Sing Me to Sleep by Gabi Burton

Author:Gabi Burton
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781547610389
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2023-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Not Enough

When I open the door for the morning briefing, I pause. Hayes stands at the head of the war room table instead of Zensen.

“Good morning.” Hayes nods to each of us as we take our seats, shuffled down to make room for Zensen. “I know I’m not usually at these meetings, but last night, they found Felix. He’s dead. Killed.”

My mouth floods with the room’s shock and, overpowering the rest, Hayes’s grief.

Even though I sense his heartbreak, his face is calm. “We’ve been called to conduct an investigation.” He looks at me. “Saoirse is my lead investigator on this.”

This is a surprise to me, but before I can say anything, Erasmus speaks up. “Can a novice guard be a lead investigator?”

Hayes nods. “Good point. Saoirse, I’m promoting you to junior guard.”

Devlyn flares with something bitter like citrus peel, sour like curdled milk, and briny like pickled fish. Betrayal. Erasmus, meanwhile, scowls and folds his arms like a child, oozing his usual rotting disdain.

“She’s only been here a few weeks,” Devlyn objects.

“I trust her.” Hayes speaks firmly. “We have two deaths to investigate, and I have no use for a novice guard.”

“Two?” says Jeune. “Who’s the second?”

“Brogan Nash.”

Jeune frowns. “I thought he was killed by Spektryl.”

“We don’t think it was Spektryl,” says Hayes. “There was a woman who led Nash into the alley where he was killed. That same woman approached the King’s investigator, Grisham Haverly, asking about Felix’s disappearance.”

“Who is she?” asks Jeune.

“We’re not sure. She might work for the Raze, but the Raze doesn’t hire women, so perhaps not. Regardless, we’re tasked with finding her. When we do, we’ll either learn she’s a murderer or she’ll lead us to who is.”

“Should be easy enough,” says Devlyn. “Find the only person in Keirdre who hates delicious baked goods.”

The rest of the guards chuckle, but I frown. “Baked goods?”

“You know. The Nash family.” Devlyn gives me a look.

“I take it that’s meant to mean something.”

“You’ve never heard of the Nash family?” says Jeune incredulously. “They run the most successful bakeries in Keirdre. How do you not know who they are?”

“I doubt he was murdered for baking,” I say flatly.

“Is this woman the only connection between these two victims?” asks Jeune.

“We don’t know,” says Hayes. “But if there are more connections, we have to find them. And we only have until my birthday.”

“Two weeks to find a Raze assassin?” says Devlyn.

“For now, we’re just looking for the woman. We’ll focus on the Raze later.” Hayes tosses something on the table. “This is what she looks like. Be on your guard. She managed to get into the Palace once already.”

I look at what he’s cast on the table. It’s a copy of Laa’el’s sketch from last night.

“Wow,” Devlyn breathes. “She’s beautiful.”

“It shouldn’t take long to find her,” says Hayes. “This image is all around Keirdre.”

My head jerks up. “Already?”

“It went out with the newspaper this morning. And we have posters in every sector. If she’s out there, we’ll find her.”

I feel sick.

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