CHAPTER SIX
I hurry to dress in the toga of a senator before running to the chamber.
By the time I get there, most of the other senators, including Marcus, are already in their seats.
Rowan is there, and he gives me a look that I can’t decipher as I rush to my spot.
He looks worried, but I’m not sure if that’s because of my involvement in the raid before or because of what’s happening now.
Because this isn’t a scheduled meeting of the senate, the viewing galleries above are relatively empty. There are a few servants and guards in the room, but the crowds who would normally be there to watch us aren’t here.
There is a group of people in the middle of the senate floor, though.
They’re dressed in shades of green, and even the ones who appear to be servants wear jewelry.
One, a red-haired woman in her thirties, stands at the front of the group.
She looks around with a sense of authority, her leaf green eyes challenging the room, as if some part of her expects everyone here to kneel before her.
“I am Lady Cassandra Welstad, Ambassador of Arboria. I bring greetings from the Queen of Arboria to the Republic of Aetheria.”
It’s a formal greeting, but I can see the surprise and delight on Rowan’s face. I know why: it means that this neighboring kingdom has decided to acknowledge the Republic, rather than viewing it as a mere rebellion that might be gone in a few months.
“You are welcome in Aetheria, Lady Cassandra,” Rowan says, rising. “I’m Rowan, the First Senator of Aetheria.”
“So, the king,” Lady Cassandra says.
“Aetheria has no king, and no emperor.”
“Oh, every nation has a king,” Lady Cassandra says. “It doesn’t matter what you call yourself, First Senator.”
“Perhaps you simply haven’t understood our system of governance well enough,” Rowan replies.
Lady Cassandra smiles. “Oh, I think I understand things here well enough. Arboria has had to understand the Aetherian Empire quite well, when it has spent three centuries pushing at our borders, threatening to invade.”
Marcus speaks up. “And now we are no longer making that threat. Instead, we seek trade with our neighbors.”
“Ah, Marcus Larius. I’ve heard about you. Perhaps you are the king here,” Lady Cassandra says.
Marcus spreads his hands. “As you can see, we have a whole council of senators instead. Maybe it’s something Arboria can learn from.”
“Our queen has her council,” Lady Cassandra says. “And often, she listens to its advice. But she isn’t bound by it. Such a thing would be… weak.”
I stand, frowning. “For an ambassador, you aren’t very diplomatic.”
She smiles, tightly. "Lyra Thornwind, champion of the Colosseum. I've seen the statues of you. A strange country, that puts former slaves in positions of power."
“You’re still trying to provoke us,” I say. “Why? What are you trying to gain?”
She pauses, then smiles. "Perhaps I wish to see how you'll react in this place that claims to have no king. But I didn't come to be your enemy. My queen has commanded me not to be unless you give me cause."
“Which is why you’ve been insulting us,” I say.
She bows in my direction. "Your nation has fought with ours for centuries. Even now, you send your cast-offs to invade us and seize our people."
“What do you mean?” Rowan asks, and Lady Cassandra raises an eyebrow at the surprise on his face.
“Then you truly do not know? Interesting.”
“Don’t know what?” Rowan demands. “What aren’t you telling us?”
“Oh, plenty of things,” Lady Cassandra says. “But in this case, simply that one of your exiles has been taking our people, abducting them and perhaps murdering them. Your kind have always sought to enslave ours, claiming that any magic we possess must flow from your precious city.”
I can hear the anger there in her voice.
“And you think it doesn’t?” Domitian demands.
“Magic flows from the earth and sky,” Lady Cassandra says.
She moves her hands and illusory images form, of a land dominated by trees, where people live in cities grown in harmony with them.
“Some of our people learn the skills to use it. Perhaps not as many as here, but we don’t slay our practitioners in pointless combat, either. ”
“Sacrilege,” Domitian breathes. “Everyone knows that Aetheria is the magical heart of the world, and that all magic stems from here. It’s why we must bring mages back into the embrace of our city when we find them.”
“Enslave them. Make them serve you or die,” Lady Cassandra counters. “Sacrifice them to your precious stones. That’s what you mean, isn’t it?”
There’s real anger in her voice, and it seems to be matched by the expressions of some of the senators. They clearly don’t like this stranger, this foreign diplomat, coming to them and speaking ill of Aetheria.
“You said someone was abducting your people. Do you know who?” Rowan says, clearly trying to focus on the most important part of what Lady Cassandra has to say.
She waves her hands again, and an image forms of a dark-haired woman with eyes that glow violet with power. A woman wearing robes embroidered with magical symbols. A woman whose face I know.
“That’s Selene Ravenscroft,” I say. “The former Arch-Magistrate of Aetheria.”
