“See, this is what I mean,” I said, trying to suppress a shiver of dread at her words. “You accuse me of working for a murderer, but I know what Adair and the Family did. I saw it for myself. Yet you worked with someone who was responsible for everything that went wrong in both our lives.”
She ducked her head, not before I spotted a shimmer of guilt in her eyes. “The Family will be on the winning side in the war, I guarantee it. They’ll be ready to pick up the pieces.”
I didn’t doubt they would. The Family didn’t start wars, for the most part. They just cleaned up the aftermath. Yet there was nothing they could gain from another conflict which they didn’t already have.
Except me, a voice whispered in the back of my mind. I’d left Adair behind, left him for dead, and while he was as tightly locked up as Tay was, I couldn’t help wondering how he’d got out the first time around. Admittedly, there’s not much you can do to keep a half-elf, half-human semi-immortal with unpredictable magic under lock and key. Adair had the additional advantage of being able to use his own magic to persuade anyone to obey him, and I wasn’t sure even the magical protection on the dungeon would be able to keep it contained. If he was given the slightest leeway, he’d walk free once again, and I’d prefer not to end up taking the blame if he did. Though chance would be a fine thing if the Death King kept sending me to talk to these people. At least my alibi was solid and there was no denying I wore the symbol of the Court of the Dead.
“Why did you come here, anyway?” asked Tay.
“Why else? The head jailor was found dead and you’re the main suspect.” I sucked in a breath. “You know what they’ll do if you’re found guilty. I couldn’t walk away after that.”
“Do you think I did it?”
“You tell me,” I said.
She gave a shrug. “Guess you wouldn’t believe me either way.”
That stung, but I brushed it off. “You haven’t seen Adair since they brought you in? Or heard from him?”
“How would I? He’s miles away on the other side of this floor.”
That’s not an answer. Adair’s mind-controlling abilities might have easily convinced her to kill the jailor if he’d managed to make eye contact with her during her brief escape from her cell. She wouldn’t have needed a cantrip to kill if she’d had access to her magic, but she didn’t. Adair, on the other hand? The verdict was out on that one.
“Then why were you out of your cell?” I asked.
Her eyes narrowed. “None of your business.”
I threw up my hands in exasperation. “Tay, I’m trying to save your life.”
“I don’t need your help,” she said. “I’ll speak for myself.”
“You want to be executed for a crime you claim not to have committed?” I said. “Can’t you put aside our personal issues and focus on the big picture here? I’ll gladly leave you be if you just tell me what you want.”
“I don’t want to die.” She spoke to her hands, not looking at me in the eyes. “But they’ve already decided I’m guilty. And I’m not willing to provide evidence otherwise.”
“There you have it,” Harris said from behind me. “Sure your Death King master will come to the aid of a dead woman?”
Tay’s head snapped up, disbelief colouring her voice. “That’s what you said? You told the guards the Death King would help save me?”
Heat seared my neck. “Actually, that isn’t what I said. I did say that I’d bring a group of liches here to stop your execution if necessary, whether the Death King gave permission or not, but I’m thinking of retracting that promise.”
“You think a bunch of dead people can help me?” she said.
“I reckon the liches can give it a shot.” I turned to Harris. “I know you want a straight answer from her, but if I were you, I’d keep an eye on Adair. The guy can use persuasive magic. He might have ordered her not to answer any questions.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” said Harris.
“I bet Adair’s hard to keep contained,” I added, ignoring his petulant tone. “Does his magic still work in here? Because that’s one hell of a gamble to take, unless you keep him blindfolded.”
“Like you could do any better.”
I lifted my head. “You know liches are immune to his persuasive magic, don’t you? If you ask me, he’d be more secure in the Death King’s jail than here. I’d like to see him try to convince them he had nothing to do with the jailor’s death.”
“What?” He cocked a brow at me. “Nobody told me that before.”
“I thought you knew.” Admittedly, most people didn’t consider immortal lich lords when designing their jail cells. “Does that make you think differently about the Death King’s offer of cooperation with the House of Fire?”
Tay made a sceptical noise. “He could gain the cooperation of all the Houses and it’d make no difference. The war will bring this place crashing down. It’s only a matter of time.”
“You want me to make you take back those words?” said Harris.
“Okay, that’s enough,” I said. “Tay, if you aren’t going to help me, then good luck. I’m outta here.”
In truth, I was worried she’d provoke the guards into inflicting a worse punishment on her, and I had nothing more to say to convince her to admit the truth. Not as long as Adair held her in his grip. So I stepped away from her cell and followed Harris back upstairs, my mind ticking over the possibilities. Would the Death King dismiss my idea of taking Adair into custody outright, even if the House of Fire somehow agreed to the transfer?
“Bitch deserves to die,” said Harris.
Anger clenched inside me, even if I knew Tay hadn’t exactly made herself look the picture of innocence. “Look, I’m ninety percent
