Sapient Salvation 4: The Claiming (Sapient Salvation Series)

by Jayne Faith

  She curtsied when she entered the small conference room.

  “Thank you for coming on such short notice,” I said. I gestured to the beverage cart. Its linens and fine dishes seemed out of place in the stark secure room of the military wing. “May I pour you a cup of tea?”

  “Please, my Lord.” She sat on one of the plain chairs, crossed her ankles, and tucked her feet under the chair.

  I handed her a cup and saucer, and she blew across the surface of the steaming tea before taking a sip. Then she set the cup and saucer on the table and folded her hands in her lap.

  “I understand that you need more details about how we determined the Pirro heritage of the women who were candidates for Queen,” she said. She paused, regarding me with her penetrating unblinking stare. “I suppose that topic could warrant such security measures.” She averted her eyes to cast her gaze around the room. “But I suspect you have another reason for this meeting, my Lord.”

  I sat down, leaned back, and crossed one ankle over the other knee. Novia’s demeanor was so cool it was off-putting, but I appreciated her directness.

  “You’re correct,” I said. “I’d like to get your thoughts on the High Priestess.”

  She turned her head slightly to the side and narrowed her eyes by the tiniest margin. “In what regard, specifically?”

  “Her recent behavior. Her strategic decisions.” I put a slight emphasis on the last two words. I knew Novia believed Maya’s miracle was a hoax. It put Novia in direct conflict with the High Priestess. I wanted to use that opposition but without any harm coming to Maya.

  Novia’s eyebrows rose and she looked down as she rearranged the folds of her simple robes. “I hope you’re not implying that we should band together against her in some sort of mutiny.”

  She was testing me. Trying to get me to say more.

  “I wouldn’t use the word ‘mutiny’—she doesn’t command me—but otherwise that’s exactly what I’m implying,” I said, and carefully watched her face.

  She sat very still as we locked eyes for a long moment. Then the corners of her lips widened ever so slightly. It wasn’t a smile, not in any way, but it was an acknowledgement.

  “What is your objection to the High Priestess?” Novia asked, still with that cold, evaluating look.

  I shifted my weight forward and reached for my cup of tea, taking my time with a slow sip. I needed to turn the energy of the conversation. I did not intend to spill any more information without some confession from Novia first.

  “I’d rather discuss your objection,” I said mildly.

  “How do you know I have any?”

  “You wouldn’t still be sitting here if you didn’t.”

  Novia’s lips had parted, and her breathing had accelerated a little over the past minute. It was the only real outward sign that I’d engaged her interest.

  But she still wasn’t finished playing coy. “How do you know I won’t go straight back to the Temple and repeat our entire conversation? How can you assume I’m on your side?” she asked.

  I sensed that she was genuinely interested in my responses, as if it was thought-provoking data she wanted to collect.

  “I’ve seen the two of you together enough to know you don’t believe in her. You don’t believe she deserves the office of High Priestess.” I was taking a risk. I didn’t have any proof for what I said. But I wanted her to believe that I believed what I said. I was taking the chance that I’d hit close enough to home that we could open to the true conversation I hoped to pursue.

  When she didn’t respond, I continued, “Regardless of your personal history with Lunaria, I’ve come to a juncture where I agree with the sentiment.”

  “But you didn’t used to?” she asked quickly.

  “No, I didn’t,” I admitted. “At one time I thought she was fit for her duties. And I used to consider her an ally.”

  “What changed your mind?”

  I winced internally. I’d somehow let her swing the power of the conversation back to her side, and she was once again asking the questions.

  I decided to take another chance. “Her fanaticism. She recently, very recently, told me she would sacrifice our chance at the Return if she disagreed with my decisions. She said if things appeared too off course, she’d take it as a sign that we weren’t worthy. She’s even willing to die for it.”

  Novia’s eyebrows rose and her nostrils flared. “She would sacrifice our chance at the Return?”

