Verity Guild by Mai Corland

Here is a summary with spoilers for Verity Guild by Mai Corland

In the Republic of Pryor, a republic established after the overthrow of a monarchy and a century-long war. The republic is governed by a Senate, while the Temple of Truth holds almost as much political influence as the government itself. The story follows Kerasea Vestal, the newly elevated High Priestess of the Temple of Truth, and Torren Morvane, a Praetorian, senior investigator, and protector of the Senate. 

Kerasea is secretly the last surviving member of the Elusian bloodline, a magical royal lineage that the republic attempted to eradicate. She has spent her life concealing this heritage because discovery would mean imprisonment or death. Torren, meanwhile, has spent years hating the Vestal family because of what happened to his father. Kerasea's testimony when she was a child contributed to her father's conviction for treason, and Torren has consequently viewed her as responsible for his family's destruction.

The story begins during the Revelry, a major celebration commemorating the end of the monarchy and the Hundred Year War. Kerasea is performing her duties as High Priestess when she receives a mal omen, a sacrificial bird unlike any that has appeared in decades. The omen is significant because it traditionally indicates impending disaster. Kerasea reports it to the Council, but Senator Verhardt, an influential member of the Senate, wants the matter concealed until after the upcoming Conclave. Kerasea is therefore placed in the position of publicly representing truth while privately being forced to conceal information. During the Revelry, she encounters Torren, who continues to regard her with suspicion and hostility.

The following morning, Verhardt is found murdered on the Altar of Peace. His body has been brutally mutilated and dismembered, and a ceremonial temple sickle has been left among his remains. The weapon immediately makes the Temple of Truth and Kerasea possible suspects. Torren is assigned to investigate because of his position as Praetorian and senior investigator. he also soon learns that the mans liver is missing, taken from him after he was murdered. Torren thought this was weird, as first he was recently givena prophecy that said just this same thing, and two, he feels like that is even more evadence that Kerasea did it. His personal hatred of Kerasea makes the investigation especially complicated, because he already believes the Vestal family destroyed his own. He already believes that it is her that did it. At the same time, Torren recognizes that the murder appears politically motivated. Verhardt was an important senator, and the republic is already approaching a crisis involving the possibility of war. Killing him could alter Senate votes and destabilize the government.

Despite Verhardt's murder, the annual Conclave cannot simply be cancelled. The surviving senators travel to Jubilee Palace, an isolated former royal palace on Mount Ara, where they are supposed to debate and vote on major political matters. Kerasea attends because the Temple has political authority, while Torren attends as the Senate's protector and investigator. Shortly after their arrival, a severe blizzard cuts the palace off from the outside world. The result is a closed-circle situation: the senators, Kerasea, Torren, and the palace staff are effectively trapped together, while someone inside the group is killing people.

Kerasea becomes politically important when the Senate becomes deadlocked. Because the Temple has significant authority, the senators ask her to act as a tie-breaking vote. She is therefore simultaneously a religious leader, a political participant, a potential suspect, and a potential target. Torren begins investigating everyone in the palace, but evidence repeatedly points toward Kerasea and the Temple. At one point he discovers another ceremonial sickle, and later a piece of lapis lazuli is found in connection with another death. The lapis resembles the beads on Kerasea's clothing, providing another piece of circumstantial evidence against her. Kerasea knows she cannot reveal the full truth about herself, because doing so would expose her Elusian heritage and magical abilities.

The second major death occurs when Antinous, a Senate clerk, is found drowned in the palace's thermal baths. Before his death, Antinous had been drinking and told Kerasea that the Senate had conspired against Verhardt. He also claimed that Torren himself was the real killer. Torren investigates and finds evidence that Antinous's death was not accidental. The investigation also reveals that Verhardt had been blackmailing Senators Terrance and Eyo, expanding the number of people who could have wanted him dead.

Torren's best friend, Julian Monroe, the Capital Commander, becomes an important secondary figure. Julian is outwardly charming and supportive of Torren, but his behavior repeatedly makes Torren question where his loyalties actually lie. He has access to political information, participates in Senate decisions, and at various points seems to know more than he tells Torren. He also admits that he was the last person to see Verhardt alive. His relationship with Kerasea creates another layer of uncertainty because he treats her differently from Torren and appears unusually interested in her. Later events make Julian one of the most suspicious figures in the story, although the first book does not resolve all questions surrounding him.

The political situation worsens when Senator Eyo is poisoned during breakfast. He dies after drinking poisoned wine, and the poison is identified as romlock. The murder occurs while everyone remains trapped inside the palace, confirming that the killer is continuing to operate among them. The palace cook eventually confesses to Eyo's murder, but Torren does not believe the confession. He realizes that the cook has probably been paid or threatened into accepting responsibility. Torren gives the cook an opportunity to retract his confession because a conviction would result in severe consequences not only for the cook but for his family. Before Torren can obtain the truth, however, the cook is murdered.

The murder of the cook eliminates one of Torren's few remaining leads. His investigation increasingly suggests that the killings are connected to a broader political conspiracy. The senators are divided over whether to end the Conclave, and the possibility of war with Arthago becomes a major political issue. Senator Terrance uses the chaos to gain power and becomes the new Senate leader after a deadlocked vote. Julian's vote helps break the deadlock. Kerasea abstains from one crucial vote, allowing the old guard to pass a declaration of war against Arthago. The murders are therefore not simply individual crimes; they are influencing the republic's political direction.

