Read The Office of Shadow for Free Online

captain of the Royal Guard, no doubt fighting alongside her.

    Or so he believed. He hadn't seen anyone from his former life in months.
He missed them. He even missed the foolish human Satterly. That was
depressing.
    There was a knock at the door and Silverdun braced for another assault
by Tebrit, but instead it was Estiane who stepped into the cell. The abbot
shut the door quietly, an odd expression on his face. He held an envelope in
his hand, and Silverdun recognized the broken seal as that of Marcuse, the
queen's chamberlain. Estiane sat at the edge of Silverdun's cot, turning the
envelope in his fingers. He held it delicately, as if it were a dried flower or a
piece of fine china.
    "Let us be perfectly honest with one another, shall we?" said Estiane. "No
banter, no gamesmanship. No hidden agendas. We are both men of Aba, who
do our best to serve the Good, and often fail miserably along the way.
Agreed?"
    Silverdun sat up. A witticism reared up in his mind and he choked it
down. "Fine," he grunted.
    "I know why Everess came to see you today," said Estiane. "He and I have
had a number of rather serious conversations over the past few months."
    "Really?" said Silverdun. "Is Everess an Arcadian? He never struck me as
the type."
    "No, no," said Estiane. "These conversations were of a purely political
nature. We don't like to advertise it, of course, but the Church is as immersed
in the world of politics as any other large organization. We have power and
influence and knowledge, and it has to be wielded."
    Estiane tapped the envelope gently against his fingers. "As you may
know, the Church has a rather sizable network of believers among the
Unseelie. Not even we know exactly how many of us there are across Mab's
empire because the Bel Zheret enjoy torturing names out of Arcadians, and
we like to offer them as few as possible.

    "Much of the useful information our queen possesses regarding the
Unseelie comes from us. We have believers at almost every level of government and at every rank in the military. Sometimes their consciences guide
them to reveal certain things."
    Silverdun smiled. "And you barter that knowledge for influence at
Corpus and with the queen's court."
    "Of course we do," said Estiane, his voice rough. "We'd be fools not to.
This all has very little to do with serving Aba, but the Church is not itself
holy. The Church is an organization that exists in space and time, and it must
do what it must in order to survive and thrive. If you'll recall, when you were
a boy, Arcadianism was practically illegal." Estiane unsuccessfully attempted
to hide the guilt he clearly felt. "And that brings us to you, Perrin Alt. Lord
Silverdun."
    Silverdun sighed. "I was wondering when something would bring us to
me. What's this about?"
    "I'm not exactly sure, to be honest," said Estiane. "I know that Everess is
very keen to bring you back to the capital, but I don't know why. Something
to do with the Foreign Ministry, I should imagine."
    "Honestly, Abbot!" said Silverdun. "Where's the holiness in that?"
    "Holiness?" Estiane hissed the word. "Holiness is a privilege granted to
blessed souls like Tebrit, your tormentor. Tebrit doesn't have to make decisions about how the Church's influence is used to direct affairs, or whether
those affairs ought to be directed, or what the dire outcome for the Church
and its followers will be if those affairs are ignored. Tebrit will not have any
blood on his hands if a new war begins because there is nothing he could do
to help prevent it.
    "I, however, am required to make those decisions. There is no way for me
to do this without getting blood on my hands. I don't have the luxury of
being spotless."
    Silverdun leaned back again, nodding. "I understand now. Everess needs
your information, and you've decided to exact payment. He agrees to take me
on in whatever role he's dreamed up for me, knowing that I'll be acting as
your proxy, and in return you'll