Page 43 of The City Of Fractured Memory

Xavier mutters a string of curses under his breath as he stalks away to speak to the warden Riven had previously been conversing with, whilst I stand to face him, my jaw tightening. “I guess you would know?”

He watches me closely. For the briefest second, I swear I see concern flicker behind his composure, but it’s gone before I can be sure.

“I swore a blood oath–”

“I know,” I snap. “But I also know you pretend to be concerned whilst you clearly seem to think this is all just a big game. Well you may be used to being the smartest person in the room, but I’m here now, Governor, and I don’t back down easily.”

I expect him to shout back at me and try and put me in my place like most men would, but to my surprise, a sly smile spreads across his face instead.

“I was hoping you would say that.”

Before I can even think of what to say, he turns his back on me abruptly and strides off down the street.

“Hey—I—what does that even mean? Riven!” I shout after him, but he doesn’t turn back. He just sticks his hand in the air and waves it at me as he remains facing forward, carving his way through the crowd.

Despite my contempt for him, I can’t stop my traitorous smile at the ridiculousness of the gesture, so at odds with his usual dark decorum.

Infuriating man.

“You like him.”

I spin round, fixing an innocent look on my face like I wasn’t just watching the back of his head, but Stryx gives me a pointed stare and I huff out a sigh. “I don’t like him. He’s an awful person.”

“Tell that to your face,” she smirks, and I roll my eyes. Her smile fades quickly though as she studies me. “You can tell me anything, you know that right? I would never judge you.”

I bite my lip, guilt sliding over me, thick and unwelcome. “I should hate him,” I whisper. “And I do, really. But–”

I blow out a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts while Stryx waits patiently. “It’s just, my whole life I’ve always relied on facts to bring me the answers, I’ve never allowed assumptions or something as trivial as a gut feeling to cloud my judgement. But with Riven…I don’t know. The facts tell me he’s a psychotic killer. I mean, we literally caught him in the act. And then there’s Xavier’s curse, and his poor sister…”

“But?” she encourages.

“I can’t explain it. All the evidence points to the contrary, but I can’t shake this feeling that something's not right. That we’re missing something important. He’s connected to all this, of that I’m sure, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s not in the way we originally thought.”

Stryx looks to the ground, her eyebrows furrowed in thought, while I stand here wondering if I really am starting to lose my mind. But before I can say as much, Stryx gets there first.

“I believe you.”

“I—what?”

“I believe you,” she repeats. “I think you’re right. If he really was guilty, and knows we are investigating, then why would he save your life? Something doesn’t add up.”

My shoulders slump in relief. Maybe I’m not completely mad then, though my constant oscillating thoughts on the man are certainly starting to make me feel like I am.

“But you’re right,” she continues. “We do need facts to back this up, and right now we don’t have much. Though I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to Mindweave out in the open, there are too many witnesses.”

I nod my agreement. “I’ve not been feeling right these last few days anyway, I think I need to lay off the magic for a while. Usually it makes me feel empty and numb, but my emotions are starting to feel overwhelming, like they’re out of control. I don’t know what’s going on.”

Stryx steps forward and takes my hand again, giving me a small smile. “It hasn’t escaped my attention.”

“What do you–”

“Detective Wren?”

We jump apart and turn towards the alley where the hushed voice came from. One of the wardens stands in the shadows with his hood up, looking visibly nervous, his eyes darting around as he ushers us over.

“Raph, right?” I ask as I join him in the alley, remembering him as one of the wardens who stood watch at the previous murder. He joined the Division around the same time as me, his distinctive red hair and curled moustache make him difficult to forget.

He nods quickly, beckoning for us to get closer, but I stand my ground as my suspicion blooms.