Rax's hands shot up like listair had already drawn a weapon.
"Whoa, whoa, brother, no," he said quickly. "I had nothing to do with that. Nothing."
[Nine years of friendship,] listair thought. [And I can't tell if you're lying right now. Gods...]
"Soone told them where we lived," listair said lowly, eyes unblinking as he looked back at Rax. "Soone told them my family would be there."
"You think that was ?" Rax's eyes were wide. "l, everyone knows the Blackflas live with forr Court Sorceress Folden. It's not exactly a state secret."
"Everyone?"
"You know how it is," Rax pressed on. "The forr court sorceress, living with a nim family? People wouldn't shut up about it for months. Any idiot with a grudge could have found out."
[... Yeah, he has a point,] listair admitted to himself. [But how many 'people with grudges' have we created just by existing?]
"And what about Hazel?" listair asked, watching Rax's face carefully. "Did these arsonists know my eight-year-old daughter would be there?"
Sothing flickered in Rax's expression. Pain? Guilt? Or just the natural reaction to hearing a child was nearly murdered?
"Gods, l," Rax ran a hand over his face. "I didn't... I would never..."
[But you know who would,] listair thought. [Don't you?]
In the shadows, he could practically feel lisa vibrating with the need to intervene. To demand answers.
But there was a reason Rax still had his head on his shoulders right now. The information had been public. Any nim with a grudge, so amount of literacy, and the will to ask around *could* reasonably find out where they lived.
[Not enough,] listair decided reluctantly. [Not enough to justify murdering him, anyway.]
Even if part of him still wanted to. Even if he could picture exactly how satisfying it would feel to wrap his hands around Rax's throat and squeeze until those denials stopped.
"If I find out you're lying," listair said quietly, "if I discover you had anything to do with this..."
"I didn't," Rax insisted. "Brother, I swear on my children's lives. I didn't order this."
[Notice he didn't say he doesn't know who did,] listair thought.
But that was a conversation for another day. When he had more proof. When his daughter wasn't waiting in the shadows, ready to test exactly how much damage her new spells could do to a living body.
"Get back to work," listair said finally.
Rax hesitated, clearly wanting to say more. But sothing in listair's expression made him think better of it.
As his friend – forr friend? – walked away, listair tried to sort through the ss of emotions in his chest.
[Nine years of friendship,] he thought again. [And I still don't know if I just let my daughter's would-be murderer walk away.]
Behind him, lisa erged from the shadows.
"Well," she said quietly, "that was extrely useful, huh?" She asked sarcastically.
Despite everything, listair laughed.
"He's hiding sothing," listair said.
"Obviously." lisa crossed her arms. "But hiding sothing isn't the sa as trying to kill Hazel."
"No," listair agreed. "It's not."
They stood in silence for a mont, watching the distant figure of Rax disappear into the crowd of workers.
listair was slowly taking in what Rax said. There was enough of a defense for him to not just kill the guy... But that didn't an he wasn't suspicious anymore.
"Actually," lisa said, that familiar gleam entering her eye. The one that usually preceded either a brilliant discovery or a spectacular disaster. "I might be able to get more information myself."
"How?" listair asked, already dreading the answer. lisa was, no doubt, a genius, but she'd caused enough explosions over the last 9 years for listair to be cautious when she got this look.
"Well," lisa grinned, "you know how nim naturally produce pheromones?"
"Yes," listair said slowly. "That's why your mother can't go shopping without damn near half the market following her ho."
"Right! Well, I've been experinting." lisa's grin widened. "Turns out you can sort of... aim them. Makes them stronger. Strong enough for people to spill their darkest secrets, maybe."
[Of course,] listair thought. [Of course my daughter figured out how to weaponize horniness.]
"You're telling ," he said carefully, "that you've invented so kind of... targeted aphrodisiac?"
"More like a truth-telling spell that makes people really, really want to impress while they're spilling their guts." lisa shrugged. "Also makes them want to fuck ."
"Great." listair pinched the bridge of his nose. "You invent new ways to change reality as often as you change clothes."
But... if it could get them answers...
"Fine," he sighed. "If you think you can figure this out, go ahead."
"On it," lisa nodded. She did so weird gesture with her hand listair hadn't seen before, putting it in front of her forehead. "I'll have results for you in no ti."
[Sotis,] listair thought as his daughter practically skipped away, already planning god-knows-what, [I miss when the most complicated thing about parenting was changing diapers.]
---
{lisa}
lisa lounged against a half-finished wall as she watched Rax work. The bastard moved with the easy confidence of soone who either had nothing to hide or was very, very good at hiding things.
[So,] she thought, [how exactly do I play this? Can't just walk up and be like 'Hey, tried to burn any houses lately?' My charm spell isn't straight-up mind control. It's just that people don't really think about the things they say when they're horny.]
The late queen was proof of that.
The construction site buzzed around her. Workers called to each other, hamrs struck wood and stone, and sowhere nearby soone was whistling a tune that sohow managed to be both cheerful and incredibly annoying.
[Could try seducing him directly,] she considered, watching Rax lift a beam. [Honestly, the thought of seducing a guy doesn't sit too well with . Don't play for that team, after all. But, for the sake of finding out if he's guilty or not? Small price to pay.]
She just had to figure out where to start.
[Honestly...] lisa nodded to herself. [No need to over-complicate this. I can just catch him as he's walking ho from work.]
Simple plan, but sotis, simple was best.
[Yeah, yeah,] lisa sighed. [Better get comfortable sowhere. I'll be here a while.]
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