by Jayne Faith
So. The Pirro woman was on Calisto. The woman who had spent years in intimate contact with Lord Toric. Molding him. Tantalizing him. Tormenting him.
I gasped suddenly as a thought occurred to me: the perfect teacher had arrived. The one who knew exactly what Lord Toric wanted and needed.
My heart began to pound, and I pushed trembling fingers into my wet hair. Was there any chance she’d be willing to teach me, to show me exactly what to do and what to say?
Was I brave enough to ask her to?
I finished my bath, dried, and found a robe in Lord Toric’s dressing room. The Pirro woman was on my mind, but I knew I needed to focus on Lord Toric.
He finally emerged from his prayer room and I anxiously took in his face and his posture. He appeared calm, and the haunted look in his eyes had mostly dissipated.
I beckoned to him. “Come and sit with me.” I sat on the bed with my back resting against a wall of pillows piled up behind me, my legs curled up.
His eyes were tired, but he managed to give me a smile as he joined me and pulled me to him.
“Today it almost seemed as if you and Jeric had always been close,” I said. “It must feel strange to be on such intimate terms with him after so many years of conflict.”
“It does feel strange at times, but it also feels right.” His voice was even but edged with the rasp of fatigue. He let out a quiet laugh. “He’s in love. He won’t tell me who the woman is.”
I bit my lip for a second. “I know who it is,” I said.
He pulled away slightly so he could look down at me. “Who?”
“Before I tell, remember how much he’s helped you recently,” I said hurriedly. “Don’t get mad.”
“As long as it’s not you, I won’t get mad.” His voice had grown tight, and the muscles of his arms tensed.
“It’s my sister,” I said and rushed to explain. “She was in trouble on Earthenfell, and I asked him to help her, and when he was still, um, not in his right mind, he brought her here to Calisto. Apparently they’ve fallen in love.”
He stared down at me for several heartbeats, his face stony. His eye twitched. Then he burst out laughing.
When his mirth died down, he shook his head with amusement. “I suppose there’s something very fitting about that.”
“There is, isn’t there? I know he has a checkered past, and he was terribly cruel at times, but I think he’s grown into a good man.”
“He has come a very long way.”
I let a few minutes of comfortable silence pass before I spoke again. I could tell his focus had turned inward and he was thinking about his duties. “What’s next, my Lord? What will you do?”
“Actually, I believe your sister’s presence on Calisto might prove very useful.”
My heart thumped. “What do you mean?”
He cast his eyes upward, thinking. “We will need her to take your place in the harem quarters.”
I frowned. “I don’t understand. How would that help anything?” I wouldn’t agree to a plan that would put my sister in danger.
Lord Toric focused his gaze on me, his eyes clear and his jaw set with determination. “I intend to begin the Sequence of the Return myself. I’m not going to wait for the High Priestess or anyone else for that matter. I’ve been studying the steps, and the Lord is the one who initiates the Sequence. As soon as we’ve defeated our enemies and the final sign appears, I’ll set things into motion. High Priestess Lunaria will have no choice but to follow, and if she doesn’t, Novia will step in. I want to catch Lunaria off guard. I can’t let her be in control.”
I shook my head. I had the distinct impression there was something more about the High Priestess he wasn’t telling me. “But what does that have to do with Lana taking my place?”
“The Lord shall step onto the ground of the homeland with his heart at his left and his heartbreak at his right,” he recited. He twisted to look at me fully. “You’re not the harbinger, but you do have a role to play. You are my heart, Maya. You will be at my left.”
My mouth went dry. “And who will be at your right?” The words scraped across my throat, as if reluctant to be spoken.
His aquamarine eyes clouded. “The Pirro woman. The one I called Jade.”
*
The next morning, Lord Toric and I rose before dawn, and I didn’t linger in his bedchamber. Back in the harem quarters I stopped at my room to quickly change and then set off in search of Clarisse.
She knew the way through the secret passages in and out of the harem quarters. As soon as Lord Toric saw the sign he was waiting for, he would send for me and spirit me away to a sacred place just outside the palace. It was a location very near where I’d first come through the portal to Calisto.
I tried to convince him that it wasn’t necessary to involve Lana—I hated the idea of bringing her into an unfamiliar place where she had no allies and then leaving her to fend for herself.
Lord Toric told me that as soon as the final sign of the Return came, the High Priestess would assume control of the harem. He explained that the Temple was responsible for rounding up the harem women, who would be directed through a portal at a specific step in the Sequence. Once the High Priestess had control of the harem, he feared it would be too late to free me so he could begin the Sequence himself.
He explained some of the things that had transpired between him and High Priestess Lunaria and said he didn’t trust that she was in her right mind anymore. He also believed the High Priestess had at least one spy in the harem quarters. If I disappeared under suspicious circumstances, the spy would alert the Temple. There were several Calistan women who worked in the harem quarters. Hera and her assistants, the kitchen workers, and many others. It wasn’t out of the question that at least one could be working for the High Priestess.
The whole thing made my blood run cold with fear. I made him swear over and over that nothing would happen to Lana.
