Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Aurelia
I t’s barely halfway through the morning, and the mid-summer heat is already sweltering.
The court moved from the hall of entertainments to the gardens an hour ago, but the sluggish breeze hasn’t lifted anyone’s spirits. The nobles are clustered in patches of shade, accepting glasses of tangy juice from the servants who haven’t stopped circulating since we arrived.
It seems the southern weather is determined to suffocate me.
Even Marclinus, who was in exuberant spirits earlier this morning, appears to have deflated slightly. He’s taken a prime spot on a bench by the largest of the garden’s fountains, where the spray offers a little relief, but his recent laughter has sounded a little weary. He keeps swiping at the sweat on his brow.
I study him surreptitiously from the blanket where I’ve settled with Bianca and a few of the other noblewomen, a glimmer of hope lighting in my head. I think I could convince him to come with me into the thicker shade of the palace woods for a private walk—or at least, as private as any of our activities are with our guards lurking nearby.
Yesterday was our first full day back in the capital, and he had a pensive spell that left him locked in his office most of the day. Who knows what moods I can expect in the weeks to come?
I need to take my chances when I can get them.
I drain the last of my juice and hand off the glass to a servant before getting to my feet. “I think I’ll get my book from my chambers. It is pleasant to read outside.”
My meandering route toward the doors takes me past the nearest of my princes. Raul is sprawled out on a blanket chatting with a couple of ladies, with a lazy grin I can tell doesn’t show any real interest.
I don’t look at him as I walk by, but I twist my fingers at my side in a silent message. Come to my room.
I continue on into the palace, pretending not to be sharply aware of the two guards following behind me, and make my way to my apartment. The moment the door is shut, separating me from their watching eyes, I let out my breath in a rush.
Their constant monitoring is even more suffocating than the weather.
My kitten bounds over to greet me and butts her head against my shin. I scoop her up and cuddle her to my chest as I move across the room. “I hope you haven’t been too bored, Sprite. I’ll see what I can find for you to play with when I’m not around.”
She squirms eagerly in my arms, rolling onto her back and batting at my chin with a paw. I can’t help laughing, with a twinge that’s both affection and guilt .
Am I really going to start feeding her potions to test their effects? It feels a lot less like a brilliant plan when I’ve got the subject snuggling up to me on my pillow every night.
I’ll just have to be ever so careful about the contents and the dosage. And not start anything until I’m sure of my strategy.
Which today’s gambit should help with.
Tucking Sprite under one arm, I retrieve the book that provided my excuse to go inside and also an item of silk I squeezed behind the bed’s headboard where the cleaning staff wouldn’t notice it. I’ve just set the kitten down in the bed when the panel in the wall slides open.
Raul props himself against the edge of the hidden entrance and aims a much more ardent grin than he offered the court ladies at me. “What can I do for you, Empress?”
I have to smile back. “I don’t think you’re going to find this request all that much fun. But it’ll give us important information. I’m going to convince Marclinus to stroll into the woods with me. I’d like you to ‘accidentally’ let one of the hunting hounds loose when we’re nearby.”
Raul’s eyebrows leap up. “Part of your brilliant strategy? You don’t expect the thing to attack him, do you?”
I shake my head. “Of course not. I just want to know how quickly his guards will respond to an animal running toward him.” I hold up the silk garment. “You’ll need to bring these and give the hound a good sniff so it knows who it’s supposed to be tracking.”
His eyebrows manage to arch even higher. “Are those…?”
“A pair of Marclinus’s drawers that he ‘misplaced.’ I figured they’d hold his scent better than a sock. Don’t think about it, just tuck them away.”
Raul snorts but accepts the garment with a rueful expression. “The things I do for you, Shepherdess.” A sly gleam comes into his eyes. “How are you going to repay me for my trouble?”
I roll my eyes, but I can’t resist grasping the front of his shirt and tugging him into a kiss. Raul kisses me back as only he knows how, the heated press of his lips coaxing mine apart so our tongues can tangle together. By the time he draws back, I’m breathless.
“How’s that for a start?” I manage to ask.
His grin returns, its cockiness offset by the tender caress of his hand over my cheek. “You never fail to satisfy me. Make sure you take the path that veers closer to the kennels so I’ll be able to hear when you’re close.”
I nod. “I’ll wait a little before I suggest the walk to him, so you’ll have plenty of time to get everything ready.”
Raul claims one more kiss before disappearing into the hidden passage. I wait a few moments to will the flush out of my face before heading out into the hall.
Back in the garden, I make a show of reading a chapter of my book on one of the benches, though if anyone asked, I wouldn’t have been able to tell them more than the vaguest idea of what the pages contained. When Marclinus has just drained another goblet of juice, I set down the book and glide over to him.
