Page 84 of The Rebel's Prize

"I should take Mai back to the tower before Mestier Allyn comes looking. It's getting late." They had been in the library since midday, only taking short breaks for meals because not even Henri could convince Venable Orleane to allow food or drink in the library.

Lucien rubbed the bridge of his nose, nodding agreement, "I think we have done as much as we can for today. I need to check in with the judiciary, and we're not going to find anything if we're all falling asleep." So far, Lucien had not been called to interrogate any of the prisoners again. Instead, the Advocate General had insisted some of the other Truth Seekers try.

So far none of them had had any more success than Lucien. They, too, had noticed odd similarities in the testimony provided by the members of the troupe, though nothing that was proof enough to condemn Deandra or Istvan. Who had, so far, remained staunchly insistent on their original stories. Istvan had offered a little more information on who he'd taught his facial illusions to, mostly other illusioners working in theaters and opera houses like Violette. They were being brought to the capital, too, but so far no one had admitted to using the magic for anything other than entertainment.

"Imogene, can I call your carriage?" Lucien asked when no one disagreed.

"Yes, thank you." She flashed a smile that failed to hide her relief. She'd insisted on accompanying them to do the research but had looked distinctly pale and queasy at several points over the last few days, despite her protests that she felt fine. Rising, she began to gather her things, clearly keen to leave. "Shall we meet again in the morning? Perhaps the palace will have found something useful today."

Lucien stood, too. "I'm not sure there is anything to find. Aristides has an entire team of archivists combing the records, and they haven't uncovered anything yet." He sighed and rolled his shoulders before coming around the table to join Chloe.

Mai turned her head and squawked at him, the sound annoyed.

"I agree with that sentiment, young raven," he said, smiling as Mai bobbed her head. "But sadly, yelling at things does not magically fix them." He turned and headed back toward the row of desks near the front of the archives, clearly intending to ask one of the mages on duty to call for Imogene's carriage.

Chloe tilted her arm up, trying to encourage Mai to move to her shoulder where her weight was more comfortable. "I don't think any of the librarians will approve if we all start cawing like ravens," she said to Imogene. Then she squawked as Mai leapt to her shoulder and started tugging at a piece of her hair, teasing it free from its braid. "Ow."

Octarus appeared beside her, looking down at the bird. "Gentle, small friend," he rumbled.

Mai let go of the hair and fluttered over to his shoulder instead.

The two of them seemed to be becoming fast friends, which made Chloe nervous. Whatever the reason for their connection, she wasn't entirely sure she was ready to accept what that might mean for her. Mai shadowing her every move within the Academe likely meant that the bird was trying to claim her, much as Tok had done with Sophie.

But with a newly acquired sanctii and a newly acquired husband she still wasn't entirely used to, adding a petty fam to the list hadn't been in her plans.

She would have to make up her mind soon, or likely Mestier Allyn would want to send Mai to another Academe, where there might be a mage who appreciated her attention.

Lucien came back to them. "Your carriage will be ready shortly, Imogene."

"Thank you," she said. "I'll go wait for it. I'm sure between the three of you, you can escort one small raven back to the tower."

Chloe nodded and started stacking the books in front of her into two piles: those she'd already read through and the ones she'd start again with in the morning. "Good night. We'll see you in the morning. Octarus, we need to take Mai back to the tower."

* * *

It didn't take long to hand Mai over to Mestier Allyn, who distracted the raven with her dinner while Chloe and Lucien made their escape, returning home to eat the meal Madame Garot had waiting for them.

Afterward, Lucien retired to his study to deal with estate issues, and Chloe curled up on his sofa with a book on water magic that Henri had loaned her. When the clock on his mantelpiece chimed nine, she was starting to yawn. Time to convince Lucien to stop working and retire for the evening. Their days weren't likely to get shorter any time soon. Indeed, once Sophie and Elarus arrived in another day or so, they were likely to get longer still.

But she had only just closed the book when there was a knock on the study door, and Madame Garot came in, bearing an envelope.

"My lord, a message. They said it was urgent," she said, handing the letter to Lucien before leaving them alone.

Urgent? That was either good news or bad. Chloe's heart started to race as Lucien broke the seal and pulled out the letter.

She held her breath while he read.

"It's from Maxim," he said, glancing up from the note. "They need me. They think Istvan is starting to crack. They want to bring me back in to apply some pressure."

"So late?" The thought of him returning to the judiciary now didn't sit easy. Especially without her. But it seemed the request was for him alone or he would have said "they need us," not "they need me." The judiciary wasn't aware that the bond let her share some of his talent, and she'd prefer it stayed that way.

"Better not to give him a chance to rest and change his mind," Lucien said. He turned the page over and made a humming noise of surprise.

"What?"

"They want to try offering him the chance to see Deandra. It seems they've decided she's his weak point."

"Is that usual?"

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