“She was a slave at the Guild House.”
“Where you would have met Riva as well.”
“I didn’t meet Riva until the night she died.”
Riaya nodded. “How did Riva come to be in your room that night?”
Lorkin bit his lip. “She slipped in while I was asleep.”
“And what did she do?”
“Woke me up.” He pushed aside reluctance at having to describe how. “By getting into my bed and... er... being a lot nicer to me than was required.”
A faint smile touched Riaya’s lips. “So you were not in the habit of bedding slaves, then?”
“No.”
“But you didn’t send her away.”
“No.”
“What happened then?”
“The room lit up. I saw that Tyvara had stabbed Riva.”
“And then?”
“Tyvara explained how Riva had intended to kill me.” He felt his face warm. “With a kind of magic I’d never heard of before. She said if I stayed at the Guild House, others would attempt to assassinate me.”
“You believed her?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“The other slave – Riva – said something.” He thought back. “She said: ‘he has to die’. It was obvious that she was referring to me.”
Riaya’s eyebrows rose. She looked at the six women and the queen, then turned back to Lorkin.
“What happened then?”
“We left and went to an estate – to the slave quarters. The slaves there were helpful. But at the estate we went to next, the slaves had set a trap for us. They tried to drug us. After that we didn’t trust anyone – until we met Chari.”
Riaya nodded, then turned to the Table.
“Any questions for Lord Lorkin?”
The first woman nodded. Lorkin recalled their names from the last meeting. Yvali, I think. She fixed Lorkin with a direct stare.
“Did you ever bed Tyvara?”
“No.”
A murmur went through the audience. It sounded like a protest, Lorkin noted. Yvali opened her mouth to ask another question, then thought better of it. She looked at the others.
“Did Tyvara kill anybody else while you were travelling together?” Lanna asked.
“Not as far as I know.”
“Why did you not head for Kyralia?” Shaiya asked.
“Tyvara said that it was the obvious thing to do, so we’d find assassins waiting for us.”
“What did you give Ambassador Dannyl after you persuaded him to stop following us?” Savara asked.
Lorkin looked at her in surprise, but not at the sudden change of subject. If she had seen this, why hadn’t she asked him before now? Her expression was impossible to read. He decided it would be best to tell the truth.
“My mother’s blood ring. I knew it was likely it would be taken from me when I got here, and I don’t think she would have liked it falling into unfamiliar hands.”
A low murmur filled the room, but quickly subsided.
“Did you use it at any time after Tyvara killed Riva?”
“No. Tyvara didn’t know I had it... I think.” He resisted glancing in her direction.
“Do you have any other blood rings?”
“No.”
Savara nodded to indicate she had no more questions.
“Will you consent to a mind-read to confirm the truth of your words?” Kalia asked.
The room fell utterly silent.
“No,” Lorkin replied.
Muttered words and exhalations followed. He met Kalia’s gaze and held it. How stupid does she think I am? If I let anyone read my mind they’ll go looking for the secret to Healing, and then I can forget about ever leaving this place.
No more questions came. Riaya exchanged glances with all of the women at the table, then looked at Lorkin.
“Thank you, Lord Lorkin, for your cooperation. Please stand over by the entrance.”
He nodded to her respectfully out of habit, then to the six women and to the queen in case his gesture would be taken as giving inappropriate favour to the Director. Spotting near the entrance the guide who had taken him to the room, he walked over to stand by her.
She eyed him thoughtfully, then nodded.
“That was well done,” she murmured.
“Thank you,” he replied. He looked across the room to Tyvara. She was frowning, but as he met her gaze she gave him a strained smile.
“We will now deliberate,” Riaya announced.
As the eight women around the table began to talk, the audience broke into noisy chatter. Lorkin tried to pick conversations out of the voices, but could not make out more than the occasional phrase. The leaders around the table had clearly set a magical barrier against noise around themselves. So instead of listening, he examined the people in the room in the hope of learning what he could before he was returned to the windowless cell.
There were many couples sitting on the stairs, he noted, but all others were women. Those standing around the walls were mostly male, however. The clothing of all was simple. Some of the Traitors were dressed in practical trousers and tunics, while others wore long belted shifts in finer cloth. He was surprised to see that both women and men wore these long shifts.
The colour of the cloth ranged from undyed to deep colours, but none were vivid or bright. He guessed it was hard to bring dyes into the city, and with limited space to grow crops, priority would be given to plants that produced food.
Though he tried to keep his attention focused on the audience, he could not help glancing at Tyvara from time to time. Every time he did so, he found her watching him. She did not smile again, however. She looked thoughtful. And worried.
Finally, Riaya’s voice rose over the noise in the room.
“We have finished deliberations,” she announced.
The room quietened. Riaya looked at the other women at the table, then turned to regard Tyvara.
“You offered to allow Speaker Halana to read your mind. We have explored all other avenues as required by law, but I can see no other way to confirm your claims. Please come forward and remove the mind block.”
From the audience came low voices and whispers. Lorkin thought back to a snippet of conversation between Chari and Tyvara, from the journey into the mountains. Tyvara had said she would let the Traitors read her mind. Chari had been shocked. “You can’t,” she had hissed. “You promised...”
Promised what? To who? Lorkin watched as the woman who had saved his life walked with head high to stand before her leaders. He felt his heart lighten with a rush of sudden, giddy affection. She is so proud. So beautiful. Then he felt a familiar doubt and annoyance spoil the moment. I wish I knew whether Chari is right or not about Tyvara’s regard for me. If she is wrong I don’t want to make a fool of myself trying to win over Tyvara. But if she is right... if Tyvara likes me... but makes a habit of pushing away those who admire her... do I have the determination to keep pursuing her?
Every part of him was sure he did.
Stopping in front of the Table, Tyvara held out her left hand. She paused, then grimaced. Lorkin blinked in surprise and horror as blood began to drip from her palm. She kneaded the base of her thumb, then held up something too tiny for him to see. She let it drop on the table.
I was right, he thought. The mind block is an object similar to a blood gem.
The leaders wore expressions of grim sympathy. He watched Halana stand up and reach out to Tyvara, who bent forward a little. The older woman took hold of Tyvara’s head and closed her eyes.