Adosina rode with Indenuel, Inessa, and Tolomon. Nathaniel and Rosa left soon after the trial. Nathaniel had taken the entire day off for Inessa’s trial, and since it ended so well, he and Rosa planned on spending the day with their children. Inessa and Adosina were far too curious and nervous to go home, so they waited for the information.

Indenuel listened to Adosina and Inessa as they talked in the carriage about the day, before eventually talking about anything and everything. They were talking like sisters, and it had been a while since he’d seen Inessa look so relaxed.

“You’ve forgiven him once before,” Tolomon whispered as the other two talked. Indenuel said nothing, going back to his sour look as he stared out the window. “Indenuel.”

“Yes, I did, once. And he still disappointed me,” Indenuel said.

“He has made great strides,” Tolomon said.

Indenuel shook his head, refusing to carry on the conversation. True, maybe this made him a hypocrite. But when it really came down to it, despite all the murders he committed, he could still say he never slept with his own daughter. He’d never become that spineless.

Sara must have figured out about Inessa’s parentage. In fact, Indenuel didn’t remember when Adosina figured out, either. It was almost as if the entire family knew, but it didn’t matter because they treated her about the same as before. Sarah hugged Inessa close, once again tsking at her ill-fitting clothes.

“My dear girl, just because you’ve found your man doesn’t mean you can stop eating. You must keep up your health, you are starting to scare me,” Sara said, touching Inessa’s chin.

She looked genuinely perplexed. “I’m trying. Honest.”

“Your nerves are eating you away, it seems. Never you mind. I’ve made a dozen apple pastries in celebration. Any you cannot finish you can take home with you,” Sara said, keeping her arm around her.

Rosa and Nathaniel appeared, though Aaron and Adrian raced in soon after, passing their parents and heading straight to Tolomon, bombarding him with hugs and questions. Tolomon smiled, doing his best to answer them as Rosa and Nathaniel greeted him. The three older boys came in, too, joining in hugging Tolomon.

Despite everyone seeming to know who Inessa’s father was, Indenuel doubted anyone knew about Nathaniel, Rosa, and Tolomon yet, except perhaps Adosina.

“Eduardo! Tell Tolomon your news!” Rosa said.

“Oh, um, my paper on Barclay the Scholar has been accepted by the top scholars here at the University,” Eduardo said.

Tolomon gasped. “It has not. Eduardo! That has to be some sort of record, isn’t it? You’re not even a scholar yet. Still apprenticing, right?”

Eduardo was having a hard time hiding his smile. “Well, this did help me get my scholar titles, so…”

“Scholar Eduardo. Is that what we should be calling you now?” Tolomon asked, ruffling the boy’s hair.

It was impossible for Eduardo to hide his smile at that point. “Uh, just Eduardo.”

Nathaniel patted his son’s back. “You just say the word and I’ll discuss with Lord Isaac about setting up a courtship with-”

“Api!” Eduardo said, his ears turning pink before hastily backing away. “It’s… I don’t know if she’s… I’ve…” The boy turned around and practically ran into the back yard.

Tolomon chuckled. “Not sure if that boy got your brains, Nathaniel, but he definitely got your insecurity at the thought of courtship.”

Nathaniel snorted, giving his friend a gentle push.

“Can we eat dinner with you, Tolomon?” Adrian asked.

“Adrian, you’ve already had dinner,” Rosa said.

Adrian said nothing, simply looking up at Tolomon with his wide eyes. Tolomon shook his head. “You know exactly what to do to get your way, don’t you. Go on, listen to your mother. I will see you after dinner.”

“Sword lessons, Tolomon?” Aaron asked.

“You may both try to disarm me later tonight,” Tolomon said.

Aaron and Diego looked excited before rushing off. Indenuel watched the entire exchange. He realized he hadn’t seen too much of Tolomon interacting with Nathaniel and Rosa’s boys, but he understood, now, why they thought of him as a second father.

