‘There will be no adjournments!’ Chloe thundered, and instantly the entire lyceum went silent. ‘Philippos was not the first man to get in your way, First Consul. You murdered my father, Aristocles, elected leader of Phalesia, and I am here to make sure that everybody knows.’

‘Utter nonsense.’ Nilus peered at the upper tiers again. ‘Guards!’

In unison, a dozen men in hooded cloaks, scattered around the chamber, rose to their feet. They threw back their hoods and opened their cloaks to reveal grim faces and leather armor. Each soldier placed a hand on the sword at his side.

Chloe deliberately rested her eyes on Amos, standing three tiers above the floor. Following her gaze, the consuls and citizens all gasped audibly as they saw his craggy face, somber eyes, and the blue cloak of Phalesia on his shoulders. Murmurs filled the lyceum as they recognized the former captain of the city guard, connecting his disappearance with the time of Aristocles’ death.

‘Two soldiers witnessed Nilus and three others kill my father,’ Chloe called in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone present. ‘All four murderers wielded a knife. All four have blood on their hands.’ She whirled and pointed. ‘I name the three other killers as Consul Harod, Consul Leon, and Consul Anneas.’

‘Preposterous!’ gray-bearded Consul Harod cried.

Consul Anneas folded his arms and shook his head. ‘The ravings of a mad woman.’

‘I refuse to hear another word of this.’ Consul Leon began to rise from his seat but a cloaked and hooded man behind him gripped his shoulders, pressing Leon back down and shaking his head.

‘Before Nilus had them both murdered, one of the witnesses told Amos.’ Chloe nodded in Amos’s direction. ‘You all know Amos. He is the man who led our defense against the Ilean invasion, a man who was always loyal to my father, and to this city and its democratic foundations.’

Chloe’s face turned grim.

‘But with my father dead, murdered by men sitting here today, and no one to believe him, Amos was forced into exile, still grieving for his lord and friend, knowing that he had been killed in cold blood, stabbed in the chest by consuls of this Assembly.’

Voices clamored, but Chloe lifted her arms, and when she spoke again they were listening.

‘And now,’ she said, ‘regarding Lord Philippos.’ Instantly the lyceum was quiet. She pointed. ‘Eudora? Can you please stand?’

Seated beside Amos, Nilus’s auburn-haired servant hesitantly stood and peeled the hood away from her head. She looked terrified, huddling close to the former captain.

‘Lord Nilus,’ Chloe said. ‘I’m sure you recognize one of your servants, as will many of the consuls she has served.’

Chloe met Nilus’s eyes directly. His complexion had gone gray; he was gnawing his lips and twining his fingers together.