by Jayne Faith
So I could enjoy our flirtations and the blaze he fueled deep within me. I could submit to my powerful attraction to him, but only up to a point. I would keep my feelings in check because no matter what, Lord Toric would never truly be mine.
21
Toric
STEALING A FEW kisses in my dressing room only made spending the night with Maya in my bed a greater torture. It was not the kind of ugly torment that usually plagued me—no, this was a sweet torture that I almost enjoyed.
Perhaps I could have pushed, seduced her quietly in the dark while my men stood guard at the door, but I felt that such behavior would cheapen the bond I had with Maya. So instead, I savored the torment and basked in the contented waves of energy that emanated from her.
Her energy had enlivened, recovering and returning to some semblance of how it was before she lost Orion. But it still carried a piece of the darkness I’d sensed before, a black ribbon that permanently edged the signature she radiated. It was what had driven her to attack Akantha, and I believed it was also what instilled her with a new boldness. If anything, it made her more complex and deepened my attraction to her.
I was more drawn to her than ever, and I could almost understand Jeric’s apparent obsession. I suspected Maya was right, that there was more at play than simple lust or fixation. I had my theory about Jeric’s behavior. After the engagement party, I’d asked Camira to make me an appointment with the Priestess first thing the next morning.
Maya and I took an early breakfast together in my bedchamber, and then we parted ways—she to my study to read while I went to meet High Priestess Lunaria.
The Tournament was still on hold for the investigation into foul play that led to Orion’s death, but I wasn’t sure how much longer it could be drawn out. My investigators had so far turned up nothing concrete that implicated Akantha. Even Maya’s guide Clarisse had stubbornly recanted what she’d told Maya about the plot against her in the game of survival.
When I went into the office of the High Priestess, I stopped short at the expression on Lunaria’s usually-composed face.
“What is it?”
“Please get the door, my Lord.” Her eyes flicked behind me.
I turned and closed the door and then sat down across from her, leaning forward with my hands braced on my knees.
“I have several people in my employ who aren’t exactly on the Temple payroll. Or any payroll, for that matter. One of them who has been, ah, in the field for many weeks, reported to me early this morning.” Her mouth pinched for a moment, as if she did not want to let out her next words. “As we’d begun to suspect, the Queen was behind Maya’s poisoning.”
The air whooshed from my lungs, and my entire body seemed to deflate. “But why?”
“It is part of a larger scheme, it seems. Apparently she wants Jeric to take the throne.” She widened her eyes and shook her head slightly, as if she still couldn’t quite believe it.
My insides twisted. My own mother was against me?
“Are you sure about this?” I asked.
“My girl was able to record part of a conversation. I can play it for you if you wish.”
I held up my hand. I didn’t think I could stomach hearing it in my own mother’s voice just yet. “First tell me what else you know. If this is true, why would she go after Maya? Why not take more direct action against me?”
“That’s yet unclear, my Lord. But I’m afraid . . . I’m afraid it’s because she knows Maya is a key to our return to Earthenfell.”
I pressed my palm to my forehead and then slowly pulled my hand down my face. “So she not only wants to unseat me, but she also wants to destroy our chance at Earthenfell?”
“Not our chance at Earthenfell, but your chance at leading us there,” she said quietly. “That’s my guess anyway. Toric, I’m sorry.”
The Priestess allowed the silence to stretch out for a couple of breaths.
“If I’m correct,” she continued. “It may mean that the Queen knows the details of the Sequence in the secret volume of the sacred text. It sounds like she may even know things that we don’t know. Her actions imply that she believes Maya is part of your fate as the Lord to lead the Return, but that Maya would not be part of Jeric’s path as the leader of the Return.”
I squinted at her, trying to read her tense eyes. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“Think of it as two possible routes to Earthenfell. Both of them begin with the defeat of our enemies. But then fate branches into two roads. On one, you lead the Return with Maya somehow playing a key role. On the other, Jeric leads the Return. Whether or not he would have a counterpart to Maya, I do not know.”