A murmur goes around the room as other people there recognize her.
I imagine most of the senators must. Selene Ravenscroft was one of Emperor Tiberius’ most trusted advisors, as well as probably the most powerful magical practitioner in Aetheria.
Her skill and precision meant she could achieve almost anything.
Yet, when it came to it, Selene stood back rather than destroying the rebels in Aetheria, the way the emperor wanted. She let us kill him, then vanished into exile, quite literally, using her magic to disappear and flee the city.
I thought we wouldn’t hear anything more of her, that perhaps she would find a quiet place in the world to study and work on her magic. It seems I was wrong.
“Why would Selene Ravenscroft abduct people?” Marcus asks. “It makes no sense.”
“You tell me,” Lady Cassandra retorts. “I only know that she’s abducting magical adepts, either to bring them to some unknown cause, or for reasons of her own. And she seems to be focusing on those who speak to beasts.”
“Beast whisperers?” I say.
“If that’s what you call them in your tongue, yes,” Lady Cassandra replies. She looks straight at me. “Those like you.”
That detail makes me feel uncomfortable and frightened. What would Selene Ravenscroft want with beast whisperers? Why would she target them… us? Is it revenge for the role I played in the emperor’s downfall, or is it something else, something more dangerous?
“We have no way of knowing for sure if this is even true,” Olivia says.
“Are you accusing me of lying?” Lady Cassandra retorts, in the tones of someone hoping for a fight.
"I'm saying that perhaps your information is incorrect or mistaken," Olivia replies. "I have no wish to insult anyone.”
“You look like someone who’s happy to do so,” Lady Cassandra says, “so long as it’s behind their back.”
Olivia looks momentarily furious, but regains her composure.
“In any case,” Senator Octavio says, the old senator rising unsteadily from the stone benches.
“We must consider whether this has anything to do with us. Even if Selene Ravenscroft is causing trouble for our neighbors, I’m sure Arboria will deal with her soon enough.
She’s an exile from Aetheria. She is no longer a problem for the Republic. ”
It seems every senator is talking at once now, and Lady Cassandra is talking too, insulting people again in some kind of bizarre test of our manners or to have an excuse to fight.
Finally, Rowan makes the very stones of the chamber shake using his magic. “Enough!”
We settle down.
“We’ve heard enough,” he says. “And arguing like this won’t help.
Lady Cassandra, we welcome you to Aetheria.
You are welcome to stay in the city and set up an embassy to discuss relations between Arboria and Aetheria if you wish, but I must ask that you stop insulting my senators.
The rest of you, we’ll discuss this further in the morning. ”
“The authority of a king indeed,” Lady Cassandra says with a smile, before backing out of the chamber with a bow.
The other senators start to disperse, too, some heading off to the receiving rooms beyond the Senate chamber, others presumably going to their quarters. Rowan catches up to me as I'm about to leave.
“What do you make of all that?” he asks me.
“It could be very dangerous,” I say. “If Selene Ravenscroft really is abducting beast whisperers, there must be a reason for it.”
“Something connected to you,” Rowan says. “I can't imagine why she'd do it if it weren't. Which means you need to be careful, Lyra.”
“She's not even in Aetheria,” I point out.
“Let's hope it stays that way,” Rowan replies. “When she went into exile without a fight, it made things far easier for us. If she’d fought against the rebellion, we might not have won.”
I've seen just how powerful Selene is. More than powerful enough to make a difference, when we only barely overthrew the emperor.
She could have killed many members of the rebellion, and yet she chose not to, because she decided that Emperor Tiberius was mad and needed to be deposed.
That doesn't mean she's a fan of the Republic, though.
It may be that she's out there plotting the best way to bring down the Republic from her new home in Arboria.
“Right now, I'm worried about the way this has exposed the splits in the senate,” Rowan says. “My guess is Lady Cassandra was so confrontational precisely so she could see where the fault lines were. You did well with her.”
“I think that must be the first time someone's praised me for my diplomatic skills,” I say.
“Well, right now, I need you to use those skills to try to keep the senate working together. I know you have a connection to Senator Marcus, Lyra. Use that connection if you can. Try to maintain stability between the different factions. The Republic needs that stability right now.”
I wonder if asking me to maintain stability is about trying to overcome my doubts, trying to force me to be the peacemaker rather than the one questioning everything. And asking me to work so closely with Marcus… Rowan must be aware of our relationship, but is he also aware of our differences?
He's putting me in a difficult position where it seems I’ll have to push down my concerns for the good of the Republic. I’m sure that’s deliberate. Rowan has become a much better politician than I expected.
I’m just not sure if I’m as good. Can I do everything Aetheria needs, even when it feels increasingly as though it goes against what I believe?