As she’d suspected, he didn’t take much to break. “They said they could get me out of here,” he said. “You don’t know what it’s like, being caged like an animal.”

Oh, she knew. She’d known what it was like most days of her life. “You betrayed your own daughter.”

He grabbed the bars of the cell. “They weren’t going to hurt her; they just wanted her out of the governor’s seat.”

People were willing to believe all sorts of lies if those lies served their interests.

She didn’t bother responding; she only went to the door, unlocked it and swung it open. She held out the bag. “Here are your things. I’ve had the servants pack you some clothes; there’s a package of food in there, plus money – enough to set you up in a flat and pay for your living until you find a place to work.”

He stopped on the threshold of the cell and didn’t reach for the bag. “You’re… throwing me out?”

She’d not had the chance to discuss this with her wife, but how could she tell Phalue who she suspected the spy was, especially just as she’d been about to leave for battle? Phalue might be estranged from her father, but she loved him. Ranami hadn’t been able to convince her wife that Ayesh might have been a spy – how could she convince Phalue that her own father was spying on her? She wouldn’t have believed it. Not without proof. But the longer the man stayed in the palace, the more harm he might do.

Now who was acting impulsively? Phalue might be rubbing off on her.

Ranami sighed and thrust the bag into his chest. He grasped it reflexively. “What did you think would happen, old man? I’d set you free and you’d live in the palace again? Your ex-wife lives in the city; you can manage the same. I don’t care anymore about punishing you; that’s not justice. I care about keeping you from harming the people of Nephilanu. I care about keeping you from harming my wife. Here, you are still in the seat of your power. There, with the rest of the people, you have none. And maybe living among them will teach you things that Phalue and this cell could not.”

“I can’t get a job.” He sounded so panicked, Ranami might have almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

“You were smart enough to pry secrets from your daughter and sell them; you’ll figure something out. Now get out before I have to make the guards escort you. It would be embarrassing for us both.”