LIII Rain #2
“Your Highness!” One of Magnar’s soldiers comes in, saluting.
Water drips onto the floor from the edge of his coat.
It’s raining. “Everything is set. We’ve hired carts to move them quickly.
The women will come out through the back door.
They are going to put sleeping draught into the guards’ drinks. ”
“Why didn’t they do it years ago?” Khay asks, hitting the wooden wall with his fist. “My sisters are fighters. They would have tried to get out.”
I shake my head. “And where would they hide after dousing their guards? They are Agnidari, Khay, and the city gates lock for the night. They would have been caught and punished.”
We wait. It rains harder and harder, water drumming on the floor upstairs.
The roof is horribly leaky, explaining why the tavern was abandoned.
Khay can’t stay still. Everyone is on edge.
My hands are icy, my heart in my throat, and it doesn’t help when Raduna, then Arvi, hold me and try to breathe some warmth into my chilly palms.
Magnar doesn’t touch me and barely looks my way. I think he resents me.
When the last customers come out and the doors are locked, lights extinguished, I can’t handle the strain anymore. I turn to Arvi, who’s watched the brothel the longest.
“Are the children… exploited?”
His mouth twists in loathing, and he spits on the floor. “Yes. Even those as young as five.”
“Oh gods.”
“Monsters,” Khay growls. “Fucking beasts. We should slaughter them all.”
Magnar releases a long, controlled breath. “This isn’t Roharra. Exploiting children is not unlawful in the Eleven.”
“Well, it should be! It’s fucking common sense. Children are sacred.”
They fall silent, and I let my thoughts swallow me, unable to hold them back.
It takes so much attention to control my behavior, I can’t contain my internal turmoil anymore.
Raduna rubs my arms, his movements even and unthinking.
Arvi presses his face to the boards, looking out on the dark street.
Magnar steps from foot to foot, turning his wrists, stretching his fingers as he gets ready to fight.
I wish I asked about this earlier. Maybe I would have had some peace of mind sooner than this. At the same time, I know I was unable to ask before today. My monsters were too terrifying back then, my fear all consuming.
My terror still gnaws at me with horrible teeth. But at least now, I see it. And out in the light, it’s only half as scary as when I refused to face it.
“So…” I begin, but have to clear my throat because my voice is so hoarse. “There’s… a law… against this? In Roharra?”
Magnar gives me a sharp look. “Yes. Of course. We’ve had it for hundreds of years since the times we closely traded with humans. I think King Dagnar introduced it after he came back from the emperor’s court, where he saw some of god’s priests using young boys. He was appalled.”
It takes all the strength I have to keep my face impassive, my voice even. I can’t distract them before this fight. I can’t show my weakness.
“What’s the punishment for this?”
Magnar’s eyes stay sharp on my face, and I look away, pretending to be disinterested.
“Depends on the crime,” he says at last, voice quiet.
“Usually, the offending body part is removed. Someone who watches children with lecherous intent will have their eyes gauged out. Someone who touches a child, their hands removed. Those who rape children have their cocks and balls cut off, and they are left to bleed out from the wounds. Barbaric, no?”
“Adequate,” I mutter. “And… How is guilt determined? Must it be proven somehow?”
“The victim’s word is enough.”
“And… And what happens if a king is guilty of such a crime?”
Magnar snorts. “What, me? Gods, Caliane. I don’t even know how to answer this. Children are sacred. They must be protected. I have never considered… Where is this coming from?”
“Not you,” I press on, because I’m almost convinced, just need to clear this one detail. “Any king. I mean… Are they exempt from this law?”
There is a short silence before he answers.
“The king is exempt from some laws, but not this one. It never had to be enforced because no ruler of Roharra displayed an inappropriate interest in children. It’s incredibly rare among our race.
I think my father dealt with one case forty years ago. It was a woman. A teacher.”
I close my eyes and release a long, heavy breath. So if I had been born in Roharra, if I were an Agnidari, it would have stopped and my father would have been punished when I first told. There would be no harrowing trial, just his hands cut off, his eyes removed.
But then, it probably wouldn’t have happened at all. Children are sacred in Roharra.
I huff under my breath, wanting to laugh, which is ridiculous. This isn’t funny, but as the tightness in my chest releases, as my body warms and begins to feel, I am almost giddy. Currents of warmth rush through me, and finally, I feel safe. I press my hand to my belly.
We are safe.
“Caliane…” Magnar begins, watching me with eyes like shards of silver, surrounded by lines of tension. He breaks off and shakes his head. “We can do this after. Because we’ll have an after. I promised.”
I take a deep breath and step closer, my heart hammering. Oh, should I say it now? Won’t it distract him? But my heart keeps singing, and there is this giddiness in my veins, fizzy light of relief, of love, of safety.
It was never about Magnar, after all. That shadow, that wall that kept me from being happy was all me, but he broke it down without even knowing.
I take another step closer. “Magnar, I l…”
“Quick!” Arvi hisses. “They are coming out. You have to lead them to the carts.”
Magnar nods, shooting me one last piercing look, and steps out into the rain.