When Lorian and his group rushed back to the Palace of Spire, they found a big crowd of people gathered outside. People were packed tightly around the gates, listening to the nonstop tolling of the bell. But this time, the city's usual orderly mood was gone. The shock of a leader's death had stripped away their calm exterior, exposing the basic human trait of fear and anxiousness.
As Lorian's group arrived, the Arcane Watch guards posted at the entrance quickly cleared a path for them to enter the Palace. Murmurs rippled through the crowd as the group pushed through. All eyes were locked onto Jax. It was the first time most of the citizens had ever seen a beastman walking freely among humans, head held high, with no chains, collars, or restraints of any kind.
"Look at him," someone whispered nearby, "It must be under a great beast tamer. So completely tamed. Mind-controlled, probably. That's why he doesn't need a leash."
"I wish it's master will let it get sold at a good price. I would love to…" one murmured.
"Are you insane?" another muttered back, elbowing the former, "That's the lord of Veridia's personal guard, his retainer. You don't talk about him like a dog."
When Lorian and his companions stepped into the grand court, they found Zaira, Marcus, and Borin already standing among a small group of pale, shaken officials. Every head in the room turned toward them; and then straight to Jax.
Near the center of the hall, Gauthier de Mornay, head of Arcane Watch, stepped aside. As he moved from his position, a horrific sight was revealed to Lorian and his group. The Grand Scholar's lifeless body was slumped against the base of her own high seat. Her eyes were wide and fixed, as if she had died staring at something terrifying, and a dark stream of blood gushing from her wounds, and soaking the front of her robes.
Gauthier walked straight toward Lorian. His eyes were burning with grief and anger, but he kept his voice cold and steady. He gave Lorian a quick short bow.
"My lord," Gauthier said quietly, as his hand was resting on the hilt of his sword, "I must ask you to hand over Jax Nightclaw. I am placing him under arrest, in charge of assassination Grand Scholar Elana de Valois."
Lorian's eyes flared with fury, "I dare you to lay a single finger on my man, and I will tear up every treaty and alliance our cities have ever built!"
"You are willing to risk a war with Solara just for a beastman?" Aveline de Rochefort, Arch-Alchemist and First Botanist of Enlightened Conclave, grumbled.
"I would risk a war with the entire continent for my people," Lorian hissed through clenched teeth, leaning forward, "Do you want to test me on that?"
Before the argument could explode, Selena stepped smoothly between them. Her voice was soft, but it carried a sharp, imposing aur of command and authority, "Constable. Before anyone draws a weapon or makes a permanent mistake, tell us why you are accusing him."
Gauthier swallowed hard, fighting to keep his temper in check. He pointed toward the body, "Check the wound on her throat."
Lorian and Selena walked past the council members and knelt beside the Grand Scholar. Selena gently lifted the blood-soaked collar of Elana's robe. Across her neck were three deep, parallel gashes. In the dim light of the hall, it was instantly clear why the guards and council had jumped to conclusions- to anyone looking quickly, they looked precisely like massive claw marks.
Selena leaned in closer, her eyes narrowed as she studied the edges of the cut very minutely. Gauthier opened his mouth to speak, but Lorian raised a hand, silencing him with a sharp look so he wouldn't interrupt her examination.
After a long moment, Selena stood up and turned to face the room.
"Look at her," Selena said, pointing down at the body, "Her blood is still wet, not dried up. The flesh is still warm, and not turned cold. She died minutes ago, not hours."
Lieutenant-General Roul de Courtenay stepped forward, arms crossed, "And what does that prove?"
"It proves Jax is completely innocent," Selena answered firmly, "For the past two hours, Jax has been with us the entire time. If you don't believe my word, ask your own men." She gestured toward the door, "You assigned four Arcane Watch guards to secure us. We walked the city streets, we booked out the Velvet Astrolabe tavern, and we sat there drinking and talking. The tavern owner and the waiters can swear to it. And your four guards stood watch the whole time. Call them in."
Roul signaled, and the four guards hurried into the court from the doorway. Promptly and without hesitation, they confirmed Selena's story, swearing that Jax had never left their sight for the past two hours.
"My, my, my," a smooth, sharp voice cut through the silence. First Trader Zaira Zohanar of Port Azure stepped forward with a smirk on her face, "Isn't that just a bit too convenient?"
Her eyes gleamed with the thrill of the hunt, "Now, I am not saying the young lord's cute little kitty is a killer kitty. But what stopped him from sneaking off three hours ago, killing the poor helpless Grand Scholar while she was alone, washing up, and then heading to a public tavern to build a perfect alibi? I mean, why even leave the palace at all unless you needed to set up a defense?"
