CHAPTER FOURTEEN
"You seem troubled," Marcus says as we stand at the door to my rooms, getting ready to head to another session of the Senate. He touches my face lightly. "Whatever it is, maybe I can help with it."
“Just a little tired,” I say. “I didn’t get much sleep.”
“And I didn’t even stay over in your rooms,” Marcus replies with a smile.
He raises an eyebrow. “Should I be worried that your heart has been captured by another? I heard a rumor that you visited Ironhold. Does that mean you were there picking out the latest gladiators? Have you decided to embrace the old model of noble patronage?”
He’s joking, but the very idea of it makes a knot of anger settle in my stomach. The system of patronage was just one thing I hated about the old games.
“You know I would never do that, right?” I say. “I experienced everything that was worst about the system of patronage.”
Marcus nods. "Of course, I understand that. Although I also believe that it was your patron, Lady Elara, who taught you much of what it meant to be a beast whisperer? Without that, you might never have survived the Colosseum."
“I was lucky. A lot of people weren’t. And patrons wanting to push them into their beds didn’t help.”
Marcus pauses, leaning against the wall.
“You know that’s not all the system of patronage was, don’t you, Lyra?
Originally, it was designed so that gladiators without power and noble connections could be raised up within Aetherian society.
It was a way to bring them into Aetheria and make it more powerful. ”
“But it became something else,” I insist. “Something I will never be a part of.”
“I understand,” Marcus says, although I wonder if he truly does. “If not that, though, what were you doing at Ironhold?”
I wonder how much I should say. Should I tell him about what I saw last night? Should I confront him about the involvement of his friend Lucius? Does Marcus know about what was going on at the Gilded Swan, and if so, what does that mean for the two of us?
I know I can't confront him like that, though. Not right now. As long as no one else knows what I know, I can keep gathering evidence and keep looking for a way to stop Domitian's efforts. The moment what I'm doing is out in the open, I will face much more concerted opposition.
Which means I must hold the information back from Marcus, even if it means lying.
“I was inspecting the safety measures for the games,” I say. “I heard that some of the fighters were training up there now, and I wanted to see for myself, to make sure that they weren’t circumventing everything we worked to put in place.”
“And were they?” Marcus asks.
I shake my head.
“Then you have nothing to worry about,” he says, putting his hand on my shoulder. “Now, come on. We can’t be late for the session.”
We hurry through the palace, heading for the Senate chamber.
Once, it would have felt so easy to just be beside him like this.
Marcus and I have grown close in the last six months, to the point where I was starting to imagine that there might be so much more for us, a life, a family.
But I’m uneasy now. I’m worried by what’s happening in Aetheria and by the possibility that he might have some part in it.
We reach the senate chamber, and even as we do so, I know something is wrong. Lady Cassandra and the Arborian delegation are there, along with a couple of people dressed in poor clothes who look as though they could have come from a village just like mine.
"What's this?" Marcus asks as we hurry to take our seats.
“Our visitors have come to us with more news,” Rowan says. His brow furrows. “Bad news.”
“What news?” Marcus asks.
Lady Cassandra answers. “We received word from a village on your border with Arboria. From your side of the border.” She looks at each of the senators individually. “Lands you claim are yours to protect.”
There’s a note of threat there, as if she might lay claim to the lands if we aren’t careful.
“The story is the same as the ones from our lands,” Lady Cassandra says. “A beautiful woman with dark hair and violet eyes came into the village. She found one of the people there. She whispered words into his ear and took him away into the forest.”
“One of the people?” I say.
“A young man named Gar,” Lady Cassandra says. “They tell me he used to talk to the creatures around the village.”
I swallow back sudden discomfort. Being able to understand animals and speak with them is one of the most minor talents of beast whisperers like myself, the first sign that someone might possess such magic.
For most people, the power doesn’t develop beyond that, but even so, there’s no denying the similarity.
"This is Selene Ravenscroft," I say because someone has to say it. “She’s escalating, coming this way.”
"We can't know that for certain," Domitian says across the chamber.
“The description fits her,” I insist.
“But it could also fit other people,” Senator Yarrow says. “She was in Arboria. Why would she come back.”
“We need to investigate further,” I say. “We need to be ready for the threat Selene represents. How far is this village?”
Lady Cassandra considers the question for a moment or two. “A day’s hard ride, no more than that.”