  A bolt of triumph shot through me. I had her. I just had to keep her.

  “Yes.” I reached for my tea and drank slowly, savoring the herbal fruit aroma and flavor. “So now, what are we going to do about it?”

  She straightened, shifted her shoulders. “Indeed, that is the question.” Her eyelids lowered partway, as if she’d retreated into thought.

  For some reason, the image of a sunning snake rearranging its coils sprang to my mind.

  I would have to be careful with Novia—very careful. She was extraordinarily intelligent and calculating. For a moment, I felt a small, fleeting pang of pity for the High Priestess.

  I set my cup back on its saucer with a decisive clink. “Are you aware of any offenses serious enough to remove her from office?”

  “Possibly.” Novia nodded slowly. “I will need a bit of time to gather information. To confirm where she’s acted outside the bounds of her office.”

  “Very well,” I said. “In two days, then. Same time and place.”

  She rose and curtsied. “My Lord.”

  She turned and slipped quietly from the safe room.

  I sat there alone for a moment, our conversation still ringing in my ears. Either I’d just gained a cunning ally, or I’d made a rash mistake. But I felt confident. Even if Novia did recount everything we’d discussed, it could hardly do more damage to my relationship with High Priestess Lunaria. It would complicate things, but it was worth the risk.

  A grim smile spread over my face.

  *

  The next couple of days passed uneventfully. I felt energized and peaceful, believing things were finally falling into proper order. My mother was contained. Yauna at the Office of Royal Social Affairs had ceased her frantic messages about my refusal to choose a Calistan woman. I cancelled my daily meetings with the High Priestess but continued to study the Sequence for the Return on my own. Maya was safe, and she wanted to marry me. My dark needs had even faded to the back of my mind for the longest period I could remember.

  Novia and I met again in private, and she presented what she had. It wasn’t enough to begin the process of impeaching High Priestess Lunaria, but it was a start. There were others in the Temple who sided with Novia. She planned to be open about her investigation, hoping to back the High Priestess into a corner. The heightened scrutiny should make her think twice about any power plays.

  A new Tournament was about to begin, and it occurred to me that I hadn’t seen Akantha in a very long time. Jeric had already broken off his engagement to her. The news was a minor story in the media in the shadow of my refusal to choose a queen. Akantha had made no public comment, but I imagined she was seething in private.

  Once the Tournament was underway I’d have to work with her and the High Priestess. I didn’t relish sitting in the same room with those two women, but I’d be able to detach myself from the process now that Maya was out of the competition. With any luck, the Return would come and spare us all another Tournament.

  The night before the opening ceremony of the Tournament, I received an encrypted private message in my library where I was reviewing the Sequence.

  Lunaria is using my information to defame the miracle, but she is acting on her own. I don’t yet know who the foreigner is.

  Novia

  I stared at it in frozen confusion. Then in two long steps I went to a wall panel and jabbed it, activating one of the media screens. A still frame of High Priestess Lunaria filled the monitor, and the voice of a media commentator blared. The picture changed and Maya�
�s face appeared. My heart lurched painfully.

  “The former Obligate and current woman of the harem, Maya Calderon, has been renounced by the Temple. The High Priestess has issued a statement saying the Earthen is not the harbinger of the Return. The Temple is saying there was no miracle, and the true harbinger has come forth. We still don’t know who this new harbinger is, and so far the Temple is declining all requests for interviews.”

  With my heart in my throat, I threw open the library door. Calvin, one of my most trusted elite guards, turned with a start.

  “My Lord?” he said, quickly recovering from his surprise and saluting.

  “Send a contingent to the harem quarters,” I said. “Right now it’s just a precaution, but I want to make absolutely sure that if anyone gets the idea to try to arrest Maya he’ll be met with a wall of guards.”

  He nodded, already touching his earpiece and giving orders. I closed the library door.

  Next, I had Camira put me through to my brother.

  “I saw the reports,” Jeric said, his voice grim. “I’m on my way.”

