CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
They make me march in chains down to the city, and there are already many people lining the route, ready for the formalprocession of the gladiators later. Alaric is not with me, and that makes me afraid that something has already happened to him, but the guards ignore my questions.
I am reminded of the moments after I was first captured, when I was made to walk between a pair of imperial soldiers, heading for the larger group of those spotted by an imperial officialand taken as slaves of the empire. There, I had the simple choice to either walk or be dragged along. Now it is the same, but I am being watched from the sidelines.
The crowd stares at me as if not knowing what to do. Some of them see the chains and boo. Others cheer for me as if this is all part of the entertainment planned for the day. Maybe it is. Maybe they will take me down to the colosseum and kill me publicly. I will not be able to fight back. I am still far too drained from what Callus did to me to be able to fight back physically, and my dampener prevents me from using my powers.
I am utterly helplessand I hate it. I hate the whole empire in this moment. I hate what it does to people, both those it pushes downand those it gives power to. Its systemsmean that so many people are hurt and killed in the name of glory and strength, so that the masses are entertained and do not thinkabout the conditions in which they live. But they also forcethe nobles to be cruel. They are shown a system in whichthe only way to gain power and prestige is through violence and cunning.
As I am made to walk, I want to tear it all down.
They do not take me to the colosseum but instead lead me to the palace, To all that grandeur andopulence. They do not take me to the receiving room near the gardens but instead to a different room, lined with marble, where magic makes images seem to swim within the stone. The emperor sits there waiting for meon the gilded throne, looking severe in his purple robes. Selene Ravenscroft, the arch magistrate, stands beside him, and there is a sense of power radiating from herthat is hard to ignore.
My fears seem to crystallize in this moment, because the arch magistrate would not be there if it were not to pass judgment. I am pushed to my knees by the guards before the two of them, and then those guardsstep back waiting by the walls, but with an air of expectation as if they know they will be called on to drag me from that place and kill me soon enough.
Even so, I am the one who speaks first. “What has happened to Alaric?”
“He is in a cell, awaiting the outcome of this and his punishment,” the emperor says. “You should be more worried for yourself. A gladiator has died. You were there. You will tell us exactly what happened, and you will not lie. You will not be permitted to lie.”
The arch magistrate moves towards me. She places her hands on my head.
“I will look into your thoughts as you speak,” she says. “I will see what there is to see and what you are hiding. Do not fight it. It will be painful if you do.”
A fresh burst of fear hits me because I don't know what she will see. Will she learn about the spectral covenant? About Lady Elara’s role? About every secret I've ever had? That thought makes me want to fight her, the way I have fought back against others with mental magic in the past. Ravenna tried to control me on several occasions, with varying degrees of success.
“Let me in,” Selene commands. “I only wish to see the truth of what happened last night. I know you are afraid of letting me into your mind, butI will merely see whether you are telling the truth or not.”
“Let her in,” the emperor commands. “Do it or I will condemn you and Alaric right now.”
That threat is enough tomake me drop my defenses. Not because of the threat to my life but because there's a chance I might still save Alaric if I tell the truth and they see the reality of the circumstances.
Selene Ravenscroft nods. “I have access to her mind.”
“Good,” the emperor says. “Now explain what happened.”
“Callus tried to kill me,” I say. “I had gone down to the beast pensto be aloneand he found me. I had assumed thathe would leave me alone until the bout today. That he would try to kill me in the colosseum, because it would avoid any consequences for him.”
“So you're aware that there are consequences for killing outside the arena?” Selene says.
I nod, and an image of the impaling spikes flashes through my mind. I'm sure that she must see it, must feel my terror at the prospect of what might happen to both myself and Alaric. Does she feel that it is him I feel the most fear for? That I hate the idea that he might lose his life for defending me?
“What happened then?” The emperor says.
“I tried to run away,” I say. “With my dampener on, I can't fight back against someone like that.”
I raise my arms for emphasis, showing off the leather cuff that sits on my wrist even now.
“You should have some powers,” Selene says.
“Someone tampered with the dampener,” I say. “Before my fight with the stoneheart.”
The arch magistrate looks shocked, then angry. “That should not happen. If I set a control upon someone, it is precisely calibrated.”
“You can see into my mind. You know that's what happened.”
“This is not relevant,” the emperor says. “Did she play a part in murdering Callus or not?”
“He was the one trying to murder me,” I say. Images of his attack on me flicker through my mind. I see myself again on my knees in front of him with his power drawing the life from me. I feel myself helpless, feel the world closing in. I feel the moment when I collapse.
And I see the blade appear through his throat again. I see the moment when Alaric saves me, stabbing Callus. I see the shock on Callus’ face, and the last attempt to reach for me and finish his deadly mission. It is as though I was living through all of it again. I feel myself collapsed to the floor of the marble walled room, breathing hard as I stare up at the emperor.
“You need to say the words,” Selene says, helping me back to my knees.
“Alaric saved me. He killed Callus, but only because there was no other way to stop himfrom killing me.”
“It is the truth,” Selene says. “I have seen it in her.”
“And what else can you see in her?” the emperor demands.
