Page 68 of Dead Wrong

The door sprang open again, Mother reentering the room with a familiar blonde woman in tow. I sucked in a breath, hoping my mask muffled the noise enough to go unnoticed as Lorelei Orion leaned against the corner of Mother’s desk, her eyes locked on Cirian.

“Apologies,” said Mother before sinking back into her seat, her expression sour. “This is Lorelei, a Truthsayer from the house of Orion. She’s been leading the interrogation against the Reviled practitioner, but he’s proving stubborn. I need him to remain in our custody for a while longer, Sancha.”

“His judgment cannot be delayed,” the Cardinal replied, her tone stern. “You know the law, Adoranda. You must release him to us immediately.”

Mother rose to her full height, looking down on the Cardinal. “You misunderstand me. I am not asking for your permission. That man will not be leaving this place until I get what I want from him.”

“Why not order him to speak?” Cirian interjected. “Surely, no one would be able to resist you, Your Grace.”

“My magic can make him speak, yes,” Mother replied, her edge softening a bit as she addressed Cirian. “But it does not ensure that his words are truthful. He could merely babble for days, and we’d be no closer to finding the answers I seek. Truth is hard earned, I’m afraid.”

The Cardinal didn’t seem impressed as she also stood, her robes falling around her body in a hoop. “Take me to the Reviled. Now.”

“You don’t give the orders here,” Mother scoffed. “You can have him when I’m done with him and not a moment sooner. If you’d like to wait around, be my guest. I’ll have a room prepared.”

“Madame Greene,” Cirian inserted himself once again. “There must be a middle ground we can find here. There’s no need for hostility.”

Lorelei snorted a laugh, pulling out her little leather notebook and flipping it open. “That’s rich, coming from you. What’s the matter, Acolyte? Are you mad that we’re holding one of your little friends?”

Cirian didn’t falter, staring down Lorelei before replying, “I’m sure Her Eminence and the madame would love to hear the story of how you walked into the Cradle yesterday with said Reviled and the madame’s recently resurrected son?”

The Cardinal and Mother broke their stare down, turning to Cirian.

“What?” they echoed one another.

The doors flew open, the conversation evaporating as a number of militia soldiers poured into the room, including Renata.

“Barricade it,” Renata ordered, the soldiers setting to work quickly to move bookshelves in front of the door.

“What is the meaning of this?” Mother questioned. Shouting came from outside of the room, and then a deep rumbling shook the floor beneath us.

“Apologies, Your Grace, but a small Rebellion force has infiltrated the chateau,” Renata spoke quickly. “Our forces are working now to contain them.”

“Preposterous!” Mother shouted, her fist slamming into the desk and leaving an indent of splintered wood. “How could they have gotten in? The wards in place should have stopped them in their tracks.”

Renata grimaced. “We believe they had help from within the chateau, Your Grace. We don’t have confirmation yet, but?—”

“Those animals,” Mother seethed, her teeth gritted and her eyes burning with a fiery rage. The air thickened around her, sparks of gold igniting sporadically. “It was the mongrels I keep. I know it. I open my home to them, and this is how they repay the kindness? So be it. Captain, I want you to issue the order. All of the Unseen are to be rounded up and brought down to the cellar. Lorelei will extract the truth from them, and then they willallface the consequences of their actions.”

Lorelei frowned. “That’s not really part of my contract?—”

“Silence,” Mother ordered. “You’ll receive ample compensation.”

“You can’t be serious, Adoranda.” The Cardinal’s voice sounded shaken, as if Mother’s barbaric actions had finally thrown her off balance. “You mean to punish those who had nothing to do with the Rebellion?”

“Their silence is their crime,” Mother continued, moving from her place by the desk to where Renata stood, supervising the barricade’s construction. “Give the order. If there is any resistance, they are to use whatever force is necessary. Activate the collars, and any that attempt to leave the premises will be exterminated. Am I understood?”

Renata blanched but nodded. “Yes, Your Grace.”

This couldn’t be happening. Mother was going to cull the entire Unseen staff? That was dozens of lives. People I’d grown up with, loyal and kind people who didn’t deserve this treatment. I had to stop this. I had to get to them before the soldiers did. Would Azzy be able to help? Would we be able to spirit the Unseen staff away before Mother’s wrath would be unleashed?

That would all depend on whether or not I could get out of there.

The Cardinal and Cirian muttered to each other, casting glances at Mother as she barked more orders to the captain. Lorelei was writing in her notebook, an almost bored expression on her face, and I was stuck pretending to be a servant when all I really wanted was to bust down the doors and run screaming down the halls. Thankfully, the opportunity would come shortly.

Another rumble rocked the floor beneath us, the shouting intensifying from outside the doors. Renata pressed a finger to her ear, her gaze going distant as she received a message. “They’re headed for the cellar. Our attempts to stop them have failed thus far.”

“Idiots,” Mother seethed, pushing aside one of the soldiers, her golden aura expanding from her body as she raised a hand into the air in front of her. With a deafening screech and a shower of sparks, the barricade was shoved aside, the door flung open, and a plume of smoke poured into the room. “We make for the cellar, Captain. Sancha, Cirian, you’re coming with us. If you want to take your precious prisoner, you’ll have to help us keep him here.”

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