As I made my way through the corridors, I considered how much to reveal to Clarisse about Lord Toric’s intentions to start the Sequence himself. I worried about how she would receive his plan for initiating the Return. Not because I thought she particularly cared about what he was going to do but because of how she might use the information. I’d come to suspect that Clarisse, Sytoria, and the others who knew the story of the field mice would try to foil the Return.
And I was torn.
Part of me wanted the Return to come so I could go back to Earthenfell, back to the mother and the home I loved and missed desperately. Lord Toric intended for us to be together there, and that dream filled me with such happiness I thought I’d burst. But it had become clear that many of the field mice did not believe the flying rats would let them continue to live in peace in the valley.
Lord Toric had been vaguely reassuring, but the truth was I had no idea if there was merit to the fears of the field mice. And in my heart, I couldn’t help but feel those fears too.
After all, Earthens were my people. Earthenfell was my home.
I wished I didn’t feel so powerless. So uninformed.
The flying rats had their plans. The field mice had their fears. I didn’t know enough about the true intentions of either side to see through to a happy ending for all.
First I went by the cafeteria. A quick scan revealed Clarisse wasn’t there, so I continued on toward her room. Just as I was about to raise my hand to the knocker, the door opened.
She let out a little squeak, a very un-Clarisse-like noise, and twitched back in surprise.
I put on a bright smile. “Good morning, will you join me for breakfast?”
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. My smile wavered. Did she already know I was going to ask her for something?
She continued to peer at me as we headed toward the cafeteria.
“What?” I said innocently.
“You sound chipper,” she said. “You’re not chipper. Perky, sometimes, but not chipper.”
I couldn’t help giggling at her assessmen
t, and I felt a little less anxious. She didn’t really suspect anything. My paranoia was just heightened.
I waited until we were sitting at a table with our porridge and fruit.
“Clarisse, I need to be able to get my sister into the harem quarters,” I said.
She frowned. “You won’t be able to hide her here. There are too many people moving about.”
“No, not long term,” I said quickly. “But at a moment’s notice.”
“Is she in danger?”
I tilted my head and slanted my gaze off to the side. “Not exactly. There is a . . . scenario where I’ll need her to take my place.”
Clarisse became very still. “Has this something to do with the Return?”
After a second’s hesitation, I nodded reluctantly.
“You’re going to have to tell me more if you want my help.”
I stifled a sigh. “At the moment of the final sign of the Return, the Temple will assume control of the harem. I must be gone before that happens. But I must leave in a way that no one, most notably a Temple spy in the harem quarters, would notice.”
So much for keeping details to myself.
“If you can’t be here, how would it be safe for your twin to take your place?”
“The High Priestess will see that Lana isn’t me, if she actually tries anything,” I said, thinking quickly. I leaned toward Clarisse with an earnest look. “Even though I’m no longer the harbinger, I still have a part to play in the Return. I need to be able to do it without interference from the Temple. I’ll be at the forefront of this event, Clarisse. I’ll be the first Earthen through to Earthenfell. The only one to participate in the initial steps of the Return.”
I gave her a hard, unblinking stare, hoping she would find the significance in my words that would sway her to help me.
Her eyes tensed as she seemed to search my gaze.
“Okay,” she said finally.
My shoulders lowered as I let out a quiet breath. I’d implied something to her—that I was solidly on the side of the field mice and would be on the front lines for the invasion into the “beautiful valley.” I’d done it on purpose to get her to give in.
But as we finished our porridge, I realized it was true. I would be the first Earthen to return from Calisto to Earthenfell.
If there was a conflict between the field mice and the flying rats, this little mouse would be stepping from one world into another, right into the middle of the clash.
11
Toric
I SENT FOR Novia, no longer caring what the High Priestess might think of my doing so. I did, however, take the precaution of meeting with the Temple scholar in a secure room.
Novia’s eyes were alight with a new energy. The contrast between their icy color and the fire behind them was fascinating and disconcerting.
“We have enough to begin an inquisition into her fitness for office,” Novia said.
I squeezed my eyes closed and scrubbed at my face. “We don’t have time for inquisitions. The military is on the brink of full victory. Is there not any way to impeach her now?”
The flame in her eyes dulled a bit. “That would take a miracle, my Lord. Unless . . . you’re not suggesting assassination?”
“No, absolutely not,” I said. “I can handle her. Especially if you can keep her distracted with the threat of an inquisition. Anything to try to draw her attention away from me.”
“What are you plotting my Lord? You’d best let me in on your scheme.” She cocked her head like a curious bird eyeing a shiny trinket.
The words “plotting” and “scheme” raised my defenses, but I refused to let her bait me.
“If I can get her to meet with me outside the Temple, can you get the sacred texts?” I asked.
Her eyes widened. “The actual books? They’re kept in a locked cabinet in her office.”
“Is there any way to gain access to them?”
“I can request to check them out, though I can’t guarantee my request will be granted. Especially on short notice.”
