Page 41 of This Monster of Mine

She squirmed in her too-high seat. Granted, in two days, Kadra had proven himself to have no regard for the law, no qualms with making her burn a man alive, and, even under her most benign interpretation, had hidden that Jovian and the other Petitors had been murdered. But to spy on him? She may as well ring her own death knell.

“And there’s the eerie coincidence of our Petitors vanishing in his Quarter.” A cloud passed over Aelius’s handsome features. “Poor Jovian. Such a hard worker.”

Every coherent thought slipped through her fingers like water.Jovian was Aelius’s Petitor?The corpse’s crushed features returned to haunt her.

“If you do this, you’ll go down in history,” Aelius vowed. “I will ensure it.”

Her head spun. She could see it now. The tale of a daring Petitor who’d betrayed her sadistic Tetrarch.

And gotten murdered for the trouble. Oh yes, she could see it.

In the periphery, Cisuré widened her eyes, urging her to agree. There was no denying that this was an honor.So why am I hesitating?

“What must I do?” she whispered.

“You stood up to Kadra at the Robing,” Aelius said gently. “How about giving us a little more? Inform Cisuré if he’s acting suspicious. The rest of his business is his own.”

She took a deep breath. “By ‘suspicious,’ do you mean anything involving the Petitor deaths?”

“Exactly that.” Tullus snapped his fingers. “If there’s anything that ties him to the suicides, or if he seems out to get someone, you will let us know, yes?”

Fear lanced through her at the question’s knife-sharp undercurrent. She should agree. She had every intention of tearing down Kadra herself. Why not earn the favor of three Tetrarchs while she was at it?

Cassandane looked oddly pale. “You’re the best-situated person for this task. The decision is yours.”But so are the consequences, her eyes seemed to say.

Sarai’s throat locked.This is mad.Kadra could kill her for this. But she couldn’t stop thinking of Jovian’s broken body. Of Kadra’s voice in her nightmares for fourhavïdyears. What did it matter to her why the Tetrarchy seemed so hellsbent on tearing each other down? Joining with Kadra’s enemies would give her vengeance faster than she could alone before a court. With three Tetrarchs behind her, there would be nowhere for him to run.

“I’ll do it.” The words reverberated in the sunlit hall. She swallowed.

Aelius’s answering smile held respect. “You’re a rare bird, Petitor Sarai. That took courage.” Rising from his seat, he came around the table to grip her hand. “Welcome to our little alliance.”

Dazed, she quickly eased away, hoping he hadn’t felt any scars in the process. Dropping Tullus’s grape-sticky palm after a few interminable seconds, she turned to Cassandane, who simply inclined her head, watching her with strangely sad eyes.

“We’ll reconvene in a month or so. If you find anything urgent sooner, let us know. But be careful,” Aelius urged.

“Ignore anything Kadra says,” Tullus added. “That man doesn’t need magic or a Petitor to tunnel into a mind.”

Believe me, I know.Bowing low upon their dismissal, she fled Cobhran Tower, Cisuré behind her. The second Aelius’s doors drew shut, the other girl seized her in a hug.

“I’m. So. Proud. Of. You!” Cisuré punctuated each word with a squeeze. “I know that wasn’t easy. You love hiding in the periphery too much to have enjoyed it.”

Sarai paused. “I don’t.” She’d done it in Arsamea because attention had invited mockery. This ordeal had been equally discomfiting. “Why didn’t you warn me that they were all there?”

Cisuré winced. “He’s my Tetrarch. I can’t usurp his authority.”

“Usurp?” Sarai halted, utterly thrown. “I’m your friend!”

“Always. But he’s my Tetrarch.” Cisuré searched her eyes. “You understand, don’t you? I can’t have any secrets from him.”

Sarai thought of the banners still covering the Academiae. “It really is a marriage then.”

Cisuré turned pink. “Not inthatway.”

“Gods, I hope not. He’s a decade older than us, so just … don’t fall too deep.” Sarai blew out a breath.A Petitor one day and a spy the next. “It’s a lot to take in.”

“You won’t regret it,” Cisuré insisted. “Tetrarch Aelius is nothing like the monster you’re stuck with.”

True. Sarai stared at Kadra’s black tower several miles away. But as she journeyed back, she couldn’t shake the strange feeling that the rest of the Tetrarchy wasn’t quite as placid as they seemed.

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