Page 94 of Turncloak

“And then?”

“We prove that our lives were in jeopardy. There’s a reason I won’t let Paliran heal these cuts on my throat—they’re evidence. But Karvas can still argue I did it to myself, or you did it to me.”

“Surely that’s a stretch. No judge would believe—”

“No decent judge. We still don’t know who’s going to be brought in. If they’re in league with Karvas and Dematus…”

“Surely not. The commissioner herself is overseeing the inquest. She’ll make sure the judge is impartial.”

“Hopefully. My concern is that even if I can prove the kingpin was here, and we were facing imminent torture or death…we still broke the code, didn’t we? Insubordination. Trespassing. Leaking confidential information. So this hearing is not just a matter of evidence, but of ethics. When we’re sworn in, we promise to protect this institution with our lives. We didn’t do that.”

“So it’s a lost cause?” Nissa looked troubled for perhaps the first time.

“We’ll be found guilty no matter what. My main goal will be to negotiate a lenient punishment—to protect our jobs, and keep both of us out of Duncarzus.”

The thought of going to prison sent a roil of dread through Auria’s belly. She’d been so holier-than-thou when Saffron met that fate, so insufferable when she bumped into Saffron in the Jaded Saint after her release. And now here she was, facing the very same prospect.

“You know what’s been needling at me?” Nissa stubbed her achullah out on the windowsill and tossed the remains into the hearth. “You valued my life above your own. You were willing to die for that letter, but you weren’t willing to let me. Why?”

Auria shrugged. “I’d rather have died than lived with another loss. Tiernan is dead, and Saffron has turned, and Sebran is missing. I couldn’t lose the last friend I have left in this place.”

“Friend is a bold word. I abhor you in most meaningful ways.”

“Most?”

“You have nice hair.”

“No. It’s always frizzy.”

“Full of life, like you.”

Auria rested her head back against the high arm of the chair. “I don’t feel it anymore. Now there’s this…emptiness. I have no idea how to fill it. I don’t know who I am without my work.”

“Maybe that’s the reason you can’t fill the emptiness.”

“What do you mean?”

Nissa took a seat by the hearth. “When my sisters died, my parents didn’t survive just because they still had me to care for. They survived because they had full lives. Yes, we mourned my sisters. Yes, we had to move from our home country. But throughout it all, my mother still sang opera, and my father still dried his own achullah leaves, and they still went out dancing with their friends every Plenting. My father once ran through the Devil’s Dunes for a week straight to bring in ascens for a local hospital.”

“They sound amazing.”

“They are. I mean, they’re also just people. They fuck up and make mistakes and cry a lot, and every day they miss my sisters. You can survive this, Marriosan. Even if we’re fired, jailed. It won’t be for long, and then after that, you have a whole life ahead of you.”

Not buying into the idea in any real sense, Auria swallowed hard. “What will you do? If we are kicked off the force.”

“We won’t be kicked off the force. You’re our defense, and you’re the best there is.”

Auria glanced over at Nissa with a quirk to her lips. “I think this is the longest we’ve ever spoken without threatening to ammorten each other.”

“Well, it’s now abundantly clear any such threats from you are empty. You sacrificed everything to keep me alive, and I plan to lord it over you for the rest of eternity.” A wide, vulpine grin. “Now, how do I help you win this thing?”

Auria drained the last of her ginger tea, pulled a fresh piece of parchment from her stack, and dipped her quill in her favorite navy ink.

“Tell me again what happened in that hospital wing.”

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