Reign the Earth

by A. C. Gaughen

  “Good. Meet me immediately upon her departure. I’ll leave you here, wife,” Calix told me, catching my chin and kissing me again. He paused for a moment, and pressed another kiss to my mouth before letting me go.

  “Be safe,” I told him.

  “You too.”

  He let go of me, and Galen gestured me back toward the large hall.

  Galen glanced at me once, but I looked away. Calix was already punishing him for comforting me, and I did not want to make an issue of it or to add anything more to his sentence.

  I first noticed Zeph’s arrival when I saw men practically jumping to clear a path for him. He was stone faced as he strode through the hall, a giant of a man making everyone else seem little. He came to kneel to me.

  “Oh, Zeph, you know I hate that,” I reminded him.

  He stood, scowling down on me. “Yes,” he said. “And when we are not in front of half the army, I will give you a very stately hug instead.”

  “Easy, soldier,” Galen told him, raising an eyebrow.

  He crossed his arms. “Don’t tell me ‘easy.’ Theron will have bragging rights for far too long because of this night.”

  I smiled. “I’ll see what I can do to endanger my life when you are on duty.”

  Zeph nodded, satisfied. “We’re leaving this damn city?” he asked.

  “As soon as possible.”

  They led me outside the hall and into the cool night, and once the door was closed, Zeph caught me up in a hug that lifted me straight off the ground.

  I laughed, hugging him back. “I’m all right, Zeph.”

  He put me down with a sigh. “From the stories I’ve heard already, I’m not sure how that possibly can be. But I am grateful for it.”

  “As am I,” said a voice behind him. My heart cracked the moment I saw him, even before I noticed Osmost wheeling above, and I started running toward him. Kairos took big, lunging steps to get to me, pulling me into a tight hug. “Great Skies,” was the only thing he muttered into my hair as he clutched me.

  Tears pressed behind my eyes, but I was hugging him so hard it didn’t really matter if they fell or not—they wouldn’t ever be seen, ever be betrayed, always hidden between us.

  He let me go, looking at my cuts. “You should try not to get in so much mortal danger,” he told me.

  I laughed. “You should try to be as useful as your hawk.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t encourage him; his feathers are plenty fluffed out already.”

  “Looks like we were both late to the fight,” Zeph said ruefully, nodding to Kairos as he let me go and Osmost landed on his shoulder.

  “No, I infallibly appear when I’m needed most,” Kairos told him. “You were late.”

  Zeph growled at this like an unhappy dog.

  “Where’s the hero of the hour?” Kairos asked. “I hear Theron fought off an army of sorcerers for my sister.”

  “Three hells, that didn’t happen, did it?” Zeph grumped. “All I get to do is take her for walks.”

  “Skies, stop wishing more danger on my head,” I told him. “I thought Theron was resting. Will he join us?”

  Galen nodded. “I’ll let him rest a while longer and send him to catch you on horse,” he told me. “If it pleases the queen.”

  I looked at the ruin of the tower, where I had almost lost my life. “Yes. Let’s go back to the Tri City.”

  I wasn’t so tired that I accepted the carriage, and without Calix there to protest, we all left on horseback. Our pace was fairly easy and gentle, so Theron could catch up to us by the end of the first day.

  On the second day, Kairos and I rode close together, talking quietly while Zeph and Theron and the other guards drifted behind us, and I told him of everything I had seen in the communes and the Summer Palace.

  “Do you think he’ll really stop experimenting on them?” Kairos asked me.

  I drew a breath slowly. “I don’t know. Can Rian find out?”

  He sighed. “I’ll get word to him. Do you think you’ll want to know the answer?”

  No. Yes. I had no real answer—which was worse: to realize that my husband lied to me, or to never know that he did?

  “What about this elixir?” Kairos asked.

  “It’s real,” I told him. “He’s seen it before. He used it to attack the islands. I have to talk to Kata again.”

  He nodded, glancing at my guards. “I’ll make it happen.”

