Reign the Earth

by A. C. Gaughen

  Aspasia’s arms were trembling, and the concentration and frustration showed on her face.

  “It’s her or all of us,” Bast said.

  “Vote,” Aspasia said. “Quickly.”

  “Save Dara,” Bast called. Of the ten or so children on the deck, only Aspasia and three others raised their hands.

  “I’m sorry,” Aspasia said to the boy. “We have to leave, now.”

  “We’re not leaving her!” growled the other boy. “You can’t do this! We’d go back for any of you!”

  Sweat beaded on Aspasia’s face. “Come on,” she urged the girl. “Let’s go.”

  The girl whined, and a tear shot down her cheek, but she nodded. The boat wheeled, pitching violently to the side before it sailed out toward the harbor, faster than I imagined it could.

  “My queen,” Theron murmured to me. “When I say, jump.”

  I nodded without further explanation. Especially since I was very sure that I didn’t want to know what that entailed.

  As soon as we cleared the land, Theron surged forward, pushing the two girls so they stumbled. The boat dropped like a stone, and Theron yelled, “Jump!” at me as he pushed off one boy, then another child.

  I didn’t look back. I just ran for the edge, and I jumped.

  The water was as black as the night, shining and moving like a demon below me. I braced for the fall into it, but for long seconds, it didn’t come.

  I felt the threads. Even though there was no earth around me, there was nothing for them to hold on to, I felt them surrounding me.

  Just before I hit the water, I knew why—the Elementa on the boat had broken my fall. It wasn’t my power I felt; it was hers. So different, but made from the same forces. I wondered if, with that touch, she knew what I was too.

  I hit the water, and the cold slammed against my body, covering me and taking me in, stealing my thought and my breath as I fell deeper into the arms of whatever spirits governed the sea.

  The power I’d felt—her power—was gone, severed the moment I hit the water. If Theron was near, I couldn’t see him. My brothers, my family were flung far from me, and neither my husband nor his valiant brother were here to save me.

  I was alone, and the water was crushing me.

  My lungs burned, and I kicked my legs, trying to figure out how to find the surface when everything was dark around me like I was blind. I hadn’t been practicing using my element—not like I should have. I had used this power helplessly to save Kairos and Rian, but I had never believed I would need it to save myself.

  I had been so frightened of my own power that I had forfeited my best means of survival.

  Clawing at the ocean around me, I fought. I refused to believe it was too late. I was desert born. I was Elementa. I was powerful beyond my own understanding, and I would not be defeated by this.

  This wasn’t like the lake in the desert. This water burned with salt, and it was so deep and vast and dark that I seemed to be weightless, and I twisted, unsure if I was up or down or where the air was. I fought the urge to breathe in water and called my power to my hands.

  I could feel rocks, bright threads far below me. That meant the air was up, and I pushed as hard as I could.

  I broke the surface with a wild, gasping breath as Theron struck the water, swamping me with a wave that brought me under again. I kicked and fought, panicked, breaking the surface again. I couldn’t keep my body aloft, though, and I started sinking.

  “Hold on,” Theron gasped, hooking his arm under mine. He drew me back against his chest, lying flat in the water and using one arm to swim as his legs kicked, keeping us afloat.

  A light shone on us, and a moment later, a boat appeared. Galen abandoned his oars, other men steadying the boat while Galen pulled me up and out of the water, leaving me in the bottom to cough and gulp for breath. Theron was next, pushing up over the side as Galen grabbed his clothing and heaved him the rest of the way.

  Soldiers covered us in blankets and their cloaks, and as I shivered, I knelt by Theron. “Are you all right?” I asked.

  “My queen,” he gasped, still catching his breath. “That is the question I need to ask you.”

  Relieved, I wrapped my arms around him, feeling shuddering sobs that were some mixture of the cold, my tears, and my utter gratitude rack my chest. “You saved my life,” I told him.

