Page 21 of This Monster of Mine

He gestured lazily at the blaze. She jumped back as the fire soared, engulfing its victim as he shrieked, pleading for life until the fire took his voice. And with a garbled gasp, Ennius of Edessa left the world.

The Aequitas went still. One heartbeat, two. Thunder crashed into their midst. She started, knees buckling to hit the stage only to realize it was the crowdclapping.What the fuck?She stared at the rows of people standing in a wave to gleefully celebrate the charred corpse beside her. On the dais, Cisuré and Cassandane were pale. Tullus looked disgusted, and Harion’s eyebrows were level with his hairline. Only Anek and Aelius were blank-faced.

“Why?” Kadra’s beautiful, wretched voice asked.

Anger vibrated down to her clenched fists. “If I’d gotten another log, Ennius would’ve caught on fire. He wouldn’t have answered you after that.”

“So you abandoned the trial.” Kadra sounded amused.

This was no trial.He’d ordered her to burn Ennius before asking a single question. He’d already decided that the man was guilty.

“I knew I’d be abandoning thisspectacle, Tetrarch Kadra, but I wasn’t going to ignore my duty to give the accused justice. The vows I just took demand that much.”

“You’re aware that you were being tested on more than those vows.”

That was the last straw. Her furious gaze cut to his. “Then I have had an impossible choice. Follow your orders and abandon my vows, orfollow my vows and abandon this trial. But I want togivemore than Itake, Tetrarch Kadra.” She bitterly reminded him of her answer the previous night. “I don’t regret my decision.”

A predatory spark flared in his eyes. “Very well.”

She waited for his wrath, his dismissal.

“Come up.”

Sarai froze. Stared wordlessly at his cruel face. The audience quieted. Her body moved before she could make any sense of him, climbing up to where Kadra stood, freshly inked contract in hand. Accepting the proffered ink pen, she signed her name, then eyed the robe-less back of his chair. He clearly hadn’t wanted a Petitor.Guess I won’t get Robed—

Fabric slid over her shoulders, warm and smelling faintly of citrus. The robes were too big, spilling onto the marble. He’d given her the ones he’d been wearing. She flinched when he helped her into the armholes, conscious of the material’s warmth from his body. Kadra registered the motion with a humorless smile, buttoning the collar at her throat. Air left her in a rush when he stepped away.

“Well, that concludes our Robing.” Aelius shot an exhausted glance at Kadra, brow smoothing when he turned to Sarai. “It’s been a difficult half hour for our newest Petitor, but she’s joined us now. Sarai, everyone!”

The world spun as pinpricks of people chanted her name. Still in shock, her heart pulsed in rhythm with the cheers. The Tetrarchy descended the dais to tumultuous applause, forming a line across the stage with their Petitors. She stiffened as Kadra stood beside her.

“Always thank them when the trial is done,” the final chapter on trial etiquette in the Corpus Juris Totus had insisted.

“Tibi gratias ago,” Sarai muttered. “I appreciated your guidance.”

A sardonic gleam lit his black eyes. “If only that were true.”

Her heart stopped.

If only that were true, a beautiful voice from another night repeated. Past and present converged. Sarai tottered, drawing a concerned glance from Cisuré as they bowed as a group.

It can’t be.When they rose, Kadra swept past her without a backward glance. The crowd began to flood out.

I must have it wrong, she thought as Cisuré enveloped her in a hug, asking if she was alright. But there was no denying that voice,his voice.

“If only that were true.”

It washim.

CHAPTER FOUR

Sarai stared at her plate. Roast meat—when was the last time she’d even had meat?—and vegetables glistened in a golden sauce. She wanted to scream.

Cisuré nudged her, looking worried. “You should eat.”

“She just watched a man burn.” Anek reached for the soup ladle. “It’s enough to turn anyone’s stomach.”

But not yours. They’d taken Ennius’s death the same way they apparently took everything else. With equanimity.

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