“Make the request,” I said. “Ask to use them for as long a period as is allowed. I’m sure you, as the Temple’s foremost scholar, can find a reason to get your request prioritized to the highest urgency. Find a way to smuggle them from the Temple. I will have my contact get in touch with you to make a trade. She will give you dummy books to turn in, which should stall things if anyone discovers the real ones are gone.”
“I can’t agree to this.” Novia’s usually impassive face twitched.
“You need to.” I nearly snapped the words but forced myself to stay calm. “She cannot complete her role in the Return if she doesn’t have them.”
Novia’s lips parted. “You do mean to keep her from taking part in the Return.”
I leaned forward, tipped my head down slightly, and looked at her from under my brows. “I’m depending on you. If you come through I will make sure she will have no sway on Earthenfell. You will be free to take over the Temple, to take it in whatever direction you choose.”
I wanted her to believe that I would have her take Lunaria’s place in the role of the High Priestess for the Sequence, but that wasn’t the true reason I wanted the sacred texts. I had other plans for the volumes. I had no intention of revealing them to Novia, however.
“We must get those books,” I said.
She blinked a couple of times and then nodded. The frosty fire returned to her eyes, and I imagined her picturing herself in the opalescent robes of the High Priestess. Triumph spiked through me, but I kept my eyes steadily on hers.
“Yes. I’ll find a way,” she said.
We both stood, and she curtsied.
“Send word when the sacred texts are in your possession, and I will summon the High Priestess for an emergency meeting,” I said. “That will give you the opportunity to swap the real books for the fake ones.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
As soon as her back was turned, I allowed myself a grim but satisfied smile. Novia was solidly on my side.
*
It wasn’t until early the next morning that I received a message from Novia. She’d managed to procure the sacred texts—all except the tenth volume, the one that had been delivered to the High Priestess only a few months ago.
It wasn’t ideal to leave one volume behind, but I knew I should be grateful that Novia was able to get the books so quickly. I was receiving hourly updates from a military liaison, and we were a hair’s breadth away from full victory.
I sent for the High Priestess. My message was conciliatory enough, I hoped, that she wouldn’t question the invitation. She couldn’t refuse it—I was the Lord of Calisto and Earthenfell, and in spite of her power, she was still one of my subjects.
She met me in one of the military wing’s secure rooms.
I tried to hide my shock as I took in her face, which looked as if it had aged ten years since I’d last seen her. Her sunken eyes were glassy. Something about her posture and the way her gaze skipped over objects, as if she wasn’t quite seeing anything, reminded me of Jeric when he’d been in his fugue of obsession with Maya.
It was if her mind had been touched by darkness. As disturbing as it was to see the change, it reassured me that I was making the right decision.
“Your Holiness,” I greeted her with detached neutrality.
She curtsied stiffly, almost as if the movement were an afterthought or a delayed reflex. “What is it you want?”
“We are on the brink of the Return, and I’m deeply concerned by all of the recent news from the Temple,” I said. I didn’t specify which news—my aim was not productive conversation but to stall her as long as possible.
She peered at me suspiciously through slitted eyes. “If you’re trying to intimidate me, it will not work. I’m not stepping down from office.”
My brows rose as I feigned dismay. I opened my mouth to respond, but she continued before I could get a word out.
“You think you’re pulling the strings
, but you aren’t.” She raised an upturned palm and lifted her eyes to the ceiling. “The stars see. The stars know my intentions are pure. I’m not distracted by silly infatuations or haunted by ghosts from my past as you are. I serve purely. The stars are on my side. If you will not serve purely as I do, the stars will make sure you burn.”
A sickening mix of indignation and trepidation curled through me like black smoke. How dare she threaten me?
I squinted at her. “Have you completely lost your mind, uttering such blasphemy?”
“It’s no blasphemy,” she said. “I’ve had visions.”
“Only the Oracle has visions,” I shot back. “You are no Oracle.”
She just looked at me, her hands folded in her lap. Her face was blank and still. She appeared almost catatonic.
“The stars see,” she said, as if in a dream.
For a moment I feared that she had indeed gone into an Oracle vision trance. But she still had her sight, wild as her eyes had become. And as far as I knew, the real Oracle was still alive.
At best, Lunaria was a . . . what? A false prophet? Maybe just totally deranged.
It didn’t matter.
“There’s really nothing left, is there?” The question was more for myself than for her.
I didn’t think she even heard me. She was mumbling to herself. It sounded like she was reciting incantations, though I couldn’t understand most of her words.
I sat there as long as I could stand to watch her, trying to give Novia time. Then I slowly rose to my feet, straightening as if the movement pained me.
“We’re finished,” I said quietly.
I didn’t wait for her to stand and curtsy but brushed past her to the door.
Camira’s voice came in my ear. “I have the Master of War with an urgent communication for you, my Lord.”
I touched my earpiece. “Put him through.”
“My Lord,” said Master of War Xavier’s resonant voice. “The Cordashuns have surrendered.”
My shoes scuffed to a halt. “I’m on my way to the War Room.”
“I’ll meet you there, my Lord.”