Chapter 10
Ten
“What?” Stryx and I both exclaim in unison, the blood leeching from my face as I take in the shocking accusation.
His words are iron chains wrapping tighter round my neck.
It doesn’t matter that I’ve given everything, my career, my reputation, pieces of my very soul to solve murders he wouldn’t even look at.
He would rather destroy me than admit I might be right.
My chest constricts, fury and disbelief sparking in equal measure. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I am,” he replies, eyes glittering with smug satisfaction. “I warned you before, Wren. You see connections where there are none, and now you’ve broken into a morgue to tamper with corpses. You’ve gone too far.”
The wardens close in, their hands seizing me as cold iron bites into my wrists. I hold back my wince, refusing to give him the satisfaction. But humiliation sears hot in my chest all the same, tangled with a grief I can’t put a voice to.
Across from me, Stryx stiffens, her fingers slowly spreading like she’s intending to use her magic, but I shake my head, just enough for her to catch it. Not now.
“You wanted to be involved, Wren. Now you are. Directly.” The Chief’s voice is cruel and gloating.
I bite down on the retort burning my tongue, that at least I am willing to get my hands dirty for the truth, unlike him.
I swallow it, banking the fire. Rage will serve me better later when these shackles come off. And they will come off.
We are hauled from the morgue, the lifeless eyes of the victims staring sightlessly after us, silent witnesses to yet another injustice. Starling may think this is the end, but he’s wrong. This is only another cage.
And I’ve slipped out of worse.
“Lock her up until I’m done with our disgraced Detective,” Starling growls at the warden restraining Stryx as we are marched forcibly along the corridor.
I try to reach for her, but I’m pulled back sharply by the warden behind me, the shackles sending piercing pain through my wrists as I struggle.
I take one look at her trembling face and my eyes glaze with unshed tears, emotion like I’ve never felt, even before my magic use.
It rises––angry and unchecked––to the surface.
“I am not responsible for murder,” I snarl. “But so help me, if you lay a finger on her, then I will be.”
The wardens all laugh at my threat and my temper ignites. I don’t recognise most of them so it’s unlikely they know much of me. Like most, they no doubt think I’m a small, weak mortal woman, barely capable of tying my own shoelaces, let alone harming someone. Yet here I am, accused of murder.
The irony.
Before I can do something I will definitely regret, Stryx and I are parted and I’m swept into Starling’s office and slammed down into the chair in front of his desk.
My hip makes a cracking sound at the impact, but thankfully, it remains in its socket, though I can’t stop the wince that escapes me at the sharp burst of pain it causes.
The warden pretends not to notice as he slides his hands through my cloak, groping me with little care as he fishes out the various items from my hidden pockets and slams them onto the desk.
The more he removes, the more agitated I become, and my whole body starts to shake.
My Shadow materialises beside me, watching with silent interest, a demon on my shoulder waiting for its next move.
Fight.
I try to shake off the order that floats ominously through my mind, but my attention is diverted as the small wooden box that houses my new talisman is thrown onto the table, and I’m powerless to stop him as the Chief picks it up with curiosity.
“Give that back,” I order, gritting my teeth as he slowly pries the box open and his eyes widen at the trinket inside.
“Your audacity knows no bounds, does it, Wren? Do you really think it wise to carry contraband with you when you’ve already been reprimanded for illegal magic use already?
” Starling says, his tone a mockery of a frustrated parent talking down to a toddler.
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed that ring too, that’s a rare item indeed.
I don’t think you realise how lucky you are that you only lost your job.
By all rights, you should be incarcerated. ”
Fight. Now.
My fingers curl into fists instinctively, a futile attempt at trying to hide it, while I try and fail to put a lid on my rising anger.
My Shadow remains ever present by my side, his demand seeming to only further my loss of control.
I try to resist, but the familiar, overwhelming feeling of doom starts to descend on me.
“You were one of my brightest, Wren. Why did you have to turn to magic? I thought you of all people would be able to resist the lure,” he continues, shaking his head at me like I’m such a huge disappointment to him.
“Have you ever thought of losing these silly gimmicks and getting some real help instead of resorting to breaking the law?”
FIGHT.
My patience withers, my control snaps, and I just about lose my mind.
“I have tried!” I scream at him, making him recoil back into his seat at my sudden outburst. “My whole life I’ve tried, and it’s got me nowhere.
I’ve seen every medic in this whole damn city, and no one can help me.
There isn’t a single day, a single moment that goes by where I’m not in pain, both physically and mentally, but no one has ever been able to tell me what’s wrong with me.
My whole life I’ve been drowning, desperately swimming against a constant current just to be able to function every damn day.
So unless you’ve got any genius ideas, then I have no choice but to help myself by any means necessary.
And if that means using magic, then you can be Gods damned sure that’s what I’m going to do.
So instead of sitting there insulting me and treating me like a child, how about you tell me the real reason you had me arrested? ”
He sits in shocked silence, considering me like prey facing off against a predator. But right now, I don’t feel like I’m top of the food chain. I feel like an ant, hiding in the shadow of a boot before being stepped on.
I hate it.
“Octavia–”
“Don’t lie to me, Starling,” I cut him off. “Tell it to me straight. You owe me that much.”
He straightens his shoulders and raises his chin, then gestures for the warden to leave us. The man grunts his disapproval before doing as commanded and leaving us in privacy. As soon as the door shuts, Starling instantly slumps back into his chair, carving a hand slowly over his weary face.