  “Thank you,” I told him. “Did you ever tell Rian of that spy in his camp?” I asked, looking behind me to measure the distance of the guards.

  “Tassos?” Kairos said. “I found out who he is. He’s not well-placed enough to be a threat, and besides, Rian seems to suspect that the Tri Crown has put several spies into the Resistance. They won’t learn anything of value.”

  I nodded.

  “And you must forget such things, little sister. The less you know of Rian’s cause, the safer you’ll be.”

  “Yes,” I said. “Safety is so clearly part of my daily life already.”

  Kairos gave me a wry look, but didn’t respond, and we rode on in silence.

  The next day, we entered the City of Three, and people were waiting for us, shouting and throwing flowers in front of our horses, the delicate blooms bright and whole for a moment before the horses crushed them beneath our weight.

  Give Up

  When we reached the Tri Castles and dismounted, I stretched with a yawn, smiling. “Zeph or Theron, could we go to the mill? I’d like to see how things are faring in my absence.”

  Zeph nodded. “I’ll escort you, my queen.”

  “Would you like to come, Kai?”

  “Not unless you need me,” he said, dismounting and kissing my cheek. Osmost yelled but didn’t come down from the skies. “I will see you tonight.”

  Nodding, I glanced around for Adria. She wasn’t there, and I didn’t feel like I should have to call her to attend to me, so I didn’t.

  “You don’t wish to rest, my queen?” Zeph asked.

  I stretched my arms out and yawned. “Skies, no. I’m desperate for a walk. I only wish the mill was farther away.”

  He grinned. “You’re a very strange queen.”

  I knew this wasn’t a rebuke, so I smiled and shrugged.

  The stone underfoot, the fresh air in my lungs—it felt good. It wasn’t enough to shake the darkness of the days in the communes from my heart, but it felt good.

  When we reached the mill, the ground rumbled and vibrated beneath my feet. Walking out to the back, I saw the lines moving fast, growing shorter. My effort was helping. It was doing something.

  I went inside, and to my surprise, I didn’t see only the plain linen and cotton dresses. I saw blue and pink and silver silks, shiny hair, and soft, silly slippers.

  The pounding stopped as the women saw me. It was Domina Thessaly, and Adria beside her, who first came over to me. They came forward and bowed, and the rest of the women bowed behind them.

  “My queen,” Domina Thessaly said. “Welcome.”

  “What is going on here?” I asked her.

  She looked over her shoulder. “The women of the court would like to help ease the suffering of our people.”

  My breath caught. It wasn’t a joke, or something they were doing to mock me. I could see it on their faces—they wanted to help. Or at the very least, they wanted to be seen helping. Which for my purposes was much the same thing.

  “Thank you,” I told them, pressing my hand to my heart. I inclined my head to them, and I heard them all rush to bow at the gesture. “By all means,” I said. “Let us continue.”

  My heart swelled with emotion, and I felt threads running near my fingertips. I struggled to breathe slowly, trying not to disrupt them, and it occurred to me that I had to practice my abilities, or happiness here would be a very dangerous thing indeed.

  The next morning, I had the luxury of waking alone, but instead of a husband, I found a note on the floor by the balcony. Kairos told me. Meet m
e in the garden.

  I tossed the note into the fire, calling the ishru to dress me and leaving the chamber as fast as I could.

  Zeph was waiting outside my door, and I smiled. “Morning, my queen,” he greeted me.

  “Good morning. Zeph, can you take me to this garden I’ve heard so much about?”

  “The Royal Garden?” he asked.

  “I believe so.”

  He gestured forward. “Right this way, my queen.”

  He led me through the castle, and then out the courtyard and down a sloping road that curled under the castle, pointing out the army’s barracks and training grounds and a road that he said led to a small beach under the cliff.

  When we arrived at a thick green hedge, two guards stood by a break in it. They bowed to me.

  “Why is this garden guarded?” I asked them.

  “It was a favorite retreat of the former queen,” Zeph told me softly. “Ever since her death, the king has kept it as she wanted it.”