Lorian opened his mouth to fire back, but Selena caught his hand, squeezing it tight to keep him calm. She turned her gaze to the First Trader of Port Azure.
"If she had died three hours ago while Jax was still in the Palace of Spire, her body would already be showing signs of stiffness," Selena said in her cold calculating voice, "I can see it clearly, but if any of you doubt me, feel free to check for yourselves,- with the Enclave's permission, of course. You'll find her jaw, eyelids, and fingers are still soft and flexible. Her mouth is easy to move. And her skin is still warm. Furthermore, I won't even mention the obvious- her wound is still fresh and bleeding. If she had died two hours ago, the blood would have stopped flowing and dried into dark clots by now."
Zaira scoffed, tossing her head back, "Oh, please. Are we really supposed to sit here and listen to a child spin fantasy stories out of thin air?"
A wicked, confident smirk touched Selena's lips. She narrowed her eyes and locked gazes with the First Trader, "You must have heard the rumors calling me a witch. Well, they aren't entirely for nothing. One of my favorite hobbies is studying corpses, running my own little anatomy tests. So I know a thing or two about death. And I notice the learned scholars of the Enlightened Enclave are standing right over there, listening in silence. If I said a single factually incorrect word, I am sure they would have stopped me by now, wouldn't they?"
Selena turned her head toward the council members. Not a single scholar spoke. Instead, with grim, tight expressions, they simply nodded in quiet agreement. Gauthier even knelt beside the body, checked the stiffness of Elana's jaw for himself, and looked up to give Selena a slow, solemn nod of confirmation.
Lorian stepped up beside her, "And aside from all of that,- if I had actually ordered Jax to assassinate the Grand Scholar, he would have used a clean blade. A sharp knife is quick, precise, and efficient. He wouldn't use his bare hands to leave such glaring, obvious traces."
"Exactly," Selena added. "And even if he had, look closely at the marks on her neck. They aren't the jagged, brutal marks left by a beastman's natural hunting claws. This wound is a clean, mechanical sweep. It looks like the stroke of an artificial blade or a forged tool, not an organic paw. But I suppose very few people here have the eye to notice the difference."
Zaira's face flushed red with frustration, while the members of the Enlightened Enclave looked away in quiet shame, realizing how close they had come to executing an innocent man just to satisfy their own panic.
Gauthier walked over to Lorian, sank to one knee, and bowed his head low.
"Allow me to beg your forgiveness," Gauthier said with a voice thick with regret, "On behalf of the Enlightened Enclave, the Arcane Watch, and the entire city of Solara. This is the first time our leader has ever been murdered, that too within her own walls. We panicked. We lost our wits, and we grew desperate to find someone to blame for this horrific act. We were about to commit a terrible crime. Please accept our deepest apologies."
Lorian stared down at him for a moment before speaking in a cold merciless tone, "If you are truly sorry, you should not say sorry to me. Say it to Jax."
To the absolute shock of everyone in the room, the commander of the Arcane Watch turned, lowered his head directly to the beastman, and bowed.
"Save it, Constable," Jax growled, and his deep voice rumbled across the quiet hall, "If I was sitting in your chair, I wouldn't trust a damn soul here either. I'd chop down ninety-nine innocents just to make sure the one rat didn't slip away. You kept your hands clean. Can't fault you for that. But you went and smeared my lord's name with your mouth. You already apologized to him, though, so we're done here. Watch your step next time."
For the first time all evening, a faint, tired smile touched the corners of Gauthier's lips. He didn't say another word. He simply nodded, stood up, and gave Jax's thick shoulder a firm, respectful pat.
Slowly, the tense crowd inside the court began to break apart, murmuring quietly as the guests and guards cleared out to return to their quarters.
As they walked back down the quiet corridor toward their rooms, Selena leaned close and whispered into Lorian's ear.
"Did you notice it?" she murmured.
Lorian grinned in the dim light, "That you are a little bit terrifying with your corpse obsession?"
Selena elbowed him hard in the ribs, "Not that, you idiot!"
She stopped dead in her tracks, pulling him to a halt, and lowered her voice to a whisper, "The pile of ash. It was right there on the floor, just in front of Elana's seat."
Lorian's smile vanished, his eyes narrowing as his mind had started racing "I saw it. But..."
"It wasn't glowing," Selena whispered, her eyes wide.
A sudden, chilling realization struck Lorian. He grabbed her arms, as his heart skipped a beat, "I have an idea."