Page 51 of Destroyer

Traitors… Ru bit her already sore lip, the memory of the attack rising unbidden, unwelcome. She had tried not to think of it, but it was impossible not to. Had the guards been working alone? If not, who sent them? And why? Ru wished fervently that news of the artifact hadn't been allowed to spread so widely. Anyone with the right access could have waylaid the real guards and taken their places by Ru's side.

The other possibility — that someone within the palace had ordered the attack — wasn't worth contemplating. Not now.

Again she scratched at the itch of persistent questions: where did Fen fit in, and how had he known there would be a betrayal? She had no idea where his loyalties lay, but she hoped… she hoped selfishly they might be with her.

“Thank you all for attending this deliberation on short notice,” Professor Thorne was saying. He ran his fingers through his hair, pursing his lips. “As you may or may not be aware, depending on the level of gossiping you engage in—” he leveled an accusatory look at the seated academics. “One of our own, Ruellian Delara, was involved in a deeply regrettable event some days ago. This event involved an item, a relic that was recovered from the earth below the very site where the Destruction took place.”

A low murmur broke out among the academics. Ru was certain most of them had already heard about the artifact; news traveled like wildfire through the Tower. It was impossible to curtail the spread of information between young people living in such close quarters, especially when that information was shocking or involved death in some way.

To the academics, this news was exciting, a distraction, something to think about other than their usual studies. For Ru, it was a reminder that she had been there, she had done.

Thoughtlessly, Ru reached into her pocket for the stone, remembering belatedly that it wasn’t there. Its presence in her mind was still so clear she had forgotten it wasn’t with her.

“You may wonder specifically what all this has to do with the Cornelian Tower,” Professor Thorne was saying, and Ru realized she’d tuned him out completely; she had no idea where he was in his speech. “…And you are right to do so. The artifact is, in fact, at the Tower today.”

Another rumble of chatter arose, and a few gasps came from scattered academics.

Thorne peered around at the seated crowd until his gaze met Ru’s. A faint smile softened his face. “And so is Ruellian Delara. She was returned to us by the regent, specifically to fulfill the role of the artifact’s keeper. This fact cannot be contested, nor do we have a say in whether wewantthis highly unpredictable and very likely dangerous item in the care of the Tower. However — quiet, please.” He glared out at the assembly until the commotion died down.

Ru had been dreading this part. She could tell that he was drawing his introduction to a close; then would come the speeches and the vote. She hadn't prepared enough, should have written something down. She found herself wishing that the deliberation could have been between professors only, to spare her the judgment of her peers. But the rule of the Tower was that everyone had a say of some kind, that one person’s decision could affect them all equally, and vice versa.

“Is all thistrue?” Archie said under his breath, leaning toward her. “The explosion, the regent…”

Gwyneth heard this and shot Ru a questioning look. Ru nodded. Her friends glanced at one another, and then Gwyneth reached across Archie and squeezed Ru’s knee. The simple gesture was unspeakably comforting to Ru. She belonged here. No matter what the professors and academics thought of her, good or ill, this was her home, too.

“Now we shall begin the deliberation,” Thorne said and stepped down from the podium as Professor Cadwick took his place.

“Greetings,” said Professor Cadwick, his white hair standing up in the lamplight. He, like Thorne and Obralle, was dressed for the occasion in a yellow silk jacket and breeches, his waistcoat sky blue.

“How many are going to speak?” Gwyneth hissed, impatiently flicking a golden ringlet. “This is already getting dull.”

Ru smiled despite herself. She was anything but bored, but she was glad that her friends didn't seem worried on her behalf.

But Cadwick wasn’t there to drone on about the background and context surrounding the artifact. Instead, his words were brief and to the point. “Thank you, Professor Thorne. May I remind you that we hold deliberations in order to make a decision. This particular deliberation will address one item of concern, of which there are three sub-categories. One: To determinehowthe artifact will be studied. Two: To determinewherethe artifact will be studied. And three: To determine ahypothesisof study. In order to answer these three questions, we must appoint a head of research for the project.”

Already there were loud objections from the gathered academics.

“Shouldn’t the hypothesis come later, after initial analysis?”

“Study it in thesea!”

“Why haven’t we got a say in it staying here?”

“Can I touch it?”

“I nominate myself as head researcher!”

Cadwick produced a miniature wooden hammer from within his waistcoat and rapped it on the lectern. This produced such an ear-splitting sound that the room went almost immediately quiet.

“Thank you,” he said, without an ounce of gratitude in his tone. “Please respect the rules of the deliberation. To address the first topic of concern, I will turn it over to Professor Obralle.”

Ru didn’t like where this was going. She had been to deliberations before. They always took hours, with various votes and lengthy arguments from whoever decided to pipe up with an opinion. As humiliated as she felt, she also knew, with a prick of indignant anger, thatsheshould be the one deciding it all. The artifact was tied to her, and she to it, and only she should be tasked with determining its nature.

Professor Obralle was speaking into the brass horn now, explaining in more detail that the regent would be fully funding the study of the artifact, that every amenity would be granted to the research team, and that all safety precautions would be taken.

A line of Ru’s peers began to form at the lectern now, each academic granted a minute to speak on each topic.

“Aren’t you going up there?” Gwyneth asked, giving Ru a piercing look. “Your voice should be weighted most heavily in the debate.”

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