  “The king was married before?” I asked, and then realized my error. “His mother,” I murmured. “Who cares for it?”

  “There are gardeners, my queen,” one of the guards said, dropping his head to me.

  “Are they currently at work?” I asked, panic striking me.

  “No, my queen. We can keep them out, if you wish.”

  “Yes,” I said. “And, Zeph, would you mind staying here? The garden is guarded anyway, and I should like a little time alone, I think.” This must have been why Kata suggested such a place. She would have known I could be here unguarded.

  He hesitated, then nodded. “Yes, my queen. I will remain here. If you need me, shout.”

  I turned and took a deep breath, and went into the garden.

  The two thick green hedges continued on inside, forming a wide pathway. It turned, and still the walkway continued. It turned again, and there it opened, onto a wide square with roses and dense beds of flowers with a stone bench in the center. I left the square, following the hedge on the other side of it to another walkway. This one turned twice and led to a large fountain.

  The next room in the hedges had a line of three trees, so large and leafy that they shaded the whole space between the hedge, and their roots grew up knotted from the ground. A long, narrow fountain burbled with a bench near it, birds dashing to and fro.

  “Shy,” whispered Rian, appearing from around the hedge.

  I ran to him, hugging him tight. “Rian!” I yelped softly. “I thought it was Kata who sent the note.”

  “It was,” he told me. “I just wanted to come with her.” His arms pulled tighter on me. “I heard about the communes. You could have been killed. You know that wasn’t the Resistance, don’t you?”

  “I know. I heard they were pirate traders. And I’m safe,” I assured him, hugging him back. “It is so good to see you. But my guards are right outside. What if they catch you?”

  “We’re safe in here,” he told me.

  “How do you know?”

  He grinned. “This isn’t my first time in the garden, Shy.”

  I stepped back from him. “Who else do you meet in here? Where is Kata?”

  He lifted a shoulder, glancing around. “She’s coming. I have an informant in the castle.”

  “Who?”

  His head tilted. “Come now, you know I can’t tell you that. It’s important the king never suspects you know as much as you do.”

  “Did Kairos tell you about the Summer Palace?” I asked.

  His face turned grim. “Yes. I’ll find out if he’s still experimenting on people. I can only imagine how frightening that was for you, Shy, but you know he kills these people, yes? Sometimes with a farce of a trial. Sometimes it’s towns taking justice into their own hands and burning people, or hanging them.”

  I looked at my hands. “He wants everyone to hate Elementae as much as he does.”

  He sighed. “Is Kata right? You’re an Elementa?”

  I raised my eyes. My oldest brother, my hidden ally in this hostile place. I nodded slowly.

  “Skies, Shalia,” he breathed, rubbing his forehead. “We need to get you out of there. We have an opportunity while he’s away.”

  Hope fluttered up in my chest, but it didn’t last. “Rian, I can’t. I can’t leave. He’ll come for me—he’ll come to the desert and make our family pay.”

  He stood from the bench. “You can’t stay. He will murder you, Shy. He’ll make a spectacle of your death.”

  “I can control it,” I told him. “There’s a reason I have this power. I know that now. I’ll practice. I won’t let it get out of control.”

  “To hide it for the rest of your life?” he said bitterly. “This power is incredible. In other countries it’s worshiped. You want to pretend that it doesn’t exist while you have a family with him? You want to teach your children to hate what you truly are? What Kata is?”

  “No,” I said, standing too. “My children will not learn his kind of hate.”

  “How can you prevent it?” he said. “Unless you stand against him.”

  I shut my eyes. “It is so easy for you to say, Rian. You weren’t there when Torrin came back to be burned in the sands. You didn’t have to see the cost of rebellion and war. You weren’t there when Calix ordered more men dead because you stole his coin.”

  “And you weren’t there when he started all of this, when he killed Kata’s people, and he would have killed her and me both if she hadn’t stopped him.”

  I drew in a breath. “No. I wasn’t there. But why were you, Rian?”

  “To help!” he said. “The Vis sent word to the desert for aid. And I took our men and answered the call.”