  “Good. I’m in the library.”

  I paced while I waited for him, flipping media channels to try to get some idea of how the public was reacting to the breaking story. Very little information was available.

  Jeric arrived out of breath, his cheeks flushed.

  “I’m trying to get a handle on it,” I said. “Your name—” I snapped my teeth closed with a click. “Let’s go to the secure room before I say any more.”

  He nodded, and we moved swiftly through the corridors of my quarters until we reached the tiny room.

  Once the door was closed, I turned to him. “Your name hasn’t been implicated in Lunaria’s retraction of the miracle, has it?” I held my breath.

  He shook his head. “Not as far as I know.”

  I let out a slow exhale, squeezed my eyes closed, and scrubbed one hand down my face.

  “Okay.” I went to one of the two chairs but then realized I was too agitated to sit. “We’ll have to hope it stays that way. I don’t think she means you any harm, but these days I wouldn’t put anything past her.”

  He frowned. “What do you mean? What’s happened?”

  It occurred to me that the shift in my relationship with the High Priestess had occurred recently and suddenly. Jeric and I hadn’t really spoken in the past few days. I quickly caught him up. I told him everything, including my conversations with Novia and the note she’d just sent.

  He blew out a long breath through clenched teeth. “So you believe the High Priestess is a loose cannon.”

  “I know the two of you have worked together closely in the past,” I said. I wasn’t just thinking of Jeric’s role in Maya’s miracle, but also his willingness to give the High Priestess a sample of his blood. It was the sample that proved we were part Pirro. He might still feel some loyalty toward her.

  “Yes,” he said. “I thought she was trustworthy. She seemed stable. But now . . .” He shook his head.

  A small portion of my tension eased. At least Jeric believed me, and his assessment of the High Priestess seemed to align with mine.

  “What now?” he said.

  “I need to make sure you and Maya don’t become casualties in all of this,” I said. “And beyond that, I need to figure out what Lunaria is going to do next. Novia might be some help, but I imagine she won’t be able to get away from the Temple any time soon.”

  Jeric was standing with his arms folded, chewing his lip and staring at the floor.

  I swore under my breath. “We were so close. Novia was on board. We could have impeached Lunaria if we’d had more time. Now it seems as if she’s going to throw it all away—Maya, the Return.”

  “Who could this other foreigner be? The new harbinger?” Jeric asked.

  I shook my head. “I don’t even have a guess. It’s probably another fake. She fabricated one harbinger. She could do it again.”

  “I don’t think Lunaria is giving up on the Return.” Jeric spoke slowly, frown lines creasing his forehead. “Not yet. If she were, she wouldn’t bother bringing another harbinger forward. She still wants the Return in our time.”

  He could have been right, but it didn’t ease my mind.

  “I don’t think Lunaria could possibly know I want to see her impeached,” I said. “Not unless I grossly misjudged Novia. But . . . perhaps the High Priestess is attempting to do the same thing to me. This might just be her first step.” I looked up at my brother with new alarm.

  He started to wave a hand and protest my suggestion, but I cut him off.

  “It’s not out of the question,” I said. “She doesn’t trust me anymore. She knows I want to be with Maya. And now the entire nation knows that the process of selecting a new Calistan queen has stalled.” Misery dragged at the corners of my mouth. “My love for Maya is no secret. I’m sure the rumors have spread.”

  “Don’t despair just yet,” Jeric said. “We’ll think of something.”

  He left not long after.

  Maya came to me later that night under heavy guard, but I was too distraught to do much more than sit with her in front of the media screens. We watched the reports late into the night, and she finally fell asleep next to me.

  I carried her to bed, but I remained wide awake. I paced, imagining the scenarios that the High Priestess might have cooked up.

  I was red-eyed and exhausted the next day for the opening ceremony of the Tournament. The Obligates hadn’t yet arrived. The ceremony was a long-standing tradition, and more so an excuse to throw a big party in the palace. Fortunately for me, I wouldn’t have to do anything but say a few words in the throne room.