Tolomon walked toward Nathaniel and Rosa. Rosa smiled at him as Nathaniel patted his shoulder as the three of them headed toward the dining hall. Indenuel took Inessa’s hand as they followed behind.

Once Indenuel said the prayer on the food, Sara and Ana asked Adosina for all the details. Inessa filled in where she could, but this was all Adosina’s victory.

“And they’ve come to no conclusion about the law?” Rosa asked.

“Not yet. But they’re also not allowed to touch their concubines until it has been reformed,” Adosina said.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

It wasn’t just a victory for Adosina. Indenuel watched as Sara looked as though this would be the thing that made her come to peace with things between her and Martin. Indenuel simply didn’t understand it.

Ana shook her head. “I’m so glad this is getting the reform it needs. There were far too many devils in those poor girls.”

The main course was placed in front of Indenuel, and he waited for Tolomon to test it before he dove in. He honestly missed Sara’s cooking.

“Ana, have you ever thought of studying to be an exorcist?” Inessa asked.

“Me? No. Demons terrify me,” Ana said.

Inessa frowned. “But you’re so good at getting rid of them.”

Ana finished swallowing her small bite. “Exactly. They terrify me, so I don’t want them around.” Everyone gave a soft chuckle at that as Tolomon snuck his fork over for a bite of Inessa’s main course. “No, I’ve heard stories of possessions. I’d rather not go into that kind of religious study.”

Indenuel pushed around his food, feeling his chest tighten even as he pretended nothing was wrong. He didn’t necessarily have memories of his own possession, but it still made his fingertips go cold.

Tolomon spat food out onto his plate.

“Inessa. Don’t eat that.” Tolomon spoke as the bodyguard, not as the friend. Inessa turned toward him, frowning.

The food looked harmless enough, but Tolomon was already in action, slipping a vial out of his pocket before pouring it in his wine. Sara stood, her face serious. “What do you need?”

Tolomon drained the cup of wine. “Enhanced turmeric and-” his face turned deathly pale at a dangerous rate. “And a purified henbane.”

Sara rushed out of the room. Inessa covered her mouth, moving out of her chair and backing away from her food, her breathing coming in uneasy gasps. Indenuel stood, his arm on Tolomon, hating the feeling of helplessness. Nathaniel was on the other side, helping him stand.

“What can I do?” Indenuel asked.

“Keep my head above-” Tolomon stopped talking, closing his eyes. Rosa’s eyes were wide as she, too, was on the other side with Nathaniel.

“Tolomon?” she asked, trying to disguise her panic as she touched his arm near his elbow.

He leaned dangerously far forward, and Nathaniel grabbed him, easing him to his knees. “Keep him up. Don’t let him lie down,” Nathaniel said.

Indenuel nodded, his heart pounding. Tolomon was forcing himself to take breaths, his eyes closed, his face pale, as whatever poison ran through his body. Indenuel heard Inessa sobbing in the arms of Ana and Adosina.

“Rosa, take my spot,” Nathaniel said. She did, placing Tolomon’s arm around her shoulders as Nathaniel grabbed his temple, feeding him all the healing power he could. Indenuel could have sworn he heard a mob outside.

He wasn’t there. This was different. There was no mob. There was no smell of smoke. Just… just someone tried to poison his wife. After a trial that falsely accused her of committing a crime she didn’t do.

Indenuel tightened his grip against Tolomon’s shirt as Sara ran in with a large mug, Derio following behind with the kettle. Indenuel held his friend steady as Nathaniel grabbed the mug, helping Tolomon drain it. Color returned too slowly to his face, but he at least could breathe.

“Another,” Tolomon said.

Nathaniel lifted the mug toward Derio, who poured more into the cup. Rosa kept Tolomon’s arm around her shoulders, even though strength was slowly coming back to him. Tolomon let go of Indenuel to hold the mug, though Nathaniel still held it for him as he drained another one.

