Page 105 of A Forgery of Fate

“No need to look so worried,” said Shani. “The waters will tell you if Elang’anmi dies.”

I scowled. I’d forgotten about her. “It’s rude reading people’s thoughts.”

“Then you shouldn’t make them so interesting,” she replied, licking her lips. “I taste gossip, and it’s sweet.”

“Get out of my head.”

“What happened in Nanhira between you and Elang’anmi? The merman cook won’t tell me. Isn’t like him to withhold anything.”

Sometimes it stunned me, how callous Shani could be. Then again, she was a demon.

I ignored her the rest of the way, not stopping until I found Mailoh. As I feared, she was being detained for questioning.

“Let her go,” I ordered the guards.

“But, Lady Saigas, Mailoh is the general’s sister. She could have been an accomplice.”

“Let her go,” I said again. “I won’t repeat myself.”

Reluctantly the guards released Mailoh. The turtle was visibly shaken, her bright eyes dulled into a dry and weary green. Still, as much the backbone of Yonsar Castle as the Spine itself, she gathered her poise and made a deep bow.

“I plead on my brother’s behalf, Lady Saigas,” she said. “I cannot speak to what made him act against Lord Elang, but I assure you Caisan has been loyal to Yonsar his entire life.”

I wanted to believe her. “Will you come with me to seehim?”

Mailoh drew a sharp breath, then nodded somberly. “Follow me.”

The keep was on the lowermost level of the castle, beneath the barracks. It was a dungeon in all but name. A single lantern floated across the sunken ceiling, and the metal bars cast shadowed stripes over the general’s supine form.

Caisan was burrowed into the sand, and he made no move to rise when he heard our approach.

“This certainly isn’t the time to hide in your shell,” Mailoh huffed. “The lady of the castle has come to speak with you.”

“Leave me be,” Caisan grunted. “I have nothing to say to her.”

“Do not shame me, Caisan. Traitor or not, you owe Lady Saigas respect.”

She knew just how to goad him. He jutted out his head, sand spilling down the slopes of his face. “I am not a traitor.”

“Then you are a coward,” said Mailoh. “Which do you prefer? If you will not face her, she will have to assume one or the other is true.”

Caisan rose. His enormous feet made indents in the bedrock as he pounded forward to the bars. “Why have you come?” he grumbled at me.

“For the truth.”

“The truth, you say.” The general scoffed. “Yet you bring the demon.”

“Caisan,” Mailoh warned.

“I told you before what she was.” He stared mistrustfully at Shani, who floated behind me. “Think. There’s only one creature in this castle with the ability to possess a mind. Who else would know how to destroy Lord Elang’s sangi? Who else could allow Nazayun’s patrol to enter the castle unseen?”

At the accusation, Shani’s watery countenance darkened. She raised her tail, and frost crackled across the sand in Caisan’s cell, traveling swiftly up the walls. The entire keep turned cold.

“Turtle is most delectable when chilled,” she murmured, before her tone took on an edge. “Question my loyalty again, and you won’t even have bones left for mourning.”

“That’s enough.” I grabbed the demon by the tail. “And you, General—you should know that Shanizhun is honor bound to Lord Elang.”

The general lowered his head. “You think demons have honor?”

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