Kamal met General Theron Aradia beside a drainage channel.
That was not where he had expected to find him.
The eastern imperial gardens spread across several terraces behind the oldest section of the palace, descending gradually from formal hedges and stone fountains into orchards, medicinal beds, and the less decorative sections that supplied herbs and flowers to half the imperial household. The afternoon had turned cool enough for Kamal to wear a dark wool coat over his usual clothes, though sunlight still warmed the pale stone beneath his shoes.
He had come looking for quiet.
Instead, he found Mezos's father crouched beside an irrigation grate with the director of imperial grounds and two increasingly nervous gardeners.
Theron wore dark civilian trousers, sturdy boots, and a charcoal coat that remained irritatingly neat despite the soil near his knees. A folded plan rested across one hand.
