I raised my eyebrows.

Kill someone?

Of course, that’s what a weapon was for. Van Lagos knew me—knew what I was. I stifled a laugh.

“Who do you want me to kill?”

Van Lagos smiled.

“That’s the spirit! I want you to kill the man who tried to kill me, Arwen Tillman."

Arwen? Why was that name familiar?

"Who's he?"

"At the party, did you see a blonde man with a widow's peak, always close to Tiny Tom?"

Yes, I did. He was the man with that nervous look on his face.

"I did. What makes you think he’s the one who poisoned the wine?"

Behind me, Lira spoke.

"He has the motivation and the means. When the Lagos brothers came to power, our enemies formed a rival mining cartel led by Tiny Tom Harwick—Arwen’s nephew. Tom is the face of the cartel, but Arwen is the one who pulls the strings.”

I nodded. It was a good bit of misdirection.

“Normally, planning or performing acts of violence against other Steeltown Compact signers is impossible but-”

“Tom is the one who signed the Compact. Arwen is free to do what he wants as long as Tom is left in the dark.”

“Just so.” Van Lagos said. “You understand quickly, Jacob.”

Lira cleared her throat.

“As for the means, the poison was industrial-grade arsenic—commonly used in copper smelting. Tom's cartel just so happens to control most of the copper smelting plants in the Industrial Quarter."

I cupped my chin. The circumstantial evidence was convincing, but I had questions.

“Why did he try to kill you now?”

Van Lagos shrugged.

“There’s that new Inquisitor in town. Maybe he thinks he can get a better deal from her, or maybe he got tired of looking at my face.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Impossible,” Lira whispered.

Get a room.

I crossed my arms.

“Wouldn't killing Arwen eventually break the pact anyway?"

Van Lagos smirked as he shook his head.

"There’s a clause in the pact: the right of retribution. It allows me to move against the suspect of the assassination attempt while maintaining the Compact."

"Why would the Sanctifiers allow that?”

"Because they understand us. When our blood is hot, we don't want to wait months for Sanctifier justice. In their infinite wisdom, the Sanctifiers have given us an outlet to seek revenge without Steeltown breaking out into all-out war."

I remembered what Reed said to me last night. Instead of punishing Van Lagos’ thirst for vengeance, the Steeltown Compact gave him what he wanted, directed in a neat and orderly way. There might even be paperwork.

I frowned.

“Why me? Why are you asking me to do this?”

“We thought it best that an outsider takes this job—someone free of our politics,” Lira said.

“So, I’m a scapegoat?”

“Only if you fail,” Van Lagos said.

I nodded.

"So? Will you do it?" He asked.

Could I do it? Could I kill a man in cold blood? Of course! But did Arwen do the crime? The evidence is circumstantial, with nothing tying him directly to the act. Van Lagos and Lira could be lying to me, turning me into a pawn in their game.

At that moment, I had an unsettling thought—a way everyone could win. Everyone except Arwen.

"What if I capture him alive and hand him over to the Inquisitor? If he's guilty like you say, she'll get him to talk, and you can have whatever is left."

Van Lagos quirked an eyebrow.

"Are you trying to avoid a guilty conscience?"

"One weapon to another. My conscience is guilty enough."

Van Lagos stared at me for a long moment before speaking.

"It’s a deal.”

He stretched out his hand. I took it as he stood up.

“Be quick about your work, Jacob. Steeltown is preparing for war. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to extract Arwen."

Van Lagos walked away without another word, sharing a quiet exchange with Cassandra before walking out of the inn with Lira and the rest of his guards.

I exhaled, slouching in my chair.

Spirits below! Was it always going to be like this?! Surviving by the skin of my teeth!

I took slow, deep breaths, calming my beating heart. I tugged on the front of my shirt, letting in pockets of air down the collar to dry myself.

I'd done it! I tricked the most powerful man in town again and found a way to get our party into the mountains. All we had to do was kidnap the second-most powerful man in town. When I said it like that…

CLINK!

Cassandra placed a glass of cool water in front of me.

“Thanks.”

“You look like you need it.”

I lifted it to my lips, pausing as I noticed that Van Lagos had not drunk from his glass.

“Is there something wrong with the water?”

Cassandra took Van’s glass and flashed a wry smile.

“People don’t trust the water here. You never know what’s in it.”

I put the glass down and pushed it away from me.

Cassandra laughed, and then her face turned grim.

"What’s wrong?"

"Jacob. I have twelve girls under this roof who count on me to keep them safe. I can't have mobs beating down my doors or cartel leaders strutting around like they own the place. Do you understand?"

"I'm sorry, Cassandra. I didn't expect it to go like this."

She stared at me, an incredulous look on her face.

"How did you expect it to go?! Look… I'm not stupid. Isla spending late nights at the Guildhall, Dugan being a mage, the way Castille orders you, her boss, around and now, whatever business you have with Van Lagos. You’re up to something—something big, but can you promise me one thing?"

"What?"

"Promise me that me and my girls won’t get caught up in whatever you're doing."

I met her eyes and nodded.

"I promise."

Another lie. I was getting good at that.