State of Sorrow (Untitled #1)(114)

“No.” His eyes locked on to hers. “If I had, I would have stopped them, or I would have stopped you from going out there. I swear to you. The first I knew of their being part of it was that night. And if I’d known they were going to try to hurt you, I would have reported them myself.”

He didn’t break eye contact with her at all while he spoke. He didn’t fidget or shift or blink. There were no tells to say he was lying. But he was a Rathbone. Beata probably trained them to suppress their tells from birth.

“You didn’t know they were part of the Sons of Rhannon?”

“We’re not exactly on speaking terms right now,” he said, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

“Why not?”

Luvian sighed. “My nickname, coined by my charming mother, is ‘runt’. A bit because I’m the youngest, and the smallest, and probably the weakest, at least physically. You saw Arkady; there are mountains in Asha that aspire to be as big as him. He ought to have his own moon. And I’ve always been a bit – no, I’ll be honest – a lot smarter than most of them. But not in a way that counted. So, as a last resort, my mother allowed me to apply for a scholarship, under her grandmother’s maiden name. I was supposed to study law, so when one of my idiot siblings or cousins got caught in the act, I could get them off the hook. Doing my bit for the family. But in my second year I switched to politics and didn’t tell them until I graduated. Then I applied for a job working for you. It didn’t go down well. You being the enemy, and all.”

“Is that why they came after me, more than Mael? Because of you?”

“Probably. But they’d have gone after him, eventually, once you’d been … erm, eliminated.” His cheeks darkened with embarrassment. “My family never liked your grandfather, or father. Reuben tried his best to crack down on them, and things got a lot harder for us – them – after the Decorum Ward were introduced. Father used to be able to grease the palms of the old police force to look away. But it didn’t work with the Decorum Ward. They wanted too much up front, then wanted a cut, wanted to be part of it. They wanted to run things, and didn’t like being told no. Mother wouldn’t stand for it. Father tried to smooth things over, but not Mother.”

“So she, what? Convinced Arkady to form a gang of vigilantes to attack the Decorum Ward?”

“Knowing her – knowing them – yes. With Father imprisoned for attacking them, it seems likely. She’d want to retaliate. Not a lot of people would choose to ally with a Rathbone, even against the Decorum Ward. But the Sons of Rhannon … a mysterious, anonymous group who fight the bullies… That’s a little more appealing. And forming a secret society he can be the head of is a very Arkady thing to do.” He looked for a moment as though he might spit on the floor, his lips pursing, his tongue running over his teeth beneath them.

“You don’t much like your brother, do you?”

Luvian looked at her. “Let’s say you’re not the first person whose head he’s held underwater.”

“Wow,” Sorrow said softly. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. He was good enough to only ever do it in clean toilets.”

It was supposed to be a joke, a classic Luvian quip, but it fell flat because of the way his shoulders hunched as he spoke. Sorrow didn’t like it, it wasn’t the Luvian she knew, and a new burst of anger at Arkady Rathbone surged through her, not only because he’d hurt her but because he’d hurt Luvian too.

“He loves me, in his own way,” Luvian said softly, breaking into her thoughts. “If he didn’t, he could have easily overpowered me in Rhylla. He didn’t have to run. I think we all know it’s a fight I wouldn’t have won.”

“They haven’t bothered me since,” Sorrow said. “I thought it was your doing.”

Luvian shook his head. “They’re probably waiting to see if I’m going to hand them in.”

“But you’re not?”

He swallowed. “Do you want me to?”

He was offering her the choice. If she said yes, he would. She could see that. Because he wanted her to trust him, because he felt guilty for what had happened.

“No,” Sorrow said finally. “But if you could somehow ask them to stop trying to murder me, I’d like it.”

“Done.”

Sorrow closed her trunk and sat on it, looking at Luvian, who looked right back. He could be lying. He was bred to lie. And to cheat, and to trick. He’d probably learned to pick locks before he learned to pick his nose. She knew he had no problem committing crimes, despite distancing himself from his family. He’d broken into the registry in Rhannon, and he’d stolen Mael’s portrait from the Summer Palace – despite only ever going there once for his interview.

“Why didn’t you tell me on the night?” Sorrow asked. “When Arkady attacked me. Why didn’t you say then who he was? Who you are?”

“Because I didn’t want you to look at me the way you’re looking at me now,” he said. “I liked it when you looked at me like a person. A friend. I liked…” He fell silent and shook his head. “I thought if I could help you win, then it would mean something. It would prove I was more than my blood. And it’s what you wanted too – to be more than just another Ventaxis. It felt like fate. Like I was supposed to do it. I didn’t want my family messing things up. But they did anyway. They always do.”