Page 83 of A Tower of Half-Truths
Mavery gave her a look of faint surprise, as if this were newinformation. Wren had resigned six months ago—a few months into Alain’s sabbatical, as Declan had implied.
“He has you working on Finisday?” Wren asked.
“No, I came here for my own research.”
“Oh, good. For a minute there, I was worried he was working you as much as he works himself.”
“I take it he’s always been that way.”
Wren laughed nervously, then frowned. “Aventus is very passionate about his work, I’ll give him that. But there’s passion, and then there’sobsession. Once he gets started on something, he’ll forget everything else, even his own wellbeing. Especially when it comes to the…er…”
She trailed off, then chewed her lip as she looked away. Mavery stepped to the side to remain within Wren’s line of sight.
“When it comes towhat,Wren?” She crossed her arms. “You sought me out for a reason, so tell me.”
Neldren had always told Mavery that, despite the prominent scar across her nose, she had a face more suitable for sweet-talking than intimidation. But from how Wren cowered under her hard stare, she was currently having no problem with the latter. Mavery sighed. Wren was a young scholar, not some tight-lipped thug who needed to be berated into submission. She unfolded her arms.
“Wren,” she said with as much gentleness as she could muster, “I won’t tell him anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Wren slowly uncoiled. Her hands continued to tremble, but she was able to meet Mavery’s eye again.
“Sorry, it’s just difficult to talk about.” She leaned forward and, though there was no one within earshot, lowered her voice. “What has he told you about the Innominate Temple?”
“Not much, as he seems to have given up on it.”
“Really?” Wren pressed a hand to her heart as her body relaxed. “Oh, that’s the best thing I’ve heard all day! When I first started working for him, I thought the temple was just a little passion project of his, nothing he was ever serious about. That was until a year ago, when he made a research breakthrough that drove him absolutelymad.”
Mavery frowned. “How so?”
“Two days later, he sent me and his other two assistants to the temple. Said we needed to ‘strike while the iron was hot.’ ”
Mavery’s stomach lurched. When Declan had told her that Alain’s assistant had died on a research trip, he hadn’t specified where. Surely Wren wasn’t talking about the same trip.
“Don’t tell me he actually sent you totheInnominate Temple.”
Wren nodded.
“And the three of you wentalone?”
When she nodded again, Mavery’s head reeled. Between the hike through miles of wilderness, the overwhelming arcana, and the lethal traps that she herself had still never seen, the Innominate Temple was not a place someone visited on a whim. It was certainly not a place for someone like Wren, whom Mavery doubted had much experience investigating dangerous ruins. She would bet the same had been true of the other two assistants.
“What happened?” Mavery asked, though she already knew some of the answer and dreaded learning the rest.
Wren took a deep breath. “It wasn’t easy. First, we wandered in circles for half a day. Just as we were about to give up, we found the godsforsaken place. It wasawful. The magic was…was…”
“Strong enough to make you ill.”
“Exactly.” Her brown eyes widened. “Er, how did you know?”
“I’ve been there. Well, I’ve gotten close enough. But never mind that. What happened next?”
“We tried getting closer, then Conor triggered some hidden trap—a detonation ward, I think—and it killed him. It’s awful enough that someone died, but the fact that it wasConorwas even worse.He’d only been on our team for a few weeks, and gods, was he handsome.He had the most unusual eyes, and he—”
“Unusual in what way?” Mavery asked.
“Mismatched. His left eye was brown, his right was blue—or was it the other way around? Have you ever seen anyone with eyes like that?”
“No, can’t say that I have.”
