“Absolutely. I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but I consider you more than an employer. Chrysander, I consider you a friend.”
“As your friend, I want you to know that I’m here for you if you need to get anything off your chest. No matter what you’ve done, I promise to do my best to listen and not judge you.”
Wesley was growing increasingly wary of this strange conversation. “There’s nothing I need to get off my chest.”
“There’s nothing you might’ve done to harm either myself or Ell?”
“Nothing at all. Fate chose you to be Emperor. It’s my duty to see that you have everything you need to answer that calling.”
“I wasn’t the only one picked by Fate. Ellery was too,” Chrysander stated harshly.
“He is your mate, after all.”
Chrysander stared at Wesley for countless minutes, and he did his best not to squirm in the chair as His Majesty examined him like a bug under a microscope. “Exactly.”
“Is there anything I can do right now to assist you?”
Again, there was a charged silence as Chrysander studied him. “I need to know who hurt Ell. Should I have any reason to believe you were in any way involved, whether accidental or not?”
“Absolutely not. I had nothing to do with what happened to His Majesty.”
“Wesley, you might not get a chance again to confess to me what you may have done. There’s a chance the Skeleton Lord or Juris Knight that gets your case would be merciful if you come clean.”
Wesley wanted to gulp down the spit that collected in his mouth as he contemplated what would happen if anyone was able to connect him to the crime, but he refused to show any sign of weakness in front of Chrysander. “I have to say, I don’t appreciate the implication that I’ve done anything to His Majesty. All I have done…all I’ve ever done is serve the Office of the Emperor to the best of my abilities.”
“I’m unfortunately not in the position to simply take your word for it,” Chrysander remarked as he pulled his body away from his desk. Once he was standing straight, he tugged on his sash to right it. “I was made aware this morning that some evidence has come to light which may implicate you in the crime of poisoning His Majesty. I obviously cannot go into the specifics of that evidence or where it was obtained until the Sentinel Brotherhood or Order of the Fallen Knights is able to either corroborate or discredit it. However, it leaves me with no choice but to either ask for your resignation or put you on administrative leave until we know more.”
Wesley bolted out of his seat. “I most certainly will not resign. This job is my life. I want to know what evidence they think they have against me. I demand to know. I won’t allow someone to accuse me unjustly.”
“You’ll have every opportunity to defend yourself, but not to me. I need to ask you to clean out your desk. If you want any hope of ever gracing that desk again, I suggest you go straight down to the Sentinel Brotherhood, so you can be interviewed. If I were you, I’d be as honest and straightforward as possible. Give them everything you can think of to help them clear you if you are in fact innocent.”
“What about you? How will you cope without someone here tending to things?” Wesley asked desperately. This was his worst nightmare. His job truly was everything to him, and he wasn’t sure what the hell he would do without it.
“I appreciate your concern Wesley, but I’ll manage. Damian’s going to reprogram your card, withdrawing your access to the building. You have fifteen minutes to gather your things.”
Wesley barely managed to nod and walked out of Chrysander’s office. His mind in a muddle, he tossed things into a box from the supply room. Though he didn’t want to, he was going straight down to the Sentinel Brotherhood. He’d covered his tracks so there was no evidence, so he didn’t know what the hell Chrysander was referring to, but he was damn well going to find out.
* * *
Lich Sentinel Alaric Daray opened the door to one of the now-shared interrogation rooms in the Order of the Fallen Knights Headquarters. The Sentinel Brotherhood was still adapting to their new role in the Council, overseeing threats and doing their part to keep people safe. Since their own base of operations was designed before they were asked to be involved in crime solving, the Sentinel Brotherhood hadn’t thought to include spaces to question people related to their cases. Luckily, the Reverent Knights hadn’t hesitated to offer theirs. Venerable Knight Arvandus and his mate, Skeleton Lord Albrecht worked together to keep a schedule that benefitted both races.
Inside this particular room was Wesley Draconis, and his face was placid. “Good afternoon, Lich Sentinel.”
“Mister Draconis, thank you for your willingness to speak with us today.”
“Us?”
“Yes, although technically any threat to the Council is in the jurisdiction of the Sentinel Brotherhood, I have asked the Order of the Fallen Knights to be involved in every aspect of this investigation. I do not take an attack on His Majesty lightly, and I wanted to be sure we had every available resource to find the perpetrator. The Reverent Knights will be joining us as well as a member of the Skeleton Seven.”
“Four against one hardly seems fair, Lich Sentinel.”
Alaric grabbed a seat in one of the chairs. “For the purpose of this interview, you can call me Alaric. This is not a battle, Mister Draconis. We’re not against you. Our only desire is justice. All we want from you at this point is information and to answer some questions. I’m sure as the office manager for His Majesty, you feel personally affected by this tragedy.”
“Oh, of course. No one on our staff has made it through this unscathed, though they are all landing on their feet at Draconis Enterprises. The way I see it, this is not only an attack on His Majesty but on all of us.”
There was a brief knock on the door before it opened to reveal Drystan and Conley. They greeted Wesley and Alaric; then they sat down. “We passed Albrecht chatting with Arvandus on our way down here. I imagine he’s not far behind us,” Drystan revealed.
For Alaric, choosing a single Skeleton Lord to be a part of an important interview like this might have proved difficult. His sentinels were equally capable of taking part but in the end, he’d gone with Albrecht. Sentinels had a reputation as elite, deadly assassins and they used it to their advantage in their new roles. They intimidated people, and Alaric thought Albrecht’s desire to always keep himself covered under his cloak also worked to their benefit. What was more frightening than a man whose face and eyes you could not see questioning you?
