Chapter 9
Ihad grown so used to Zak and my routine that I had forgotten the danger of discovery by my family.
So it took me entirely by surprise when I stepped out of the kitchen one morning and found my second oldest brother leaning against the wall of the alley beside our house, arms crossed.
I took one look at his face and knew he was waiting for me and he wasn’t happy.
But for one blank moment, I couldn’t think why.
“I saw you in the market yesterday,” he said, not relaxing his posture. “With your tutor.”
My cheeks instantly betrayed me with a flush, and his face tightened. “Yes, exactly.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said, rallying. “Zakary is my tutor.”
“That may be,” Anson said. “But he also attracted the attention of every woman below thirty who caught sight of him.”
I managed a laugh. “Now I see why you’re looking so sour. Did he distract your latest flirt?”
He straightened, his arms dropping, but he looked sad rather than annoyed. “I saw the way you looked at him, too.”
My flush deepened, but I managed to speak with dignity. “We’ve been working together for weeks and weeks now. Of course we’ve become friends. It’s just what Mother was hoping for.”
“Mother is not hoping that you get your heart broken,” he said. “Because you know that’s what’s going to happen, Aria. He’s a mage.”
My chest tightened, but I couldn’t bring myself to dispute any part of what he’d said. I clenched my teeth together, my shoulders slumping.
“I know,” I said softly. “And it’s true that I have eyes, the same as all those other girls. But that’s all it is, I swear. I’m well aware that Zakary and I will only ever be friends.”
“And maybe not even that once you’re both at the University.” Anson’s words held a heavy warning. “It’s one thing for him to slum it with you in the lower city during the summer. But he’ll sing a different tune when he’s only yards from the palace with his mage friends around him.”
I wanted to protest that Zak wasn’t like that.
Obviously we’d see less of each other once the university year started, but he wouldn’t completely abandon me either.
I couldn’t be entirely sure of that, though.
Not when he kept ducking off our path at odd moments.
And even if I was sure, the claim wouldn’t do anything to reassure Anson.
“You haven’t said anything to Mother, have you?” I asked sharply, a fresh worry hitting me.
“Do I need to?” His eyes rested heavily on my face.
“No,” I said quickly. “You know what she’ll be like.” I gave him a pleading look.
He sighed. “Ellis and Timothy’s friends aren’t the only ones to have noticed you, Aria.” He caught my look of surprise and shook his head. “Harvey and my friends have made comments over the years, too. But you’ve always been too focused on studying to notice any of them.”
I continued to regard him skeptically, but he merely shook his head.
“I’m just saying I’m not surprised you’ve caught the eye of this mage boy.
That doesn’t mean I like it, though. He may be mageborn, but that doesn’t give him the right to mess with you—whiling away his summer with flirtation and then dropping you cold once his studies resume. ”
“It’s not like that,” I assured him. “We don’t do anything but study. And eat,” I added conscientiously. “Obviously we also have to eat sometimes. I’ve made so much progress with my reading and writing. I swear Zak’s never even tried to hold my hand.”
One of Anson’s brows shot up. “Zak?”
I bit my lip at my slip-up, but I didn’t break eye contact, not giving an inch.
He sighed again, capitulating to my beseeching expression. “Fine. I won’t say anything. But I hope you know what you’re doing, Aria.”
I grinned. “You always were my favorite brother, Anson!”
“Ha! I heard you telling Timothy the same thing only last week.”
I gave him a quick squeeze. “I have a very flexible mind.”
I raced out of the alley, wanting to be on my way before he could change his mind.
But I slowed down as soon as I was out of sight, my thoughts heavy.
Anson’s words had reminded me just how dangerous it was to allow myself foolish hope.
I needed to focus on my studies for the last weeks of the summer and nothing else.
When I ran into Zak several streets away from the office of sealed affairs, I couldn’t greet him with my usual cheer. Constraint gripped me, and it put me on edge. I hated the loss of our old ease.
For his part, he greeted me as usual, falling into step beside me as we made our way toward our shared destination. But as we passed a dark side alley, he took a sudden turn, pulling me after him.
“Let’s go this way,” he said. “We haven’t walked this route yet.”
“That’s because it stinks,” I said testily, eyeing a questionable pile against a side wall.
I glanced back at the street we had just left, trying to spot the reason for his sudden change of direction. It was completely empty.
