“This had better be good,” she whispered.

“It started when I was a soldier in the King’s army, training as a military physician. I was young and foolish, and one night I killed a fellow soldier in a drunken brawl. The punishment for such a crime can be as severe as death, at the discretion of the commanding officer.” He paused, as if gathering the strength to continue.

Constance sighed. “How exactly is this related? I don’t have all day.”

Dr. Thorn ignored the comment. “The man known as the Justice was my commanding officer—I was the only mage assigned to his contingent. He’d already had me whipped viciously for my minor disobediences. He hated mages, and so he hated me. I knew he wouldn’t spare my life. Perhaps I should have stayed and faced my fate … I almost wish I’d had the courage now. But instead I fled here—to the remotest part of the world I could imagine—and changed my name, my very identity,” he said, pausing to swallow. His voice was husky and low. “I did not know the Justice himself was from Duke’s Forest.”

Constance shrugged—but she was interested, despite herself. “What then?”

“I set up as an apothecary in the lower town, where I stayed hidden for several years. I married a local girl. My business thrived. I thought I had escaped him forever.” And then his voice grew even lower, darker. “But a few years ago there was a knock on my door at night. The Justice stood on the doorstep. He told me I would work for him again or he would destroy me.” He hesitated, sighing heavily. “I tried to threaten him. I am a mage, after all, and he isn’t. But then his men surrounded my house. They didn’t make a sound—but I could see them, blades and eyes glinting in the starlight. The Justice told me that I might be strong, but my wife wasn’t. I couldn’t watch her all the time. He could take her whenever he wanted. Kill her … or worse.” He swallowed, the noise thick in the silence. “I had to keep her safe.”

Constance felt her lip curl. So that was it? He was a fool if he’d expected her to be moved by his tale of woe. “Why should I believe a word you say? Even if it is true, I will not release you. You made your choice. You helped him destroy my father. You fought against me in the courtyard. You had choices, and you made the wrong ones.”