I stand. "Then we should head there. We should look at this village and try to find where Selene Ravenscroft has gone. We should take guards to try to capture her."
“You want us, the Senate, to go to some village?” Domitian says.
“Tree Edge,” Lady Cassandra says. “Its name is Tree Edge.”
Domitian waves that away like it doesn’t matter. “We’re senators of Aetheria. We need to focus on the city. This event is unfortunate, but if someone has persuaded some young man to leave with her, that’s hardly a matter for us.”
I look around, hoping to find support. I look to Rowan.
“You must see how dangerous this could be,” I say.
“If it’s what they claim,” Rowan replies, “then it might be a problem in the future. But these are the fringes of our lands, and I’m the first senator. I can’t just leave to deal with rumors that an exile has returned.”
I look around for any other support. I look to Marcus, but Marcus is also shaking his head.
“There are too many problems here in the city,” Marcus says. “We’re making progress, but we can’t afford to be distracted. If I were to leave now, too many things would fall apart.”
"Then I'll go alone if I need to," I say.
No one protests that. If anything, Domitian and those around him look pleased, perhaps knowing that even a day without me in the city is a day in which they can advance their own agendas.
In that moment, I understand why Rowan doesn’t feel able to leave. Aetheria has so many complex factions, so many different elements pulling in different directions, that stepping away risks things here shifting in ways I won’t want.
But I also can't just stand by while Selene Ravenscroft targets those like me. If she really is out there, taking beast whisperers, then she's a threat on a scale that could harm many more people. I need to find out what's going on and stop her if I can.
I walk from the senate chamber, heading for the ante-chambers beyond. I can't quite believe that no one has supported me in the Senate, even as I understand all too well the reasons why they haven't.
Lady Cassandra comes through with the rest of her delegation. She doesn’t look happy.
"Your republic is full of fools," she says, in a tone that dares me to challenge her on it. "They don't see real threats because they're too busy squabbling with one another."
“Are you including me in that?” I ask.
She smiles tightly. “You’re more interesting. But even you’re caught up in the petty politics of this place. There’s a reason Arboria has a queen, not some council of bickering nobles trying to run it.”
It seems clear she still isn’t convinced by Aetheria’s system of government.
“Life under the emperor was worse,” I say.
“I’m sure you think so,” Lady Cassandra replies. “Just as I’m also sure there are those who would happily have another emperor, who are probably working towards it even now.”
It’s far too close to everything I’ve seen in the city, and it’s the one thing that makes me afraid to leave.
“When will you be ready to go?” Lady Cassandra asks.
“In the morning,” I say.
She nods. “That’s acceptable. My party will be leaving then.”
“All of you?” I say. “I thought you were establishing an embassy.”
Lady Cassandra shrugs. "We're done for now.
I've seen everything I need to see in your kingdom.
I know who the people with influence are, and I've spoken to everyone my queen wishes me to speak with.
You really are quite weak, you know. It's possible my queen will order us to invade simply because you aren't capable of governing yourselves. "
She talks about the possibility of an invasion as casually as if she were discussing her invitation to me to attend her quarters.
“If you do invade, you won’t find it easy,” I say. “We still have powerful magic. We still have plenty of people who’ll fight for us.”
Lady Cassandra looks me over. “I wonder, do you really believe you’re that strong?
Or are you just trying to convince me? Maybe you’ll have a chance to prove that part as we travel.
I’ll meet you at the city gates at dawn.
If you’re late, I will assume that no one in Aetheria cares enough about its people to protect them.
And we will claim Tree Edge for our own. ”
That explains why she’s so interested in Selene Ravenscroft. It isn’t just that there’s an exile from Aetheria posing a threat in Arboria. It’s also that Arboria thinks this situation shows that Aetheria’s territories are ripe for the taking.
I head back to my rooms, preparing what I'll need for the journey ahead, picking out traveling clothes and boots, a spear, and a short sword. If I do meet with Selene Ravenscroft, I won't do so unarmed.
I think about telling Alaric what’s going on.
He’ll understand the danger the former Arch-Magistrate represents.
But I’m not sure if I can contact him. He didn't give me any way to do so.
I try looking out through the birds of the city, looking for any sign of him in the market or near the entrances to the crypts.
But I've already seen that he can use his illusions to change his face, and he could be anywhere within the city.
I would have to wait for him to contact me, and I'm not sure that Aetheria has that time.