Page 71 of The Rebel's Prize

Deandra eased back, at least as much as her hands would allow. The table was wide enough that she'd have no chance of accidentally touching them, which was clever. A blood mage might be able to harm someone at a distance, but unless Deandra had a sanctii, there wasn't much she could do to hurt them. And there'd been no sign of a sanctii. The others would have noticed a stranger by now.

Lucien also leaned back, looking calm. "You know, this will be faster—and easier—if you tell us what we want to know."

She lifted an eyebrow. "That would be easier if I knew exactly what I've been accused of."

"Well, as I told your companion, at the moment you're being held for your suspected participation in an attack on the empire."

"An attack?" She lifted an eyebrow. "Do you mean what happened in Lumia a few weeks ago? We read about it, of course, but we've been traveling up here."

"Well, we're checking on that," Lucien said. "I'm sure your life with the troupe lets you stay out of sight when you want. But you're a handsome enough woman. I'm sure people will remember if you were present wherever the troupe was at the time of the attack."

Deandra's eyes shifted slightly, and she didn't respond.

"My wife tells me that you were a brunette when you attended the Academe." He gestured to her hair. "Any particular reason for this?"

She tossed her head. "Perhaps a woman just feels like a change now and then." Her eyes flicked to Chloe. "After all, we don't all have multiple magics to make our hair interesting, do we?"

No, but she was a water mage, whose hair should be dark from her magic.

If she was dyeing her hair, there was a reason. Possibly that reason was to blend in more with the mostly blonde Parthan women in the troupe. Easier for her to not be noticed amongst them. Or noticed if shewasn'tamongst them, perhaps.

After all, who would pay attention to one more blonde woman in a group of them? It was a clever strategy. Presumably she might use the facial illusions when she was away from the troupe, but she wasn't an illusioner, and casting them on scriptii would be a lengthy process for Istvan, so better to use more ordinary means to make herself less conspicuous where she could.

She was too clever, by half really. Lucien was right. They weren't going to get a confession out of her easily.

But Lucien kept up a steady stream of questions, pressing for more details than he had with Istvan, finding different ways to phrase the questions about whether she'd been in Lumia and whether she was plotting against the emperor.

But Chloe's gut tightened with each answer given. They all felt true. Deandra believed them.

Eventually Lucien fell silent. Deandra stared at him, a small smile playing on her lips.

Lucien pushed back his chair. "That will do for this evening."

"Am I free to go?" Deandra asked.

"No. We will be continuing this conversation in Lumia."

Her eyes went wide for a second. "On what grounds?"

"I'm an Imperial Truth Seeker. I'm not yet satisfied with the outcome of my investigation. That's all the grounds I need."

She looked startled at that. Interesting. Was she confused that he hadn't believed her despite whatever magic she'd used on her memories?

"But if you are unclear on the powers I hold under the law," Lucien continued, "then let me remind you. The word of a Truth Seeker is taken to be fact. I can give my word and seal your fate. Or not, depending on what I find." He rose then, pushing back his chair. "I look forward to hearing more of your words once we're back in Illvya."

Deandra's jaw had gone tight, but she still managed to glare at Chloe as she stood. "You have done well for yourself, Chloe. Your husband is quite formidable. Something of an improvement, I would imagine, going from a mere minor lordling to a marq. Lumia must have been all talk about it."

The barb was supposed to sting. Once, it might have. But not with Lucien standing solid by her side and her certainty of how he felt about her.

She just raised her chin. "Perhaps, Deandra, rather than trying to needle me, you should think more about the reason that I was able to acquire a second husband. Because my first was foolish. Catastrophically so. He thought he could plot against the emperor successfully. He was wrong. He died because he was wrong." She returned a smile just as poisonously sweet as the one she'd been offered. "Something you might do well to think on."

CHAPTER16

Lucien lost some of his calm demeanor once they left the brig. Irritation spiked through the bond, making Chloe's temper flare in response. The rational part of her knew it wouldn't be wise to go back to the brig and shake Deandra until she confessed, but the temptation was strong.

Even as she had the thought, Octarus made a humming noise of approval in her head, and she had to warn him to stay calm. Easier said than done, perhaps.

They made their way directly to the colonel's office and informed him that they wanted to question each of the troupe members again.

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