  “And he will be very generously rewarded for that,” Galen said, hauling back on his oars. There were two other men rowing in the boat, and Theron and I were wedged between their seats. “Are either of you hurt?” Galen asked, looking down at us as he pulled back again.

  “The queen was injured when the tower was attacked,” Theron said, still panting for breath.

  “Just scratches, I think,” I said, shaking my head at Galen.

  His eyes met mine, his scowl softening a little in a way that made him look … worried. He was worried about me. He swallowed and looked away. “A quaesitor is waiting to see to your needs. I’m sure you have all kinds of cuts and bruises,” he said, his eyes flickering back over me.

  “I’m well,” I said, huddling under the blankets and shivering for warmth.

  “And you?” Galen asked Theron.

  “It will take more than falling from the sky to hurt me,” he said.

  Galen snorted. “The quaesitor will check you also, my friend.”

  Theron’s hand flopped up from the boat and then fell again. “Bah,” he said. “If something needs stitching, I’ll let you know.”

  Galen gave a sharp nod, drawing in a deep breath like he hadn’t for a while.

  “Was this the Resistance?” Theron asked.

  Galen shook his head. “No. We don’t believe so. They were stealing workers—it’s possible they’re foreign slavers with powers. We’ve heard reports of people disappearing from the communes, but we never knew how they were doing it. Now we do.”

  “Damn sorcerers,” Theron muttered.

  My eyes flew wide to him, but I didn’t say anything.

  “Did you see who they were?” Galen asked.

  “No,” I said before Theron opened his mouth. Even if I trusted Galen with such information, I refused to arm my husband with information to help him track a ship full of children.

  Theron looked at me. “No,” he repeated. “We never made it on deck.”

  Galen nodded, and we all stayed silent while they rowed us back to shore.

  There were soldiers waiting for us at the dock, but Calix wasn’t among them, and I looked to Galen. “Where’s Calix? Was he hurt?”

  His face went grim as the oarsmen grabbed the dock, looping ropes around little metal bars. He stood, helping me to stand as well. “He’s occupied,” he told me. “But safe. We need to make sure you’re all right.”

  Galen helped me from the boat, and Theron behind me. “Theron, go rest,” Galen ordered.

  He shook his head. “I won’t leave the queen unattended.”

  “I’ll stay with her. Zeph will be here with more guards soon anyway.”

  Theron nodded, putting his hand on his side and wincing. “Keep an eye on those quaesitori,” he said solemnly.

  Galen chuckled. “Yes, soldier.”

  Theron nodded again and sighed, like he could finally relax without me to protect. Galen led me toward the communes, to one of the first buildings that had men running in and out of it. I could see the Oculus, now no more than a spire—the whole top had fallen off.

  This building seemed to be the primary military space, and a wide hall that was probably used for meals had been cleared, with sheets serving to section areas off. We walked through it briefly, only to go out another door, but I saw so many men wounded or dying.

  Beyond that, there was a long hallway of sleeping quarters, barracks like the one we had been in when all this started, and then giving way to what I guessed were officers’ quarters. Galen led me into one, and a quaesitor dressed in black robes was there, poring over a tray of instruments. I gasped.

  He tur
ned, bowing to me. It was not the same man from earlier, but it didn’t change how little I wanted to be in this room. “Fear not, my queen. My art is not intended to harm you.”

  Galen put his arms behind his back, looking at me.

  I stayed still, not believing him. Whether he knew it or not, his art was certainly intended to harm people like me.

  “Please remove the blankets and your clothing, my queen,” the quaesitor said.

  “No,” I said immediately.

  “I need to examine you,” the quaesitor said. “It will be difficult if you are clothed.”

  “No,” I repeated again, raising my chin. “I don’t want your ministrations. I saw what your work involves.”

  “Shalia,” Galen said gently. “I’m not going anywhere. We need to be sure you aren’t injured.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Many people don’t feel the pain of their injuries immediately,” he told me. “You need to be checked.”

