He sighs again like I’m a fool to believe Kera, which puts me in the terrible position of defending her.
“River of Death, Julian. You were the one trying to convince me of Kerasea’s innocence!”
“In that she didn’t kill Verhardt or Antinous. Don’t make the mistake of trusting her, Tor. You’ll end up discharged or with a blade in your back.”
I shake my head. “I’m not the one who needs to worry.”
Julian tilts his head, and then he pales.
“Think about it,” I say. “Foreau and Paolo have reason to bring you both down. Your vote made the conclave continue, and her abstention gave Terrance control of the Senate. Revenge is a great motivator.”
Julian runs both palms over his face, but he pauses to consider my theory with his hand over his mouth. “They believe I’ll run for Verhardt’s empty seat, though. If elected, I’d be new guard like them, and they have always been able to overlook vendettas when it suits their interests. Medea hates Terrance, and yet they’re aligned—which is suspicious behavior in and of itself.” He stares into the distance. “I suppose it would actually make a certain amount of sense for Foreau to get rid of me.”
“Interesting,” I say. I’ve never heard him say anything negative about Senator Foreau. But we need to consider every possible angle.
“There’s a rumor Foreau, like his father, is taking bribes from Arthago. If that’s true, he would not want the general’s nephew on the Council.”
Foreau is taking money from our greatest enemy? Julian said it so casually that I’m slow to react. He’s accusing Senator Foreau of the deepest treason with nothing more than a shrug.
“Is this only conjecture?” I ask.
Julian nods. “It was just whispers and rumor until he opposed the declaration of war today. It’s an odd vote for someone worried about them advancing on his own coast.”
Foreau has been a senator for two years. He is a nobleman from a family who owns half of the fourth province, but unlike Suh, Eyo, and even Paolo, he never served as a sentry. Instead, his renown came from sending his private merchant ships to Hadrian’s aid during a battle in the Hundred Year War.
Foreau was hailed as a patriot for shouldering the cost and swept into office after the death of the last senator, but he never bled for the republic. Could Arthagian silver have tempted him? He certainly has the strength to drown Antinous, but then again, so do my half sisters.
“Why would he have killed Eyo, though?” Julian asks. “They were allies.”
I blink at him. “Who says it’s the same person?”
Julian closes his eyes, and his whole body appears to deflate. “So what do we do now?”
I look around, but there’s nothing to do. The trail has long gone cold.
“We get some sleep,” I say.
He gives me a quizzical look because he doesn’t believe I’ll give up this easily—and he is correct. But we need to regroup, and I need to go back to Antinous’s papers.
It’s time to examine the affairs of Foreau.
XXXIX.
Kerasea
The five senators are still alive for the start of the conclave this morning, which makes this the best of the last three days. That is, if you don’t consider the fact that someone in this room tried to kill the Praetorian and frame me.
I shift in my chair in the throne room.
“A word, please, before the start of the conclave,” Torren says.
He strides to the center of the room, his armor shining in the sun. Now that we are on the same side, he seems much more human, but that’s also a type of danger for me. He is perilously attractive, and the last thing I need is to be one of his broken-hearted one-night stands. We can work together, but I need to keep my distance for a great number of reasons.
“An unfortunate event took place last night,” Tor begins.
I try not to react, but is he really going to disclose the attack by the kitchens and how he found the robe?
I grip the arms of my chair, regretting that I didn’t question Zel this morning. I wanted to put her at ease and make her think I’m unaware of her lies. But because of that, I don’t have additional knowledge as to what she was hiding or who wore the temple robe.
