29. 28
We exited the basement as Camriel hurried down the corridor. He passed us as we closed the door behind us, and didn’t seem to even notice us.
Fella called to him. “Cam?”
He stopped dead, and turned. I could tell the smile he plastered on wasn’t a real one as he nodded to me without meeting my eyes. “Oh. Hello.” He looked over my shoulder at the door behind me. “Where were you both?”
Fella took a step towards her Leader, and lover. “I was showing Annie the altar.”
Camriel stiffened, then looked at me with far more interest. “Did he speak to you?”
I blushed, concerned we might be seen to be going behind his back. “I only wanted to see.”
“I see.” His face sagged, and if anything, it looked like disappointment. “I hoped you might be considering a change.”
A change? A change of God? Pledging myself to Samiscus? Surely he couldn’t mean that. “Oh, I don’t think—”
“Annie’s in far too much debt to think about that just yet.”
“A debt?” he echoed with a hint of amusement. “Aren’t we all?”
That look… It was certainly disappointment. In a small way, that was heartwarming. If I had asked him in good faith, would he have accepted me as one of his own? Did he think Samiscus would ever choose me in return?
I immediately chastised myself.
I had made a deal with my own god. The honour of Camriel’s interest was just that, a feeling of being chosen. I hated how much I wanted to be chosen. By anyone, or by anything. But I had been chosen by Ekris, and it was my own fault that I was unmoored now. It was my duty to win his love back.
Fella shifted to his side as the disappointment faded and his face just looked pale. “Cam, are you feeling alright?”
Camriel flinched away from her touch. “I’m just hungover.”
It was a lie, and I felt it.
We all paused, then, and I became incredibly aware that I was in the middle of an active argument; dancing on an open wound with my mere presence. I wondered what had driven them apart.
Fella coughed. “Davian’s still gone.”
Camriel nodded. “I’ll go find him.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she asked, her voice low. “It’s getting late.”
“I think the air will do me good.” Camriel hadn’t made eye contact with Fella a single time. “Besides, I’m probably the only one who knows where to find him.”
Fella nodded, a frown deepening as her eyes lost their shine.
Camriel turned to leave.
I took a step. “Leader Camriel—”
“Yes, Annie?” he said, his voice strained. “You don’t have to call me Leader, by the way.”
I nodded, knowing I’d ignore that instruction for at least two more requests. “If you find him, will you apologise for me?”
He smiled, and this time at least, it seemed more genuine. “I doubt you have done anything you need to apologise for.”
I returned the smile easily. “All the same.”
He nodded, and I saw his face fall before he was fully turned. Fella and I watched him walk away until we couldn’t hear his boots any longer, and a sound of a distant door clicked shut.
I looked at her. “Is he—?”
“He’s grieving,” she answered. “I thought he was starting to get better. But recently, even with Samiscus’ aid, he seems worse than ever.”
“Maybe all the recent deaths are bringing it back to the surface.”
“Especially since half the Houses, including our delightful justiciars of the Sun, have decided our House must have something to do with it.” The sarcasm dripped from her lips. She tutted her tongue in disgust. “Camriel has spent the past few days fending off some horrible allegations.”
It didn’t seem fair. “They’ve already questioned Davian.”
“That doesn’t prove Camriel’s own innocence, unfortunately,” she replied. “They’ve called him in to take the Oath in three days.”
Another member of the House to go under Oath. It wasn’t a good look for their reputation, but when both calls were proven false, it would look far worse for the House of the Sun. “That is surely a relief.”
“It is.” She stared down the empty corridor. “In a few days, everyone will stop blaming Camriel. But he can’t speak for everyone in our House. It’s a waste of time. Questioning every one of us won’t bring any of them back. It won’t find the real killer.”
I only had to look at the tension in her jaw to know how angry she was. She wore it as well as she wore everything I had seen her in.
I had decided to trust her. I think I had made that decision far before our trip to the basement, but now, it was made solid. “What is your opinion of Aseem?”
She turned to me with a curious look. “Low.”
“Could he have killed Seera?” I asked directly.
“He has an alibi for the night she died.” Fella shook her head. “She was with us, and then, she was gone.”
I squeezed my hands into fists, thinking that through. “Could he have organised it?”
She hummed. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m not sure.”
Fella nodded. She didn’t press for details.
So I asked her the next question that had been bubbling in my mind since last night. The man who knew far too much. A man with interests everywhere. “Do you know where Granville is?”
“The lender?” Fella asked. “That is a dangerous question.”
I tensed. “Why?”
“Are you in debt to him?”
“No.”
“Then you should not seek him out,” she said, simply. “He has a way of wrapping people around his fingers.”
“Powerful people?” I asked. “House Leaders?”
Fella’s fingers stretched, and she eventually acknowledged my question with a reluctant nod. “Maybe.”
If Robar was in debt to Granville, and then Jusia went missing…
What if Aseem was in debt to Granville, and that’s connected to why Seera went missing?
From Davian’s telling it didn’t seem like they were close.
And we knew now that the only people who could access the island on the night of Saskia’s disappearance were the House members themselves, and the House Leaders invited for a party.
Indeed, the House of the Sea had given up information on Saskia in exchange for gold.
Would it be such a leap that they had given up their own devotee, if the price was right?
It was something. Maybe not the whole of it, but I would be damned if Granville knew nothing.
I stepped forwards and grabbed Fella’s arm. “Where can I find him?”
She stared down at me. Then nodded. “His house is easy enough to find. It’s at the end of the square next to the House of the Sun. Green door.”
I smiled. “I’ll leave word. I think he would see me.”
I wasn’t breaking my agreement with Davian by simply leaving word. Besides, he had left. If he came back and wanted to be civil, he could tell me his safer plan tomorrow. But we had to find the killer, and Granville could get us closer.
He had told me his real name. Maybe he would tell me the truth.
Fella touched my hand, and I read the concern in her eyes. I dropped my hold on her, and tried to school my expression. She only sighed. “Be careful, Annie. And don’t be afraid to ask for help.”