AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’d like to think that means I can go now, but Benedikt adjusts his jaunty position on the edge of the desk to glance at the others. “Well, my forays into spydom haven’t gotten me very far in the past couple of days. No remarks on any unusual indications of magic in the palace.”
I focus on him for a beat longer than I did before. Who is he that he’d have a direct line to what’s being said in the royal household?
His archly handsome face offers no clues.
If he’s a student here, he can’t be acting as a courtier yet, but maybe someone else in his family is. Nobles were the ones who invented nepotism, after all.
Stavros runs his fingers through his hair, looking abruptly bored with the conversation. “I confirmed that there’s no official record of dartling eggshell being purchased by any students or staff within the city. If Julita was right about that dust she says she saw.”
“Julita knew what she was talking about,” Alek says with just a hint of heat creeping into his flat tone.
Casimir nods. “Jules did always say they’d have bought it on the black market or through a secondary source. That was why she was looking into the temples.”
Stavros glances at the masked man. “Have you found out anything more about the other substances she mentioned, Aleksi?”
“A few things. There—”
Alek pauses, his piercing gaze coming to rest on me again. “We should let Ivy take her leave, shouldn’t we? She must have better things to do than listen to us.”
He doesn’t sound considerate so much as wary. He doesn’twantme listening in on their discussions.
Well, that’s just fine. I did what I came for.
The sooner I’m beyond the college’s gloomy gray walls, the better.
“Indeed.” Stavros offers me a cocky grin. “We wouldn’t want to bore you.”
Julita lets out a huff.I’d have liked to know more about their progress, but I suppose it’ll look suspicious if you try to stay. Well— Oh! Ask them if Wendos has been up to anything—ask them if any of them saw him yesterday evening.
Her voice turns abruptly urgent with the last demand. I have no idea who Wendos is, but I can’t see any point in denying her.
I give a slight cough as if clearing my throat. “I don’t want to interfere with your discussions. There’s only one thing I almost forgot. Julita also wanted to know if any of you saw Wendos yesterday evening. Or any other time recently, doing anything that made you suspicious.”
From the look the men exchange, I get a distinctly dubious vibe from all of them. Whoever this Wendos guy is, maybe Julita’s been harping on about him a little too much for her allies’ patience.
Benedikt pipes up. “He was in the card room for a few hours after dinner. I didn’t have the pleasure of relieving him of any of his money, but plenty of others did.”
Julita lets out a disgruntled sound.Not him then. This is getting us nowhere.
I bob into the faintest sketch of a curtsy. “That’s everything, then. I’m glad I could do the favor for Julita.”
Casimir strolls over with another of those smiles that warms me up like sweet tea on a winter day.
A smile he’d never have offered if he knew who I really am.
That thought douses the warmth with an uneasy chill, but the courtesan shows no sign of noticing my discomfort. “Thank you for taking the risk of coming here at all, Ivy. I’ll show you the way out.”
He tweaks a few volumes on the bookcase next to the bit of wall I emerged from. The shadowy pathway reforms on the wall.
I raise my hand to the men in an awkward farewell that seems necessary and set off. As the darkness closes behind me, I exhale in a rush of relief.
There, that’s over with.
All right,Julita says briskly, giving the sense of rubbing her hands together.Let’s get down to some real work.
Seven
Ijerk to a halt the second I’ve stepped into the Domi’s hall next to the tapestry of Signy. Did I hear my uninvited guest right?
