by Jayne Faith
“Any idea how widespread Pirro bloodlines might be over the entire population?” I asked.
“My team is working on the modeling,” she said. “We’re also trying to get a hold of blood samples of convicted criminals for testing. Every criminal is required to submit a blood sample, which gives us a large database to examine. The catch is that we have to go through legal channels and offer some suitable reason for wanting to test the samples. We are working on that, too.”
“There wouldn’t be any markers in the tests that have already been done on the blood samples?”
She shook her head. “It’s not something standard DNA or medical tests would check for.”
I finally sat back. “I feel as if I shouldn’t still possess the capacity to feel so shocked,” I mused.
Novia’s eyes hardened. “Indeed. We’ve had many shocking disclosures and surprises of late.”
Her implication was barely obscured behind her civil façade, and I felt as if something had shifted, as if with just a few words she was trying to prod me into becoming defensive.
Realizing it was better for me to take the initiative than let her dance around the topic and try to goad me, I let out a breath and leveled my chin at her. “Novia, it’s not as though I kept the tenth volume secret from you.”
She gave her head a slight shake. “It’s not the secret that’s objectionable. It’s the way the secret was revealed. You’re manipulating the public and the Temple, trying to get everyone to side in favor of the Offered girl.”
“I do not know why you refuse to see what’s plain,” I said, my voice deadly quiet. “But Maya is vital to the path of the Return. I will not let anything threaten Earthenfell, not when it’s in my power to prevent it.”
My face hardened to match hers, and we stared each other down for a long moment. I had no doubt that some part of Novia enjoyed being contrary, challenging my decisions and my authority just for the pleasure of doing so. But she was also the type of woman who held deeply to her convictions and would not be swayed except when the evidence showed her there was no other choice. And in times when signs could be misread and missteps were all too easy to make, it was the firmness of her convictions that troubled me the most. For she was the type who believed that accuracy should triumph over intent. Mind over heart. Logic over spirit.
Finally, she stood and curtsied. “I’ll take my leave, Your Holiness, and will notify you of any new developments.”
After she left, I stood and went to the window, squinting against the glare of the dying semi-sun that broke into a rainbow of colors as it shone through the stained glass.
I prayed, as passionately as I’d ever prayed in my life, for guidance and wisdom.
Then I asked Celestia to summon Lord Toric.
11
Toric
I STORMED AROUND the tiny isolation room within my chambers like a wild dog looking for an escape—or something to attack—while the Priestess followed me with her eyes. When she’d told me that I might have Pirro blood flowing through my veins, I’d pushed to my feet, knocking over my chair. I had to move. If I sat still, I’d go mad.
She wanted a sample of my blood.
“Absolutely not!” I thundered for the third time. “If this is true, if I am part Pirro, it would be grounds for removing me from the throne.”
“Not necessarily,” the Priestess said. “There is nothing in the law that says the Lord must be of pure Calistan blood. I checked."
I whirled on her and tossed my hands in the air, accidently jamming an elbow against the wall of the cramped space. “That’s because it’s implied. It’s assumed. It’s never occurred to anyone that the Lord’s bloodline was anything but one hundred percent Calistan. Who knows what sort of riot it would set off.”
I didn’t worry about keeping my voice down. I’d had the isolation room built within my quarters so I could have confidential meetings, and the room had been thoroughly tested and was constantly swept. I should have done it much earlier.
“My Lord, you know I would not try to undermine you or put you in danger. I’m only trying to gain knowledge, to find answers. If Novia’s hypotheses are true, there are people who already know. Testing your DNA would simply arm us with the knowledge, too.”
I crossed my arms. “I’m sorry, Your Holiness, but the risk is too great. In light of recent events, how can you even pretend to assume that any secret is truly safe? And furthermore, I don’t see how it would help us along the path to Earthenfell.”
Her eyes pinched, and I could tell she was trying to restrain herself. A small part of me sympathized with her—I could only imagine the pressure she was under after Maya’s survival of the flame and the revelation of the tenth volume of the sacred texts—but I could not give in to her request. It was too dangerous.
I scratched at the back of my neck as my entire body suddenly seemed alive with a crawling sensation. My refusal of the DNA test was not only because of the danger. My mind did not want to examine the idea that any part of me could be Pirro. The mere possibility made me want to turn my own skin inside out.
“My Lord, I know this is a difficult thing to contemplate. Whatever is running through your mind right now, well, you have every right to your reaction.” Her face and voice softened, and I could read in her eyes that her sentiment was genuine. “But I believe we need to arm ourselves with as much knowledge as possible. If you are not willing to submit to the test, I . . . well, I’ll have to look elsewhere.”
My arms dropped to my sides, and I gave her an incredulous look. “My brother? You’d go to Jeric for this?”
Her mouth twitched, but she steadily held my gaze.
I shoved my fingers into my hair and pulled and then went back to pacing my cramped path back and forth at the longer edge of the room. “That’s idiocy.”
