Page 19 of This Monster of Mine

“Now begins our choosing. Cassandane, if you will?” Aelius gave the other Tetrarch a winsome smile.

Cassandane descended the dais in a graceful swirl of crimson. Hoping her nerves weren’t showing, Sarai met her gaze as it rested on each of them.Is there a method to this?She held her breath when Cassandane smiled.

“Anek of Edessa, please join me.”

Sarai’s heart sank as a broad grin broke across Anek’s face. Bowing low, they followed the Tetrarch up the dais, where Cassandane draped a set of bronze-edged crimson robes over them. The Tetrarch signed the bottom of the lifelong contract and presented it to Anek, who did the same.

Sarai clenched her trembling fingers.Three Tetrarchs left.

Tullus was next. Striding down, he made short work of his selection, glossing over her with a disdainful sniff. “You.” He pointed at Harion.

Shooting her a mocking smile, he strode up the dais for his Robing. And suddenly, she had the horrible feeling that he was right. There was only one way this selection was going to end, and everyone in the Aequitas, save Cisuré, had known it. Her heart sank. When Aelius stood, Sarai didn’t even try to meet his gaze. Squaring her shoulders, she sought the cruel-eyed god who still hadn’t touched the contract before him. Black eyes rose to hers and narrowed, as though he hadn’t expected to be the object of her scrutiny. His expression hardened.

Air rushed out of her as though she’d fallen from a snowgrape vine. Depthless black filled her vision, his eyes boring deep as though he were peeling her apart, layer by layer. Cheers sounded in the background.Aelius must have chosen Cisuré.But she refused to look away, to break their silent battle. Kadra’s sharp focus altered into something almost startled. Then, he turned away.

She drew in a long, shuddering breath, knowing that she was alone onstage. Kadra whispered to the vigile still holding the scroll before him, who looked like the same one who’d let her into the city last night—Gaius. He turned, confirming her suspicions.No wonder he was so startled. He had probably known that she’d be Kadra’s Petitor from the beginning.

Aelius cleared his throat. “That leaves one. Tetrarch Kadra, if you’d be so kind.”

Sarai swallowed her bitterness, holding her head high. Without looking at her, Kadra raised a hand. She jumped at the squeal of stone on stone. A door to the left of the dais grated open to reveal a hulking man flanked by vigiles. Steel chains dragged on the floor as he was shoved toward the wooden post at the center of the stage and tied there.

This can’t be good.A glance at Cisuré’s pale face confirmed as much. Yet, the Aequitas was buzzing with excitement, the crowd hooting their delight.

Aelius’s brow pinched. “Tetrarch Kadra, this is no time for a trial. You can’t object now.”

“This isn’t an objection.” Kadra’s voice swept over the Aequitas, gloriously low, wine smooth, andfamiliar.

She went stock-still.The magus last night.Raising her head, her stomach dropped when he inclined his head toward her, an amused gleam in those tar-like eyes.A debt collector,he’d said. Pulse pounding, she revisited their meeting and found an uglier answer for his presence.He was waiting for me, knowing I’d be assigned to him.And she had been so foolishly, utterly unguarded with a man who could be a murderer.

“Look here, Kadra,” Tullus growled. “You—”

“People of Ur Dinyé, many of you know that I have never taken a Petitor.” Kadra didn’t spare Tullus a glance. “Nevertheless, you came here for a spectacle. And I desire a test of the woman who is to be my right hand. What do you say? Is that a fair trade for your time?”

The crowd paused, muttering as they considered the offer.

SHIT. Sweat trickled down her jaw. A test? Was she supposed to prosecute the furious behemoth tied onstage? Giving up on decorum, she undid her topmost button and stilled when the Aequitas erupted in cheers.

“Trial! Trial!” the crowd chanted. The other Tetrarchs’ faces turned to stone.

Kadra looked unsurprised at the victory. “Far be it from me to deny the people.”

Her limbs felt like lead when the Aequitas gave her its undivided attention.Don’t freeze. Think. Like every town in Ur Dinyé, Arsamea had owned a copy of the Corpus Juris Totus, the laws of the land. She’d memorized it years ago.

“First, bow before whom you serve,” trial etiquette demanded. “Follow their every command throughout the trial.”

She gritted her teeth and folded forward in a stilted bow of respect. A sardonic glint lit Kadra’s eyes, and she itched to slap it off. To think she’d offered to vouch for him last night.

“Ennius of Edessa.” Kadra indicated the prisoner straining at his bonds. “Held under suspicion forhomicidiumof his wife and son. He vows he was at a tavern at the time of the murder, sleeping off the previous night’s drink. But no one has vouched for him.”

Simple enough. Get the truth out of Ennius.Sarai took a deep breath, pricking her finger and spreading the blood overzostawhen Kadra spoke again.

“We’ll start with a single log.” He sat back.

She stilled. Where was she to find a log, and why inhavïddid she need one?

“To the right.” He tilted his head as though he’d read her mind. The crowd fell silent.

A log pile waited to the right of the stage. Her steps echoed as she walked toward it, eerily loud. Bewildered, she placed a log at Ennius’s feet.

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