Chapter Eleven
Am I about to be punished for my confrontation with Lady Tyra? The thought of that feels like ice in my veins, but still, I have no choice but to go with the guards. They don't explain why the emperor wants me, but then why would they explain anything to a simple gladiator? The emperor has summoned me, and I must go.
Fear builds within me as they lead me along. Have I put myself in danger by intervening with Lady Tyra? Is the emperor about to have me punished for it?
To my surprise they lead me out of the colosseum, walking at either side of me as we all make our way through the streets of the city. The people on the streets look at me and stare in wonder as if some great hero is walking among them.
Not everyone seems so impressed, though.
“Coward! Who wants to see you go through the whole maze without killing anything?”
A man flings a stone at me. I flinch, but one of the soldiers is there, and the stone stops in midair, deflected by some magical force. It's a reminder that, in a city filled with magic, the emperor's guards are as likely as anyone to possess it.
“Move along,” the guard commands the man who threw the stone. “Or do you want to find yourself in the arena with her? Maybe then you will hope that she’s not in a killing mood.”
“Thank you,” I say as we recommence our march.
The guard makes a face. “I didn't do it for you. I did it to keep the emperor’s peace. Now get moving. He wants to see you at once.”
We hurry now, heading through the streets. It's obvious where we're going because the imperial palace lies ahead, behind stone walls and surrounded by beautiful gardens, which are augmented with illusions and other magic. The water from a fountain flows in impossible shapes before it falls. Creatures with the bodies of peacocks but the heads of cats strut through the grounds. A gardener levitates a stone into place. Even with such menial tasks, magic seems to be involved.
The palace itself is a thing of wonders. It is painted and gilded, banners falling from it, decorated with the imperial insignia of a sword punching into the heart of a purple blaze of magic. The two guards walk me up the steps to it, and into a space that displays wealth beyond anything I could imagine.
There are statues on every side, busts of former emperors displayed on plinths, larger statues of heroes standing freely. The mosaics beneath my feet depict the first emperors founding the city. The furniture looks as though it has been imported from around the world, and much of it is studded with jewels.
The guards take me through the palace, upstairs, to a suite of rooms closed off from the rest with golden double doors, decorated with a battle scene. They open to reveal a large chamber within, and the emperor is seated there on a gilded couch, waiting for me. His eyes follow me as I approach him, flanked by the guards.
“It is customary to kneel in the presence of your emperor, slave,” he says.
A flash of anger flickers through me. Did he bring me all the way from the Colosseum to humiliate me? The guards to either side of me look restless, as if they're only waiting for an opportunity to punish me.
So I do as the emperor commands. I fall to my knees before him, waiting to see what he will do next, and what he wants of me. My heart is beating faster with fear at the thought of the possibilities. I have heard again and again that Emperor Tiberius hates beast whisperers. Perhaps he has decided to kill me at last. I have to force myself to be still, not to rise and run, or try to escape. I know that either of those things will mean that they kill me. I hold still instead and wait.
“You guards may go,” the emperor says. That catches me by surprise. It seems to surprise the guards too, because they hesitate for just a moment. “Go, I said!”
They retreat before the power of the emperor's command, leaving the two of us alone. The emperor stands, moving around me, as if I am some precious specimen to be examined carefully.
“So, you are Lyra, the mistress of beasts.”
“That is what they call me in the arena,” I say.
“And is it untrue? You are a beast whisperer, aren’t you?”
What can I say to that? I can't exactly deny it after all the things I've done in the colosseum. But at the same time, I know that admitting it will put me in greater danger. With no other options, I risk the truth anyway.
“I am,” I say.
“A thing that has been forbidden in my empire,” the emperor says. “Anyone with more than a trace of the beast speech is suspicious, dangerous. And you have far more than a trace. Do you know why I forbade it?”
“They say you had a prophecy,” I say. I don't know why he's making me go through this. Is he just trying to see how I will react?
“The people say all kinds of things. They misunderstand the talents of myself and my family. Your talent is to control beasts. Mine is to control time.”
He moves back to the couch and picks up an apple. He tosses it into the air, and it hangs there suspended.
“I'm sure you've seen plenty of people who could do this, but they're not doing it the same way . Some can control the air enough to hold the apple like a thing immersed in amber. Others might be able to manipulate it with telekinesis. You have fought the gladiator Vex, of course. Once in the arena, once in a training bout.”
It's not a question, and it shows a strange familiarity with everything I've done. The only way the emperor could know about the training bout I had against Vex is if someone reported it to him specifically. Has he been asking after me?
“I stop the apple in time,” the emperor says. “Or rather, I slow it to the point of immobility. I could do the same with you if I wished. In case you're thinking of trying anything.”
“I'm not planning to attack you, my emperor,” I say. Is that what he thinks?
"Your emperor?" The emperor laughs. "You were born in a small fishing village that barely counts as part of my empire. You were torn from it by my people and have been forced to fight for your life. I hardly think you have any love for me, Lyra."
That hits too close to home.
"I… hate what has been done to me," I say. "I hate that I'm forced to kill again and again. And you… are you the reason I have had so many difficult bouts?"
The emperor shrugs as he sits back down on his couch. "Perhaps I have been a part of it. But I have the right to do so. I am the emperor, after all, and if I wish to test your limits, I may. I can do what I like with you. I could have you broken, if I wished. I could have you impaled on a spike on the walls."
“So why don't you?” I demand, then realize the tone I’ve just taken with the ruler of the empire.
The emperor smiles. “That's something I've seen in you as well. You try so hard to be meek and gentle, but there's something harder and more violent in you as well. Why don't I kill you? Because you're more interesting alive, and because my prophecy isn't quite what people think. I see flickers of the future. I know the elements that are important to it. I know a powerful beast whisperer will play a role in the events to come, although even I don't know for sure whether it's to bring me down or save us all. And because I don't know, I won't condemn you outright.”
“So your persecution of the beast whisperers…”
"Let me identify the ones able to survive in spite of it."
The more he says, the less I feel I understand. There's a larger game here; I know that much from my conversations with Lady Elara. But I don't know all the details of it and I have the horrible feeling that I'm a piece in the game rather than a player of it.
The emperor stands again, moving around me. Suddenly and without warning, he grabs my wrist, holding my arm out to the side. There is a knife in his hand, pressed to my skin just above the dampener I wear.
“I keep wondering what I should do with you,” he says. “I go around and around, sometimes thinking I should kill you, sometimes thinking you might be my greatest ally when you finally understand. I could open your veins now and let you bleed. I could also cut away this… restriction on you, and give you back your full power. Perhaps I will, once you prove to me that you are of use. For all my skill, for all the things I can see, I still don't know which is the correct thing to do.”
He steps away from me, staring at me again, looking me up and down. "For now, I will do neither. You are too interesting to kill, but I can't be sure of you yet, either. Now, you should be getting back. They will be missing you in Ironhold."
He gestures for me to get to my feet. I do so, starting to back away, and then I'm frozen in place. I can still think, but I can't move. He's obviously used the same power on me that he did on the apple. He moves to me, the dagger brushing against my throat, then my lips.
“A very interesting young woman indeed. You should be careful in the next few challenges, Lyra. There are forces at play in them that I don't think you have accounted for. If you're not careful, you might not survive long enough for me to make my mind up about you, and that would be a shame. Now go.”
He lets me go, and I practically run for the door.