“How could my mother possibly know such things? You didn’t even know about the steps for the Return—this Sequence you’ve spoken of—until that secret volume showed up.”
“I don’t know how the Queen could have come by such information, but it’s the thing that disturbs me the most. I fear there is an unknown player pulling strings, and he or she is the one who gave your mother certain information. He or she could also be the one who sent the secret volume to me.”
I pressed my fingers against my mouth for a moment, trying to imagine who could be behind all of it. Who could have such connections, such power? “It would have to be someone associated with the Temple, wouldn’t it?”
“That is the logical conclusion, though the implications of that . . .” The High Priestess shifted in her chair as agitation soured her face.
I could only imagine how it must feel to know, or even just suspect, there was someone in her Temple who knew things she didn’t, who was controlling critical information that affected the fate of Calisto.
“Whatever we do, we cannot allow the Queen to know that we know,” I said, scrubbing a hand through my hair. “We must carry on as usual on the surface and figure out how to stop her. Same with you and the Temple.”
The Priestess gave no acknowledgment that she’d heard me. She just stared down at her folded hands which rested on her desk. When the silence stretched out, cold tendrils of trepidation began to creep around my heart.
“Your Holiness?” I said, leaning forward. My voice was sharper than I intended, but I needed to command her attention. “Do you not agree with me?”
Finally, she gave a tiny shake of her head. “At this moment I do not know what is the right course of action. Perhaps it would be better to confront her. Or maybe we need to do something more drastic.”
My apprehension darkened into foreboding. “You couldn’t possibly . . . Do you mean . . . assassination?”
She looked up at me, and for a moment the torment that flashed in her eyes reminded me of something I’d seen in Jeric’s face recently.
“We can’t be so foolish as to think Earthenfell won’t come with a price,” she said, her voice quiet yet impossibly heavy. Her words seemed to pile onto me, each one adding to the weight that pressed down on my heart. “The ultimate prize . . . surely it will require extreme sacrifice.”
I shook my head vehemently and leaned forward to press my palms onto her desk. “No. No. I do not agree. We’ve been paying a price for centuries! We’ve sacrificed thousands of Calistan lives in the battle for our homeland. We’ve waited so long.” I pounded a fist on the desk, and a crystal paperweight and matching crystal pen cup jumped.
But in spite of my protests, my heart continued to sink under the weight of what I did not want to admit: the Priestess was correct. Sacrifice would be necessary. But who would pay the price?
22
Maya
I SPENT THE next couple of weeks in an odd state of déjà vu, once again waiting in limbo for word that the Tournament would resume. I stayed in Lord Toric’s chambers instead of in one of the Obligate rooms many floors below.
He’d decided that the entire anti-portal system throughout his chambers should be upgraded. So during the day I went back to my quarters, the lavish apartment tucked within his chambers, and at least two guards stayed ins
ide with me and another two stood outside the main door. And at night, I went to Lord Toric’s bedchamber, and all entrances were sealed and under heavy guard.
Lord Toric said he would have loved to have me stay in his personal chambers during the day, too, but needed to open them to allow servants to come and go. But the arrangement satisfied me. I learned to enjoy the time I had to myself, and even got used to having guards just a few feet away at all times.
I appreciated Lord Toric’s efforts to protect me, but I didn’t truly believe such a production was wholly necessary. Sir Jeric didn’t want to hurt me. I felt sure of it.
The monotony was broken one morning when I awoke to find a letter from my twin.
My sister most dear,
I’m sorry I haven’t written more often. I fully intended to, but work and duties at home have made for long days. Know that you are constantly on my mind and in my heart and prayers.
It is strange to be writing to you knowing that you can’t write back. My impulse is to fill this letter with questions about Calisto, Lord Toric, and the Tournament, but I suppose that would be silly.
