Page 142 of The Tainted Cup

“But this will take time, and will involve many legal and political battles,” sighed Vashta. “But for now, it is very possible that all the elder sons of the Haza clan may find themselves dispossessed…and in reward for her cooperation, Fayazi Haza might take their place.”

“Fayazi?” I said, surprised. “She’ll be takingoverfor the Hazas?”

Vashta shrugged grimly. “She has given us all the communications her elders sent her, proving their guilt. And the Haza lands are invaluable. Someone must manage them. It might as well be someone we own. Time shall tell how all this goes. Needless to say, our victory at the breach has now changed to a much more protracted affair. A pity that we never found out who stole the real dappleglass cure. With it as proof, we could bring our enemies down all the faster. We shall look for it, but I am not optimistic.”

“Yet there are rumblings from the emperor’s Sanctum,” said Uhad. “Signs he shall revoke some of the blessings and privileges bestowed to the Hazas—as well as possiblyallthe gentry.”

I glanced at Ana. I noticed she had not spoken yet, but sat crooked in her chair, head bowed, face inscrutable.

“The institution of patronage shall be tricky to kill,” said Vashta, “but kill it we shall, I think. There may be many more officers like Blas among us. As a sign of the emperor’s devotion, I’m told an Iudexii conzulate will arrive in the canton shortly. It is the first time such a being has blessed the canton in nearly half a century. He has issued no orders yet, but the suggestion is that he intends to discover exactly how entrenched the Hazas were in the Iyalets.”

I could not hide my surprise. Conzulates were akin to gods in theEmpire: as Fayazi had said to me, they never aged, but kept growing, until many were almost the size of giants, though their size made them incapable of movement. Some were hundreds of years old. The idea that one might be nearby was stupefying tome.

“You have done great works for the Empire, Kol,” said Vashta. “As such, I declare your apprenticeship over. You may now formally consider yourself Assistant Investigator. You may bear your blade and heralds proudly, and your dispensation will be altered accordingly. Congratulations.”

The enormity of it all was almost too much. I wondered how to react and settled on a bow. “Thank you, ma’am.”

Vashta sighed. “Yes. Though I am unsure when you’ll be able to return to your home, Signum, given that your immunis thinks there is still some third poisoner about. Unless you’ve changed your mind about that, Dolabra?”

“I have not, ma’am,” said Ana.

“And I don’t suppose you’ve had any revelations during all that chaos that could help us rest easier.”

“Well…” Ana grinned. “Not during. But, rather, slightlybefore,ma’am.”

There was a confused beat.

“What do you mean?” demanded Vashta.

“I have known thetrueidentity of the dappleglass poisoner since Nusis’s murder,” said Ana mildly. “I know who it truly was who plotted and planned all the horrors of the past weeks.”

“You…you aren’t proposing that it wasnotJolgalgan?” asked Vashta.

“Oh, Jolgalgan was guilty as sin, but she did not act alone,” said Ana. “That’s been obvious from the start. To begin with, she possessed an awareness of Commander Blas’s movements that far surpassed anything a captain in the Apoths should have had. And then there is the more logistical issue of the blackperch mushrooms. Which I have already shared with you, ma’am.”

“Yes…” said Vashta. “You told me you thought there had been another person at the Hazas’ party—someone who had tossed the mushrooms into the fire, causing a distraction.”

“Correct,” said Ana. “I have felt for some time that there was a third person involved. But as the investigation has continued, I’ve begun to feel that this third person possessed a startling insight into Iyalet information. Then an attempt was made on my own life, in my own rooms, and I realized the third person had to be someone here in the Trifecta. A senior Iyalet officer.”

“Is this true?” said Vashta, horrified. “Do you really think we have such a conspirator?”

“I do,” said Ana. “And I think they are sitting directly next to me.” She turned to Uhad. “For it was you, wasn’t it, Tuwey Uhad? It’s been you all along.”

—

VASHTA AND Iturned to stare at Immunis Uhad, who wasn’t beaming anymore. Instead he gazed ahead with a curiously closed, serene expression on his face.

He cleared his throat and said, “I don’t know what you mean, Ana.”

“Don’t be coy,” said Ana. “I’ve known since Nusis’s death. Her safe, as you know, is extremely complicated to open. Yet Din himself realized during that day he took his immunities from her…”

I felt my heart grow cold in my chest. “I told her I shouldn’t watch,” I said softly. “Because an engraver could memorize how to open it.”

“Yes,” said Ana. “Only anengravercould memorize how to manipulate her safe. And you told me yourself, Uhad, that you went to Nusis’s offices frequently for grafts to manage your headaches. You had plenty of chances to watch and learn.” She cocked her head. “And then there is the comment you made to Din at the banquet…that he and I should enjoy a cup of tea. Which would involve using my teapot. Which was, by then, poisoned.”

I felt faintly ill. To realize that Immunis Uhad had tried not only to kill Ana, but me as well, was too gruesome for words.

“Why would I need the cure for dappleglass?” Uhad asked, his voice still calm and serene. “Even if I was this poisoner you’ve dreamed up.”