by Jaye Wells
Page 54
The Queen’s chin came up. “So you weren’t angry when the High Councilman sided with me regarding your mission in New Orleans?” My stomach sank, knowing exactly what she was referring to. The fucking past would never stop coming back to haunt me. “Surely you recall your reaction when I gave the order to let your sister die if it meant you had a chance to kill Lavinia Kane. ”
The decision she referred to happened the night before we attacked the Caste of Nod and Lavinia. Adam and I had two objectives: save Maisie and kill Lavinia—in that order. But the Queen stepped in and ordered us to reverse our priorities. Obviously, Adam and I argued and claimed that Maisie was more important. We’d thought Orpheus would agree, but the Queen pressured him with vague threats about withdrawing her support if he countermanded her. The fallout when he caved wasn’t pretty. But in the end, I was the one who talked Adam down when his anger toward Orpheus almost derailed our plans altogether.
Gods, why did my judge have to be the Queen? She’d had it out for me for months. “I was angry that night, yes, but everyone’s emotions were running high. Once I had a chance to calm down, I understood Orpheus felt he had no other choice. Besides, that was a long time ago. Orpheus and I had moved beyond all that. I would never kill him. ”
Alexis crossed her arms. “You would if you believed he was going to side with the Despina and force you to become governor of New York. ”
The Queen’s eyes narrowed.
“I didn’t—”
“I saw how angry you were when the Despina announced your new position,” the Queen said. “Everyone on that stage saw the way you looked at her. ”
I threw up my hands. “According to that video, I would have had to leave our meeting and poison the wine before the ritual started and she took the choice away from me. The timing doesn’t make sense!”
“Play it again,” the Queen demanded.
She pointed to the screen. “Stop there. ” Alexis paused it on a shot of the imposter’s back. I knew it wasn’t me, but looking at the image, even I had a hard time believing it. My eyes scanned the still frame again, desperate for some clue, something that would prove the impostor was not me.
My eyes jumped to the tiny mark on the shoulder of the female on the screen. “Wait! The birthmark. ”
“What about it?” Alexis said.
“It’s on the wrong shoulder. ” I stood and pulled my shirt to the side to show my eight-point-star birthmark on my right shoulder. In the video, the mark was on the left.
Alexis waved that away. “You could have used a glamour. ”
“Give me a break,” I said. “Even if I could perform a glamour—which you know I can’t—I would have done a hell of a lot more than move my fucking birthmark to the opposite shoulder—”
The truth slammed into me like a Mack truck. My knees gave out, and I slid into the chair, my limbs shaking.
“Sabina?” Giguhl called.
“Leave her!” the Queen yelled. “Sabina, what is it?”
I couldn’t pull my gaze from the screen. To the female who looked just like me except for the reversed birthmark. The female who had the ability to perform a glamour. The truth exploded inside me like an electric shock. I closed my eyes as every remaining illusion I possessed drained from me like a rush of blood. “Fuck me. ”
“Explain yourself, mixed blood,” the Queen snapped.
I opened my eyes. “I can’t do glamour spells. ” I lifted a trembling finger toward the screen. They all turned skeptical gazes back to the screen and then back to me. “And my birthmark is on the right. ” I swallowed hard against the tears of denial that threatened to blind me.
“That proves nothing,” the Queen said. “The damning evidence Alexis has presented combined with your notorious history of violence and your record of aggression toward both the Despina and the High Councilman…”
She trailed off as Rhea came forward, as if in a trance. My mentor’s eyes were glued to the exact same space on the picture as my own. She pointed slowly to the screen. “It can’t be,” she whispered. Her eyes moved restlessly between the image and me as her mind pulled all the pieces together. Then, suddenly, she looked at me. The same horrible conclusion I’d already come to darkened her gaze.
“Rhea?” the Queen said, her voice shrill.
She turned slowly to the Queen. “Your Benevolence, Sabina is telling the truth. She is not the culprit of any of the crimes for which she’s been accused this night. ”
“Sabina,” Giguhl said, running up to me. “Is it really possible?”
I took a deep breath and grabbed his claw for support. “We need to find her. ”
Alexis snorted. “What scheme are you concocting now—”
“Shut the fuck up, Alexis,” Giguhl snapped. “Sabina is not the killer. ”
“Who—” the Queen began, but Rhea cut her off, completely disregarding all protocol.
“Tell them,” Rhea said to me, as if she couldn’t stomach being the one to say it out loud.
