Page 22 of Dead Wrong

“Source’s blessing be upon you, child,” the Cardinal responded, her voice a deep contralto. Her dark eyes watched me with an amusement I didn’t understand. “You have grown in the Source’s favor since last we met.”

“Thank you, Your Eminence.”

“Tobias was just leaving,” Mother continued, ushering me toward the door.

The Cardinal nodded as I passed her, then addressed me. “Tobias, my new acolyte is waiting in the foyer, and I worry about the trouble he’ll find if left alone for too long. Perhaps you would be kind enough to show him around the chateau? Even the grand cathedrals of the Cradle pale in comparison to the Greene estate.”

I looked to Mother, and she gave me the slightest of nods.

“It would be an honor,” I replied, bowing once more before leaving the study. The Unseen attendant closed the door behind me, slipping back into an invisible state.

Glancing around the foyer, I spotted a boy standing at the base of the grand staircase, staring up at a marble statue of my great-grandmother. He was dressed in the same pale blue as the Cardinal, a tunic and billowy pants that pooled at his feet. Unlike the Cardinal, his skin was fair, and his hair was crimson with streaks of white blond. He didn’t look much older than myself, which meant he had also not yet come of age.

I took a steadying breath before approaching, muting my anxieties as Mother had taught me to do.

A first impression was the first opportunity to gain the upper hand.

“Do you find the statue to your liking?”

The boy turned to face me, his eyes wide but a look of amusement twisting his features. “Quite,” he replied. “There are few in our cathedral that could rival its beauty.”

“I’m glad it brings you joy,” I said, giving a small bow. “That is my great-grandmother, Adoracious Greene. She built this place.”

The boy bowed his head in return. “I’m Cirian,” he introduced himself, then leaned closer, lowering his voice, "Tell me, Tobias. Do you know the reason for the Cardinal’s meeting today?”

“No,” I admitted. “But it’s not really my place to know such things.”

Cirian nodded, folding his arms across his chest with a frown. “Aren’t you curious?”

“Why should I be?”

“Because knowledge is the most important currency.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure I follow.”

With a sigh, Cirian deflated. “You’re hopeless.”

Heat built behind my cheeks. Mother’s disapproval was one thing, but I would not suffer the sting of this louse’s rejection. I needed to move quickly.

“The Cardinal asked me to show you around the chateau,” I said, pushing down the squirming sensation in my gut. “We could start out in the gardens where?—”

“No, thank you,” Cirian scoffed, his eyes rolling. “I am not interested in the unholy opulence of your family, Tobias Greene.” His gaze moved from me, focusing on something across the foyer. “Nor the slaves you keep in your halls.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I questioned, irritation modulating the practiced volume of my voice.

Who did this Cirian think he was?

“It means fuck off, pretty boy,” Cirian muttered, his gaze drifting back up to the statue.

There was an undercurrent of darkness in his expression now, I realized. And a radiating contempt that clouded my mind till I turned on my heel and stalked away from the strange boy.

* * *

“—warned you this could happen! We’re lucky he’s still breathing!”

Bastien’s voice was the first thing to break through my consciousness, his words ringing in my ear, vibrating with anger.

“Yeah, yeah, cut the phony self-righteousness and tell me if his brain is officially pulverized or if we can wring any more info out of it.”

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