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My eyes flick up to Rocco. “Break a finger.”
The guard shifts his weight, and Allisander cries out before he catches himself. A sheen of sweat blooms on his forehead. “I’m going to hang your body on my gate, Corrick.”
I don’t look away from him. “Break another one.”
This time the snap is audible. There’s blood on Allisander’s teeth. He must have bitten his tongue.
“Tell me,” I say.
He glares at me, his breathing rapid and fractured.
I glance at Rocco. “Another one.”
“All right!” Allisander shouts. He’s almost keening now. “Leander Craft! Lissa Marpetta!”
I’mnot surprised about Lissa. Leander is lying dead on the dais of the Circle, so I’m not worried about him either.
“What do you know about Arella and Roydan?” I say. “What are they doing?”
He’s panting, and I wonder if Rocco is putting pressure on another limb. “I don’t know,” he says swiftly. “I don’t know.”
“Break another finger—”
“No!” he pants. “Corrick, I swear it. I swear to you. Arella has been going through documents from Trader’s Landing with Roydan.”
“What kind of documents?”
“Shipping logs. That’s all I know.”
Shipping logs. That doesn’t seem important enough to warrant secret meetings. “Are they funding these raids?”
“No!” He gasps, then swallows. “I mean—I don’t know.”
Rocco looks at me. “Consul Cherry does not keep company with Consul Sallister.”
That’s true. Arella and Allisander are most definitely not friends.
“Do you know what’s been happening while you’ve been locked down here?” I say to him.
“No.” A fresh bloom of sweat appears on his forehead.
“Rebels have attacked the palace. They’ve taken the other consuls hostage. Harristan is trying to negotiate for their release.”
His reaction is . . . ?not what I expect. He blinks at me in dismay. “They’ve attacked the palace?”
“Yes. Leander Craft is dead. So is Jonas Beeching’s niece. Possibly more in the time you’ve been stalling.” I pause. “You should be thanking me for locking you down here.”
“They weren’t supposed to attack the palace.”
The impact of those words takes a moment to hit me.
They weren’t supposed to attack the palace.
“Allisander,” I snap. “What have you done?”
He says nothing. Rocco makes a small motion, and the consul cries out.
“Please,” he whimpers. “They were supposed to attack the supply runs. Leander was a good man. They weren’t supposed to come into the sector.”