I came to an abrupt stop, my frustration spilling over. I couldn’t bring up the true source of my discomfort, so it had latched on to a new target instead.
“What in the kingdom is going on, Zak? The street’s completely empty! There’s no one to avoid, so why are we ducking down a stinky alley?”
Zak had stopped several steps further on, taken by surprise, but he returned to me in two quick strides at my words. “That’s what you thought I was doing?” he demanded.
I shrugged, regretting my momentary loss of control. “I figured you were avoiding someone you knew. It’s not a big deal.”
Zak took a step back, his brows knit. “If that were true, it would definitely be a big deal, Aria. Why didn’t you say anything? Have you been thinking that all this time?”
He seemed genuinely distressed at my assumption, but if it hadn’t been for that reason, I couldn’t think of any other.
“If not that, then why?” I asked. “Are you some secret inspector, tasked with inspecting every back alley of Corrin?” I tried to make my words light and amused, but my tone fell flat.
“I—” Zak looked away, running a hand through his hair. He groaned. “I was trying to lure out the Shrouded Killer. You said once that I fit the profile of his victims, and I agree. I thought that if I came to his notice, he might choose me as his next target.”
“WHAT?!” I shouted so loudly that two startled birds took flight from the next alley over. I lowered my voice. “You’ve been doing what?”
He grimaced guiltily, and I shook my head. “No, wait. Not here.” Grabbing his arm, I towed him behind me at my fastest walk, hustling us both into the office of sealed affairs and into the first empty study room I found. Closing the door firmly behind us, I turned to face him, my arms crossed.
I still remembered how he had responded when I told him he looked like one of the Shrouded Mage’s victims. He had seemed pleased and excited, which had confused me at the time, although I hadn’t thought of it since. What in the kingdom was going on in his brain?
He watched me, his expression chagrined. And when I didn’t immediately speak, he filled the silence.
“I wasn’t planning to say anything about it. But if you’ve been thinking I’m ashamed to be seen with you…I never want you to think that, Aria.”
“Do you think this is a better option?” I asked, outraged.
“I’d far rather you be ashamed of me than find out you’re trying to become the next victim of a serial killer.
That’s the most outrageous thing I’ve ever heard.
And it doesn’t even make sense. They already caught the Shrouded Mage and sealed him.
I was there myself! And given how many people he killed, he must have been given a life sentence on top of his sealing.
He’s currently sitting in a cell somewhere. ”
Zak winced. “Actually, that wasn’t the Shrouded Killer.”
“What?” I cried before glancing quickly at the door and lowering my voice.
“Are you serious? They caught the wrong person? How could that happen? And how could you possibly know about it, even if it did?!”
“Not the wrong person, exactly. But not the Shrouded Killer.”
“But they sealed him! Are you telling me they sealed an innocent mage by mistake?”
“No, of course not!” he said quickly. “With all the power behind the law enforcement compositions, there’s no chance of a mistake like that. Once they have someone in custody, they have compositions to establish the truth.”
I lowered myself into the closest chair, shaking my head.
“Nothing you’re saying is making sense.”
Zak dropped into the next chair over, leaning forward and speaking quickly.
“The man who sealed you is a murderer, but he only killed one person. He was one of those copycats I mentioned. He had a grudge against someone, and he took the opportunity to kill them, making it look like a shrouded killing. He misused his power in the worst possible way and deserved his punishment, you don’t need to worry about that. ”
“But…” I stared at him. “But everyone thinks the Shrouded Mage has been caught! If law enforcement knows that isn’t true, why haven’t they told everyone?”
Zak’s lips tightened into a thin line. “Plenty of mages know it. But law enforcement says it’s better for the commonborns to think he’s been caught. That way we won’t have any more copycats.”
“But the copycat was a mage!” I protested. “How does it help if the commonborns are the only ones who don’t know the truth? People were more careful when they knew the Shrouded Mage was roaming the city, and now they’ve let their guard down again. My own brothers are at risk from him!”
I stood, and Zak mirrored me. But after a second, I sat back down, and once again he followed me.
“I agree.” His voice vibrated with feeling.
“But some of the influential merchant families were bringing a lot of pressure to bear on both the crown and the law enforcement discipline over their failure to catch the killer. I think law enforcement is more interested in escaping that pressure than anything else.”