I mostly remembered Meri being witheringly sarcastic to Gio and blatantly distrustful of him, but I said nothing of that. ‘He might be,’ I said cautiously. ‘But if so, he is much less draykoni than most of us here, and we have a difficult time spotting Elders ourselves.’
‘But it is possible.’
I felt torn. I hated the idea that Gio was so complete a betrayer. I wanted to be vindicated in my decision to trust him — and if he was so far in league with the Lokant killers, what did that suggest about Ori’s safety? My heart fluttered with trepidation at the idea.
On the other hand, he was a convenient culprit because he was not one of us. If he was responsible, we did not have to face the prospect that one of our own had aided so cruel and ruthless a regime. I could see why Meriall so readily
