Chapter 2

Approaching Lacanthim, Din confronts armed Armenta drovers blocking the road and bluffs them into parting, asserting Iudex authority. In the opposing line he finds Burav drovers; the Burav prime father, Burilis, appears and confirms the victim is his daughter Zansay. He demands her body but agrees to withdraw his forces to avoid sparking bloodshed after Ana’s firm warning.

Burilis and his son Jalin recount that Zansay met a boy under false names at the Cat’s Eye Inn; Castus Armenta fled the room covered in blood and was later tracked and jailed. Burilis frames the killing as obvious clan hatred and claims Armenta madness; Jalin echoes hostility and fear of Castus being rescued.

Inside, the innkeeper Ithia first denies knowledge, then admits Zansay and Castus had secretly met there for thirteen months under aliases, paying for her silence. Din and Ana proceed to the locked room, where a custodus stands guard.

Din examines the body: Zansay lies in a pool of blood, shoulder nearly severed and abdomen carefully sawed open with a serrated blade. The room shows no signs of struggle, Zansay’s hands bear no defensive wounds, and no one heard screams. Telling details include a blood print on her left palm and knee, evidence of recent coupling, and a knife sheath in Zansay’s trunk.

While observing, Din experiences an internal “voice” flagging the scene as wrong; Ana explains his engraved memories have matured, warning him to heed but not trust them fully. After weighing the precise wounds, quiet room, and blood prints, Ana posits that after being cut, Zansay calmly lowered herself and positioned her hand and knee. She sends Din to question Castus specifically about what Zansay did after she died.