The Torch that Ignites the Stars (Arcane Ascension Book 3)

by Andrew Rowe

  The implication behind that assertion was that Meltlake was an illegitimate child — a supposition that practically demanded that Meltlake defend her own honor by identifying herself. Not a bad strategy, but…

  “Something like that. Anyway, we’re here on business.” Meltlake deflected the remark effortlessly. “There’s been an assassination attempt. We’re all suspects, of course. Lady Cadence, if you would?”

  By dropping “Lady Cadence” in there, she’d acknowledged Sera as being a fellow noble, and one that was acknowledged by the Hartigan family — an archduchy on a level comparable to the Havens themselves. Insulting our family further would, then, be potentially insulting the Hartigan family as well: something Meltlake had just demonstrated to be unwise.

  “Thank you.” Sera chose not to use a title for Meltlake, which was also deliberate: she didn’t know what Meltlake was calling herself, so she chose to go with nothing. “We’ve all been interrogated already. The house staff is currently prioritizing the safety of the guests and residents, and thus, since we’ve been cleared and possess…certain skills, we’ve been asked to provide assistance with clearing other guests.”

  “My, my.” Haven gave Sera an appraising look. “You’ve managed quite an opportunistic move there, haven’t you? I can already see you have quite a future ahead of you. We should speak privately later.”

  Sera continued without missing a beat. “My brother possesses a ring that forces whoever wears it to obey his verbal commands. Each of you will put on the ring in turn. He will then demand that you answer our questions honestly. This should be a painless process, provided that everyone cooperates.”

  I hadn’t told Sera my plan to use the Ring of Derek Controlling for the interrogation. She’d picked it up purely from context.

  I had to admit, I was a little impressed.

  Haven clapped her hands. “What fun! Normally I don’t let younger men command me outside of very special contexts,” she shot me a look that sent a shiver down my spine, “but I suppose we’ll make an exception. Please, get Lys first. I’d love to watch.”

  A younger woman to her left shot her a glare, then turned toward us and bowed her head. “If it is the mistress’ will, I will, of course, subject myself to this test.”

  “Of course you will, dear. Now, hands out. And if Lady Hartigan wouldn’t mind, can you allow my dear Earl-to-Be to have his voice back?”

  Meltlake nodded. “If you’ll keep him reigned in.”

  “Yes, naturally. Constant apologizes profusely for his earlier rudeness, don’t you, my dear?”

  The earl glared at Meltlake for another moment, then turned his head to Lady Haven and nodded once, grudgingly.

  “Perfect. Go ahead.”

  Meltlake flicked a finger. Nothing visible happened, but Constant had a startled expression, then started to speak again. “I should say that—“”

  “Sssh, dear. You’ve said quite enough. Wait for your turn.” Lady Haven turned to me. “What are you waiting for? That young woman is waiting for you to put a ring on her hand.”

  I rolled my eyes and moved forward. Lys had her hands extended. I carefully slipped the ring around her left pointer finger to avoid any unnecessary symbolism. “Answer any questions from my group, including me, honestly and to the best of your ability.”

  The ring flashed.

  “Ooh! Have her obey me, too!” Lady Haven leaned closer to me. “Pretty please? I want to play.”

  I shot her a hard look. “You’ll play when we get to your turn.”

  She gave me a little pout. “I don’t like bossy men.” She folded her arms. “You’re losing points rapidly.”

  I had far more important things to worry about than Lady Haven’s impressions of me…probably. “Let us ask our questions first. You can ask one at the end, and if I like it, maybe we’ll give you more.”

  She gave me an appraising look, then nodded. “Better. While I dislike needing to prove my usefulness, I admit that’s a valid strategy.” She waved a hand. “Proceed.”

  I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, turning back to Lys. “State your name for us.”

  “Caelyssa Ves.”

  “And your affiliation?” I asked.

  “I am a sworn retainer to House Haven.”