I took a deep breath, but it did little to ease the pressure building in my chest, threatening to consume me. “The real killer is my sister, Maisie Graecus. ”
33
While the chaos exploded around us, Rhea, Giguhl, and I stared at each other, trying to wrap our minds around the horrible rift the revelation ripped through our lives.
I tried to piece everything together. Tried to sort through my scattered memories of the last few weeks. To look for clues I should have seen. But I couldn’t figure out what would cause Maisie to perform such uncharacteristic violence. She’d not been herself for months, but she never showed any signs that she was capable of murder. Or had she?
Obviously, she must have. No one makes such a one-eighty personality reversal without some signs. So I guess the real question was, how could I have missed something this huge?
But I knew if I allowed myself to ponder the whys, I’d never have the nerve to see this through to the end. So I sucked in a breath, shoved my feelings way deep down into the shadowy place where I kept my fears, and started barking orders.
“Alexis, you go with a few guards and make sure the grounds are secure. Rhea, we’re going to her studio. ”
“Wait just a min—” the Queen began, offended that she wasn’t the one calling the shots.
“Look, I don’t have time to argue with you,” I said, my tone hard. “We’re going to find Maisie. You can punish me later. ”
Rhea threw her arms around Giguhl and me. “I’ll flash us up there. ”
The magic rose quickly, surrounding us in a wall of static. The last thing I saw before we flashed out was the Queen turning to tell her guards to follow us on foot. Two seconds later, we rematerialized in the hallway outside the Star Chamber.
“Be careful,” Rhea warned. “It might be warded. ”
I nodded and stepped forward to test the wooden panel. But when my fingers brushed it and nothing happened, I pressed my ear to the door. Frowning, I turned to the others. “It’s quiet. ”
I reached down to turn the knob but found it locked. Since this was Maisie’s private studio, she’d had a dead bolt installed to keep unwanted guests out. I’d kicked in my share of doors in the past, but I needed to be ready for anything once it burst open. Luckily, I had my very own demonic battering ram.
I turned to Giguhl. “All right, tough guy,” I said, patting him on his massive bicep. “Break it down. ”
The demon smiled in anticipation and cracked the knuckles of his claws. “Stand back, ladies. ” He ran at the door with his head down like a charging bull. Before I could warn him that method was a great way to dislocate his shoulder, he slammed into the wood. The frame splintered and cracked off its hinges. His momentum carried him into the room. Two seconds later a loud crash echoed into the hall, followed by a groan.
“Giguhl,” I called, running after him. I skidded to a halt when I saw the demon tangled
up in pile of wood shards and canvas.
“Oops,” he said, rubbing his shoulder. “Guess I underestimated my own power. ”
I held out a hand to help him up, my eyes doing a quick scan of the space. Because the Star Chamber was built in one of the manor’s round towers, the room had curved walls. High above, the ceiling was painted blue with silver leaf constellations. In the center of the floor, a large worktable was scattered with paint tubes, brushes of every size, and cans of turpentine. The solvent’s sharp, penetrating odor permeated the air.
But it didn’t disguise the scent of blood.
I rounded the large table and froze. Behind me, Giguhl cursed and Rhea gasped. The bodies lay in thick, oily pools of blood and gore. My head swam from the overpowering stench of dirty, coppery blood and sandalwood. Counting the bodies took three tries. I didn’t breathe again until I was sure there were only four. I hated to feel relieved not to see Adam among the carnage. I knew each of those Pythian Guards. They had families and friends who would mourn them. I would mourn them, too, once I was sure my sister hadn’t also murdered the man I loved.
Rhea rushed forward to check for signs of life. I didn’t say anything, but I knew she wouldn’t find a pulse among them. Finally, she stood, her expression stoic and her skin pale. “Dead. All of them. ”
I acknowledged this with a curt nod. “Spread out. ”
“What exactly are we looking for?” Giguhl asked.
“Evidence that will lead us to Adam. And anything that can explain why the fuck she’s suddenly turned into Lizzie Borden. ”
We dispersed, each heading to a different area. The last time I’d been in the Star Chamber was when I found the canvas left by Lavinia with the word “checkmate” written in blood. She’d left it for me to find after she’d kidnapped Maisie. Now, just a few months later, Lavinia was dead and Maisie was a killer.
Lavinia’s canvas was gone, but other works of art filled the space. Ranging in size from small pieces of painted paper to huge canvases on easels, they represented the manifestations of my sister’s subconscious.