Chapter Thirty-Four
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
It was a fair morning for death.
Edessans swarmed the Aequitas under a cloudless sky, having woken to the horrifying announcement that one of their Tetrarchs had killed another and was to be tried immediately for treason. On top of the insidious scutum conspiracy, it was enough to cause widespread panic.
Shackled in a prison raeda outside the Aequitas, Sarai listened to the furor through the windows, noting with grim pleasure that most people seemed to think there was more to the matter than they had been told. She made sure her illusion was firmly in place. Only Tullus had seen her scars last night, and she needed it to stay that way for now.
The horn sounded with a sonorous boom. Aelius’s ivory-liveried vigiles dragged her out of the carriage, shoving her through the prisoners’ entrance. She kept her features blank, praying that Kadra would be there, too. They’d pulled him out of his cell at least an hour before her, and she dreaded to think of what they could have done in the interim. Killed him, perhaps, with the goal of holding a sham posthumous trial … Stop , she ordered herself. Aelius wouldn’t miss a chance to crow over him in public.
The thought brought little comfort.
She kept her eyes on the ground until they reached the doors that would bring them onto the stage. Raising her head, she sighed in relief at the tattered black and gold robes of the man in front of her. Deep cuts marred Kadra’s broad back but all that mattered was that he was alive .
The double doors into the Aequitas parted, giving her a view of the chaos as people raced to any available space to witness what would be the trial of the century. Never before had the Tetrarchy shattered from within. She swallowed. An hour or less from now, it would all be over. Who would the people hail as victor? Whose corpses would litter the Aequitas’s stage?
“Bring in the accused,” Aelius intoned.
It was time.
She knew the second Kadra moved that something was wrong. His head lolled forward; the vigiles she’d assumed were immobilizing him, were actually dragging him.
She scarcely heard the crowd’s tumult as she and Kadra were forced on their knees at the center of the stage. She let out a broken gasp as she finally caught sight of his face.
They’d all but turned it to meat.
Judging by the way he hunched over, bracing himself against the ground, the rest of him hadn’t fared much better.
The Summoning , she realized in horror. If there was anyone who could pull one off, it was Kadra. So they weakened him.
On the dais, Aelius radiated satisfaction. Cassandane seemed on the verge of hyperventilation. Anek placed a hand on their Tetrarch’s shoulder, meeting Sarai’s gaze with careful blankness. Her heart dropped. Had Cisuré been so spiteful as to not deliver the handkerchief?
“People of Edessa.” Aelius raised a hand for silence, smile slipping when people continued to gasp in horror at Kadra’s condition. “We gather today for the worst of reasons. The worst of all crimes. In the early hours of this morning, I and many of my men witnessed a horrific sight at Sidran Tower, where the man before you murdered Tetrarch Tullus in cold blood.”
The crowd tittered in disbelief. Some rose to their feet, screaming in outrage. Black-robed vigiles formed an inkblot among the masses, Kadra’s people watching him with anguish .
Behind Aelius, Cisuré watched her with cold eyes, head raised in determination. Sarai met her gaze and the other girl stiffened before nodding once.
A wave of relief washed over her. Anek knows.
Aelius looked irritated as the spectators continued to roar their opinions. “The charge is provable.” He turned to Cisuré.
Striding from the dais, she selected one of Aelius’s vigiles and placed a hand on his head. Within seconds, a transparent Kadra and Tullus materialized on the stage.
The audience went still as Kadra wrenched the blade from Tullus’s chest with a twist. Aelius’s smile grew as even Kadra’s most fervent supporters quieted.
Sarai turned to Kadra, wincing at the ragged pulp of his face. But despite being partially swollen shut, those black eyes remained as clear as ever, meeting her with calm acceptance. She trembled. They both knew what would come next. Because Cisuré wouldn’t bother with showing the Aequitas why Kadra had done it.
As expected, the memory ended immediately after Tullus’s death, showing nothing of what preceded it.
Aelius rose. “This man is known for violence. Celebrated for it—it is the reason many of you voted him into power. Are you surprised that he would commit a crime this heinous?” His eyes went hard. “You are all equally to blame for his sins.”
The drop of a pin could echo in the Aequitas’s silence, the air itself immobile.
“Is this man still your hero?” Aelius roared. “Do you still doubt his guilt?”
She held her breath as the audience sank back into their seats. With only two Tetrarchs left of four and Cassandane staying silent, there was no contesting this trial. Not with the evidence Cisuré had put forth.
