Page 74 of Sword & Sacrifice

Mirinda nodded, brow furrowed in confusion. “Felicity informed me we would be transferring the documents, but then a guard delivered your message that you wanted more time to review the accounts.” The confusion shifted as her face pinched in distress. “Is it …”

The guard in the corner tensed, her hand flexing as she waited for Mirinda to give something away.

“Is it worse than we thought?” She twisted her hands in her skirts. “We should have done more than a cursory examination, but the crown jewels were all present. The gold stores seemed robust. But with all the new expenses since the fire …”

Silas relaxed back in his chair, taking a few careful breaths to mask his own relief. If the last of his old council had betrayed him, he would have questioned his right to remain king. How could people trust him to lead if none of his advisers did? “Actually, there was more inside than we expected.”

“I don’t understand.”

“We found a body inside.” For now, Silas withheld the details on Griselda’s recommendation. First, because she thought it was too ‘convenient’ for the body to belong to one of the traitors. Second, as a way to test the waters, see if anyone knew more than they should.

The blood drained from Mirinda’s face. She tried to sit down, but the chair was farther away than she expected. As she started to fall, Silas’ personal guard grabbed her arm and held her upright. The guard hooked the chair with one foot and dragged it across the stone floor with a loud scrape, then pushed Mirinda into it.

Silas flinched as he watched the interaction, wishing the guard had handled the situation more delicately. At least she didn’t let Mirinda fall on her ass.

“W-who … what … a body.” Mirinda struggled to get the words out.

“The investigation is still ongoing,” Silas said, repeating the line Griselda had given him.

Mirinda nodded slowly. Then, as the fog of confusion lifted, her expression smoothed. She placed her hands in her lap and examined Silas carefully. “You suspect me.”

Silas’ first instinct was to reassure her, to soften the blow. He swallowed the words and pulled a piece of parchment toward him. “I need to ask you a few questions.”

She nodded once and waited patiently for the interrogation.

“Have you entered the Vault without me present?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, to fetch the crowns for your formal address with King Archer.”

“Nothing since the fire?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

The Vaults typically had at least two guards standing at the door. While they wouldn’t stop an adviser from entering the room, they would notice if she entered with someone else, then left alone. There were only two times the Vault would have been completely unguarded—during the battle in the courtyard, when all soldiers had left their stations to defend the palace; and during the fire, when everyone would have fled to safety.

Since Silas and Mirinda had done a cursory inspection of the Vault after the thwarted coup and found no body inside, the only logical time for the murder had to be during the fire. As the People’s Representative, Mirinda was a well-recognized figure among the citizens, so everyone knew how she’d spent the crises: rounding up people, directing the efforts to put out the flames, and trying to maintain order in the chaos. If she’d had time to murder someone on top of all that, Silas might have been impressed despite himself.

“Have you given your copy of the key to anyone?”

“No, sir.”

“Did anyone ask you for the key?”

“No, sir.”

“Do you still have your key with you?”

She plucked a keyring from her belt, found the appropriate key, and presented it to Silas. He confirmed it was the correct one and nodded for her to put it away.

“Do you know of any palace staff who went missing during or after the fire?”

“No, but Felicity would have more information on the palace staff than I do.”

Silas had already spoken to Felicity, and she’d confirmed that the only staff casualty of the fire had been Mr. Oakley.

“When was the last time you saw Jacoby?”

For the first time, she hesitated.