Septima turned to Cain again.
“Think carefully before you speak. Lying has costs.”
Cain sighed.
“I know someone who is from Arland. She can’t be here anymore, so I am helping her leave the city.”
“Who is this?” asked Septima.
Cain decided to risk it, as they would have surely already heard about a runaway sorcerer. “A girl named Arienne.”
Septima and the stout man exchanged looks. It made Cain sure his lie would work.
“She said she was in debt with some dangerous people.”
“Do you know her well?” asked Septima.
“No. We’re both from Arland, but we’ve only just met.”
“Where did she say she was going?”
“Why do you want to know—”
Septima put the point of her index finger on Cain’s face, this time pushing up the spectacles that were sagging precariously on the tip of his nose.
Trying to seem hesitant, Cain said, “She wants to go back to Arland and become a farmer.”
Septima grinned. The stout man burst into laughter.
“Something we can finally sell to the Office of Truth.”
“The Office of Truth?” said Cain.
The stout man came over and slapped the back of Cain’s head. “You fool, do you know who you’ve just helped? A runaway sorcerer from the Academy!”
Cain summoned all his skill to look as surprised as possible. “I… I had no idea! She never mentioned anything like that to me!”
Septima tilted her head, looking at him.Really?She was asking this with her eyes, not her mouth. Her eyes looked like they could bore through his lie. Cain tried not to resist her gaze. He concentrated on believing what he was saying.
Her gaze finally faltered. With a voice that was softer and more placating than before, she asked, “Think, Cain. Which route did she say she was taking?”
There would be no room for mistakes here. Cain said, “The docks would be watched by debt collectors, so she was going to take the land route… I didn’t hear which.”
“She’ll take the boat for sure,” said the stout man.
“What?” Cain said, as if he couldn’t understand what the man was saying.
“No one is foolish enough to share her plans with someone she’s only just met,” explained Septima patiently.
“But what if she was lying about going home?” said Cain, feigning innocence.
“A child who was practically imprisoned in the Academy since she was ten? Where else would she go but home? She only speaks Imperial and her native tongue. She would be noticed whereverelse she goes. The Office of Truth already have their people looking for her in that direction.”
The very advice Cain had given Arienne.
“What are you going to do with me?” He no longer had to act scared. He was begging the heavens in his heart they would still find him useful. If he was handed over to the Office of Truth, it was all over.
Septima smiled. “You should be glad you told us about her. The Office of Truth… Who was in charge of this case?”