Aelius masked his jubilation with his customary serenity. “Drenevan bu Kadra, you have forsaken all law and morality as ordained by the gods. And now you must beg for their mercy.” He nodded to Cisuré, who strode to Kadra, eyes alight with a terrible joy.
“Whom will you summon?” she hissed.
The crowd waited with bated breath as Kadra raised his battered head.
And Sarai spoke. “What of the rest of his crimes?”
Kadra went still.
“Sarai of Arsamea.” Aelius glowered at her before turning to Cisuré, who watched him with pleading eyes. “I’m prepared to pardon your complicity in luring Tetrarch Tullus to—”
“Tetrarch Tullus isn’t the only person who was murdered at Sidran Tower,” Sarai announced to the Aequitas. “There was another, four years ago. A girl who dropped to her death. You have all heard of her. Tetrarch Kadra also stands accused of killing her. Will you not give her justice?”
There were sounds of shock, followed by a collective murmuring that swept through the crowd. Yes . They remembered the Sidran Tower Girl.
Aelius looked pleased now. “Unfortunately, owing to a lack of witnesses, we can’t—”
“I witnessed it,” Sarai yelled. “I saw him standing over her body.”
A flurry of gasps ran through the crowd, swelling to a roar of shock. And Kadra, who had barely moved the whole time, swiveled to face her.
“Tetrarch Aelius, one look in my head will tell you if I’m lying.” Sarai risked a glance at Anek, who was watching her intently. “I was here four years ago. I saw everything .”
The louder the crowd roared, the more annoyed Aelius looked. He glanced at her, and she saw his disbelief. He thought she was stalling.
“Probe her and Materialize it,” he finally ordered.
As Cisuré approached, Sarai addressed the Aequitas. “Four years ago, I came to Edessa. I was only fourteen. Utterly unsophisticated. Na?ve. Innocent. Perhaps because of this, I was badly hurt one night.” Aelius’s brows drew together in suspicion. She swallowed, and went on, “I’ve had to wear an illusion ever since. But today, for honesty’s sake, I’ll show you my scars. To prove the truth of what I’ve just told you. ”
And then, Sarai dropped the illusion.
Cassandane’s gasps echoed through the Aequitas as scars unraveled across Sarai’s features, laced her arms, crawled down her neck. She looked at Kadra and saw something shatter in his black gaze. He’d nearly pieced it together. But it was Aelius’s reaction she needed. She needed him to balk, to put his foot in his mouth while his credibility was still weak from the scutum trial.
Turning to the dais where Aelius stared blankly at her, she raised her chin. “I’m ready, if Petitor Cisuré wishes to begin.”
The other girl eagerly approached and raised a hand to Sarai’s forehead.
“Stop!” Aelius’s command was a roar. He hurriedly masked his features in calm, but there was a wildness in his eyes.
Sarai smiled. He hadn’t bothered to confirm that she was dead that night. Everything has a price .
“Tetrarch Aelius?” Cisuré looked bewildered.
“Step away.” For the first time, he looked shaken. There was a pale sheen to his skin. “There’s no need for a Probe. She’s lying.”
Cisuré dropped her hand. “I don’t understand.”
Neither did the crowd, by their muttering. Good.
“Let us see it!” one brave soul shouted.
Aelius’s nostrils flared. “People of Edessa. This is a cheap trick. She and Kadra are involved .” His voice dripped with scorn. “She’s buying time—”
“For what? We’re both clearly incapable of escape,” Sarai pointed out. A few people hooted.
“Enough!” Aelius roared, turning to Cisuré. “We start with his Summoning.” His voice brooked no disobedience. “Then hers.”
Cisuré’s face collapsed in horror. She raced up the dais. Her pleas were met with Aelius’s stony stare.
Fighting to stay calm, Sarai turned to Anek and widened her eyes. Please . I won’t ask more of you than this.
Grim-faced, Anek nudged Cassandane, who swallowed thickly. “I’ll allow it. ”
“You’ll do nothing of the sort!” Aelius yelled.
Cassandane’s chin rose. “As one of two remaining Tetrarchs, I have every right to see the testimony of a witness.”
“Tetrarch Cassandane, do not try my patience.”
“Tetrarch Aelius, you agreed that your Petitor would Probe her. Why have you suddenly changed your mind?”
