The corner of his mouth tilted up. “I can assure you, I will not be intimidated.”
Unfortunately, Carver suspected that was true. Trevill’s confidence was almost enough to make Carver wonder if the man was actually innocent.
Almost.
Knowing fear tactics wouldn’t work, he switched strategies. He watched Trevill for a suspended moment, letting the silence build until he caught the subtle tightening around the chancellor’s eyes. Only then did Carver let his eyes wander around the cell. “You couldn’t have done it from here,” he said, his tone musing.
Trevill folded his arms across his chest. “Is this supposed to be the part where I beg you to tell me what you’re talking about?”
“Not at all. I’m here to settle my own curiosity, not yours.”
Trevill had once held an influential position in the emperor’s court. Knowledge, power . . . that was what he craved. Which meant this approach would irritate him more than any other.
Carver nodded once, as if to himself. “It must have been a message you sent before your arrest.”
A muscle ticked in Trevill’s jaw, but he held his tongue.
Carver took one step back. “I got my answer, Trevill. And you didn’t have to say a word.” He turned on his heel and moved for the door.
He could feel Trevill’s eyes digging into his back. Heard his breath hitch when Carver opened the door.
The guard in the hall was startled by his sudden appearance, but he quickly shuffled back, leaving Carver room to exit. He stepped over the threshold.
“Wait.”
Carver paused. He glanced over his shoulder in silent question.
Trevill’s eyes narrowed. “What message do you think I sent?”
Carver twisted back to face him, one hand resting on the door’s handle. Showing how ready he was to leave would hopefully make Trevill more likely to talk. “You hired the assassin that tried to gut Jayveh last night.”
Trevill flinched.
Carver had used a graphic descriptor on purpose; if Trevill hadn’t cringed—if he’d been braced for it—Carver would be more certain of the man’s guilt in hiring the assassin. But even though Trevill’s reaction had been one of shock and disgust, Carver wasn’t ready to believe him guiltless just yet.
He let his expression harden. “So itwasyou,” he said, false surety in his voice.
Trevill’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve never hired an assassin in my life.”
“We both know that’s a lie.”
Some of Trevill’s calm died as he gritted his teeth. “I didn’t hire anyone to kill Jayveh. Why would I want the future empress dead? She carries the heir to the throne.”
“Her death would be a terrible blow to the emperor. Possibly enough to make him abandon the idea of a Craethen Council entirely, which was your goal all along.”
“You’re throwing unfounded accusations at me.”
Carver shoved the cell door closed, trapping them both in the shadowed space. “You hired an assassin to assume Marriset’s identity and murder members of the Chosen in Esperance. It really isn’t a stretch to imagine you hired another assassin to finish the job here.”
“Outright lies,” Trevill said, a vein throbbing in his temple.
Carver ignored that. “Is Jayveh your only target, or do you hope to kill all the remaining Chosen?”
“I haven’t targeted anyone!” he burst out. “Certainly not a woman with child.”
“Don’t expect me to believe you suddenly care about the sanctity of life. You didn’t care that the real Marriset was killed before she even stepped foot in Esperance. You didn’t care about Cora, either, or Darrin. You personally poisoned all the women!”
The chancellor’s jaw worked. “I wasn’t responsible for any of that.”
