a's

dead silence of the hall lik

d. His eyes darted between me and my father, and I could see the

l with panic. "Elara, have you lost your mind? This i

blotchy red. "Retract that order! Do you want to make th

ted, the culprit is in this very estate. By refusing an impartial, third

t was a direct challenge to his authority and his

with tears. "Daddy, please. Sister must have hit her head. She

low, but sharp with command. "My order concerns a threat to the life of your pack's h

settled on him. He gave a curt nod. "Yes, Miss Elara." He turned an

or drain from their faces. I could see the panic blooming in their eyes; thei

planted in them begin to spro

just getti

been standing silently by the wall, his face a m

rprise in his gaze-followed by something sharper, a readiness that told me he was receiving orde

rapidfire instructions spilled out: "First, find the stable hand, Bo Tucker. He prepared my carriage. Secure him. Make sure he doesn't run, or have an 'acci

Find the apprentice who sold Bo a set

good authority he's been losing heavily

d vaguely and ended. Afterwards, I had extreme doubts about the outcome and tried to fin

spoken question of how I could possibly know these things. Yet he did not v

is voice firm. He spun

but they had watched me lean in, watched Leo's expression shift, and now they saw him march off with purpose. Their faces tightened; Betse

hispered task was a stone dropped into a pond-and though they c

father. "Jonathan, you see? This isn't an investigation!

er stayed fixed on me alone. He stared at me, his

er the crash. I overheard two of the maids talking. They mentioned Bo Tucker's gambling." It was

tate until Officer Reynolds and the evidence arrives. No one enters or leaves." My eyes swep

c scandal and the greater shame of appearing to protect criminals. For a long moment, h

ak. He could still be swayed. I needed an anchor, an outside

a, who had been watching from the door

I was the victim of an assassination attempt and that I need him to appear as an impa