CHAPTER NINE
Marcus takes us down to the secure room where he keeps his notes on Selene’s activities. I can see Alaric’s eyes widen as he sees everything there, and he picks up a couple of pieces of parchment, skimming them quickly for information.
“I didn’t say you could read those,” Marcus snaps.
“But you did bring us down here,” I point out. “And it’s better if Alaric has as much information as possible.”
“Some of that information would allow the resistance to disrupt my interests, as easily as Selene’s,” Marcus says.
I don’t try to argue that they wouldn’t do that. Of course they would. They’ve broken up Marcus’ illegal fights before, and probably work against him as much as Selene if Marcus is slowly seizing his share of the corrupt activities in the city.
“You have to ask yourself how much you want to stop Selene,” I say to him, moving to the far side of the room. I put my hand over Alaric’s as he reaches for another scrap of parchment. “And you have to ask whether you want a few immediate wins against Marcus, or a real victory against Selene.”
Alaric’s hand twists to catch mine. “You really think he’s on our side in this?”
I nod. “I think he might be.”
Alaric lifts my hand to his lips. “Then I’ll hold off, for now. I… I wish I could have saved you, back in the prison.”
“I told you to go,” I point out to him. Alaric was with me when I was captured. If he’d stayed, he would only have been caught too. But I can see the guilt on his face at leaving me there. “You did the only thing you could do. I would have hated to see you suffer down there.”
“And instead, I was stuck thinking of everything you were suffering,” Alaric says. “The others had to hold me back from mounting an escape attempt. They said it wouldn’t work.”
“And instead, Rowan and I got her out,” Marcus says, with a faint note of triumph, as if this is some contest between them.
“You had Lyra condemned to be your prisoner instead,” Alaric snaps. “Was that really all you could think of, or did you just relish the thought of having her in your power?”
I hold up my hands to forestall the argument that will come otherwise. I’m starting to suspect bridging the gap between Alaric and Marcus will be almost as difficult as facing Selene. But I must, or we’re all going to suffer at her hands.
“I need you to work together,” I say. “Marcus, why don’t you tell Alaric what we know about Selene’s plans?”
Marcus hesitates, but then nods, clearly determined to play his part.
“Her focus is the Grand Tournament,” he says.
“She plans to put on a spectacular display there, and I believe she’s arranging it in such a way that she can win it.
The tournament will be a high point of her fame and popularity.
Which means it will be the perfect moment for her to declare her new order within Ironhold, with those with the greatest magical power ruling over the others. ”
“That explains some of the things we’ve seen around the city,” Alaric says. “There are pockets of mercenaries moving into houses near key figures, clearly ready to capture or kill them when the moment comes.”
“Can the resistance work to disrupt them?” I ask.
“We can,” Alaric says, “but it might give away how much we know.”
Marcus looks thoughtful. “Maybe I have a few people who can help. Or maybe I can just outbid Selene.”
“Leaving you with control of a mercenary force within the city?” Alaric says.
“You think I don’t have one already?” Marcus counters.
Just when I thought they were starting to work together, it seems they’re back to bickering.
“The tournament will be the focal point,” I say. “We’ll need to be able to get people into the colosseum to counter Selene’s plans.”
Alaric nods. “The resistance can slip in as ordinary members of the crowd, ready to counter anything there. We can also slip people in as servants or trainers.”
“I can see what influence I can exert with the guards,” Marcus adds. “And I’m sure I can persuade plenty of nobles to be on our side when the time comes.”
“You think I can’t?” Alaric shoots back. “After all, I am a noble.”
“While I remain merely the son of a merchant?” Marcus says. “Still, I think I’ll have more sway than someone who seems determined to tear down every semblance of order and power in the city.”
“Just the corrupt parts,” Alaric says.
The two of them seem determined to argue with one another and try to outdo each other in equal measure.
There’s a chance it will prove helpful, with Marcus and Alaric each striving to do more than the other for the cause of saving the city.
There’s also a chance it will result in the two fighting, their followers pitted against one another.
This is a delicate balancing act, in which I must keep their efforts pointed in the right direction.
I’m going to have to remind them regularly of our shared goal of stopping Selene’s plans.
“I’m prepared to get my hands dirty for the good of the city,” Marcus says. He sighs. “It must be easy, being you, Alaric.”
“Easy?” Alaric says, his tone sharp edged as glass.
“You think it’s easy to have to run and hide through the hidden places of the city?
To know that anyone identified as working with me will be treated as a traitor?
Do you know how many people the resistance has lost since the fight began for the city? ”
“All very noble,” Marcus says. “And I’m sure you’ll do whatever it takes to free Aetheria from those forces that threaten to turn the city into something nightmarish.”
Alaric nods, but his eyes are wary.
