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“No,” she said.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “Even if you can’t, can another fire elemental do this?”
“No,” she repeated. “Some highly skilled fire elementals can create the heat required to melt the iron, but shaping it is something else. You would need tools.”
“So Liltra couldn’t have done this,” I said out loud. “Not without tools.”
“What does that mean?” Xira asked.
“It means Liltra did not take her own life,” I said. “Someone else did.”
“What?” Xira asked. “How can you be sure?”
“I can’t be sure,” I said. “But it is clear that she did not make this hook. She wouldn’t be able to do it, not on the spot. And even if she had been planning to take her own life and thus prepared for it, how could she have found a scrap hook like this? It would be neat and properly made if she purchased the hook from a blacksmith.”
Xira seemed thoughtful for a second. I kept going.
“Then there was the mud,” I continued. “A maid came into my room and told me that there was dirt in my room back when Liltra died. I remember seeing mud on the floor when we... When we found her. I didn’t think it was odd back then, but the maid said Liltra was always so clean and...”
“You think an earth elemental killed Liltra and made it look like a suicide?” Xira asked.
I stared at her.
“An earth elemental?” I asked.
“If proficient in their magic, earth elementals can shift the walls to pass through them without leaving a trace,” she said. “They can also create hooks like that one.”
“Yes,” I said, excitement rising in me. “That would explain everything.”
“We should tell someone,” Xira said, taking a step toward me.
I caught a whiff of her minty scent.
“I know,” I replied. “Who, though?”
Xira paused. I thought she was thinking of a response to my question and thought her answer would be Orla or the king himself, but instead, she cocked her head at me.
“Why did you trust me with this?” She asked.
“I...” my voice trailed off. “I didn’t know any other fire elementals in the castle. There was Brigid, but she is gone and...”
“No,” Xira interrupted me. Was she smiling? “You could have gone to Orla and asked her. She would find a way to discover the truth without needing to reveal what you know. But you decided to ask me this. You trusted me.”
I hesitated. Why indeed?
“I think I was too excited to think about it,” I replied sheepishly.
“So you don’t trust me?” She asked.
“I do,” I replied. “I mean, you challenged Lord Lugh to protect me. I wouldn’t trust you to risk your life to save me, but I know you won’t tell anyone if your loyalty is to the king.”
Xira got the hint. I would not be stupid enough to trust my life to her because the last time that happened, she had left me to die at the arena and tried to win the race all by herself.
“What does this have to do with the king?” She asked instead.
“I don’t know if it does,” I replied. “But if someone killed Liltra and made it look like a suicide, that means the castle isn’t safe. There are fae working secretly, and we don’t know why or for what. I don’t see King Duncan ordering someone to kill a maid in secret.”
“Why not?” She asked. “Didn’t you hear of things like that back in the Seelie realm?”
