I sigh, closing my eyes for a long blink. Why isthisman my best chance at solving the Senate murders?
“Do you understand how you will be executed in the arena?” I take a seat on the padded window bench. “They try to make an afternoon out of it—allow you to battle wild animals to entertain the masses, then if you survive, you will be roasted inside of a brass bull, your screams turned into a melody. They will pull you out while still alive, and then the real torture will begin.”
He stares at me with mournful brown eyes. “It is what I deserve.”
I don’t entirely disagree at the moment.
“Why did you kill Eyo, then? You forgot to state your reason.”
“I…I accepted coin from Arthago in exchange for the poisoning.”
A loud sigh escapes my lips. This man has to be the worst liar in the seven provinces.
But his lies could accidentally add up to the truth. If he is implicating Arthago, either it is true or, more likely, someone wants to make certain we go to war. And that is exactly the Verity Guild case ahead of us—a nobleman from the sixth province wanted to make his own army for battle.
“Any idea why the Kingdom of Arthago wanted Eyo dead? His province is pretty far from their border.”
He shakes his head.
“How much did they give you?” I ask.
A spark of life returns to the cook’s eyes.
“One hundred gold bullions, sir,” he says.
Finally, something true. That is exactly how much he was given. It is an easy sum for any senator to pay, but it would change a servant’s life and the life of his family. The amount, invested wisely in the right shop, could elevate them from servants to the merchant, citizen class. He knows that he will die, but he is willing to do all of this to better the lives of his wife and daughters. He spoke of them lovingly during his confession.
It’s honorable, in a way, and there’s a pull of sympathy in my chest. But of course, he’s forgetting that his family won’t be able to keep that money or anything else. He will doom them, not save them.
Perhaps he is simply ignorant of the reality. Maybe the truth will be enough for him to disclose who paid him.
I bring my leg across my knee, my leather skirt shifting. “Do you know what happens when the Verity Guild finds someone guilty of treason?”
He blinks. “They are killed.”
“Obviously, but do you know what happens to their families? What will happen to your family if I submit your confession?”
He stills and looks around, but then he shakes his head. “No, sir.”
It’s not a surprise. It’s not often spoken about.
“They are thrown out onto the streets—their home and every single thing they own are all confiscated by the republic. Because your family isn’t noble, they will strip them naked first. Hopefully the sentries who conduct this are honorable—many aren’t, not to traitors, anyhow. Your wife and daughters will have no home, no food, not even clothing. Then the Senate will issue a decree to shun them, to not offer them shelter or work.”
I pause and let my words sink in. The easiest part is that everything I said was true. The only detail I exaggerated was stripping them naked. That law changed fifteen years ago. My mother and I had the clothes on our backs, but that was all. The sentries even had me turn my pockets inside out to prove I was taking nothing else. Then they searched my mother’s dress for anything we might’ve tried to hide. The sentry enjoyed groping under my mother’s skirts while I was held back by two others.
But then Hadrian caught him. At that time, Hadrian was the Capital Commander. He immediately, without pomp or circumstance, tied the man to the post and whipped his back.
Hadrian was the reason I enlisted as a sentry at sixteen. I had few other opportunities, but I saw what power could do when used for good. It’s why I must keep my position.
No matter what.
I lean forward and stare the cook in the eye. “What do you think will become of your wife and young daughters on the street? They are fourteen and eleven, right? Feel free to actually give it some thought—the three of them with no food, no work, and no shelter.”
He begins to cry again. “Please. Please, gentle gods, no.”
“You were played for a fool,” I say.
I slowly stand and stroll to the door. I will leave him in here to ponder his family’s future. If that is not enough, I will have to resort to violence, and I don’t relish torturing an innocent man.