“Well,” Marcus says. “So will I. And when I say I’ll do whatever it takes, I mean it. I’ll do the hard things. I don’t have the luxury of hiding beneath the city or painting slogans on the walls, because that’s not how things get done.”
“We’ve achieved plenty,” Alaric shoots back, heat starting to enter his tone once more.
“As much as you could have if you’d held actual power?
” Marcus asks. “I’m not asking for your permission or forgiveness for wading into the filth of this city, for setting myself up to control some of the worst parts of what happens here.
I’m just asking you to understand that if I didn’t, someone else would.
Someone who didn’t have the interests of the city at heart. ”
Alaric rolls his eyes. “And the parts where you enrich yourself through underground fights and brothels, drug dens and shady deals?”
“Let me have control over the levers of those things, the better to shut them down when the time comes. As a senator, I get to shape the laws of the city and see the people are helped. As someone who’s built wealth, even outside the rules, I get to have influence.”
“And all you’ve had to do is whatever Selene asks,” Alaric counters. He looks my way. “I know you agree with me, Lyra. There’s a reason you walked away from being a senator and joined the resistance.”
I nod. That’s true. I didn’t feel I could achieve enough as a senator, but I also wonder what I managed in the resistance, other than to get myself captured.
“The thing that matters now is working together,” I say. I look from one of them to the other. “Can you do that, both of you? For the city? For me?”
They both give one another a hard look, but they nod.
“Thank you,” I say. I turn to Marcus. “Can I… I haven’t seen Alaric in weeks. Can I have a moment to speak with him?”
Marcus looks momentarily jealous, but then relents. “Of course. I know how much he means to you, even If I don’t understand why. But Alaric, don’t try to steal her away from this place. It will only make things worse, for all of us.”
He leaves the room, although I doubt he’s going far. Alaric and I won’t have long. Alaric seems to realize the same thing, hurrying up to me and kissing me.
“I should have been able to save you,” he says.
“There was no way to do it,” I reply.
“The things you must have suffered…”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to think about them. And it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.”
I try not to think of all the worse tortures I could have suffered in that place.
“Of course,” Alaric says. He looks at the door. “You know you don’t have to do any of this, right?”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t have to stay in Aetheria and fight against Selene. You’ve done enough. You’ve suffered enough. I could get you out of here, to somewhere in the countryside where you could charm the beasts and live free.”
I hold up the dampener on my arm. Alaric obviously recognizes it for what it is.
“We’d find a way to remove that,” he says. “We should, anyway.”
“We can’t, without alerting Selene that I’m something more than a perfectly compliant prisoner. And I notice you didn’t say you’d be with me.”
Alaric shakes his head. “I need to stay and finish this.”
“So do I,” I insist.
“And you have to be here for it?” Alaric asks. He touches my face. “I’ve missed you so much, Lyra. I love you so much. It broke my heart when you were captured. And now, you’re back here in Marcus’ home.”
“I don’t have much of a choice about that,” I say.
“There is a choice,” Alaric insists. “We could disappear into the catacombs, back into the resistance’s hiding places.”
I’m already shaking my head. “I can’t,” I say. “I wish I could just be with you, but I can’t, Alaric.”
“Why not?” Alaric asks. He glances at the door. “Is it because of him?”
Does he really think I’m falling for Marcus again?
“Not in the way you think,” I say. “But if we disappear into the catacombs, it will be just the resistance against Selene, maybe with Marcus genuinely on her side, or maybe with him working against her in a way that doesn’t coordinate with us.
Either way, she’d pick us off piecemeal.
I need to be here so I don’t attract suspicion that I’m fighting against her.
If I run, everyone in the city will be hunting me. ”
“I could keep you safe,” Alaric says.
“But we wouldn’t be able to keep the city safe,” I reply. That’s the part that matters. We need to protect Aetheria.
“I understand,” Alaric says, but the disappointment in his voice is so deep I wonder if he truly does. “What now?”
“Now, you need to head back to the resistance and start to get ready for the tournament and the coup that comes with it,” I say. “I’m sure Marcus will make his own preparations. We’ll need ways to communicate.”
“I’ll set up more spots for you to leave messages,” Alaric assures me.
“And I’ll see if Rowan is prepared to be a part of this,” I say. “I know he was helping the resistance before. Is he still doing so now?”
“Up to a point,” Alaric says. “I get the feeling his power is slowly being eroded.”
“Then we need to be sure of what he can do,” I say. “When the time comes, I want to know how many of the city guards will be on our side.”
“I’ll get a message to him,” Alaric says.
That’s good, but I need to be the one to speak with him.
There are so many potential sources of resistance to Selene: the resistance itself, Marcus’ allies, the forces of the city.
But they’re separate fragments that need to be woven into a whole.
Selene is trying to pick us off while we fight against one another.
I need to bring the different factions together, and I don’t have long to do it before the Grand Tournament begins.