Destiny. Grace Goodwin
was good and dead, the slice across his throat big enough to take down a lion, let alone a man. Still, I went over to him and knelt, blood soaking through the knees of my pants, coating my palms as I felt around for a pulse, tried to officially determine if he was well and truly gone. Beyond saving.
Nothing. The ReGen wands and pods they had out here in space were amazing, but dead was dead. And Crayden was gone. I had no idea how a pod could heal having his carotids severed.
I squeezed my eyes closed and tried to listen again, to find the sound of someone running away. Breathing hard. Or laughing. Anything. All I needed was a noise, a direction to go. Something.
A scream sounded at a distance. Then another. The pounding of at least a dozen feet. Shouts.
I stood slowly, paralyzed for a few heartbeats, anger beating inside me. They were ruining everything. A fleeing killer was lost in all the racket.
Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!
I couldn’t hear a damn thing with them all carrying on like panicked idiots. The murderer was going to get away.
A hand closed around my upper arm, a big hand. My heart leapt into my throat. My instinct was to spin around, karate chop him in self-defense. Do anything to keep my head attached to my body. The instinct was there, but for a split second, I thought it might be Nix.
Whipping my head around, I looked up into the eyes of a fortress guard. My hand flew to my chest as I tried to calm down.
“Are you all right?” His gaze looked me over, then scanned the area, as if the killer may still be about. “Did you see anything?”
I shook my head, held my hands out in front of me, saw the blood covering them. “No. God, the poor man. I came out of the fortress and found him like this.”
The guard looked up and around the walls of the building. “I’ve been on patrol. You didn’t see or hear anything?”
“Did you?” I countered.
The guard frowned, staring down at me like I was a child. “Cleric Crayden exited. I saw him when he stepped out. He does this often and we see him here after morning meditation and reminders, so I thought nothing of it.”
He spoke into his comms unit, announcing the murder and requesting backup and a sweep of the area.
“You saw him get killed then?” I asked when he was done, wiping my hands on my pants, leaving streaks of damp.
He shook his head. “No. I walk patrol along the top turret on the south corner. I saw him, walked around, and when I came back to this side, I saw you exit and kneel down. It was then I saw his body. You are the one who had an opportunity to witness the killing. Or hear it.”
He didn’t say I’d done it. If he suspected me, we wouldn’t be standing about, idly chit chatting. “Did you see anyone? Hear voices? The sounds of a fight?”
I had, but nothing useful. “From the tunnel I heard muffled noises, like fighting, but no talking. I ran this way, but when I came out the door, he was dead and alone.”
His frown told me in no uncertain terms that he was not satisfied with my answer. It wasn’t thorough, but again, I wasn’t in handcuffs. “I’m sure Elder Amandine will want to speak with you.”
Other guards appeared, knelt before the body.
“As will the rest of her guard,” he continued. With the body attended to, he continued, “Come with me.”
“But—“
“I said, come. Now.” He pulled me, none too gently away from the guards and Crayden’s dead body. The concern I’d first seen in his eyes completely gone, replaced with resolve and anger. I couldn’t blame him. I’d followed Crayden out of the building and now had his blood all over me. It didn’t look very good.
“I don’t know anything,” I insisted.
He ignored me and pulled. I curled my bloodied hands into fists and walked with him. I had nothing to hide.
Well, that wasn’t exactly true, but I had nothing to hide in regards to this murder.
Thank god this guy had seen me the moment I walked outside. If not, I’d have to call Trinity and beg for royal intervention. I wasn’t sure what the clerical order did to cold-blooded murderers, but if they executed someone for walking into the elder’s office without permission, I knew I didn’t want to find out.
And since the clerics ran the Optimus units, the legal side of things on Alera, I didn’t want to get locked in a cell before I could break Mom out of hers. Although, I could end up on Cell Level C, but this wasn’t the way I’d considered getting in there.
Who had killed Crayden? And why? Because he was digging around on behalf of Elder Amandine? If so, she’d just given him his orders last night. That was awfully fast for things to move from zero to murder. Because he knew something and had to be eliminated like it seemed everyone else I’d heard about on the news? Lord and Lady Jax, Lord Wyse. Had Crayden been next?
If so, then perhaps I was closer to the truth than I’d ever thought.
The guard pulled me along until I was in the very same office I’d been hiding in the night before. He pushed me down into the chair opposite the elder female, and I stared at the caked blood on my hands. Crayden was dead. I was pretty sure he was one of the good guys, so that really stunk. Or had he been? Had he been like a double agent, working for the bad guys and cozying up to Elder Amandine?
God, so many questions. And zero answers.
The guard updated Elder Amandine on what had happened. When he announced Crayden had been murdered, her lips pursed and her cheeks went pale, but she gave no other outward response.
When he was done, her gaze turned to me. “What were you doing this morning, Initiate? Why were you in the elder tunnels? Those areas are restricted to my personal guard.”
Oh, shit. The elder did not sound amused. She’d really freak if she knew what I’d been doing with Nix up against the corner right behind me. And also in the other room.
I crossed my legs, looked up and tried not to blush as memories flooded me, memories of Nix’s hard cock, my orgasms, the hot sex I’d stolen from him in this very room just a few hours ago. Staring into the elder’s eyes was like trying to lie to a very wise grandmother—or at least that’s how I imagined it.
Still, I was a princess. And now, thanks to that very same midnight escapade and overhearing her conversation with Crayden, I was confident that this woman was firmly on my mother’s side of things. Loyal to Queen Celene. Which meant loyal to my sisters.
And me.
We could use a few more allies. And I was tired of chanting and praying and sneaking around. That was soooooo not my style. I was more the smash and grab type.
“Young woman, you will answer me. Now.”
Oh, yes. Total pissed off mom voice. If she knew all three of my names, no doubt she’d be scolding me with every syllable right now.
“All right, but just a moment. I need to make sure we are truly alone,” I said.
“I dismissed my guard. I assure you—”
I held up my hand, pointer finger up in the just a minute signal as I rose slowly and walked along the walls in her inner office, listening. Listening.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Checking. Please, don’t make any noise. Just for a couple moments. I know there are no guards nearby. Which was foolish of you, by the way.” The Aleran language flew off my tongue easily, as it had for as long as I could remember. But I saw her eyes narrow at my implied threat.
“I may look helpless, child, but I am far from it,” she scolded.
That made me grin. “Same.”
Perhaps