From Blood & Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,110

Duke and Duchess had spoken to the people after the attack.

“You’ve investigated his family?” the Duke asked.

“Yes. The father is deceased. The mother lives alone in the Lower Ward. She was useful in getting him to talk.”

The Duke chuckled, and the sound turned my stomach. “What else have you learned?”

“I don’t believe he was very connected within the community of Descenters. He claims that he has never met the Dark One nor believes him to be within the city.”

A wealth of relief rose and spread through me even as the wind lifted the edges of my cloak.

“And you believed him?” the Duke asked.

“I gave him good reason not to lie,” the man, who I assumed was one of the guards, answered. I thought about the man’s mother. Had she been one of the reasons for him opening up?

If so, the knowledge sat heavy in the pit of my stomach. Descenters needed to be dealt with harshly, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about family members being used to coerce information.

“And did he tell you anything about the claim he made? About the third sons and daughters?”

“All he would say was that he knew the truth—that they weren’t servicing the gods, and that everyone would soon learn that.”

“He didn’t say what he believed to be the truth?”

I turned my head toward the window, all but holding my breath. I would love to know what he thought was happening.

“No, Your Grace. The only additional information I could glean from him was how he came to be in possession of a Craven’s hand,” he said, and that was, well…a good thing to know. “Apparently, he took it off the body of one of the guards who had become infected and returned to the city. He helped the family put the guard down after he’d changed.”

“Death with dignity.” The Duke scoffed, and my eyes widened. He…he knew about that? About us? “These bleeding hearts will be the death of the entire city one of these days.”

That statement was a wee bit excessive, but I hadn’t considered that there may be Descenters in the network.

“Did he happen to tell you who was involved with putting down the newly turned Craven?” he asked.

“No. He would not.”

“That is also a shame. I would love to know who didn’t contact us and why.” The Duke sighed as if that were the worst possible thing to remain unanswered. “Do you have anything else to report?”

“No, Your Grace.”

There wasn’t an immediate response, but then the Duke asked, “Does the Descenter still breathe?”

“For now.”

“Good.” It sounded like he’d stood, and I hoped that meant he was leaving. Please gods, let that mean he’s leaving. “I think I will visit with him myself.”

My brows lifted.

Now that surprised me.

“As you wish.” There was a beat of silence. “Will there be a trial that we need to prepare for?”

I almost laughed. Descenters weren’t given an actual trial. They were put on public display while their charges were leveled against them. Execution quickly followed.

“There will be no need after my visit with him,” the Duke said, and my mouth dropped open.

The meaning was clear. If there was no trial, that meant there’d be no public execution, and the only reason that would occur would be if the Descenter was already dead. That had happened before while they’d been imprisoned. Normally, it was believed to have been by their own hands or by an overzealous guard. But could it be that the Duke was meting out justice himself?

The same Ascended who I doubted had gotten a speck of blood on his hands since the War of Two Kings?

I shouldn’t be surprised by that. He had a cruel streak and viciousness within him a mile wide, but he always kept that well hidden under a mask of civility. I also shouldn’t be bothered by the idea of the Descenter being killed without the farce of a trial. They supported the Dark One, and even if some of them hadn’t engaged in the riots and bloodshed, their words alone had sown the seeds that had caused blood to spill on more than one occasion.

But I…I was bothered by the idea of anyone being killed in a dark, dank cell, at the hands of an Ascended who was barely better than an Atlantian.

Finally, the door opened and closed, and there was nothing but silence. I waited, straining to hear any sound. I heard nothing. Wondering why the Duke had decided to have this meeting here and surprised by