While all of this is happening, Kerasea is struggling with the secret she has spent her life protecting. She is an Elusian, descended from the magical royal family that once ruled Pryor. Her powers are associated with blood, death, and memory. She can use her blood magic to interact with the memories of the dead, but doing so has a significant physical cost. She has deliberately concealed these abilities while serving as High Priestess of the Temple of Truth. Her position is therefore built around a contradiction: she is publicly the most important religious representative of truth while privately hiding one of the most dangerous truths in the republic.

Kerasea eventually performs a forbidden blood ritual and receives an omen in the form of a liver divided between healthy pink tissue and blackened, burned tissue. The omen represents two possible futures for the republic. She becomes increasingly convinced that the murders and the political conflict are connected. Torren and Kerasea also begin working together more directly. Their relationship changes because Torren realizes that the evidence against her may have been deliberately planted. Kerasea, in turn, begins to recognize that Torren's hatred of her is rooted in his own family's history rather than simply personal cruelty. Their alliance is still fragile, but they begin sharing information.

The hostility between Kerasea and Torren gradually turns into attraction. Torren initially tries to use romantic interest as a way of getting closer to Kerasea and investigating her, but his attraction eventually becomes genuine. Their relationship remains complicated by the fact that Kerasea is still concealing her magical identity and Torren is still investigating her. They repeatedly move between cooperation and suspicion. Eventually, after an argument about their shared history, they kiss and later have sex. Their physical relationship develops while the murder investigation is still unresolved, meaning neither knows whether the other can ultimately be trusted.

Another important part of the investigation involves Zel, Kerasea's young servant. Torren discovers suspicious evidence in Zel's room, including a dagger and a book concerning poisons. Kerasea realizes that Zel has not been completely honest about her activities. At one point Kerasea helps Zel evade Torren's questioning, which damages the fragile alliance between Kerasea and Torren. Zel later becomes an important witness because she has seen things that the other characters do not know about. In particular, she saw Mirial Bauman, another priestess from Kerasea's temple, meeting Verhardt secretly before his death.

The investigation takes another turn when Mirial secretly arrives at the Conclave and is subsequently found dead in the snow. Mirial's death is significant because she had connections to both Kerasea and Verhardt. This also felt personal for Kersea, as Mirial was a personal mentor for her, a true family member. Kerasea uses her blood magic on Mirial's corpse to access her memories. Through those memories, Kerasea learns more about the conspiracy and sees evidence pointing toward Senator Medea. Though she isn’t allowed to tell Torren how she got this information. The memories also reveal information about Kerasea's own childhood. She discovers that Osiris Vestal took her in as a baby after she survived an encounter with the eternal flame without being burned. This establishes that her connection to the Elusian bloodline and her supernatural abilities began before she could remember.

Kerasea eventually decides to openly accuse Senator Medea. Torren has to decide whether to support Kerasea even though she intends to use information that cannot necessarily be proven through conventional evidence. He is forced to choose between the rigid version of justice he has always followed and the possibility that the official political system is itself protecting the guilty. At the same time, Kerasea's magic becomes increasingly difficult to conceal. Her use of it is physically exhausting and threatens to reveal what she truly is.

The situation reaches a crisis when Sentry Calais attacks Zel. Kerasea uses her magic openly to behead Calais, but she arrives too late to save Zel, who dies in her arms. This is the point at which Kerasea stops trying to remain completely hidden. Covered in blood, she enters the throne room and publicly accuses Medea. She uses her supernatural abilities to demonstrate that her accusation is backed by powers beyond ordinary testimony. The display is sufficiently frightening that Medea is forced to submit. Kerasea's use of magic, however, drains her severely, and she collapses afterward.

Torren then arrests Medea and finds physical evidence connecting her to the earlier murders, including Verhardt's missing diamond ring and evidence of communication involving Mirial. Medea is therefore established as the principal murderer and conspirator behind the killings.

However, the political system does not give her the punishment that would normally be expected. The senators refuse to place her in prison and instead put her under house arrest. They also offer Kerasea twenty gold bullions as compensation for Zel's death. Kerasea is deeply affected by this because the payment effectively treats Zel's murder as a financial loss rather than a human life. She returns Zel's body and the bullions to Zel’s parents and is left with the realization that the political system she serves values powerful people differently from servants and ordinary citizens.

After the immediate threat from Medea appears to have been dealt with, Kerasea and Torren spend time together privately. They acknowledge their feelings and have another sexual encounter. Their relationship has shifted from mutual hatred to genuine attachment, although they still face the problem that Kerasea has not told Torren the complete truth about her identity. Torren has come to trust her and care about her, while Kerasea knows that revealing herself as an Elusian could completely change his perception of her.

While sleeping beside Torren, Kerasea uses her ability to enter the memories of Lucius Calais, the sentry she killed. Through his memories she discovers that Medea was not acting entirely alone. She sees Medea and another man discussing a murder and planning to plant a knife in order to frame someone else. Kerasea wakes with this information and attempts to tell Torren.

Before she can explain everything, Julian arrives. He tells Kerasea and Torren that Chief Justice Probus has been murdered. He then announces that he has come to arrest both of them.