  I’d ordered Maya to stay in the harem quarters under guard. It was much too dangerous to allow her to attend. And I wasn’t going to hand the High Priestess the perfect chance to call Maya out on live media stream.

  Victor was helping me dress for the ceremony when a soft tone sounded in my ear, followed by Camira’s voice.

  “My Lord, there’s been a last-minute change to the ceremony schedule, submitted by the Temple.”

  Tension sprang up all over my body, my skin prickling. “What change?”

  “The High Priestess is going to unveil the new harbinger at the end of the ceremony.”

  For a moment I considered trying to block the change. But even if I did, I wouldn’t be stopping anything. Lunaria would find some other way to introduce her supposed harbinger. And I found that I didn’t want to delay the announcement. The damage to Maya’s standing had already been done, and I needed to see what Lunaria’s next move would be. The throne room would be thick with guards, so there was no real danger of any sort of physical attack.

  Whoever the new harbinger was, the High Priestess had kept the secret thoroughly. Novia was one of the highest ranking priestesses under Lunaria, yet Novia had communicated more than once that she still didn’t know the identity of the harbinger.

  With the metal bands around my ankles and wrists, and the crown upon my head, I stepped down from the small stool in my dressing room.

  Victor stood back and sprayed a few short mists of the ceremonial waters over my head and shoulders. The aromas of Earthenfell settled upon my skin, clothes, and hair.

  He bowed. “You’re ready, my Lord.”

  I gave him a nod of thanks. If only everyone would fulfill their roles as dutifully and as faithfully as Victor.

  My reception in the small room under the throne was so chilly it might have been filled with air from the most distant moon. Akantha looked thinner than I remembered. Jeric’s rejection had not softened her. If anything, she looked even more hard-edged than before. She avoided my eyes.

  The High Priestess’s gaze gleamed with the fire of her fanaticism. Her eyes locked on mine for a moment, but I got the impression she wasn’t really registering what they took in. Both women looked as if they’d rather be anywhere else. That made three of us.

  They curtsied.

  “Your Ho
liness,” I said mildly. “Are you quite well? You look flushed and glassy-eyed.” I was hoping to draw her out so that I could gauge the state of her mind.

  “I’m as well as I’ve ever been, my Lord.” She angled her body away so she wasn’t quite facing me and pulled her opalescent robes around her a little more tightly.

  At first I thought her gesture was one of avoidance, a drawing away from an opponent. But as I watched a faraway look come over her face and a faint smile twitch at her lips, I realized she wasn’t uncomfortable in my presence. No, she was relishing something. Savoring her own little secret.

  My stomach tightened.

  The doors opened, and we filed down the narrow corridor to the throne room. I went up the stairs and took the throne.

  The Tournament was primarily Akantha’s show. She gave her usual speech about the symbolism of the Tournament, why it began, and the intertwined histories of Earthenfell and Calisto.

  I listened with one ear as I scanned the crowd gathered on the tiered seats. Maya’s absence from the harem women’s section felt conspicuous, but I was happy to know she was safely tucked away.

  Another notable absence left an empty seat in the royal family’s section. Palace PR had previously released a brief note to the press that Queen Stella had taken ill. The announcement had implied it was the type of illness that would require a long recovery. Jeric was the sole representative of our family, as my sister Cassi was on bedrest for the remainder of her pregnancy.

  Jeric and I exchanged a long look. I was glad to have him there. My brother had never been a source of comfort to me in the past, but our relationship had taken an unexpected and welcome turn.

  My gaze kept roving the audience, as if trying to home in on something. I wasn’t sure what my eyes sought, but it was as if something out there whispered to me. It tugged at my mind.

  When it came time for me to make a few remarks, I rose. The crowd rose with me in a soft wave of rustling fabric and shifting shoes.

  I played my brief part, took the throne again, and the crowd settled.