had designed during his creation of the Arm of Justice. A study with leather couches and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Cloth- and leather-bound volumes that date back to the first age of Puerto Leones, when the peoples migrated there from the seas that surround the great island. Maps with faded edges, lines of a continent drawn and redrawn to suit the victors. Globes with tiny swords plunged into the lands where the king and crown have made a conquest. I push it, watching it spin before I make my way through an archway that leads to his prayer room.
It’s been updated to fit the palace’s change of taste to a Dauphinique aesthetic of lace and shimmering embroidery, but some things remain the same. There’s a sword within a circle on the far wall, depicting the symbol for the Father of Worlds. An altar surrounded by candles and incense that was just lit. He was praying. I wonder what a man like Méndez can pray for, but there he is, with his head bent toward the altar, his hands holding open a slender book.
“Wait here,” Alessandro says.
“But the justice is waiting for me.”
“How dare you question me. I said wait here. You, attendant. You may go.” He doesn’t even glance at Sula before dismissing her. When she runs out, I remember Margo and Dez instructing me on my footwork. I wish I could tell them how much easier it is to be silent when I’m not wearing heavy leather boots.
That wish is gone as I press myself against the door, where I can hear their voices. I can picture Alessandro’s dark fluttering robes as he talks.
“Alessandro,” Justice Méndez says, genuine surprise in his voice. Was he not expecting the young judge? Worry pricks at my sides that Alessandro had been following us all along. Was he at my room? How did he know I was late? “I did not expect you back today. Do you have news?”
“Regrettably, no.” Alessandro’s nasal voice grates on my senses. He’s so eager to please. “But we are still searching. We have the forged letters with the royal seal.”
Méndez makes a thinking sound, the way he does when he tugs on the silver wisps in his beard. “It’s not enough. Lord Las Rosas did not act alone. I wouldn’t trust him to find his way out of an open hedge, let alone smuggle a shipful of bestaes.”
“The only people with access to royal documents would be in the palace, my justice. Allow me to conduct interviews with all the staff.”
“And give the spy time to run?” Méndez nearly snarls at Alessandro’s suggestion. “I have other ideas. In the meantime, keep the judges spread out through the palace. Now is not the time to rest.”
So Méndez knows about the Magpie, Illan’s informant. Would they remain here after the king’s display of Lord Las Rosas?
“Yes, my justice,” Alessandro says, and bows one more time before leaving. “I will never rest until I find the traitor and see them executed.”
Not if I find the spy first, I think.
“Is that all? I’m expecting Renata.”
“Yes, of course. That’s what I came to tell you. I found the Robári wandering the halls. I brought her here straightaway.”
A low grumble leaves my throat, but I dart to the front of the chambers where Alessandro deposited me earlier. He was following me to gain better favor. The door to the office swings open and Justice Méndez steps out with Alessandro at his heels. Alessandro gives me a look that says I will see him soon, and then he leaves us alone.
I bow and kiss Méndez’s knuckles. The touch sends a terrible crawl over my skin, and I wish I could scrub my face with a scullery brush. But when he rests a gentle hand on my shoulder, when I see how he softens at the sight of me, my insides twist.
“Renata, I trust you’re feeling better from yesterday.”
This morning, Leo woke me up from a sleep so deep, he had to shake me, as he thought I was dead. I ate a whole bowl of grapes and a loaf of bread drenched in olive oil with poppy seeds and salt.
“Leo works wonders,” I say, touching the cut on my chest, already scabbing over. “Though his hand at healing is not as practiced as yours.”
He seems to like that, and so he holds out his hand for me to take and presses his fingers over my gloved ones. “He’s come a long way. Lady Nuria had him