Page 220 of Infernal Bonds

None of the guards who fought us in the Jinphni District mentioned Dugorigi or Kairian. Although we were familiar with most of the guards in this area, none of us recognized them either.

“Did you see anyone while you were with Rinlora’s mother?” Father asked Raelynn.

“No. I stayed in the basement. No one else came around.”

Father nodded. “So no Dugorigi or Kairian?”

“Unless they were with the people on the roof, no. But Rinlora’s mother told me the Sephra clan wanted me.”

“So no one spoke to you at any point except Rinlora’s mother?”

“No. The guards on the rooftop said that ‘Master’ said not to harm me, but not much else except telling me to come with them.”

Father looked at Rinlora. “Did you witness anyone from the Sephra clan meeting with your mother?”

Rinlora shook her head. “I only visited twice. No one came then.”

“Then the only person who told any of you that Dugorigi intended to force a Nyrith bond was the woman who abducted Raelynn, wanted to experiment on her, lied to her own daughter to obtain her, and has conveniently disappeared before questioning.”

While I didn’t believe Father, he made a strong point against Rinlora’s mother that even I couldn’t ignore.

“I have never hidden my… reservations regarding Raelynn.”

Cyn laughed bitterly. “That’s one way of putting it.”

Father ignored him.

Cyn hadn’t concealed his own doubts during our time with her—nor had I.

“I questioned whether she was Shyrlivi and whether her partial shift in Cholian was genuine. I believed illusion magic was to blame for what we witnessed there and had triggered a false Nyrith bond. I even suspected our great spiritual advisor of misconduct. I’d never kept these thoughts a secret.”

No. None of the suspicions he expressed were kept secret or shared exclusively with a single person that we knew of. He’d openly stated his lack of trust in Raelynn and anyone who seemed to back her.

It made his arguments all the more powerful—especially when much of his rationale was justified with solid evidence.

“You don’t have to like me,” Father said, addressing Raelynn. He glanced at us. “You don’t have to approve of my decisions. You may question me within these chambers as heirs to this council, but at the end of the day, my word is law.”

His gaze hardened.

“I will not tolerate accusations that call my character and position into question. Be aware that your allegations that I am conspiring to abduct your Nyrith, break your bonds, assassinate you, and transfer your Nyrith to another clan constitute treasonous statements that I will not abide by.”

Lymsrana sighed heavily. “If you wish to make such substantial claims against anyone in the palace, you must provide sufficient evidence. The word of a woman we can’t find, who we all know kidnapped your Nyrith, is not enough.”

Lymsrana always doubted Father, but she was right.

While she framed it as if we wanted to accuse anyone, I knew she was telling us that if we wanted to take down Father on a larger scale, we’d need stronger evidence.

We had to continue playing his game.

I straightened my back and looked Father in the eye. “What do you propose we do until Rinlora’s mother is found and whoever is responsible for this is brought to justice?”

Father’s eyes flashed, pleased with my compliance.

Raelynn glanced at me.

“I believe we must proceed with caution and keep any statements about this situation contained to the council chambers. I am uncertain if there are others on staff that we cannot trust, and until we can locate Rinlora’s mother and identify all of her accomplices, we need to remain alert.”

Lymsrana nodded. “I think it best we refrain from meeting outside the chambers for any reason until this is resolved.”