Chapter 5 #2
“Not a chance,” Bressen said, finally breaking his silence. “For one, if the child is Jerram’s-”
“Done,” I said, cutting him off. “If you tell us honestly everything you know about Magdalene and Sandrian and what they’re up to, I’ll make sure your child sits in a Triumvirate seat.”
Glenora narrowed her eyes. “You’ll make sure my child holds a Triumvirate seat as ruler,” she specified.
“That’s what I said.”
“No, it’s not,” she argued. “You gave yourself a loophole. Sitting in a Triumvirate seat is not the same as ruling from one.”
I looked at Bressen pointedly. Her mind seems just fine to me, I said into his head.
She has moments of lucidity, he said. Don’t mistake them for sanity.
“Fine,” I said, turning back to Glenora. “I promise your child will one day hold the Triumvirate seat of either Polaris or Derridan. In exchange, you’ll answer our questions, truthfully, and in full.”
“Cyra!” Bressen said. “You don’t have the authority to promise that!”
“But you do, and you will,” I said.
“No, I don’t,” he said getting to his feet.
“I have no authority to tell Polaris or Derridan who to appoint as rulers. If I did, Polaris would already-,” he cut himself off this time, realizing he’d said too much.
Instead he went on, “I can make suggestions or use whatever influence I have to sway them to a course, but I can’t dictate something like that.
That’s the whole point of the Triumvirate. ”
I thought for a moment before I turned back to Glenora.
“I promise your child will one day hold the Triumvirate seat of either Polaris or Derridan. In exchange, you’ll answer our questions, truthfully, and in full,” I repeated, ignoring everything Bressen had said.
“If you lie to me, the deal is off, and I’ll make sure your child never gets near a Triumvirate seat. ”
I knew Bressen’s eyes were glowing like embers right now. I felt the fury pouring off him, but that’s what I needed.
“Do you believe I can make this happen for your child?” I pressed.
Glenora considered me. Her eyes flicked to Bressen then came back to mine. “Yes,” she said.
“So you’ll answer my questions then?”
“Yes.”
“The truth, or the deal is off.”
Glenora gave me a sad smile. “Everyone always thinks they want the truth until they have it. Then they realize they would’ve been happier with a pretty lie. I know that better than anyone.”
She took a sip of her tea. “You probably still think your ability to always see the truth is a benefit,” she went on.
“But trust me, after a few decades, you’ll wish you couldn’t see the lies.
It’s much nicer to believe him when he tells you he loves you.
Much simpler just to take his words at face value than to twist your mind into knots picking apart his carefully phrased explanations of where he’s been when he comes to bed late. ”
Glenora gave me a wistful look. “Sometimes the lie is just kinder.”
Despite myself, I felt a pang of sympathy for her.
Ursan had cheated on her with her own lady’s maid, Raina’s mother, and it was clear she’d known about it for longer than she’d let on.
Ursan hadn’t deserved to die for his indiscretions, nor for his constantly dismissive treatment of Glenora, but I could at least see how his actions had helped warp her.
Perhaps Glenora had always had it in her to be the villain she’d become, or perhaps two centuries of dealing with Ursan had gradually eaten away at her until she was raw with resentment.
I steeled myself. “Nevertheless, I’ll have the truth from you now.”
Glenora nodded.
“Then tell me the last time you saw Magdalene,” I said.
Her stare was penetrating as she looked at me for a long time, imaginary teacup poised in the air near her chest. Her eyes flicked to Bressen, and I swore I saw the hint of a smile before she spoke.
“The Harmilan,” she said.
My brows furrowed. “The Harmilan?”
“Yes,” Glenora said. “I last saw Magdalene on the Harmilan. She’s one of the ladies I get…got together with that day each year.”
I remembered Glenora telling me she usually spent the day of the Harmilan with a group of lady friends, but I couldn’t believe Magdalene had been one of them this whole time.
“How long have you known her?” I asked.
Glenora shrugged before adding a couple cubes of invisible sugar to her cup. “Thirty or so years, I suppose.”
I let out a breath. She’d known Magdalene during the time Clarice had held Axenus, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d used him as well.
“And you helped her break Sandrian out of prison?” I asked.
“No, she’d already broken him out by then.”
I thought for a moment. That tracked. I’d overheard Bressen tell Samhail that Sandrian had escaped well before the Harmilan.
“Did you see Magdalene before then?” I asked. “Did you tell her I’d be out riding with Ursan that day we were attacked?”
Glenora poured herself another cup of tea, and I fought to keep from grinding my teeth. I forced myself to wait patiently as she prepared her cup, even going so far as to pass her what I assumed was the cream.
“Yes,” Glenora said finally. “Magdalene contacted me shortly after you arrived at the Citadel. She said she needed you for something, and if the occasion ever arose for her to get you away from Callanus, she asked me to contact her. She didn’t say why she wanted you, but you were nothing to me, so I didn’t ask.
When Ursan offered to take you riding that day, I saw my chance to be rid of you both.
I contacted Magdalene and told her where you’d be.
In exchange, I asked her to be sure Ursan never made it back to Callanus. ”