  I gave Lady Haven a look. This was how she treated a retainer? She smiled brightly back at me, then made some kind of gesture…buttoning her own lips shut, I think?

  Oh, maybe they haven’t invented zippers yet. I’m wonder if…wait, getting distracted again.

  I turned back to Lys. “Do you know anything about the attacks that just occurred?”

  “Yes.”

  “You need to be a bit more specific than that, brother. Just knowing attacks happened would be a ‘yes’.” Sera stepped up next to me. “Did you participate in the attacks in any capacity?”

  “No.” Lys shook her head.

  “Do you know anyone who was involved in the attacks?”

  “No, I do not.”

  “Do you have any idea who the targets were?”

  Lys frowned. “I can surmise based on the response that it was the owners of the home, but I can’t say for certain.”

  “Did you come here with any intention to do harm to any Edrian citizen?”

  Lys blinked. “No. I mean, not unless we were attacked first?”

  “Did you develop a reason to attack any Edrian citizen after coming here?”

  “N—,” she stopped herself, forcing her mouth shut. Then after shuddering, “I thought about hurting the man who challenged your brother.”

  Sera and I both blinked. “Why?” I asked.

  “An insult to one of us is an insult to us all.” She glared at Constant, then looked back to me. “You defended our national honor in that duel, but I think you should have crippled him.”

  I sighed. “I didn’t think that was necessary. Anyway, did you take any action to harm him after the duel?”

  “No, I was forbidden from doing so.”

  “By your lady?” Sera asked.

  She turned her head to Lady Haven, who smiled beatifically, then turned back to us. “Yes, by my lady.”

  “Thank you,” I noted to Lady Haven. “You may have helped us avoid an incident.”

  “You’re most welcome! Can I ask one now?”

  I sighed, then turned to Sera.

  Sera shrugged. “The basics are out of the way. Sure, let’s see what she’s got.”

  “Please honestly answer the next question from Lady Haven related to this specific investigation.”

  Lady Haven raised a hand to her heart as if wounded. “My dear Lord Cadence, did you think I was going to use this rare opportunity to ask my retainer something completely unrelated while she was forced to give an honest answer?”

  I tilted my head downward. “Yes, definitely.”

  “Right you are! Wonderful. You’re a much better sparring partner than I initially expected. Very well, I’ll stay on topic for now. Lys, answer me this — presuming that none of the Valians in this room is involved, who do you believe would be the most likely person to have the necessary means, positioning, and motivation to make an attempt on the lives of the young daughters of this house?”

  Something dangerous passed over Anthony’s face. I presumed it was because Haven had spoken of “daughters”, rather than a single daughter, indicating she already had known that there were a cursed pair involved. No official announcement had yet been made, and thus, that implied Lady Haven had either come to the party with prior knowledge or had somehow deduced that information during the party.

  “Well, I suppose, if they have to meet all the criteria…the bearer of Soulbrand, perhaps? He is said to be a powerful fighter, and given that he is from House Dalen, he would have sufficient motive to want retribution for what happened to Kelridge.”

  “East Edria,” Anthony said a little louder than necessary.

  “Yes, of course.” Lady Haven laughed. “Clearly, that’s what Lys meant. Forgive u
s.”

  Anthony glared at her, but said nothing further.

  “Am…I done now?” Lys asked in a half-begging tone.

  “I think we can move on.” I reached forward. Lys hastily stuck her hand out, allowing me to take the ring off her hand.

  “Excellent!” Lady Haven clapped her hands. “Who’s next?”

  ***

  We went through questioning the rest of the Valians quickly and easily without anyone giving any hint of involvement with the assassination attempts. Lady Haven continued to attempt to be “helpful”, asking questions related to try to find any loopholes in our questions. Things like, “Did you participate in anything that may have been interpreted as an attack, but was actually a form of misdirection toward your real objective?” or that sort of thing.

