“Hmm, and here I thought that under no circumstances are you to investigate the High Priestess.” Julian taps his dimpled chin. “Yes, in fact, I remember Probus saying that quite clearly.”
He’s not wrong. Jules strolled into my audience with the Chief Judge just in time to hear me be roundly rejected as I urged Probus to reconsider.
I shove a second length of rope into my leather bag.
“There’s nothing in the law that says I can’t make friendly conversation,” I say.
Julian smiles. “The law? No. Your nature, on the other hand…”
I straighten my spine to the challenge. “I can get close to her.”
“By making friendly conversation?” He laughs. “Pray tell, when did you develop this new skill?”
I offer a cold stare for a response as I toss my manacles down on the counter.
“Never mind, I stand corrected. This is a beautiful repartee.” Julian points between us.
I stare at the ceiling, hating that he’s right. “Julian, I am going to strangle you.”
“No.” He shakes his head and takes a step closer. “You are going to get in over your head with the High Priestess. She has been untouchable her entire life, and you know that. Rumor is she will marry a future patron soon. For some reason, you hate a woman who is protected by the temple, nobility,andthe Senate—not to mention that she is beloved by the people. You can’t win. Hand them someone you know committed other crimes and be done with this.”
Of course Julian doesn’t understand my hatred for her. By the time he and I met, no one in Pryor believed my father was innocent, so I stopped talking about how the High Priest’s daughter falsely swore against him. She, however, knows what she did. She might’ve been only a child when she testified, but so was I.
I do know I’m on dangerous ground, though. If the Senate were to find out I was investigating the High Priestess without their consent, I’d be censured at a minimum. If she caught me, she could have the Senate strip me of my title. I would fall from a position of power—the highest someone like me could reach, back to being a powerless commoner.
Dread pools in my stomach. No. I won’t allow that to happen. I’m not going to lose everything again. Not because of her.
But I’m also tasked with catching Verhardt’s killer, and that knife is my only lead.Sheis my only lead. I’ll simply have to be cleverer in how I get to her. While friendly conversation isn’t my forte, I could tell last night that something in her wants me closer. Like how a moth wants a flame.
I don’t bother with messy entanglements for more than a night, but if I play the role of a suitor, maybe I can catch a murderess.
Julian’s suggestion that I hand them someone else, while expedient, is untenable. There is no justice, no honor in that. I shake my head. Whoever the murderer is, they cannot get away with this. I just unreasonably hope it is Kerasea because of that knife. I can’t fathom what she would hope to gain, but sometimes power becomes an unquenchable thirst.
Still, it doesn’t feel quite right for her. What is she hiding?
“Tor, this obsession…”
Julian pauses as I look up and meet his gaze. I’m not sure if he’s referring to my obsession with being Praetorian or if he’s implying that I’m obsessed with the High Priestess. I grip the metal of the handcuffs as I wait for him to continue.
“I’m going to ask you as your friend one more time to leave her alone, but I suspect you will ignore this warning as well,” he says.
I nod.
He sighs, defeated, and we sink into silence.
Julian partially covers his mouth with his hand and stares to the side. He does that when he’s trying to conceal a secret.
“You know something,” I say.
“Yes, but you didn’t hear it from me.” His face is serious, his gaze distant.
I wait, bracing myself against the wooden dining table. The thrill of the hunt has started to take hold of me, but I can’t be too eager. These investigations always require precision and patience. With the implication of the High Priestess, it will be doubly so. I must stay focused and objective. It was all too easy to lose myself last night.
He draws a long breath and exhales a noisy sigh. “We cannot locate Verhardt’s liver.”
“What?” My voice carries, too loud for this conversation. Julian grimaces, no doubt already regretting his decision to tell me.
“While you were in the Senate Hall, the healer finished cataloging the body parts we collected from the fountain. Everything was accounted for except his liver.”
