“Kaldurite poisoning. I know.”
“Yes, but what you don’t know is that one of your cypher guards said it was Haniel who did it. And your secretary agreed with her.”
Gavriel’s brows rose. He was mildly shocked, but less so than he would have been an hour ago. Haniel had big plans for herself, and she would not suffer obstacles.
“What was their evidence?” he asked.
“Nothing conclusive, which is why our father doesn’t know yet. Haniel has risen high in his esteem. She travels here often, far more than the rest of us. I think she whispers poison in his ear.”
That would explain Valoriel’s new habit of watching the legions rather than listening to the Chorale.
“The two cyphers can be trusted without question,” he said. “And Yarl, too. I must speak with them.”
“That is the problem,” she admitted. “I sent Edvin Yarl back to Kirith for his own protection.”
That worm of dread stirred in Gavriel’s gut again. “And the cyphers?”
“They are missing. Both of them.”
“How?” he managed, his throat suddenly dry.
“Mercy Blackthorn chose to remain behind when your coach was attacked in the forest. She may yet live, and I am searching for her. Cathrynne Rowan I met myself. She and Yarl brought you to the Angel Tower. After we spoke, she left for the chapter house in Arjevica, but she never arrived. She has vanished without a trace.”
White-hot rage coursed through him. “Why wasn't I told this the moment I woke?”
“I’m telling you now,” Suriel said, her tone sharpening. “Brother! Wait?—”
Gavriel stormed back to Haniel’s solar and threw the door open.
“Where is she?” he demanded.
Haniel’s brow creased. “Where is who?”
“Cathrynne Rowan!”
“The cypher? Why would I know?”
“Because someone has taken her.” He strode over to Haniel, fingers itching to seize her slender neck and hoist her into the air. “If you harmed her, I swear that you will regret it for the rest of your days?—”
“I have no idea where she is,” Haniel snapped, backing away. “How dare you accuse me?” She turned to the doorway. “Suriel, talk sense into him! What do I care about a cypher?”
Something in her voice brought Gavriel back to sanity. She sounded genuinely outraged.
“Listen, brother,” Suriel said evenly. “If Haniel had entered my city, I would know it—regardless of her special powers. It was not her.”
Haniel arched a brow at him, her jaw tight.
“Just stay out of my way,” Gavriel growled.
Her blue eyes grew even frostier. She raised her goblet. Her hand trembled slightly, whether from fear or anger he couldn’t say. “As you wish, Morningstar.”
He turned his back and joined Suriel in the hallway once more.
“We will return to Arjevica with the legions,” he said. “They will go house to house?—”
She seized his arm. “Valoriel will not deploy his elite soldiers for a half-blood cypher. And you will only expose your true feelings. Haniel is no fool. You have just given her more leverage over you! Take yourself in hand, brother.”
He drew a deep breath. “Then you will help me find her, with every resource at your disposal.”
