Treacherous Witch

32. Double Crossed

"A sorcerer in a cage has no power at all—provided it's a sturdy cage."
Interview with Queen Shikra III, as told to Master Anwen

Prison didn't seem like the worst punishment considering what she'd done. Valerie was less concerned for herself and more for her cellmate.

Iora.

Her friend was chained up in the dungeon that was identical to if not the same as the one she'd spent a miserable night in following the assassination attempt. Brackets on the wall held fire-braziers, and the hooks embedded at intervals in the stone could hold up to four prisoners. The guards threw Valerie down on the sandy ground next to Iora, and cold iron snapped into place around her ankle. Valerie didn't bother testing her manacles. She knew from experience that they wouldn't budge.

Iora stared at her, hair matted, clothes dirty. Only when the guards retreated and the iron door at the top of the steps slammed shut did the other girl speak.

"Traitor."

She spoke the word with such venom that Valerie felt it like a dagger in her gut. But she'd expected this. Someone had to take the fall for the attempted poisoning. And since it was Valerie's fault that Iora had been arrested, it was her responsibility to ensure that the fall was as gentle as possible.

The arrangement had already been made.

Valerie sat up on her hands and knees. "Iora... What are you doing here? How did they catch you?"

"Don't lie!" Iora's eyes were red and puffy. "I saw what you did."

"What I did? I stopped us from murdering an innocent woman."

"The Drakonians aren't innocent—"

"It doesn't matter," she interrupted. "Avon was never going to drink the poison after that man started choking. I covered for you."

Iora shook her head. "They knew it was me. They dragged me out of the kitchen after dinner and told me I was being arrested as a spy."

Her eyes widened. "How did they know?"

"How?" She sensed the other girl's bewilderment, catching herself. "You're the only one I told, Val. You're saying it wasn't you?"

"I'm not the only one," she said. "Don't forget, there's your traitor too. Do you think they'd throw me in here if I'd switched sides?"

"I..." Iora swallowed. "What happened?"

"One of the lords died drinking the poison. The man from Bolebund. I tried to save him. When I failed, they accused me of poisoning him."

She wasn't sure when Iora had left the dining hall, how much she had witnessed, but she couldn't have been there for Kreios's death. Valerie was counting on this to sketch her version of events. Judging by Iora's troubled expression, it seemed to be working.

"You know they know what I am," she went on, pressing her point. "You poisoned that chalice in front of me—with me at the table—I had to make it look like I did it, so they wouldn't come looking for you."

"I'm sorry," Iora whispered.

"Who do you think betrayed you?"

"I don't know..."

"The traitor," she said, impatient. "Who is it?"

"I don't..."

The door at the top of the staircase creaked open, and both girls fell silent. They looked up. Heavy boots descended the steps, a dark cloak, gloves, and then the cruel face of a man she knew well. Lord Gideon.