Jolthar descended to the main hall to find an unpleasant scene unfolding. Lord Justiciar Halvren stood there in his official robes, flanked by a squad of imperial guards. And beside him was a man Jolthar recognized with immediate distaste.
Alden Veyra.
He was perhaps forty, with a face that nature had made cruel and experience had made crueler. He wore the uniform of an imperial magistrate's enforcer—someone who carried out arrests and investigations on behalf of the justice ministry. But more than his official capacity, Jolthar remembered him from Tekkora.
It seemed like he was prompted.
Veyra had come to the barony months ago on some minor administrative matter, and he had been insufferably rude to everyone—treating Cleora with condescension, dismissing Maena's authority, and speaking to the common people like they were insects. Jolthar had barely restrained himself from throwing the man out physically.
Now here he was again, wearing an expression of smug satisfaction.