The weather has turned chilly, so work has transitioned indoors. Rand and the others have been wonderful, helping me keep up with our current duties which include the packaging of produce for winter shipments and storage. I’m actually able to do some of it, which makes me feel slightly less indebted to them. I’m already longing for spring.
But most of all, I’m longing for you. Every night, I hope that you will appear to me in my dreams. Sometimes you do. Lately, I’ve had the strangest dreams. In one, I had my sight back and I went outside, drawn by an impossibly bright an unnatural light. At first, I thought that in my sudden ability to see the light had overwhelmed my senses. But there were three suns in the sky, and one of them looked as if it had burst, with shards of light drifting away from the swollen center. It was so vivid, when I awoke I half expected Mother to tell me that we had indeed gained two extra suns.
I stopped and re-read the paragraph about her dream, my hands trembling slightly. An exploding third sun in the sky? She had described exactly the phenomenon the Calistans called the “Third Sign of the Return,” the very phenomenon that had delayed the second challenge of the Tournament and saved my life. It was much too specific to be coincidence. How could Lana have dreamt of it?
I glanced up at Tullock, who was standing guard a few feet away, and considered asking him to send for Lord Toric. Then I thought better of it. Lana’s dream was extremely odd, and I was convinced that it meant something, but it did not constitute an emergency.
I continued reading.
There is another dream I’ve had recurring at least a few nights a week. In it, I’m trapped in a room so dark at first it feels like a blind dream—one of the ones in which I’m sightless—but then the door cracks open and light floods in. A large man, taller than any I’ve ever seen, with grey-brown skin and eyes an impossible color of aquamarine blue comes in and sweeps me up in his arms. He holds me and kisses me as if I’m his long-lost love. The man doesn’t look quite human, but instead of feeling afraid, I’m relieved. Happy, even. Is that not the strangest thing?!?
My heart nearly stopped. Her description of the strange man could not be coincidence either. She’d never seen a Calistan. No one on Earthenfell had ever seen a Calistan. There were no broadcasts or pictures of the overlords. The only Earthens who had seen Calistans were the ones like me, brought to Calisto for the Tournament. Even the ones back on Eathenfell who were employees of the overlords, the ones with the implants, did not get to see Calistans. Their implants were inserted by doctors on Earthenfell, and they received their orders through messages sent from Calisto. There was no contact. How could Lana know?
The most shocking thing was that I knew who Lana was describing. It had to be Lord Toric. An odd flash of jealously whipped through me at the thought of Lord Toric taking her up in his arms. It was ridiculous, but I couldn’t quite push away my reaction.
I wish you were here so we could dissect and analyze all the outlandish dreams I’m having. And of course I wish you were here for a hundred other reasons. I feel incomplete without you nearby.
Mother sends her love, and she will write soon.
Be safe, and know that we are doing our best to keep on without you. Not a breath goes by that you are not in my thoughts.
Lana
I turned to look out the window, partly so Tullock wouldn’t see the emotions passing over my face. I pressed one hand against my stomach.
The dreams Lana was having . . . what could they mean? My heart thumped with uncomfortable force. I couldn’t help fearing that her dreams somehow meant danger for her, though I couldn’t imagine how. She was safe on Earthenfell, away from the dying semi-sun and Lord Toric.
She’d not mentioned Orion, and I assumed that meant the Calistans had not yet informed his parents of his death. Sorrow swelled painfully in the center of my chest, mingling with my concern about Lana.
And why had Mother not written? Lana had not given any update on Mother’s health. I could only imagine Lana’s omission meant that Mother was doing poorly.
A rush of homesickness and worry washed over me with such force I swayed dizzily. I quickly left my little library and went into my bedchamber. Tullock would follow but only to the door.
In private, my emotions broke free. I curled up on my bed and let the tears fall until my pillow was wet and my head was thick and pounding.
When I heard the door handle turn, I closed my eyes. The room was dark, and if Tullock just wanted to check on me, I hoped he’d assume I was napping and leave me alone.
