‘You assume they were murdered at Laseen’s command,’ Bult said, baring his jagged teeth. ‘But imagine a circumstance where the Empress’s most able commanders simply . . . disappeared. Leaving her isolated, desperate for able people. You forget, Historian, that before Laseen became Empress, she was close companions with Crust, Urko, Ameron, Dassem and the others. Imagine her now alone, still feeling the wounds of abandonment.’ ‘And