  My hands were shaking badly. “Not by him. I won’t, Galen,” I swore. I cast about, pointing at a small mirror. “Give me a moment, and I will check myself with the mirror.”

  “My queen, people fear only what they do not know. I promise I will not do you harm.”

  Galen’s eyes snagged on my outstretched, shaking hand, and I saw muscles in his jaw tense and flare. “Very well. Leave us, Quaesitor.”

  The man sighed, but he left, leaving his tools behind.

  “I will wait outside,” Galen told me. “If something needs attention, knock on the door and I will help you.”

  He left, and I heaved a breath as the door shut. The longer I stayed still, the shakier and weaker my body felt, and I sat on the bed. There was a pile of things—a blanket, a sheet, a pair of pants, a long shirt, and a stiff black coat. With a shiver, I took my clothes off, using the mirror to check the places I could not see. There was an angry scratch on my leg, and I found poultice and bandages in the quaesitor’s belongings and applied them. There was another wound high up on my side. I applied the poultice, but it fell off before I could get the bandage on.

  Frustration curling through me, I pulled on the pants and the shirt, going to the door and knocking. Galen entered and his eyes ran over me. “Well?” he asked.

  “Where is Calix?” I demanded.

  He looked away. “Not here.”

  “Then get him!” I demanded. “I need my husband, and I will not accept the help of those—those—murderers,” I told him.

  “You’re wounded?” he realized.

  “I need Calix, Galen. Please.”

  He drew a deep breath and nodded sharply. “I’ll bring him to you, then.”

  I closed the door and went back to the bed, sitting, wrapping myself in the blanket as I shivered with cold.

  It was a long while before the door opened again, and when it did, Calix strode in, shutting it sharply behind him. I looked up at him, and he put his hands on his hips, staring at me. “What is it, wife?”

  The shivering gave way to shaking. “What is it?” I repeated.

  “Yes. What could you possibly want from your evil, cruel husband?”

  My gaze fell to the ground as I shook my head. “Skies,” I said. “I was worried about you. I thought, perhaps, you’d be worried about me too.”

  “Yes,” he clipped out. “Galen said you’re hurt. Was that some gambit to get me here so you could reproach me again?”

  “I can’t dress the wound,” I told him bitterly. “But clearly I should have asked someone else to do it instead of you. You seemed rather particular about people seeing me undressed, but I suppose I shouldn’t have bothered you.”

  “Where is it?” he demanded.

  I pushed the blanket off, pulling the shirt up to reveal it. “There are bandages and poultice over there,” I said, and looked at his face.

  His jaw was working and rolling, and his face was flushed with color, like he was fighting against himself. He went stiffly to the table, taking the supplies he needed.

  He sat beside me, and I flinched when he touched the poultice to the wound. Quickly, he covered the wound with the bandage, wrapping it around me to keep it in place.

  “Done,” he said quietly, tugging the shirt down over it.

  I didn’t move, facing away from him, unsure of what to do.

  “Of course I was worried about you,” he said, the words low and sharp. “I saw the Oculus fall and I thought you had died still hating me.”

  “You weren’t with me,” I whispered.

  “You didn’t want me with you,” he sneered.

  I pulled away from him so I could wrap myself in the blanket instead. “Fine. I’m sorry I bothered you.”

  “Three hells, Shalia,” he snapped, standing. “I can’t stand you looking at me and thinking I’m some kind of monster.”

  I looked at him as he paced about the small room. “Then release those people. In your prison. Let them go.”

  “How can you say that? You were nearly murdered by some pirates navigating a ship in the air. You think that’s not sorcery? If I had the elixir, you would have never been in danger. Now, more than ever, I will do everything I can to prevent this infection from spreading.”

  “Then focus your efforts on the desert. Consult that book you told me of, with the visions. See if there is more information in there.” And perhaps I could find a way to examine it as well, and discover what secrets it held of the desert, and this elixir, before my husband did something I would regret.

  “Impossible,” he said, waving his hand. “The book was destroyed.”