“Maya?” came Lord Toric’s voice. “The guards said you seemed upset. Has Jeric contacted you?”
I sat up and swiped my fingers across my damp cheeks. “No. I got a letter from my sister.”
He turned on the bedside lamp and sat down next to me. When he saw my distraught, tear-stained face, concern clouded his blue-green eyes. “What’s happened?”
I held out the letter, and he took it from me carefully as if he understood how precious it was to me. He quickly scanned it, his eyes widening as he read.
“The dreams . . . Is she in danger?” I whispered.
“I wouldn’t think so, but this is extraordinary.” He glanced at the letter again and then faced me. “She’s been blind since she was a child?”
I nodded. “Completely blind after she got sick. She can’t even see changes in light.”
“There’s no way she could know these things. There is no person-to-person contact between people of Earthenfell and Calisto. No view into our world from there.”
My mouth suddenly went dry. What Lord Toric said wasn’t entirely true. Sir Jeric had allowed me to speak to Lana, to see her, through a portal. I knew I had to tell Lord Toric, for the sake of Lana’s safety.
I licked my lips. “I have to confess something to you. I’ve spoken to Lana since I’ve been here on Calisto.”
His entire face hardened. “You’ve what?”
I wrapped my arms around my middle, shrinking away. “It was just before I was kidnapped. There was a portal, and I—I saw her in the orchard. I spoke to her for a minute or so.”
He pushed off the bed and shook his head in disbelief, tangling his fingers in his hair. He let out a growl and then whirled to face me. “How did this happen? Tell me everything; do not leave out a single detail.”
I swallowed, trying not to cry again under the intensity of his anger. “It was Sir Jeric. You know that he—he sat with me at the party after the first challenge. He came to my room later, when I was still housed below with the other Obligates, and offered to allow me to see Lana. He sent someone—a man, a Calistan servant—to come for me. The man took me high up in the palace. I climbed a narrow staircase to a tiny round room. A portal formed, and I saw my sister on the other side. We spoke for only a few seconds. Then when the portal was shrinking, someone came in and pulled a hood over my head and knocked me out. I
was blinded by the portal, and I did not see who the attacker was.”
He stood with his feet planted wide and his fingers convulsively tightening into fists and releasing.
“The division between Calisto and Earthenfell must remain intact. You have risked everything by doing this.” He spoke through gritted teeth.
Anger burned through my fear, and I swung my legs to the floor and stood to face him. “I do not follow your religion, my Lord.” I managed to keep from hollering at him, but my words practically crackled with ire. “I’m forced to abide by your sacred texts because I’m an Earthen and Earthens are pawns in your obsession with Earthenfell. But your sacred texts are not my sacred texts. I only wanted to see the person I love most in the world. I did not risk anything of importance to me, you can be sure of that. Your anger at me is sorely misdirected.”
He took a step toward me, his furious face towering over mine, and for the briefest of moments, I expected him to sweep his arm out and fling me across the room like a rag doll.
Instead, he spun and strode from the room, slamming the door so hard behind him that everything in the room seemed to jump in response to his fury.
My entire body shook as anger, fear, and hurt churned my stomach in a sickening whirl.
Perhaps I should not have kept my meeting with Lana from him, but I did not deserve his wrath. I had no idea that seeing my sister through a portal could upset the entire destiny of Calisto. But Jeric must have known that it was dangerous—he was the one who deserved the blame, not I.
When a guard came that evening to take me to Lord Toric’s bedchamber, I refused and bolted the door. I honestly didn’t care if Jeric burst through a portal and tried to spirit me away.
I was so upset I couldn’t eat that night or the entire day after. My ire toward Lord Toric remained, simmering just beneath the surface of my composure. I couldn’t remember ever being so angry. And my anger seemed to open a floodgate that I’d managed to hold closed. All of the despair, humiliation, sorrow, and downright unfairness of the past few months filled me like a poisonous tide.