Chapter 42
Forty-Two
Pierce
My mother judges my sister with cold detachment.
This was her plan. Not capturing the Arcanaeum but killing Abe Talcott.
Anthea was genuinely asking for Sanctuary before. If I’d known and asked Kyrith to grant it—if I’d listened to my sister—maybe we wouldn’t be looking at a new rector and a new parriarch.
At least…I assume Dakari is now a parriarch. I’ve never asked what kind of degree he received from the university. I’ve never heard anyone call him magister, but he’s always been an outcast.
Shit. What if he isn’t qualified? What if all he managed was the basic, fundamental arcane degree? If that’s the case, House Talcott will fall to another vicegerent of my mother’s choosing.
“I will, of course, need to review any evidence,” Isidora says smoothly. “If Anthea’s guilty, she’ll be executed. For now, my people will lock her in the cellar. It’s heavily warded, but you’re welcome to leave officers to guard her if you wish.”
The basement was warded to keep her victims from ever escaping, but if any of the enforcers find it odd that we have a purpose-built prison beneath the manor, they say nothing.
Anthea meets my gaze, and it’s all I can do not to recoil from the force of her terror.
Her mouth works, like she’s trying to protest, but the gagging spell is still firmly in place.
We’re not close. We were always raised to be rivals, but any schadenfreude I might’ve felt is lost the moment her eyes slide closed. Her head drops, body sagging as she’s levitated through the door and out of sight.
Our mother fully intends to execute her. We both know it.
Isidora framed and condemned our father, and Anthea is her next scapegoat. After all, it’s so much easier to play the saviour when you’ve got a villain you can pin all the blame on.
Why Anthea and not Dakari?
Why not frame Leo?
I get my answer when the officer flicks through Anthea’s confiscated grimoire, her eyes narrowing further with each page. My sister learned far more at Mathias’s knee than I ever did, and she was a good student.
My chest constricts as I realise…that could’ve been me.
If our places had been reversed…
Shit.
“I’m sorry, gentlemen.” My mother rests her fingers on the tablecloth. “I think it’s best to adjourn. Perhaps we can finish this another time.”
“Understandable,” Mathias agrees graciously. “Galileo and I had some things to discuss, anyway.”
In another life, they could’ve been actors. The performance they’re putting on is certainly award-worthy.
“I’ll see myself out,” Dakari says, heading for the door. “Thank you for your hospitality.”
Stiffness is written into his every pore. What’s his plan? He was determined to find Kyrith’s grimoire, and he’s not the type to give up.
I suppose now would be as good a time as any to sneak around the house while everyone is distracted.
“Pierce, a word,” my mother snaps, voice barbed in a way that tells me this isn’t her first attempt to get my attention. “Now.”
My nod is a little too jerky, but my mother adapts, faux concern gracing her features. “Officer, I’ll speak with you in a moment. My son comes first, as I’m sure you understand.”
The other woman gives a small bow, oblivious to the way my mother’s nails stab into my forearm as she tugs me from the room.
Isidora keeps her lips sealed as she leads me up the stairs, to her office. The only noise is her heels clacking against the floor. I half expect her to step behind her desk, but the moment the door shuts she rounds on me.
“I am giving you one chance,” she says as the wards prickle into place. “And I don’t care if it breaks the covenant. Tell me, what connection do you have to the Arcanaeum?”
My hands slip into my pockets, the motion calculated and casual. “What? We just lost Anthea and Abe Talcott’s death hasn’t even been announced. Surely the Arcanaeum is the least of our concerns. We need to solidify your claim to the…”
I trail off as her eyes harden into flinty daggers. “Don’t be ridiculous. My ascension is a big step, but Mathias is next in line for the position. He’s moving against the Librarian tonight. Once he’s regained control of that building, my life is in danger unless I have leverage.”
My stomach drops through the floor, panic narrowing my vision.
“He’s moving against her tonight?”
“Have you been paying attention?” she demands. “Mathias didn’t invite the ó Rinn heir here for polite conversation. He’s being secretive, but he has someone on the inside. The Librarian is going to fall. We need an edge when she does. Something big enough to keep our family safe.”
“But why—?”
Her hand whips out, ring catching my lip and drawing blood.
“I’m not asking you again. If you’re not willing to make such a small sacrifice to keep our family on top, then you don’t deserve to stand with us.
” At my incredulous look, she huffs. “Honestly, any of your cousins would kill for this opportunity. I need an heir, but it doesn’t have to be you or your sister. ”
And there’s the crux of it.
I’m expendable unless I’m loyal and useful. Right now, she’s doubting my loyalty, and I have little to offer her beyond power. My bond to the Arcanaeum isn’t even unique. There’s another man in the dining room below with the same connection. One who would do anything she asked for a cure.
It would be so easy to set me up. That officer is undoubtedly on her payroll. She’d simply tell the enforcers I confessed under interrogation. A look at my grimoire will prove me as guilty as Anthea.
Disobedience now will only end with me locked in the cellar and then executed shortly after.
My hand fists on the paper in my pocket, but when my words come, they’re soft with guilt.
“The bond between me and the Librarian…”