“You see, I figured out someone had to have poisoned both the High Councilman and the Despina’s wine. It seemed to me, we just had to find the correct camera and presto! We’d catch a killer.”
She turned to the young mage. “Play the video.”
The screen blinked to life. The video didn’t have any sound, but we saw a couple of servants rushing around the kitchen, preparing food and drink for the festivities. A young female servant, the one who’d handed the leaders their cups at the ritual, came into view and loaded three goblets onto her tray.
The image flashed, like it was cutting from one reel to another. Now the hallway outside the kitchen came into view. The girl was still carrying the tray, her front to the hidden camera. A mage male strutted past and engaged her in conversation. She set the tray down on a table and flirted back. A few seconds later, he made his move and the two began tongue jousting. Soon, he backed her into a room off the hall and closed the door behind them. The tray stood unguarded on the table.
“This is ridiculous!” I called.
Alexis snapped her gaze in my direction. “But we’re just getting to the money shot, Sabina.”
A few moments later, I strutted into view.
“What the f**k?” I shouted. “That’s not me!” But no one was listening. All eyes were on the damning evidence that I’d been alone with that tray.
Whoever the impostor was, she’d done an admirable job with her glamour spell. She even copied my outfit down to the tank top and boots. The only detail missing was the long winter coat I’d worn in deference to the cold.
But there was no mistaking the red-and-black hair. She even had my walk down.
Bitter bile rose in my throat. It tasted like fear. “No,” I whispered.
“Keep watching,” Alexis said.
Just then, the other me turned her back to the camera. Turning her head side to side to check for company, she pulled a vial out of her back pocket and poured its contents—presumably the apple cider and poison—into each of the goblets.
I clenched my eyes tight, trying to block out the damning image. How the hell was I going to prove that wasn’t me? At that point, figuring why someone was trying to frame me wasn’t as important as convincing them that Sabina-doppelganger wasn’t me. Because if the Queen could be convinced I’d been the one to kill Tanith and Orpheus, my life was forfeit. Permanently. With no hope of twelfth-hour clemency.
“Your Benevolence, please,” I pleaded. “I swear on everything I hold sacred that female isn’t me.”
But the Queen’s eyes were focused on the screen. Alexis paused the video on an image of the impostor turned halfway to the camera, vial in hand. The vampire rewound the tape frame-by-frame. Onscreen and in reverse, the imposter turned back, poured the poison, looked around for witnesses, and approached the table. Alexis hit play then and let it play through in real time again.
The air in the chamber was heavy and thick. The weight of dozens of accusing stares pulled on me like gravity. Ignoring the damning silence and the sweat dampening my palms, I forced myself to watch the video again, my eyes sharp for any speck of evidence that might exonerate me. But the longer I watched, the harder it was to fight the fear.
Finally, I swallowed hard and rose. If evidence wouldn’t save me, I’d have to try to talk my way out of this. I turned to face the Queen. Every nerve ending in my body sizzled with adrenaline.
“Your Benevolence?” Her head turned slowly to look at me. Her eyes were hot with accusation. I pointed to the still image on the screen. Alexis had paused it with the female’s back to the camera. “I don’t know who it is or why they are trying to frame me for the murders, but I swear upon the Great Mother that I did not kill anyone.”
Alexis laughed. “Says the former assassin. Correct me if I’m wrong, Sabina, but didn’t you also murder one of the Queen’s ambassadors last year?”
“Shut your mouth!” Giguhl yelled. I shot him a sharp look. He looked ready to keep arguing, but eventually he deflated and retreated to his corner.
“Queen, please,” I pleaded. “You can’t believe I did this.”
She rose from her perch, using her cane as leverage. “The evidence is right there, Sabina. How can I not believe it?”
“Because I had no reason to kill anyone!” I yelled. “I was the one who made sure Lavinia was out of the picture so Tanith could become the Despina, remember? Why would I try to destroy any chance of peace when I worked so hard to achieve it in the first place? And if that’s not enough to make you doubt Alexis’s claims, ask yourself this: What possible reason would I have to kill Orpheus? It doesn’t make any sense.”
The Queen’s chin came up. “So you weren’t angry when the High Councilman sided with me regarding your mission in New Orleans?” My stomach sank, knowing exactly what she was referring to. The f**king past would never stop coming back to haunt me. “Surely you recall your reaction when I gave the order to let your sister die if it meant you had a chance to kill Lavinia Kane.”
The decision she referred to happened the night before we attacked the Caste of Nod and Lavinia. Adam and I had two objectives: save Maisie and kill Lavinia—in that order. But the Queen stepped in and ordered us to reverse our priorities. Obviously, Adam and I argued and claimed that Maisie was more important. We’d thought Orpheus would agree, but the Queen pressured him with vague threats about withdrawing her support if he countermanded her. The fallout when he caved wasn’t pretty. But in the end, I was the one who talked Adam down when his anger toward Orpheus almost derailed our plans altogether.
Gods, why did my judge have to be the Queen? She’d had it out for me for months. “I was angry that night, yes, but everyone’s emotions were running high. Once I had a chance to calm down, I understood Orpheus felt he had no other choice. Besides, that was a long time ago. Orpheus and I had moved beyond all that. I would never kill him.”
Alexis crossed her arms. “You would if you believed he was going to side with the Despina and force you to become governor of New York.”
The Queen’s eyes narrowed.
“I didn’t—”
“I saw how angry you were when the Despina announced your new position,” the Queen said. “Everyone on that stage saw the way you looked at her.”
I threw up my hands. “According to that video, I would have had to leave our meeting and poison the wine before the ritual started and she took the choice away from me. The timing doesn’t make sense!”