Page 150 of Fortress of Ambrose
One of them did this! I ask Yani directly, “What were you doing in the Sunrise Corridor?” I watch for her tells of dishonesty.
“When I left the ballroom, I saw Ube heading that way, so I followed him.” She answers without a flinch or touching her hair.
Toushana stalks through me.
End him.
Prove you’re not a failure.
“I didn’t see anything in his hands,” Yani says. “But he probably had it hidden under his clothes or something. And now he’s put it somewhere.”
“Why were you on the third floor?” I ask him. He looks beyond me, at his sister. “I saw Yani go upstairs, so I followed her. But I lost sight of her and was looking for where she’d gone. I assumed the lab.”
“Erla, what do you know?”
His sister joins our interrogation circle.
She tugs at the sleeve of the bright blue dress she’s wearing. “I saw them both leave the ballroom. That’s all.”
“Who left first?”
She hesitates. But her eyes sweep in the direction of her brother.
“He did.”
I knew it. That lying snake.Ube shouts something at her in Latin that I miss.
“I will not lie,” she says to him, and my mind is made up.He will die for stealing the Sphere’s magic and nearly killing a maezre.I pull Erla away from the line of guests, out of earshot of her brother. “How savvy are you on the extraction procedure?”
“I’ve worked side by side with my brother.”
“Leave here, go straight to the lab, alone. I will meet you there. You will lead the extraction from now on.” I grab my fire dagger and tear through the icy barrier at the door.
She shares a wordless, forlorn look with her brother before departing.
“And me, sir?” Ube asks.
“Just another moment,” I tell him before taking Yani aside, dark magic curling inside, nestling beneath my withering ribs. Each day we put this procedure off lessens my chances of surviving.
“You will go to Triveyna and search for the ring stones we need. You have forty-eight hours. Any longer, I’ll assume you’ve betrayed me.”
She’s not trustworthy in all things, but with this she’s desperate to prove herself. I can allow her this errand. We’re out of options and low on time.
“Everyone line up at the north door to be taken to your rooms. No one leaves for any reason until the culprit is found.”
I shred the veil as the line shuffles to form at the door. Willam shoves past me with his people, hurrying out. I’ll have to deal with him later. Quell is with Ube, waiting for me.
“Jordan, I’d like to question him,” she says.
“No use. He lied to me. He’s a dead man.”
Ube breaks out in a sweat. He stares, terrified. “Okay!I took it, alright?” His hands fly up in surrender. “I figured you might search us, so I hid it in the lab beneath the supplies. Dexler was there already. I made her tell me where to look.”
Quell gasps.
“The Dragunhead told Zecky he wanted that diadem, and I—”
I grab him by the throat. “The Dragunhead’s eyes aren’t welcome inside these walls.” Shadows bite at my fists, begging to rip through my hands. “Ube, by the authority of theNewOrder, I sentence you to die for stealing the world’s magic with ill intent. For assaulting an innocent and leaving them to die. And for aiding and abetting the Dragunhead, who is working against the Headmistress of the House you’re standing in.”