“My emperor?” The arch magistrate says, sounding surprised.
“Look deeper. I'm convinced she has some connection to the organization of the beast whisperers. Find it.”
The arch magistrate does not look happy. “My emperor, our laws say thatI should use these powers only to address specific accusations, not to trawl through someone's mind, the protections of the law are-”
“They are for citizens!” the emperor bellows. I don't think I've heard him raise his voice to the arch magistrate before. Normally, he respects her power. “They are not for slave gladiators and beast whisperers! Now find out what she knows. There might not be another chance.”
The arch magistrate does not look happy, but I still feel her reaching into my minddigging deep. I try to push her back, knowing that I need to protect the members of the spectral covenant, but that just makes agony burst between my eyes.
“Don't fight. It will only hurt more.” Selene’s voice whispers in my mind, rather than her speaking out loud.
Despite that I keep fighting, but it doesn't make any difference. She's already in my mind, and that means she can look through every corner of it. My attempts to keep her out of specific places only mean that she gets to see them more quicklybecause it brings the memories to the surface. I know she sees me as I training the temple of Deira, as Lady Elara teaches me. I know she sees the faces of every beast whisperer I look upon.
I try to throw other memories at her. I show her my village, I show her the moment when I was taken. I throw my life since at heras if it is a weapon to use in the colosseum. I tried to throw so much at her that she can't make any sense of it but I get the feeling that Selene Ravenscroft is not so easily distracted.
I throw all my pain at her. The deaths of friends in the arena, the brutality of the training. The punishments I have endured for failing to fight, or for being accused of rule breaking. The anguish of having to fight people I cared about. Even the sick sensation that came after killing Ravenna, instead of satisfaction. If she wants to see into my mind, then she is going to see all of it. She is going to see what it is really like to be a slave gladiator within Ironhold.
Eventually she pulls back from me, andI can feel her leaving my mind. But I know she has already seen far too much, the violation of my innermost thoughts too great. It is just another reminder that to the Aetherians, I am nothing. The emperor said as much when he commanded Selene to look through my mind.
“I wish you hadn’t made me do that,” Selene says, looking over to the emperor.
“Yes, yes. What did you get?” he demands.
“Nothing but a bunch of salacious memories of her and Elara. Oh, Elara has tried to contact her while you’ve been her patron. She's clearly completely infatuated, if you want to use that against her.”
I have to work hard to keep pure shock off my face. The arch magistrate is lying to the emperor outright, telling him the same lie that Lady Elara cooked up to tell the world and explain her patronage of me. There is no reason I can see why the arch magistrate would do this, but maybe she is playing some game of her own devising.
The emperor looks disappointed, but then slightly relieved, as ifdeciding that I am not some grand threat to be disposed of instantly.
“Then there is not some bigger situation I need to deal with,” he says. “There is still the matter of the death of Callus.”
“Her account is consistent with Alaric’s,” the arch magistrate says, “and both appear to be telling the truth. Lyra did not start the violence, and Alaric only intervened to save her life. If he had not, it would be Callus here, and a rather more clear cut outcome.”
The emperor nods, looking thoughtful. He looks at me with an all too familiar expression, as if he is trying to decide whether to kill me or not. The more I see of him the more I'm convinced that his powers have driven him to paranoia, his glimpses of the future and the possibilities involved convincing him that he can control everything.
“Very well, Lyra will live, and no blame will be attached to her. This season will count for her even though she is not able to fight today.”
Relief floods through me at those words. Not only am I not to be executed, but this season will count for me. I will not have to fight again in the arena. Almost as soon as the relief comes, though, fresh worry follows on its heels.
“What about Alaric?” I demand. “What's going to happen to him?”
“You do not speak to your emperor like that,” Emperor Tiberius says. “I grow tired of you, Lyra. You throw my generosity back in my face. Alaric is noble born, but he still killed someone against the rules of Ironhold. There will be consequences for that.”
“But-”
“Silence!” the emperor snaps. “One more word, and I will have you killed, law or not. Contained as you are, you're clearly not the threat my visions show, but that doesn't mean I have to listen to you prattle on. And you're certainly too uselessfor me to be your patron. I had thought you would lead me to the spectral covenantand root out any enemies I had within Ironhold. Now I see you're mostly just an embarrassment. So from this moment on, I am no longer your patron.”
I should be afraid of his anger but if anything that just brings fresh relief. Perhaps too much of that shows on my face because the emperor smiles cruelly.
“Oh, do you think that Lady Elara is going to buy your patronage back? Do you think you're going to be in her bed once more? No, if I can't get any use out of youto deal with the spectral covenant, I think there's a better patron I can give you to.”
“The emperor does not give such patronage,” Selene points out. “The laws of the city-”
“The laws ofAetheria are whatever I say they are!” the emperor snaps. “And if I want to give away this one to a new patron, I will. Now help get her out of here, Selene. I'm angry at you both.”
The arch magistrate helps to lift me to my feet. As she does so, I feel her fingers brush my dampener, and with that touchI sense something start to change.
The arch magistrate has given me my powers back.