“He’s on our side,” she said softly, and the weight of her words made me pause.
“What do you mean?”
Her chin lowered a fraction of an inch, and her eyes stayed on mine. A long moment of silence passed, and I realized she did not intend to elaborate.
The Priestess had been communicating with Jeric . . .
Maya.
He’d somehow been involved in her survival? Yes . . . Jeric had helped the Priestess save Maya.
I blinked a few times, trying to crystallize the new thought. Jealousy prickled through me. I knew it was irrational, but I hated that he had been the one. I should have saved her. I wanted to save her.
“I think we are done here,” I said, my face pulling into a hard mask.
I wanted nothing more than to get out of the tiny room, run to the nearest balcony, let the wind hit my hot skin, and just breathe for a moment. But a Lord did not run away from his subjects, and the Priestess was one of my subjects, despite her great authority and power.
“Very well,” she said stiffly. She rose and curtsied and left without a backward glance.
My jealously over Jeric’s part in saving Maya, and the fallout of the conversation that had just transpired, mingled and seemed to concentrate around my heart in a cramping ache. My refusal had opened a rift between me and the Priestess, and it hurt more than I’d expected. She was one of my few true allies and my most trusted confidant. She cared about Maya’s safety almost as much as I did.
I felt like a child who’d lost his blanket. But how could I give in to the Priestess’s request?
I touched my earpiece and spoke to Camira, directing her to arrange for me to visit Maya. Since she’d moved to the Temple, I missed the feel of her energy nearby like a prisoner yearned for the light and heat of the sun on his skin. Perhaps it made me weak, but I needed the comfort of her presence.
*
My dark angel was awake when I arrived at her room in the Temple’s guest quarters. All of her injuries had been healed, and her cheeks were pink with vitality.
The strong touch of her energy signature upon my mind and around my heart brought me immediate calm.
When s
he ran a few steps to me and threw herself into my arms, I nearly melted with joy. For a moment, I allowed myself to bury my face in the dark waves of her hair and absorb her energy and the pressure of her body against mine.
My mouth found hers, and the world faded away.
Then my brother’s face floated unbidden into my mind.
I pulled back and set her on her feet. “Maya, I need to know something.”
She looked up at me, her eyes still dreamy from our kiss at first but then sharpening as she took in my serious expression. “Come and sit with me. It’s a lovely day out.”
She led me through an open glass door to a little walled terrace. The walls were at least twelve feet high, and I knew royal guards were posted on the other side. We sat side-by-side on a stone bench, and she looked at me expectantly. I squeezed her hand, but I was hesitant as I realized I could not be confident that we had complete privacy.
I bent my head until my lips were at her ear. “I don’t want anyone to overhear,” I barely whispered the words. “Was my brother involved?”
She turned her head just enough to look at me out of the corners of her eyes. Her wide-eyed gazed locked on mine, but she didn’t answer.
“I won’t be angry, I promise,” I whispered.
She cupped her hands around her mouth, and I leaned down again so she could whisper. “I don’t want to keep things from you, but I swore I wouldn’t reveal a single detail. I can’t. It’s too dangerous. Please don’t ask me to speak of it.”
She flicked a glance up at me and then averted her eyes, and it was all the answer I needed. Jeric had been involved.
But sitting there with her, I found my jealousy fading. Maya was alive. Unharmed. The wonder of that reality crowded out everything else.
I wrapped my arms around her waist and tipped my head against hers. “I’m so grateful you’re here.”
We sat still for a long moment, absorbed in our embrace.
“I just hope they don’t change their minds,” she said, breaking the silence. “It could happen, you know.”
“I’m more concerned about Akantha and the Tournament.”
“The Priestess mentioned that, but she was fairly vague and told me not to worry. I’ve been trying not to, but . . .” She puffed her lips and blew out a slow breath.
“You should be exempt from participation. After all, you were disqualified when you were arrested.” Actually, the disqualification occurred when it was announced Maya would be executed. But I preferred to avoid direct reference to that.
“Well, if you are on my side and Akantha opposes you, perhaps the Priestess can be the tiebreaker? Isn’t that how it works in the Tournament?” She looked up at me hopefully.
“Yes, that is how it works with the ranks of favor, and with other Tournament-related disputes.” I raised my brows and nodded, thinking. How could I not have thought of it before? I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “That is the solution. If you’re in the Tournament, the Priestess and I should be able to out-vote Akantha to make you exempt. And if you’re already exempt, we don’t need to be concerned.”
We both knew my last statement wasn’t quite true. Even without the Tournament, there would be opposition. There already was. The Priestess had told me about the woman in the Temple who believed Maya was not a miracle but a hoax. As Maya had said, the tide of public opinion could turn against her again. That alone had been enough to send her to the flame in the first place.
Public outcry had, in fact, overridden the law. It still made me furious when I thought of it. Not just because of Maya, but because it eroded the authority of the law in general.
“There’s something else,” she said, a frown passing over her face. “I’m not sure if I should even mention it, but I can’t get it out of my mind.”