Indenuel’s legs trembled as he stumbled over to Inessa. She was on the floor, her back to a corner. Ana and Adosina were on either side of her, but Adosina scooted away as Indenuel dropped to his knees, quietly gathering her up and holding her in his arms. He closed his eyes, resting his back against the corner she was in, holding her, hearing a mob he was certain wasn’t there, with a fear he never thought he’d experience in the highest of social classes. Someone tried to kill her. He was going to find out who, and then he was going to murder them.

He rested his cheek against her shoulder, closing his eyes, forcing himself to stay present as he rocked her. She was safe. She was alive. Sobbing, but alive. He wasn’t back there. He wasn’t in his hut, holding back a door to keep her protected. There wasn’t a smell of smoke. No one was calling her a witch. He wasn’t helpless.

He wasn’t.

“Calming tea, please, Derio,” Ana said.

“I’m not-” Inessa had to stop to gasp. “Drinking anything.” She gasped again, holding her face even as Indenuel held her. “I’m not—eating anything—I can’t—let Tolomon—get hurt.”

“Tolomon is fine, Inessa. He’s just fine,” Ana said, rubbing her arm.

Nathaniel knelt next to them. “There’s only so much a calming tea can do. With your permission I can do a healing bond.”

Indenuel nodded, tears in his eyes as Inessa continued to sob. Nathaniel touched his heart, the line of healing power connecting to it before he moved it forward, touching Inessa’s heart. Nathaniel closed his eyes, bowing his head and gave a quick intake of breath as he took on her panic before feeding the healing bond. Inessa’s gasping grew less frequent as Indenuel held her, his cheek against the back of her head. He could already feel the corruptive powers waiting to be burned inside him.

“Someone tried to kill me,” Inessa said, sounding exhausted now instead of panicked. “Why? Why would they do that?”

“We will figure it out. I promise you,” Nathaniel said.

“The poison was fast acting and impossible to smell, and only capable of being made by corruptive sources,” Tolomon said, leaning against the table for support with an arm still around Rosa to keep himself anchored.

Sara walked in with tea, and Tolomon let go of Rosa to take the teacup.

“No!” Inessa said, her panic growing. “Tolomon, no! You can’t get hurt again. You can’t.”

“Inessa,” Tolomon said as calmly as Indenuel had ever heard him speak. “This is my job.” Inessa wanted to protest, but Tolomon already took a sip before kneeling to hand it to her. She let out a terrified breath, watching his face. “It’s fine, you can drink it.”

Nathaniel helped her take the cup as she took a sip.

“I think the city just found their scapegoat,” Nathaniel whispered, worry and concern etched on his face as he kept feeding the healing power into Inessa.

“The staff is on full alert,” Derio said. “We will figure this out, I promise.”

“Thank you, Derio.”

“Do you have another cup for Indenuel,” Tolomon asked.

Indenuel didn’t argue, because he had no energy for it, but when Tolomon took a sip and offered him the cup, he ignored it. He did not want to let Inessa go. Having her in his arms was the only way he knew she was still alive. He couldn’t stay like this the rest of the night, but he was going to try.

Tolomon, despite being capable of breaking Indenuel’s grip on Inessa, instead placed a hand on his shoulder. “She’s alright, Indenuel. Let her go.”

Indenuel didn’t want to. It wasn’t until Inessa began to squirm in his tight grip that he finally loosened his hold and Nathaniel eased her away to end the healing bond.

“We’ll figure out who did this,” Tolomon said. Indenuel said nothing, draining the calming tea that scalded his mouth and burned on the way down. “Indenuel?”

“This was never supposed to happen,” he said, glaring out the window. “And it can never happen again.”

“Take comfort in knowing she’s fine now,” Tolomon said.

Indenuel allowed Tolomon to give him another cup of calming tea, which he took in sips this time. He didn’t want to be back in this helpless state, feeling like he was at the mercy of a mob. Despite everything they had done, despite the huge victories they had made with reforming the High Elders, somehow it wasn’t good enough. Those High Elders still had enough power to inspire others to kill for them.