Katya and Lauren filed out. It was strange to see Katya so subdued, but she clearly sensed something in Cornelius’s mood. As they left, he returned to his seat.

The enthusiasm and excitement of moments before had faded from him, and I felt oddly guilty, as though I’d introduced a topic that drained his vigor. He leaned forward, meeting my gaze, holding it for a long moment.

Licking his lips, pausing before he spoke, he said, “Leona is my niece. I know you’re not part of our circles—or you weren’t, at least. You’ll find many cousins and nephews and aunts and uncles spread between the houses. Leona is my sister’s daughter.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

Cornelius shook his head, waving off the comment. “What’s happened to Leona has nothing to do with you. It’s already well-known that you’re attempting to have her sentence stayed. I’m not sure there’s anything you can do, but I want you to know that your actions are winning you favor and gratitude. I am personally grateful for what you’re doing, and my sister and her husband feel the same. What Leona did was heresy; it was bad business, and it was directed at you, Lord Bloodsword. And yet, here you are, most graciously doing what you can.”

He kept his words and expression formal and composed, but there was emotion brimming behind his eyes.

“I just don’t understand why she’d do it,” I said. “It was clear she’d been waiting. She spent most of the round doing her part. I guess she was hoping the events in the arena would naturally eliminate me and that she wouldn’t need to intervene. Only when it seemed I was about to put Lance away did she step in. It was clearly planned, something she wanted to avoid but felt was necessary.”

Cornelius looked uncomfortable, his gaze shifting from me to the fire.

“If you can tell me anything about what motivated her,” I continued, “then maybe there’s something I can do. I’ve beseeched the Lord Supreme to understand that while her actions were unlawful, if she was compelled—especially if the compulsion was forceful—then the real responsibility lies elsewhere. Maybe you know something that could save her life.”

Cornelius’s eyes continued to avoid mine, reflecting the flickering firelight. I leaned closer, drawing his gaze back to me. There was sadness there, but also a strange kind of fear.

“Please, Cornelius. She’s your niece, your sister’s daughter. Tell me what you can. It can stay between us if needed, but you might know something that could save her life.”

He moaned softly, an involuntary sound.

“Please.”

He gathered his breath, licked his lips a few more times, opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it, his gaze returning to the fire. Perhaps he drew some courage from the flames, for when he turned back to me, he seemed more resolved.

“Lord Bloodsword—”

“Tiberius,” I interrupted.

He smiled weakly. “Tiberius, there are currents that flow beneath the surface of society. The Lord Supreme is a lightning rod. House Baltazar is on the fringes of high society; they had never produced a Lord Supreme before, and there is almost no explanation for how Baron Baltazar found his way onto the council, let alone into the seat of Lord Supreme. He’s a dangerous man; the maneuvering it would have taken to achieve this… truly formidable.

I said, "I know. He's very capable."

Cornelius’s eyes shot wide open. "You're understating it. He's a genius, clearly. But worse, much worse than that, he's a radical."

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I raised an eyebrow at that. It was hard to picture the stoic and expressionless Baltazar as a radical.

But Cornelius nodded vigorously. "Oh yes, oh yes. Baltazar has long been vocal about his dissatisfaction with Boston. He loathes the way our society is structured—hereditary rule instead of meritocracy. He was a soldier, a field commander, and he praises our troops no end. Our armies enter the Falling each year; they have the same testing and experience as the others. But out here, in our corner of the world, we’ve rarely been pulled into political wars or conflicts. While other cities wax and wane—their young men wiped out in wars, their stocks of power weapons and relics pillaged or destroyed—Boston has only grown. Baltazar thinks we can be a regional power, that we should exert our will on the cities around us."

I shook my head slowly. "I don’t understand; what does this have to do with Leona?"

Cornelius leaned in. "Baltazar has the city divided into two camps. There are those who support him, or he wouldn’t have gained the Lord Supreme’s seat. They follow him for the promise of progress and greater wealth. But there are others, many others, who fear the damage he might do. He threatens to pull us into conflicts that could cost us dearly. He threatens to weaken the hereditary rights of the nobles. There are those who simply can’t allow that."

"So why send Leona to take me out of the Choosing?"

Cornelius said, "Baltazar was a leader of men in the field, exceptionally good. To this day, the common soldiers worship him. And he was a great trainer, a great teacher. He promised his supporters he would reform our Griidlords into a force to rival any in the land. To that end, he moored his ship to yours. He publicly and privately supported you, promising that you would be great for the city. Your elimination would have cost him terribly, especially among his supporters."

I leaned back to digest this. I hadn’t deliberately tied myself to Baltazar, but I was drawn to him. He had done me nothing but kindness. As much as his display on The Eagle had frightened me and worried me, his words had landed with truth. The city was in dire need of change. Even the lords were running deeper and deeper into debt.

I asked, "And how do you feel about him?"

Cornelius shifted uncomfortably. "The Flow Lauren won in the arena will secure our comfort for years. Without that… well, we’d be facing hard times. The city is faring poorly, and I see the wisdom in changing a failing system. But, Tiberius, the risks Baltazar presents… they could be existential. Apart from the potential to draw a foreign power down on us, there is the real potential for civil war. My family has had an elective vote on the council since its inception. Baltazar would threaten that. I shiver when I think about the other things he might threaten."

I said, "How do I help Leona?"

Cornelius sagged back in his seat. "I don’t see how you can."

I said, “Clearly, she was coerced into her actions by nobles who have sway over her. She was pushed into it somehow. Is there not mitigation in that?”

Cornelius said, “For heresy? I think not. And Baltazar won’t help you. I hear he’s staying her execution, but make no mistake—that’s to reel you further into his web, nothing more. He doesn’t have the power to pardon her. Even if he did, I’m not sure he would. Remember, Tiberius, if I know that Leona’s motives were ultimately aimed against him, then he certainly knows it. He would see her executed as a message to his opposition.”

His words chilled me. Was the man that cold? That cruel?

I said, “But if he doesn’t have the power to pardon her, someone must.”

Cornelius nodded. “Her crime was heresy. Her punishment is the business of the priesthood. Baltazar can order a stay to ensure due process has been carried out, essentially to make sure that her crime of heresy is real. But failing to disprove it, his hands are tied, and her fate lies in the hands of the priests.”

I stared into the fire. The frustration of this was immense. How could I stand by and watch her die? It was all the worse for the power I held. I was a Griidlord. I had the personal might necessary to walk into her prison and release her. Of course, the cost to me would be ultimate. But still, it rankled me deeply to think I was choosing my own safety and future over hers.

Cornelius was watching me; I could see that. His small eyes were narrowing.

He said, “There is one thing… no, it wouldn’t be proper…”

I turned back to him swiftly. “What? What is it? Please, Cornelius, say it.”

Cornelius spoke slowly, with very measured words. “I wouldn’t suggest this if it weren’t my own niece. I understand the impropriety of what I’m about to suggest. Please, understand, this is nothing more than a thought.”

I nodded urgently for him to continue.

He said, “There is something you could do to save her.”