“Maybe it will leave you in peace if you tell me.”
A small smile passed across her lips before she grew serious again. She tipped her face up to whisper to me. “After I went through the fire, I swear I saw my sister. It was only a flash, a moment, before I lost consciousness. But it was her.”
My heart seemed to pause for a moment. “She couldn’t be on Calisto. You know that, right? Earthens come here only as a result of a Selection.”
“My mind knows it, and yet I can’t help feeling sure that she was there.” Her brow wrinkled, and I could see the internal battle in her eyes.
I gripped her hand with gentle pressure. “Perhaps you did see her, through the very close connection the two of you share. You thought you were dying. In that moment of extreme trauma, perhaps you somehow reached out to her through, I don’t know, some means born of your link to her.”
A cloud of doubt passed over her face, but then it dissipated. “Maybe. In any case, thank you for not calling me crazy.”
“I’ve seen and known too many strange and wondrous things,” I said, thinking of the face of the Priestess as she’d told me I might have Pirro blood running through my veins. “It would be arrogant to insist that I can explain every phenomenon in the universe. We have to allow a bit of room for the unexplainable.”
Maya visibly relaxed, and we spent the next half hour sitting close together. In between lingering kisses, we spoke of inconsequential things.
I hated to pull myself away, but my duties pressed upon me. I left with a promise to return the next day.
Before my next appointment, I wanted to see my brother. Regardless of our history, his cruelty, and his recent erratic behavior, I wanted him to know how grateful I was that Maya was alive.
With my two guards in tow, I left the Temple. I touched my earpiece and asked Camira to put me through to Jeric.
“Sir Jeric for you, my Lord,” she said a few seconds later.
“I’d like to speak to you for a moment,” I said. “Could I meet with you?”
“I’ve been meaning to get in touch with you,” Jeric said. His voice sounded more vigorous than it had in weeks. “I’ll be at my apartment in ten minutes.”
“I’ll see you there.”
Jeric beat me there, and when he opened the door, I immediately noticed an improvement in his pallor and energy. But his eyes gleamed in a way I knew all too well. He was up to something.
He flicked a glance at my guards. “They need to wait outside.”
Calvin started to protest—it was standard for my two guards to accompany me inside a residence, or at the very least to sweep it first before allowing me to go in alone—but I held up a hand. “I’ll look through the place myself. If you don’t hear from me within a minute, bust the door down.”
Calvin’s jaw muscles worked, but he gave me a curt nod. “Yes, my Lord.”
I went inside and Jeric closed and bolted the door. He turned around and beckoned me away from the door. In the dining room off the foyer, he leaned in with a conspiratorial look.
“I need you to see something,” he said.
He spun and walked so swiftly through the rooms I jogged a few steps to catch up.
We went through his disheveled room into the adjoining space that served as both dressing room and closet.
Akantha was gagged and bound to a chair.
My jaw dropped as I took in her dark-ringed eyes and untidy hair. I looked at my brother. “What in the name of the stars are you doing?”
“Tell your man the apartment is clear,” Jeric said, ignoring my question.
I stared at him stupidly for a moment.
Jeric tapped his ear. “Check in or this place is going to be crawling with royal guards in about seven seconds.”
I touched my earpiece. “Calvin, I’ve checked every room. It’s clear.”
“Passphrase?” Calvin said.
“Star struck,” I supplied.
“Very well.” He almost sounded disappointed that he couldn’t storm the apartment with his men. “I’ll check in again in exactly ten minutes.”
I dropped my hand from my earpiece.
“Let’s talk elsewhere,” Jeric said.
I took one last look at Akantha before following him. Her eyes were hard, flashing anger, but there was also a glint of fear.
We went to my brother’s library.
I faced him with my hands on my hips. I kept my composure, but inside I was spinning. Had Jeric finally lost his mind completely?
“You haven’t hurt her, have you?” I demanded.
He gave me a withering look. “Of course not! I didn’t tie her up for the pleasure of it. I couldn’t take the chance that she would sabotage me.”
I shoved my fingers into my hair. “Jeric, this is against the law. Probably half a dozen laws. Does anyone else know? What are you planning to do with her, anyway? You can’t keep her tied up in your closet forever. Now that I know, I’m an accessory to kidnapping and holding someone against their will. Probably offenses I don’t even—”
“Stop babbling!” he broke in.
His derisive tone was like a smack to the cheek.
I dropped my hands to my sides and gave him a look full of cold steel. “Then start explaining yourself. Now.”
“She knew,” he said. “Somehow Akantha found out what was going to happen, what I was planning. Maya would not be alive right now if I hadn’t done that.” He flung one hand back in the direction of his closet.
“Shh!” I hissed. “You don’t know who might be listening.”
He huffed a loud, long-suffering sigh. “You really think I’m an idiot, don’t you? I’ve disabled every communication device, had the place swept, and changed the locks. No one has been in here since.”