  I wasn’t surprised when she, after being questioned herself, offered to “help” us interrogate the other guests at the party. I flatly turned her down. Her questions were potentially insightful, but she was clearly enjoying herself so much that I could see that there was a high probability she’d find some way to subvert our efforts.

  With that room concluded, we moved on to the next — the gathering from Caelford. They proved much more straightforward to deal with, answering our questions simply and directly without complaint. No one revealed any involvement in the attack.

  “We’re getting nowhere,” Patrick frowned.

  “This isn’t going to be a quick process. We have a lot of people to go through. We may need to take multiple passes, too, as we come up with better questions to refine our search.”

  “I’m not sure the ring is going to be able to handle multiple passes. It has a lot of mana, but…” I frowned. “We may need to find someone who can recharge it more effectively than I can if we don’t find the culprit on the first pass.”

  “We’ll deal with that issue when the time comes.” Sera tapped her foot, seemingly contemplating something. “For now, I think it’s long past time we have a talk with Master Dalen.”

  My heart sank. I wasn’t sure I could deal with a second Dalen-related betrayal.

  Patrick spoke before I could. “Mitsurugi is here alone, and I was with him outside right around when the attacks happened. It can’t be him.”

  “If I was involved, I wouldn’t make it obvious who else I was working with. Staying outside with you while his allies make the attack is an excellent form of deflection.” Sera put a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, Patrick. We have to do this.”

  “…It’s okay. Fine. Let’s just make it quick. And try not to question his honor too much.”

  ***

  Two minutes later…

  “You are questioning my honor?” Mitsurugi glared at me. “I thought better of you, Cadence. I have done nothing to warrant this insult.”

  I may have phrased my opening poorly. I raised my hands in placating fashion. “No, no. We’re simply asking everyone. We’ve already gone through multiple rooms of other people.”

  Mitsurugi’s eyes remained narrowed, but his stance shifted to something more neutral. “Very well, I understand. I am still disappointed that you chose this approach, rather than simply asking me, but I will subject myself to this treatment as a sign of respect for my fellow wielder.”

  He extended his hands toward me. Nervously, I slipped a ring on his right ring finger.

  Wait, that finger was…

  I winced at my own accidental implication, but said nothing. If Mitsurugi had noticed my slip, he said nothing.

  “Ask your questions.”

  “I, uh…”

  “Tell him to answer honestly first, Corin,” Sera reminded me.

  “Uh, right. Mitsurugi, answer all questions from my group and me honestly.”

  There was a flash as the ring activated, then Mitsurugi grunted. “I will. Ask.”

  Patrick surprised me by speaking first. “Were you involved in any attempt to assassinate a member of House Verena?”

  He turned to Patrick with a look of…acknowledgement, maybe? “No. I intended nothing of the sort.”

  Patrick continued. “Did you come here with the intent to harm any member of House Verena, or their retainers, in any way?”

  “No.”

  “Have you attacked anyone at this party?”

  “Not aside from sparring.”

  “Did anyone who accompanied you here attack anyone at this party?’

  “Not that I am aware of.”

  I noted that was phrased differently, but I let Patrick keep going. He was clearly up to something with his own line of questioning.

  “Do you have any indication of who might be responsible for the attack?”

  “Yes.”

  I blinked. “Really?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Yes.”

  Realizing that my question was a little vague, I rephrased. “Please, elaborate.”

  “This place is a cesspit of immorality. Several people have motivations to attack the residents of this home.”

  Anthony bristled. “You would be wise to watch your words.”

  “I cannot.” He raised his hand and flashed the ring. “I can only be honest.”

  The butler gave Mitsurugi a glare, but Patrick asked another question before things could escalate.

  “Who do you believe would be most likely responsible for the attacks?”

  “Other Edrians seeking power,” Mitsurugi explained. “This archduchy will die an ignoble death for their audacity if they do not take immediate measures to secure their place. Vultures circle, but one pack of wolves has already chosen to strike.”

  “…But you are not sure who the wolves are in this analogy?” I asked.

