them to be plagued by night terrors a full year later, but trusting her....

Torvus shook his head to return to the matter at hand. He knew that, before all this was over, whatever this was, everyone would know who they could truly trust.

***

"Fortus, Huo Lohse," Torvus found them after combat training later that week.

"Yes, sir," Fortus assumed salute posture.

"At ease. Huo Lohse, would you care to join us for dinner this evening? A little earlier, say five o'clock?" The Lion General fixed Lolo with a loaded look.

"I'd be honored, sir," she smiled and bowed.

"Excellent. Dress comfortably," Torvus nodded and left.

"I think he likes you, Lolo," Fortus grinned.

Lolo arrived for dinner dressed in the training clothes Ulana had given her with her hair slicked back in a high ponytail.

"You're early," Fortus observed after inviting her in.

"Is your father here?"

"Not yet."

"Come spar with me out front for a few minutes."

"Ok? Is something wrong?"

"Just keep your eyes open."

Fortus followed her out and they squared up. He immediately felt eyes watching them. It was very unnerving. Lolo seemed distracted too.

"Think fast!" Lolo warned as she brought her sword down over his head.

Fortus deflected the attack out to the side and stepped toward her, finding Lolo's waist to pull her close enough for him to whisper in her ear. "We're being watched."

She very intentionally made eye contact with him. "It's just sparring practice."

He nodded, understanding the wisdom behind her request to spar while they waited. Out in the open, no one could mistake their intentions or the reason for Lolo's visit.

After a while, Torvus rounded the corner and took a moment to observe from a distance. He was pleased to note that Huo Lohse's sword skills had not been exaggerated. Fortus was having to really work to stay in the fight with her.

"Good afternoon."

"Lolo just came for some sparring practice," Fortus said, trying to communicate something else silently to his father.

"I see. Perhaps Huo Lohse would care to join us for dinner after your practice?"

"Thank you, sir," Lolo bowed. "That would be nice."

"I'll get the table set," Torvus said and walked into the house.

Fortus and Lolo continued their sparring practice until Torvus returned to call them in for dinner.

The three of them assembled around the table and talked quietly over the meal.

"I'll make it brief," Torvus said. "We followed your lead, Huo Lohse, and we've managed to procure a time and a place for a meeting of some sort. However, we've hit a snag. My men can't get close to the meeting without blowing their cover. We need to know who the players in this scheme are, and, if possible to discover safely, details of their plan would be helpful. The rumors suggest that someone is planning a coup, but, at this point, it's only hearsay."

"When and where?" Lolo asked.

Torvus smiled, appreciating her perhaps naive eagerness. "Before you accept this assignment you should know the risks. The chosen location has only one way in and one way out. If you are discovered, you will almost certainly be caught, but they will be reluctant to kill such high-profile youths."

"I'll do it," Fortus was quick to accept.

"... and I'll go with you," Lolo said, equally quick to back-up Fortus.

Torvus nodded approvingly. "Fortus, come up with a plan in case you are caught."

"Yes, sir."

"Huo Lohse, I'm counting on your creativity and talent for improvisation to make this mission a success."

"Yes, sir."

"Keep each other safe. Come back alive. The meeting is tonight, eight o'clock, deep inside the palace." Torvus pulled out a floorplan of the palace to show Fortus exactly where the meeting was to be held.

Lolo followed Fortus to get into position a full two hours before the meeting was supposed to start. The meeting place was a large war council room deep underground in a restricted area of the palace. The room itself was located at the bottom of a long flight of stairs and through a tall set of double doors. A hallway to nowhere looped around the council room, and this was where Fortus and Lolo planned to station themselves so they could watch who walked down the stairs and into the council room.

"And now we wait," Fortus whispered.

They found a spot against the wall to sit. Lolo had the sense to put out the torches around the hallway, giving them at least a little cover. Time ticked by painfully as the friends sat in the dark together in total silence.

When people finally started arriving, both Lolo and Fortus startled. It was up to Fortus to identify the people as they walked down the stairs and through the double doors. After nearly half an hour of Fortus peeking around the corner while she sat watching, Lolo was honestly wondering why she was needed at all.

"Your majesty," Lolo heard someone around the corner say, and Fortus moved back from the corner.

"What?" Lolo whispered barely audibly.

"Evinco Felis," Fortus whispered back.

"The leader?"

"Looks like it. They called her 'majesty'."

"Has anyone done a perimeter check?" Evinco's silky voice was unmistakable.

Taking care to move in absolute silence, Fortus stood up and pulled Lolo along with him to retreat to the back hall behind the war room, away from their corner.

"What's the plan?" Lolo asked.

"I give them two minutes to have us surrounded," Fortus said.

"But what's the plan?"

Fortus looked at her apologetically. "You're not going to like it, and I'm going to need your help to pull it off."

"Ok. Just tell-"

He kissed her.

"Oh." She looked him over. "Don't argue with me, just unbutton your jacket and shirt."

Fortus hesitated for only a moment before doing as he was told. In the meantime, Lolo got busy pulling the tie out of her hair to sweep her black locks over her shoulder. She then removed her sheer green top, unbuttoned the silver bodice beneath it, and took off her sword belt. Fortus blushed when he looked up again, but Lolo knew they didn't have time to confront the awkwardness they were both feeling. She quickly took his sword belt off too.

"Pick me up," she ordered.

"Like this?"

Once her feet were off the ground, Lolo wrapped her legs around Fortus's waist and started kissing him while she positioned his hands, one around her thigh, the other under her bodice at her waist.

"Use the wall to hold me up."

Fortus turned to push her into the wall and Lolo started running her hands through his styled hair to mess it up.

For just a few moments, they had time to allow themselves to enjoy kissing each other.

"Well, well, well! What do we have here?"

Lolo buried her face in Fortus's shoulder and slid back to the ground as he turned around, blushing hard.

"Don't move," someone ordered.

Fortus instinctively put an arm out to protect Lolo, and she clung to the back of his jacket. They had been surrounded by six men, soldiers, a couple of whom Lolo recognized from the social the previous week.

"Kneel down. Put your hands behind your back."

"What for?" Fortus demanded.

"Hands behind your back, now!"

Fortus took a belligerent step forward, and Lolo grabbed his arm, shaking her head. He was obviously not pleased about doing so, but they followed instructions. They were patted down before being grabbed, one soldier on each arm, to be escorted away through the hallway and into the war room.