My stomach turned, and I also pushed my plate away. My appetite was gone.
I was well familiar with Sitorian doctrine. Everyone in Elucia was. We learned in school about the strict rules the extremists followed. The Shedun were a death cult built around the harshest interpretation of devotion to Elusitor, the dark half of our two-faced god, and the rest of his followers honored them for it. Most Sitorians wouldn't go so far as to kill or die inElusitor's service unless whipped into frenzy by their priests, but they held deep respect and admiration for those who did.
"How could Elucians fall into that trap?" I whispered.
"Slowly." Saphir's voice was gentle. "One small compromise at a time."
"But to worship Elusitor?" Shovia crossed her arms over her chest. "The god of death and deception? What could they possibly think that they would get out of it? That's masochistic and suicidal."
"It is." Saphir stroked Moki's fur. "But some people are still drawn to that. The drugs produce a euphoric effect, and users believe they're connecting to something divine. There is no coming back from that. Once they are addicted and brainwashed, they are ticking time bombs. Even if they are found before they can kill and sacrifice themselves to Elusitor, there is no saving them. The poison has taken root, and there is no way to cleanse it. They are gone."
"How did they even get the drugs into the Citadel?" Morek asked. "Everything that gets delivered here is scrutinized."
"They all worked in maintenance," Ravel said. "The ingredients to manufacture the drugs are readily available to them, and all they need is the formula and the instructions for cooking it. The stuff is poisonous in more ways than just rotting their brains and making them susceptible to brainwashing, but Elusitor's followers don't plan to live long. They court death."
Codric frowned. "All of them are maintenance workers?"
"The three we captured, the dead one, plus five more who were named during interrogation." Ravel's jaw tightened. "None of them are cadets or instructors, thank Elu. They're all support staff who failed to qualify for bonding."
Something cold settled in my chest as the implications dawned on me. Everyone working in the Citadel had been foundgifted after the pilgrimage. They had come here full of hope and had been rejected.
Failed to qualify. Deemed unworthy to bond with a dragon.
"That sounds suspicious." Shovia leveled her eyes on Ravel's. "Everyone working in the Citadel was once a cadet. It doesn't make sense that only those who failed were converted."
She was right. The pattern was too neat, too convenient. If the Shedun had infiltrated the Citadel, why would they limit themselves to the maintenance staff? Why not target the riders themselves, or the instructors who trained them?
Unless the maintenance workers were meant to be caught to draw attention away from more valuable assets.
Saphir inclined his head. "Actually, it makes perfect sense. After the disappointment of not making it to the Day of Volition, these disqualified cadets were easier to influence because they were vulnerable and likely bitter. The cult offers them significance, purpose, belonging, and everything they lost when they failed to pass the necessary tests and evaluations. Regrettably, not every gifted pilgrim is good enough to become a rider. That's just the way it is, but some can't accept it."
Shovia didn't argue, but I knew my best friend. I could see it in the set of her jaw and the way her fingers tightened around her cold caff mug that she didn't accept the explanation. She just didn't want to contradict the shaman.
I understood. Saphir was the spiritual leader of all Elucia. Questioning him felt like questioning the foundations of everything we believed in.
But someone had to do it.
"The prisoners might have given out the names of converts who were deemed disposable," I said. "They could have been protecting more valuable assets."
Ravel's dark eyes fixed on me. "Good thinking. Go on."
I leaned forward. "If I were running an infiltration operation, I wouldn't put all my assets in the same basket. I would sacrifice the low-level expendable ones on suicide missions, the maintenance workers no one pays attention to, and then I would have the valuable ones who are well-positioned do the real damage."
"Cadets," Alar said. "Or instructors."
"Or riders." The thought made me sick, but I forced myself to say it. "Someone with access to dragons. Someone who could sabotage missions or feed information to the enemy."
Another silence, heavier this time.
Saphir and Ravel exchanged a look I couldn't interpret.
"The five who were named have been apprehended," Ravel said finally. "We will interrogate them separately from the original three. If there are more names to be had, we'll get them."
"And in the meantime?" Morek asked. "We just wait here and hope no one else tries to kill Kailin?"
"You stay in these quarters," Ravel said. "All five of you. The location is restricted, so only essential personnel know you're here. Guards that I trust personally will be posted around the clock."
"What about training?" Codric asked. "The Day of Volition is in a week."