  “Correct.” Mitsurugi nodded. “But I can tell you that it’s very likely to be one of the other archduchies or duchies at work. They have the most to gain.”

  “One last thing,” Patrick spoke again. “Were you serious about your earlier offer?”

  “Of course.” He nodded his head.

  “I think we’re done here.” Patrick turned to me, a pleading look on his face.

  “I think we are as well.” Sera clapped her hands. “Master Dalen, please forgive us for this intrusion. We appreciate your cooperation.”

  “You are not forgiven.” He tore the ring off his finger and tossed it toward me. I caught it and, unsettled, left the room.

  ***

  Anthony shot a frustrated look back at the room as we left, but said nothing.

  I glanced at Patrick. He whispered “later”.

  “Well, if it’s not Dalen, and Dalen thinks it’s someone from Edria…”

  “I would advise you not to take the words of a dissident too seriously,” Anthony noted. “He is unfairly biased toward his betters.”

  Patrick’s face flickered to a brief and uncharacteristic expression of anger. “He has no betters here.”

  Anthony looked like he was about to argue, but Sera quickly stepped between them. “Gentlemen, we have limited time. We should be focusing on our investigation.”

  “Yes, of course,” Anthony bowed his head in acknowledgement. He reached into his pocket, checking a pocket watch, then frowned. “We may truly have limited time. The archduke intends to bring his daughters out in less than a bell to perform the debut.”

  “Wait, what? Even if we haven’t identified the culprit?” I asked.

  “A brief delay may be tolerable, but too much would imply a sign of weakness. And given the level of stature of some of those present, some will not be patient. I could, perhaps, convince him to give us another half bell, but…”

  “Get us to the next room, then go do that,” Sera instructed him. “We need as much time as possible.”

  “Very well. Who is next?”

  “Let’s speak to the man who challenged my brother. He was clearly willing to attack someone during the party.”

  I raised an eyebrow at Sera, questioning her strategy. Jerome was violent, sure, but he had a particular motive to go after someone from House Cadence. H
e also appeared to be a staunch Edrian patriot. Attacking an archduke’s family sounded out-of-character for him, although perhaps not for his compatriots.

  …Still, given her expression, I was confident she was up to something.

  “An excellent idea. This way.”

  Anthony led us to another room, spoke to the guards, then bowed. “I will speak to the archduke and see if I can garner a small delay. I shall be back forthwith.”

  As Anthony departed, Sera leaned to Meltlake and whispered something. Meltlake nodded, then headed off down a different hallway.

  “Shall we go talk to our old friends?” Sera asked.

  I rolled my eyes and followed her into the room.

  ***

  The guards accompanied us into the room this time, explaining in Anthony’s absence that we had the authority to perform the interrogation. In spite of some initial animosity for obvious reasons, Jerome and his compatriots cooperated, revealing no involvement in the assassination attempt and no knowledge of who had caused it.

  When asked who the most likely suspects were, Jerome said, “You, obviously.” Helpful, that one.

  Duchess Sheng and Duke Jing were in the same room and had similarly safe answers. They represented the majority of the remaining Edrian political power at the party, with one clear exception.

  When we left the room, Anthony had already returned, and he was waiting right outside. “I’ve managed to secure the delay as you requested. Where to next?”

  He didn’t ask about the results of the interrogation.

  “We’ll be going to see Archduke Wolff next,” Sera explained.

  I watched Anthony stiffen just slightly at that. “The archduke will not be pleased to be interrogated in this manner. I advise you that this course of action may be unwise.”

  “I’ll take responsibility for any shaken scales.” Sera smiled. “Please, lead the way.”

  Archduke Wolff sat in a huge, well-appointed room, surrounded by over a dozen retainers. A quick flash of Detect Aura showed me that not only was Archduke Wolff a Citrine, he had multiple Sunstones among his retinue.

  We have zero chance if this goes badly. Not without Meltlake.