  “Destroyed?”

  “Yes,” he said. “Along with the trivatis who had the visions in the first place. His visions were sorcery. But I’m sending Danae to the desert to uncover its secrets. If anyone can find this elixir, it will be her.”

  “Then stop persecuting people here.”

  “I cannot,” he snapped. “We caught one of the pirates, and she will be made an example of when we’re through interrogating her.”

  “Why?”

  “So my people see that we respond to such sorcery decisively. They killed almost a hundred soldiers, and more workers besides—she cannot be allowed to live.”

  I shuddered as I realized why he had been so occupied, and what it meant that he was interrogating her. If the others on that ship were any indication, she was probably just a girl and they were torturing her.

  But I knew he needed a better reason to spare her. “So you would have your people see that one woman caused so much destruction? You would be aggrandizing the very power you’re trying to stop.”

  He glared at me, and my heart pounded. “You think I should, what, let her go? She committed treason, and she will answer for her crimes.”

  “Fine,” I said, standing too. “But privately. Don’t make a spectacle of it. Give her a fair trial and help the country move on.”

  He came to me, staring at me for many moments before sliding his hand over my cheek. “It’s a good suggestion. And what about you, wife? What spectacle, what trial do you need to move on?” His fingers stroked my skin. “I can’t ask you to forget what you know of me. But can you stop hating me? Or will you keep turning to my brother, crying in his arms?”

  My breath caught.

  He laughed, his hand still on my face. “You thought I wouldn’t find out?”

  “There’s nothing to find out, Calix. I was upset, and he was there when I didn’t have my own brother to comfort me.”

  Even as I said it, the idea of comparing Galen and Kairos felt false. However I thought of Galen, it wasn’t like my brother.

  I took Calix’s hand from my face, holding it. “I need to know you still have compassion, Calix. I need to know you’re still a good man, despite everything I know of the past. Stop torturing the Elementae, and that will go a long way in proving it to me.”

  “I don’t have to, you know,” he told me, his voice soft and his face close. “It changes little, whether you hate me or not. We’l
l still be married, you will still be my queen and mother of my children.”

  I looked away from him. I knew that too. My threats, such as they were, were hollow and empty.

  “But I don’t want that, Shalia. I don’t want our children to have parents who hate each other. I want your care, and I want your esteem.” A hopeful breath filled my chest as I met his eyes. “I can’t let them go completely—their powers are illegal and confirmed. But I will halt the experiments on them. Does that please you?”

  “And you won’t experiment on any others?” I asked warily.

  “No,” he said.

  My fingers curled around his, and I nodded. “Yes. That pleases me a great deal, Calix.”

  “Good,” he told me, moving forward for a kiss. I accepted it, hugging him and instantly missing the gentle comfort of Galen’s embrace.

  “I’m sure you’re tired,” he told me, pulling back and holding my hands. “But I want you out of this city as soon as possible. The rest of your Saepia have arrived; I’d like for you to leave with them now, and I’ll follow as soon as my business here is done.”

  “I don’t think I could weather another boat,” I told him honestly.

  He nodded. “I’ll get a carriage to take you the land route. The trip will take a few days.”

  “That’s all right,” I said. “I’d prefer it. Galen will stay here with you, I assume?”

  His hands on mine tightened. “I know that there were other things at play, and bigger issues between us, but hearing of you in his arms—it burned me, wife.”

  “Calix, nothing—”

  “It’s not a discussion,” he told me. “There is work he can do here for a few weeks, or longer. He will stay here, and we will return to the Tri Castles. And I will not hear his name on your lips again. Are you ready to leave?”

  I nodded, and he let one of my hands go to bring me to the door, opening it. Galen was outside, his arms crossed, watching the door from the other side of the hall.

  “Is everything ready?” Calix asked.

  Galen bowed his head. “The Saepia are prepared to escort the queen.”

  “We need a carriage.”

  Galen gave a nod. “It will take a few moments to procure.”