I hold out my arm to offer my elbow. “Husband, I was thinking it might be refreshing to take a stroll through the woods. Perhaps we’ll find a cooler breeze there. At least it’ll be even more out of the sun.”
The emperor pushes to his feet. “Not a bad idea.” He hooks his fingers around my elbow and casts his gaze across the nearby nobles. My plan wouldn’t be ruined by company, but I’m a little relieved when he adds, “Let’s enjoy the benefits just the two of us, hmm? There should be some reward for all our work. ”
I make my smile demure. “I’m always pleased to savor your company.”
As we amble between the garden beds and sculpted hedges toward the denser vegetation of the woods, I keep my ears pricked for the footsteps behind us. When I glance at my husband, I’m scanning the path behind us from the corner of my eye.
Three of his guards and the two of mine have followed, keeping a distance of perhaps twenty paces. They don’t feel the need to stick too closely to our sides when we’re within the security of the imperial residence’s walls.
That fact might work in my favor too. Although how I’d ever get a truly fearsome beast from where they’re held for the arena exhibitions into these grounds, I have no idea.
Marclinus dips his hand into the tumbling water of the last fountain we pass before we reach the woods and slaps the moisture onto his neck, dampening the lowest curls of his hair. “Perhaps we should have one of those large pools for swimming put into the garden. It could be quite enjoyable for much of the year. As long as the ladies don’t mind being seen in less than their full plumage.”
He flicks his gaze toward me under heavy eyelids as if gauging my reaction.
I cock my head, considering the proposition. “I’d imagine there are ornate bathing garments available that would suit everyone’s fancy. This heat is enough to make the idea quite appealing. Does it get very cool here even in the winter? Do you ever have snow?”
“Occasionally, but it’s rare. Not like you must see up north. I can’t imagine you’ll miss the stuff, though. Freezing cold and clogging up all the roads?” He grimaces with a tick of the scar on his lip.
“It can be a lot of fun,” I say lightly as we meander on down the path between the trees. I ease toward the branch to the right that will take us closer to the kennels, and Marclinus joins me without complaint. “But yes, it also causes a lot of problems for things like travel. In those months, most Accasians get around by sleigh, which works well enough.”
“Perhaps we’ll ride in one of those sometime.” Marclinus adjusts his grip on my arm and flashes a smirk at me. “Once I’m fully confirmed, we’ll need to make a tour of the continent. Make sure everyone’s clear on who they’re bowing to now.”
I doubt we’ll want to visit my home country in the winter. The snow clogs the passes between the mountains that separate Accasy from the rest of the continent more than anywhere else. We could end up stuck there for months.
As much as my heart aches to see my family and friends again, I suspect enduring Marclinus’s attentions in front of them would be even more wrenching than facing them among the relative strangers of his court.
Before I can think of how to express my thoughts in a way he won’t take offense to, my husband changes subjects. “I’m glad to say that your former people have risen to the challenge I gave them quite impressively. We’re already seeing increased supply of breamwood logs making it to Lavira and Goric and continuing on the way here.”
I swallow my rancor at the reminder of his increased demands. “I’m sure every Accasian is working hard to ensure you’re happy, Husband.”
“All the more so because they know one of their own stands by my side!”
Marclinus’s laugh cuts through me like a cleaver. Do my own people believe that I wanted them to push themselves even harder, sacrifice that much more?
By the time I return to Accasy, they may be cursing me just as much as many Darium citizens have .
A brisker set of footsteps behind us brings both of our heads around. High Commander Axius is marching toward us at a hurried pace.
I’d stop to see what he wants, but Marclinus simply slows a little, as if he wouldn’t want his military advisor thinking his presence is important enough to fully intrude on the emperor’s pastimes. I think I catch a tick of frustration at the corner of Axius’s mouth that he quickly stifles.
He waits until he’s caught up with us, falling into step beside Marclinus, before he speaks. “Everything is settled regarding the confirmation rite and the Lavirian prisoners, Your Imperial Majesty.”
Marclinus perks up with a wider grin. “Excellent. And it’s good that my wife can hear this too.”
My nerves jangle with alarm. I glance from one man to the other. “What does Lavira have to do with the confirmation rites? Has the uprising spread into Dariu?”
My husband waves me off as if I’ve asked a silly question. “They wouldn’t dare. No, a perfect idea for showing off your devotion to the empire occurred to me. It should particularly quell any lingering concerns brought about by your other dedications—to your godlen and to your former home. What are the details you’ve worked out, High Commander?”
