“Not you,” Liam corrected.
“Hyacinth believes he took Aya?”
“I don’t know what Hyacinth truly believes, besides the fact that the war that is unfolding is a threat to her gods. But Dunmeaden is in shambles, and the people are restless,” Liam murmured. “Whether the story of you partnering with Kakos originated with Hyacinth or someone else…I’m not sure. But it doesn’t particularly matter. She’s not doing anything to stop it.”
And now, with the documents from Kakos in their abandoned saddle bags, he would only be adding fuel to the accusations against him.
Lovely.
“She’s arrested the remaining members of the Dyminara,” Liam continued. “Each one is to stand trial for crimes against their queen and kingdom.”
So that explained why the Royal Guard had wandered so far from their typical jurisdiction. Substantial threats hadalways been left to the Dyminara—the most elite of the Visya warriors and scholars and spies.
Now, it seemed, they were no more.
Aidon pushed unsteadily to his feet. “Surely the testimony of the Dyminara who escaped the fire prove there were the innocents in the force?” he pressed.
Will wanted to believe as much. But there was a heaviness to Liam that went beyond grief, and Will did not need his affinity to sense it. “Hyacinth was Gianna’s spiritual advisor. I don’t know that the High Priestess will believe the worst in her disciple so easily,” Will reasoned. To Liam, he said, “That’s why you fled, isn’t it?”
Liam dipped his chin in a grim concession. “I have no reason to believe the Dyminara will receive a fair trial. Especially because we had no knowledge that over half of our force had turned until they were barring the doors of the Quarter and setting it aflame. If we had, I could’ve—” Liam cut himself off with a shake of his head.
“Do you know how Gianna managed to do it?” Will asked.
“No,” Liam confessed bitterly. “I don’t even know how many of those who were turned were under her Diaforaté’s influence.”
Will felt Liam’s pang of grief brush against his weary shield. He knew where it stemmed from easily enough. Liam did not know if Lena’s actions were of her own agency or not. And now, he never would.
“The Diaforaté would have had to be in the battle with them to continue controlling them, would he not?” Aidon pressed. “Surely his power only extends so far.”
“Not necessarily,” Will replied. “Tova had no memory of our conversation in the dungeons prior to her questioning. Clearly, I’m not skilled in gambling, but I’d be willing to bet a healthy sum it was the Diaforaté who altered her memory.”
He was nearly certain of it. And yet…
“Either way, it’s impossible to know for sure. It would depend on the persuasion—the compulsion—and how he went about it.”
Did he play on their loyalty? Did he steadily chip away at their resolve for weeks without anyone knowing? Did he rip their agency from them in one go?
Will dragged his hand through his hair again. His joints were stiff with the cold, his fighting leathers soaked through. Gods, what he wouldn’t give for a warm bath.
Pain radiated through his skull as he grabbed his strands and tugged. It sharpened his focus, kept him present in the room when his mind wanted to spiral off into a thousand different directions.
Another fucking obstacle placed in his way, another enemy closing in that threatened to keep him from Aya. He refused to bow to it.
He let his hand fall, his thumb skimming the raised skin on the inside of his palm.
No matter how far the fall.
“There are rumors about you as well,” Liam remarked with a nod of his head to Aidon.
“I love it when people talk about how handsome I am,” Aidon drawled as he scrubbed the last of the blood from his face.
Will didn’t buy his deflection for a second. He knew what it was to hide one’s scars from the world, lest they get ripped open once more.
A ghost of a smirk flitted across Liam’s face. “If only they were so kind.” Any hint of humor faded quickly into a grimace. “It would not surprise me if rumors of your fire-wielding spread all the way to Trahir.” Liam fixed him with a long, pointed look. “Though it looks as though that’s not the full story. You missed a spot.” Liam scratched just below his own nose.
Aidon released a heavy sigh as he rubbed at the blood.“Unfortunately, news of my affinity spreading is the least surprising thing we’ve learned tonight. As for the rest…” He trailed off as he met Will’s gaze. “It’s hardly the most important of tales to share.”
He prompted Will with a tilt of his chin toward Liam.
