My voice locks in my throat.
“Were you?” Henderson steps into the cell.
Chapter Forty-One
Inana
I rise to my feet in a rush, but with my back to the wall, there’s nowhere to go. All I can do is stare as Henderson stops just inside the cell. I hoped he and his crew had died while trying to flee the Shades after the bridge collapse, and I thought I’d gotten my wish when we heard no news of his arrival in Eldeen. Surely if he’d survived he would have tried to get there first, to make things as difficult for us as he could.
But I was wrong.
Because here he stands with his favorite Summoner at his side and two men dressed in white robes and silver gauntlets, their faces veiled. My gaze falls to the swords at the strangers’ hips. I’ve never seen men like these before, but between their veils, their robes, and the gold crests on their lapels of a sun with seven sunbeams—King Kaelum’s royal insignia—these must be holy men. Armed priests from the church.
I haven’t set foot inside a church since I was a girl, and that was only for weekly liturgy. Dunway’s chapel only had a pastor and a handful of acolytes. There were no guards. No holy soldiers.
They must be here for me.
This was a fucking trap.
“Did you leave the note?” I ask, my eyes darting back to Henderson.On my periphery, I study the windows, all of which remain barred. Why couldn’t this cell be one of the ones that had its windows clawed open?
“I did,” the female Summoner says.
I assess her, finding no sign of the wound Dominic inflicted upon her. Maybe he didn’t shoot her in a fatal spot. Or maybe Henderson healed her with his blood. Whatever the case, I am not at all pleased to see her smug face. “Did you arrange for Tera Holmes to guilt me as well?”
“I informed her an old friend was alive and in town,” she says. “I expected her to seek you out before the end of your post, and you found each other.”
“Abigail insisted you would do the right thing if prompted,” Henderson says, his tone edged with impatience. “She said you were the sensible one, yet instead of heading straight to the church like Abigail predicted, you came here. Why?”
I scoff. “You really thought I was going to turn myself in? If that’s the case, how the hell did you find me here?”
Henderson’s expression darkens, but Abigail steps forward, tone placating. “We arrived in Eldeen well before you did, so we were already keeping watch on your party, ready for you to make your move after speaking with Miss Holmes. Besides, you left a trail for us, didn’t you? You wanted to be found.”
I bristle at her words. Partly because she’s fucking right. I made no secret of where I was going or what I was doing, blatantly flaunting my identity as a Summoner to the stablemaster. But it was so Dominic would know where I went, not these assholes. Gods, why didn’t I realize this was a trap?
Abigail speaks again in her annoyingly calm voice, like I’m some feral animal she’s trying to save. “You came here to atone, didn’t you? I could tell you were surprised when Henderson mentioned Dunway on the bridge. You were confused. You must not have known the consequences of your actions. Or perhaps it was only an accident. Whatever the case, you can repent.”
I press my back closer to the wall. “By turning myself over to the fucking crown?”
“It doesn’t have to be the crown,” Henderson says. He gestures toward the veiled men flanking them. “If you are truly repentant, you can throw yourself on the mercy of the church.”
I huff a cold laugh. Of course it doesn’t matter to him who takes custody of me, so long as he gets my bounty and recognition for his good deeds as a Shadowbane. It makes me wonder how godsdamned high my bounty is to make him go to such lengths. Maybe he saw me as the easier target compared to Bard, but we both must be worth a lot to fuel his obsession.
“There is hope for you,” Abigail says. “If you seek the church’s forgiveness, just like I once did, you too can become a Holy Summoner—”
“I’m already a Summoner,” I bite out.
“You’re nothing but an outlaw,” Henderson says. “You may have amnesty while you’re in service to a Shadowbane, but I don’t see Dominic Graves anywhere, do you? Who’s to say he hasn’t cut you loose already? I certainly can’t take your word for it, and the priests are my witnesses. They too can only assume you are a lone outlaw and nothing more.”
My pulse quickens at what he’s suggesting. He can skirt around the rules. So long as he can say he thought I was no longer employed by a fellow Shadowbane, he can arrest me.
“Choose wisely,” he says. “This can only end in your arrest, so decide whether you prefer the church’s forgiveness or the crown’s justice.”
I glance from him to Abigail, then to the armed priests. They’re blocking the doorway, my only means of escape. I step to the side, and my foot lands on something hard beneath the straw. A brief glance reveals a glint of metal, mostly buried. What could it…
A spark of hope blossoms inside me. I shift my foot again, assessing the shape just to be sure.
But it must be what I think it is.