Axius clasps his hands behind his back. “Cleric Turentan at the Temple of Triumphant Valor approved of the adapting of the rite. He says it’s fitting for the spirit of the challenge, and his meditations with Sabrelle were quite favorable. Tribune Valerisse has already arranged to send some half a dozen of the main band of conspirators they apprehended to Vivencia so we can have our pick and use the rest in a more general statement. They should arrive within the week, and we’ll hold the rite immediately after.”
With every bit of news, my blood runs colder. “The imperial soldiers in Lavira caught the core group of insurgents? I still don’t understand how that factors into Sabrelle’s rite.”
Marclinus pats me on the shoulder. “It was only a matter of time. Now they can serve our own purpose. What better show of might and supremacy—and of loyalty to the empire above all else—than to battle and slay the citizens who’ve acted out of the most dis loyalty to our cause?”
I stiffen so abruptly I have to catch myself from tripping over my feet. “We’re going to fight against these people— kill them ourselves?”
“Think of it as their much-deserved execution,” Axius says flatly. “Sabrelle’s confirmation rite is always held in the arena with some sort of combat. This is simply a variation on the theme.”
I was anticipating a fight—I could have guessed at that even if Bastien hadn’t mentioned it—but I hadn’t expected it to be quite like this. To slaughter people who were fighting against the same injustices I want to set right… To do it in front of an audience of thousands…
Marclinus chuckles. “Brilliant, isn’t it? You inspired me with your impassioned talk about proving ourselves to the empire.”
My stomach lurches. I inspired him?
I asked for a bigger way to win over his people, and he came up with this ?
Why did I ever think anything good could come from turning to him?
In the midst of my inner turmoil, a large dun-brown shape races out of the trees onto the path.
The hound hurtles over the packed earth. It springs toward Marclinus with an eager baying, delighted to have found its requested target?—
And an invisible force crackles past me through the air, slamming into the animal when it’s still several feet distant from its master. The dog freezes in mid-bound, only one paw brushing the ground. A yelp of surprise bursts out of it.
Marclinus looks over his shoulder at his guards, who are hustling over to us with expressions of consternation.
“It’s only one of the hounds,” he says with a snort. “Must have gotten loose from the kennel and thought I’d be up to play.”
The guard who cast the magic that caught the animal releases it with a jerk of her hand. The hound drops to the ground with a grunt and stands there with its tail tucked between its legs.
The guard frowns at Marclinus. “If something’s running at you, we’re going to stop it first and determine the size of the threat after.”
And they identified the possible threat that quickly, even though a charging hound can’t be a typical danger the emperor would run into.
My lips tighten around my smile. My heart thumps dully on, every beat heavier and hollower than the last.
How could I possibly hope that even a magically raging beast would get its claws into Marclinus when his guards are that alert for a basic stroll in the woods? The hound didn’t even get close enough to sneeze on him.
It won’t matter if I manage to weaken his own reflexes with some subtle potion. I can hardly get away with poisoning his entire guard staff.
My sense of my tentative plans disintegrates. The hollow sensation spreads down through my chest.
As I wet my lips against the dryness of my mouth, Marclinus tugs me onward as if nothing all that eventful has happened.
In his mind, I suppose it hasn’t.
He reaches down to scratch the dog on the head and then takes in my expression. Something must show that I’d rather didn’t, because he takes on an arch tone that’s a little too self-satisfied.
“Of course, if you find you haven’t the stomach for it after all, there’s no requirement that you participate in the final rite.”
Yes. Sabrelle’s confirmation rite. The horrible scenario I set in motion in my impatience to win Dariu’s devotion with a show of my own.
Thanks to me, the people of Vivencia will get a vivid demonstration of why they shouldn’t trust the conquered countries beyond Dariu’s borders and confirmation that slaughtering anyone who disagrees with the empire’s practices is fully justified.
Most likely, they’ll also get a demonstration of exactly where their empress is weak after all. Because just picturing driving a blade into a civilian who fought so passionately for freedom makes all my innards wobble.
I don’t know if I can do it. Any kind of fight is hardly my forte. Being up against an attacker I sympathize with so much…
Will I be able to summon the conviction to overpower my opponent? How can I put my all into this rite the way I needed to with the three before when it goes against every principle that’s given me strength?
And if I fail, I’ll either die by the rebel’s hand or look like a disgrace before all the people I most need to win over.
I want to vomit.
I can’t, though. All I can do is hang on to my smile for dear life and careen on along the path I’ve carved for myself, as awful as it may be. “Of course I’ll participate. It’s exactly what I asked for.”
Gods smite me, I wish I’d never asked at all.