  I drew a breath. I didn’t believe that Rian had somehow transgressed with Kata’s sister, did I? “What about Amandana?” I asked.

  His head tilted, surprised, but he didn’t look ashamed or angry. “Amandana? Kata’s sister?”

  “Calix said he was supposed to marry her, but he saw you with her instead. That she betrayed him.”

  He frowned, shaking his head. “Amandana?” he repeated. “She and I were friends, in a way. She and I were together before the battle, but not … not in the way you’re suggesting, little sister. I don’t know what he saw, but she didn’t betray him with me.”

  Was that true? Did Calix wage a war on misinformation, or would we never truly know about those days?

  With a heavy sigh, I rubbed my forehead. “Rian, I’m worried you are blind to the price that everyone else around you is paying. There are innocent lives being lost in your Resistance.”

  His eyes were heavy as he looked at me. “No, I’m not blind to that, little sister.”

  “Then stop. Give up the Resistance. Let me work for peace.”

  “First, it isn’t mine to give up. Perhaps some see me as the figurehead, but I’m not the leader of the Resistance, Shy. And second, how?” he said gently. “With women working in mills? By asking him to stop torturing a few prisoners? There are hundreds being killed. There are thousands of slaves. And now his hate is spreading, and those suspected of having powers are being killed like animals.”

  I shuddered, remembering how Calix refused to call the Elementae people. Remembering how quickly his heart turned from Amandana.

  “You’re not talking about peace. You’re talking about ducking your head in the sand, and if you don’t see it, it doesn’t exist,” Rian continued.

  “I chose this,” I told him hotly. “So that others wouldn’t die in my stead. I’m not leaving.”

  “Very well,” he said. “Then I should go. I can’t risk your being connected to my activities in the city.”

  “But you’ll look into the people at the Summer Palace?” I asked.

  He nodded, but he didn’t leave. “Kata said something about an elixir. A magical liquid to cancel out the elements. If she finds it, do you want it for yourself ?” he asked me. “To take away your gifts?”

  I sighed. “I did,” I said. “Maybe I still do. B
ut more than that, I don’t want my husband to control it. I want to decide who has that power.”

  He came to me, hugging me tight. “If you ever need me, tell Kairos. Osmost can find me just about anywhere. And if you need to flee, I will find a way to get you out. Understand? You’re not alone in that palace.”

  I hugged him tight. “Please be careful.”

  “He won’t be,” Kata said, and I pulled back to see her. “But I’ll be cleaning up behind him, so he’ll be fine.”

  I laughed, and Rian let me go, going deeper into the hedge, leaving me and Kata alone.

  “So you believe the elixir’s real,” she told me, replacing Rian and hugging me tight.

  “It is real,” I told her. “Sit down.”

  She pulled back from me. “What?”

  “It is real, because Calix used it before,” I told her softly. “When he attacked the islands. It wasn’t on his father’s orders; it was on his.”

  She drifted to the bench, ashen. She looked past me for a long time, her gaze not seeing me, as if she was replaying all that she knew about that day. “Why would he do that?” she asked. She looked up at me. “He hated us so much?”

  I sat beside her, twining our fingers together. “No,” I said. “He was in love with your sister. Amandana.”

  She looked stricken at her name.

  “He thought they were going to marry. For peace. And when he came to the islands, he found out she was with someone else. He thought she tricked him. He said she was with Rian.”

  She didn’t say anything.

  “Kata,” I said, tugging her hand.

  “She told me,” Kata breathed. “She told me she was going to marry. She told me he’d come for her any day now. And everything would be different when he did. He’s the one she loved?”

  I felt a tremble run through her, and I turned. Droplets of water were rising from the ground slowly, drawing the moisture away from the soil like the earth was crying into the air. “Kata,” I said again.

  She pulled away from me. “That sick, cowardly bastard. And he used this elixir to do it? To kill her?” Her eyes whipped to me. “He’s going to do it again. She trusted him, and he killed her for it. It won’t be any different with you.”