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What matters most is the huge, gold-framed mirror that stands against the wall next to the fireplace, taller and broader than even me. I motion for Ivy and Benedikt to join me before it.
I don’t know what gift allowed the creation of this mirror or how long it’s been in the Melchiorek family. It’s a fantastic trick, allowing King Konram to speak with trusted advisors without even a guard overhearing while remaining in the security of his personal chambers.
There must be something in the room that alerts him to our entry. Within a matter of seconds, our reflection on the mirror shudders and ripples away, replaced by the king’s regal form.
In the first instant before my sight clouds, I take in the sternness of his deep-set eyes and the tight set of his thin lips. It’s late in the day for handling official business, but a king’s job is never truly done.
“Ster. Stavros and companions,” Konram says with a slight nod of acknowledgment. Unlike his soldiers, he never makes the error of calling me by my lost military title. “It’s been a tumultuous day, but I gather we’re closer to answers than the last time we spoke?”
I draw my posture even straighter than it already was. Through months of practice, I hold my gaze steady on him as if my vision isn’t hazed. I can see well enough to make out the basic shapes of his features if not the details.
I might not be serving under him as a general any longer—I might have fucked up not just my career but so many other things that mattered more as well—but he still values my input. I have to show I’m worthy of his generous trust.
“It appears that the scourge sorcerers I told you about were responsible for a great deal of the destruction today,” I say, going over my mental inventory of that damage. Part of the college’s Quadring building, a row of shops a few blocks away, a nobleman’s home on another corner.
I gather myself before continuing with the part that makes me balk. “I mentioned that my assistant, Ivy, was helping us investigate. She confronted one of the sorcerers directly in the All-Giver’s tower of the Temple of the Crown.”
Konram’s head turns so he can study Ivy. “You saw the supposed scourge sorcery first-hand?”
Ivy keeps her cloak close around her, but she lifts her chin with the fire I’m used to from her. “I saw enough to know it isn’t ‘supposed.’ I found Wendos of Nikodi at the top of the tower, conducting a ritual. He had three accomplices with him—people whose power he was taking to bolster his own.”
The king frowns. “And when you say taking, you mean…?”
Ivy’s voice tightens. “It seems these scourge sorcerers are attempting to avoid the gods’ retribution by using a slightly different strategy than the ones centuries ago. Rather than having people die in sacrifice, they’re manipulating their accomplices into sacrificing every body part they can spare while remaining alive. Presumably so they have as large a gift as possible to lend the conspirators ongoing power.”
My stomach roils at her words. Every part they could spare? The image her words stir in my mind is sickening.
I didn’t see any accomplices with Wendos in the tower, but I’m not going to question her story while my king is in the middle of doing so himself.
“That does complicate matters,” Konram says. “Do you know what the purpose of tonight’s ritual was?”
Ivy dips her head. “Wendos said he was trying to combine his and his accomplices’ powers with those of two other sorcerers who were working elsewhere in the city. They’d already been exerting some control over the daimon—I’m sure they encouraged the creatures to attack everyone at the ball the other night. This time they wanted a larger scale disaster, wreaking havoc throughout the inner wards and maybe the rest of the city too.”
Konram hums to himself. “So we’re dealing with at least two other members of this conspiracy then.”
Ivy hesitates and then ventures, “From the way he was talking, I think it’s quite a few more. Unfortunately, Wendos didn’t mention any names… except Ster. Torstem. And I believe one of the sacrificial accomplices was an orphan Ster. Torstem groomed for the role. Possibly they all were.”
She got confirmation about Torstem. A strange lurching sensation runs through me, half exhilarated, half queasy.
We’re getting closer to the root of the conspiracy. But I never wanted to believe one of my fellow professors was involved.
With a slight tick of my eyes, I make out the furrowing of the king’s brow before everything blurs again. “The law professor? I’ve looked into his past conduct—there’s been nothing amiss.”
Benedikt steps forward with a quick bob of a bow and a flash of a smile. “If I may, Your Highness, from what I’ve seen of Ivy over the past few weeks, she may be sharper than the rest of us combined. She wouldn’t say a thing like that if she wasn’t certain.”
Konram barely spares the royal bastard a glance. “My certainty is what’s more important.”
“Wendos was very clear about Ster. Torstem’s involvement before he even knew I was there to overhear,” Ivy says, her tone mild but firm. “He was threatening one of the sacrificial accomplices that Torstem would take her back to where he’d hidden some of them away if she couldn’t pull her weight. You’ll be able to ask him yourself when he comes to.”
The king’s gaze swerves back to me. “This criminal is still alive, Stavros? Hasn’t he already been questioned?”
“He’s currently unconscious,” I reply immediately. “The Crown’s Watch took him into custody and are guarding him while medics see to his recovery.”
Benedikt pipes up again before anyone else can speak. “If he clams up once he’s awake, I could see what I can wheedle out of him. Disarm him in my own way, so to speak.”
With another adjustment of my eyes, I make out Konram’s faint grimace of distaste in the moment before he replies. “Wereyouthere when the confrontation took place, Benedikt?”
The royal bastard hesitates. “Well, I—the commanding officer was in the middle of gathering troops when we got the summons. I volunteered to lead the way for the soldiers while Stavros and the others hurried ahead. It was lucky we weren’t needed.”