“You want the truth?” he snaps. “You have put me in a seriously difficult position tonight. You have been trespassing on crime scenes, interfering with evidence and now you’ve broken into the morgue without clearance.
What else am I supposed to do? Give you a slap on the wrist and send you on your way? You tripped the wards, Octavia…”
My mind wonders as he speaks, his continuing words turning to a dull muffle as I contemplate them. He looked so smug when he arrested us, and the way he’s been riling me, surely that couldn’t have been for show? Wait–
“What did you just say?” I blurt out, interrupting him as he continues to gabber on. “A note?”
“Yes,” he exhales with exasperation. “The note found on the second body?”
My temper drains instantly as my blood runs cold.
“What note? There wasn’t one when I was there,” I say slowly, my gut already knowing the answer before he pulls out a piece of parchment from a drawer in his desk and lays it before me.
Come and play, Detective Wren – C
“Care to explain this?” Starling accuses, his jaw clenching as he surveys me for a reaction. “Because it was found and removed from the pocket of the second victim before you arrived, which if you ask me, makes you a suspect in this case.”
I reel back, my anger making a quick return. “You can’t be serious? I’ve been begging you for the last year to take these notes seriously, and all you’ve done is dismiss them as hysteria. Now one turns up on a body and you’re suddenly interested?”
His jaw twitches as he grinds his teeth together, his fingers curling in and out of a fist. He mumbles something under his breath that I just about catch, but I’m sure I couldn’t have heard him right.
“What was that?”
“You were right,” he grinds out a little louder, his eyes narrowing. Voyd take me, I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say that to anyone before.
“What? So, you’re finally admitting that this Corvus could be a real lead now?” I confirm, my heart lifting a little as the tiniest bit of hope flickers to life.
“Maybe,” he admits through his teeth. “But until I can rule out your involvement in all this–”
“Sir! It’s not her fault, sir!” Xavier comes charging through the door to stand by my side, his face red as he pants heavily.
I swear, this man seriously needs to learn how to knock.
“Blackwood!” Starling shouts, banging his fist on the desk as he stands, his chair falling in a clatter to the floor.
Xavier raises his head slightly, biting his lip as he clasps his hands behind his back. “I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t let her take the fall for this. It was my idea, I’m the one that brought her into this case. Everything she’s done, it was at my command.”
I try so very, very hard not to roll my eyes.
Like he could command me to do anything.
He’s not my damn keeper. I restrain myself and keep my mouth shut, though, since he’s at least trying to help me, even if it is a little back-handed.
“I truly believe Corvus could be linked to both this case and Detective Wren’s last case before her dismissal, and as such, she would be a valuable asset in this investigation.
She’s the only detective who managed to solve that impossible case we had last year, and she has aided me with countless others since, finding patterns that almost everyone else overlooks.
So I am formally requesting to bring her into this case to offer her insight moving forward.
Despite all of that, though, if this Corvus is so interested in her, it could work to our advantage after all,” Xavier barrels on, not letting Starling get a word in.
Wait, did he just suggest using me as bait? Bastard.
But though I hate to admit it, it’s an angle that could potentially win the Chief over.
I turn my gaze to the man, his features still scrunched in anger, though I can tell he’s listening carefully to Xavier’s every word.
I can’t help, but wonder whether if I’d also been born with an appendage between my thighs, maybe he would occasionally offer me the same courtesy.
But alas, I had the audacity to be born female.
A moment of silence passes while Starling contemplates the situation.
I sit back in my chair, tapping my fingers together as my Shadow looms, becoming unavoidable again in the quiet.
Finally, Starling’s shoulders drop and he bends over to retrieve his chair before falling into it heavily.
His fingers drum against the scarred wood of his desk as he lets the silence stretch a little longer.
He exhales, the motion heavy with irritation. “Against my better judgment, I’ve been…persuaded.” His gaze flicks up to where Xavier stands with his arms now crossed, his expression smug with the satisfaction of someone who’s won a wager.
Subtle, Xavier.
The Chief continues, voice gravelly with disdain.
“I will admit that Corvus could be a potential lead, and considering your history with him, you could prove useful. You’ll have this one and only chance, Wren.
You may work this case, but not alone. Never alone.
” His eyes narrow. “Xavier will remain by your side at all times. Consider him your…chaperone.”
The word drips with contempt, as though I’m a reckless child in need of a minder.
Heat surges through me, humiliation curdling into fury, but I force my jaw tight, nails digging crescents into my palms. If I don’t bite my tongue, I might end up in the cells after all, and that could put Stryx in grave danger.
Xavier strides forward with that infuriating ease of his. “Thank you, Chief. We won’t let you down.”
I try to encourage a smile to my face, but all I manage is a grimace.
“Don’t look so sour, Octavia,” Starling simpers. “You’re lucky to escape the cells. If you want to remain out of them, then consider Xavier your leash. Or–” His smirk curves, knife-sharp. “–your shield, if you’re feeling generous.”
I want to snap that I don’t need either, least of all from my friend, but I feel my Shadow watching, goading me on and drinking in my anger like fine wine. So I swallow it down, tasting ash instead.
A chaperone. An insult disguised as a lifeline. But if it buys me freedom and some access to the truth, then I’ll wear the chain. For now.
I meet Xavier’s eyes, challenging. “Try not to get in my way.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he smirks, and the pressure in my chest eases. Just a little.