Episode 43 - Breaking the Masks
The room was heavy with suspicion.
Everyone shifted in their seats, some avoiding each other's eyes, others gripping the arms of their chairs like they might launch across the table at any second.
I stood up, feeling all the stares on me.
"Enough games," I said. "I'm going to figure out who killed him. One way or another."
I walked over to Gary first — the young male staff member. His hands trembled slightly when I stopped in front of him.
"Gary," I said sweetly. "How long have you worked here?"
"A-a few months," he stammered. "N-not long."
"Few months," I repeated, crouching to his eye level. "Did you notice anything strange about Ely? About the Wizard?"
He gulped, looking sideways at Ely.
"Ely's... not normal," he muttered. "Sometimes, when she thinks no one's looking... her eyes flash gold."
I smiled coldly. "Good boy."
Gary looked like he might vomit.
I turned to Ely.
The tall, expressionless woman stood perfectly still. Almost too still.
"Your turn," I said. "Care to explain?"
She blinked once — slow. Measured.
"I served the Wizard faithfully."
"Cut the crap," I said, voice sharp. "You're no mortal. Your magic leaks out when you're not pretending."
A flicker — barely a flicker — crossed her face.
Got you.
"Fine," she said, her voice shifting — somehow colder and warmer at once. "I am Queen Elyndra of the Summer Court. The Wizard protected me when others sought to enslave me. I owed him loyalty. I would not harm him."
A Fey Queen.
No wonder she could suppress her emotions so well.I believed her — at least about not killing him. I mentally crossed her off the suspect list.
Next: Duit, the chef.
I stalked over to him.
"You," I said. "You were a prisoner once, weren't you?"
Duit grunted. "Yeah. So what?"
"Prison for murder," I said.
The whole room stiffened.
Duit growled. "I was young. Stupid. The Wizard believed me when no one else did."
"Or maybe you saw another easy mark," I said, narrowing my eyes.
Duit slammed a hand on the table.
"I didn't kill him! He was the only man who gave me a second chance!"
I studied him — really studied him.The rage seemed real, not staged. Grief clung to him like a bad smell.
Still suspicious... but not my top pick.
Now the Paladin.
The man had been quiet, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
I leaned close to him.
"What's your real story, Paladin?"
"I am who I said," he said stiffly. "A servant of Seth."
I smirked.
"Funny. Seth's followers don't wear gold. Yet you have a gold bracelet."
The Paladin shifted, uncomfortable.
"It was a gift. From my wife. Before she died."
His voice cracked slightly on 'wife'.
"After she died," he continued, "I couldn't bring myself to take it off. Even if it breaks our orders."
For a second, I saw the truth in his eyes — raw, aching loss.
I backed off.
Another off the list.
Next: the Wizard's son.
A boy barely more than a kid, slouched in his seat like he wished he could disappear.
"You," I said, voice gentler. "Where were you when the lights went out?"
He blinked at me, startled. "At my seat! I swear! I... I can't even use magic. Dad never taught me."
I narrowed my eyes, searching for a lie — but found only fear.
Innocent.
Probably.
Then, Queen Dea.
The so-called Queen of Seia sat regally, though her hands trembled slightly in her lap.
"Your turn, Your Majesty," I said mockingly.
She stiffened.
"I heard what the Wizard said to his son," she said tightly. "Something about being 'done'. Maybe the boy snapped."
"And what about you?" I asked, leaning in. "No dirty little secrets?"
A pause.
"I tried to bargain with the Wizard," she said finally. "Offered him gold, influence, anything... to help save my country."
She looked away.
"He refused."
Desperation.But not necessarily murder.
The Dashin Guard?He sat scowling at me, refusing to speak.
Coward.
I stood back, surveying them all.
Seven suspects.
Seven stories.
But as I pieced it all together... a chill ran down my spine.
None of them had the skill to enchant a blade like that.
None had the motive strong enough to want the Wizard dead.
And one thing I realized...
The "corpse" had been warm. Not cooling like a dead body should.
I clenched my fists.
The bastard.
He wasn't dead.
He faked it.
I turned, furious, just as a low laugh echoed across the walls.
The Wizard — very much alive — stood by the far wall, smiling smugly.