I didn’t know if I was supposed to answer that, so I didn’t.
“Perhaps it would be helpful for you to start,” Forsooth suggested to me, smiling. “For myself, I would very much like to know exactly how you were able to listen in on several broadcasts given by the Priest, and what, exactly, those broadcasts contained.”
Every eye in the room swiveled towards my face.
25
First Meeting
Ifelt myself redden, and glanced reflexively down at my monocerus. It pawed the carpet, snorting, like it wanted everyone in the room to know they were rude for staring at me. It glared with particular ire at the large, muscular, bull-shaped primal that belonged to Quicksilver.
The bull only stared back, its red eyes haughty.
I cleared my throat.
“Yes, well.” I looked away from the bull. “I’d actually wondered about that myself.” I glanced at Forsooth. “How did you find out Alaric and I had been doing that? How did you know we were tracking the Priest?”
A few of the faces in that circle blinked, then looked to Forsooth, obviously expecting him to field that question.
“I have a few resources that aided me,” Forsooth said a little cagily, his dark eyes serious. “I cannot tell you all of my sources, not at this time, but suffice it to say, I have my own informants on the periphery of Dark Cathedral.” He smiled at me reassuringly, possibly due to something he saw in my reaction. “They are not yet aware of your involvement, Ms. Shadow, but theyareaware of Alaric Greythorne’s successfulattempts to listen to several broadcasts. I was able to extrapolate your involvement because I also know people at the Dragon’s Keep, and in fact arranged for extra security for both of you while you were staying there.”
My eyes widened more.
I considered pursuing that, then decided it could wait.
“But…” I frowned, puzzled. “How could they know about Alaric and not me?”
Forsooth paused for a moment, stirring his tea with a silver spoon.
“Well,” he said next, his voice a bit heavier. “I imagine it’s because you have a loyal friend in Alaric Greythorne, Ms. Shadow, a friend who did not implicate you. From what my sources tell me, they’ve worked very hard to get that information out of him.” He cleared his throat, still stirring his tea. “They’ve also tried various magical means to reverse-engineer the signal to discover any accomplices, but they were unsuccessful in that, too. Your name, so far as I know, has not been mentioned by the younger Mr. Greythorne at all.”
I felt my eyes sting, right before my jaw hardened.
“How did they catch him?” I glanced around the circle, then back at Forsooth. “It was because they caught us listening in, wasn’t it? We always figured he could say he was listening out of curiosity. Being a royal himself, we thought he could pretend to be recruited––”
Forsooth lightly coughed, and I fell silent.
“Ah. Yes,” Forsooth hummed. “Well. It seems young Mr. Greythorne rather imprudently wrote a letter to one of his half-siblings in Greece, a letter that contained detailed information about at least one of the broadcasts you overheard. I believe he meant to request sanctuary, and gave details about the missive to convey the danger he believed himself to be in. That said, I never saw the contents of the letter myself, so I cannot say forcertain what he intended. I also don’t know whether that letter was intercepted, or if his sibling or stepmother turned him in. In either case, the informationdidget back to Alaric’s father, and Lord Greythorne came to collect his son.”
My jaw clenched.
Alaric wrote someone in his family?
Why? Why would he risk that?
Even as I thought it, the rest of Forsooth’s words landed.
I knew why. He’d done it because of that broadcast, the one that got cut off. He’d been looking for an escape hatch after that night on the Eyrie where I cocked everything up. Alaric clearly thought he might need a way out.
He’d at least wanted something lined up in case we’d been seen.
I kicked myself, again, for everything that happened that night. I’d thought I was being careful, but I’d obviously rushed things, enough that they’d known someone was listening who shouldn’t be. Alaric must have sent the letter with one of the school drakai after spending a day and a night worrying about what might happen and deciding he needed a backup plan.
Gods, I wished he’d talked to me first.
“Ms. Shadow,” a strange witch asked. “Is it true that you and Greythorne listened to more than one broadcast?”
Her voice boomed across to me, exaggeratedly loud in the high-ceilinged room.