The crowd looked on, shocked at the sight of their leaders in utter disarray. One dead, one bound, two at war with each other. Aelius had lost his initial hold on those present, and he knew it.
Now show them who you really are, Aelius .
He swiveled back toward Sarai, eerily calm. Then, he struck. A thousand thin strands of lightning shot from his hands toward her. A latticed shield enclosed her just as swiftly, sparks arcing across the surface as it absorbed the attack.
Breathless, she turned to the only person who could have done it: Kadra, coughing blood, his hand flung in her direction, holding the dome steady. He struggled to turn his head toward her.
Was it you? his eyes asked.
She nodded, fighting back tears, and had the horror of seeing him crumple, head bowed.
Look up , she wanted to plead. This is not the vengeance I wanted.
The Aequitas was utter chaos. The crowd’s outraged protests, Cassandane shielding herself from Aelius’s barrage of attacks. Amid it all, Anek darted from the dais.
With a strained groan, Kadra widened his shield, creating an opening. Anek slipped in and gripped Sarai’s head.
“Materialize it,” she whispered. “Let them see all of it.”
Over Aelius’s roar, Anek plunged into her mind, brow creasing with strain as they sifted through Sarai’s memories until they found the newly recovered threads from the night of the convivium.
Cisuré’s and Tullus’s figures formed onstage, the transparent contours of memory untouched by Aelius’s attacks. The crowd barely breathed as they beheld the ballroom. They roared their outrage when Tullus drugged her, and fell silent hearing the scheme she’d witnessed in the closet. As the Fall played out. And as the man who’d ordered that she be given a new face came and went.
There was utter silence when the silhouettes vanished .
Then, a wave of people rose, screaming, howling, cursing as they surged over the railings onto the lower tiers, thousands descending from all corners of the Aequitas. The crowds stormed the stage, heading for a frozen Aelius, whose vigiles fought them off. White-faced, Anek let go of Sarai’s head, looking close to retching. On the dais, Cisuré stared at Aelius as if she’d never seen him before.
For a moment, Sarai almost pitied her, in spite of all the damage she had done. But it was only for a moment. Steeling herself, she glanced to her left and saw Kadra staring at the ground, eyes blank. Her lips parted, though she could barely conceive of what to say, when metal crashed to the ground behind her. She jumped aside as another broken railing hit the ground. Several enraged citizens hefted it, throwing it into the wall of Aelius’s vigiles. Edessa was baying for his blood.
Kadra’s head whipped up. He bit back a curse seconds before the shield around Sarai flared to extend across the mob in a stunning sweep of gold, right as Aelius seemed to recover. Then everything happened at once.
Cisuré screamed Aelius’s name. Cassandane yelled for her vigiles to assist her. Aelius’s hands dropped to the sword at his hip while he shot forth a bolt of lightning at Sarai, nearly searing her vision. And she knew what was going to happen before it did.
“Kadra!”
Aelius’s second bolt snapped against the shield in a burst of light, seconds before his blade buried itself in Kadra’s chest.
The shield quivered as she dropped to her knees. It trembled as a sound of raw agony left Kadra’s throat. But it held until Aelius’s attack was absorbed before vanishing, leaving only the man on his knees before her. Head bowed. A blade through his chest.
No . She shook her head. This isn’t happening.
“Sarai, we need to get out of here.” Anek had recovered their composure. “Come! Before Aelius strikes again!”
The man in question folded his arms as horrified silence fell in the Aequitas.
“Looks like your champion is dead.” Wiping a trail of sweat from his brow, Aelius cast an inquiring glance at the people who’d so eagerly mobbed the stage and now cowered away from him. “Really, what harm did I do to you in asking you to trust the gods? If anything, I enriched your lives. I deserve to be formalized as a Saint for that alone.”
“Aelius,” Cassandane began, only for a serrated blade of lightning to slam into her shoulder. The older Tetrarch gritted her teeth in pain, but a translucent shield of crimson lightning flared to life with a flick of her wrist, encircling Sarai, Anek, and the crowd. “That’s enough.”
Aelius gave her a dismissive glance. “You can’t take me, Cassandane.” He looked out at the crowd. “Wipe out the lot of them, blame Kadra, and life goes on.”
They were going to die. Like Tullus and K—
No. He’s just injured. Nothing you can’t heal.
Uncaring of what was happening around her, she crouched before him and stroked his cheek.
“I healed you once. I can do it again.” She felt for his pulse. Waiting.
Waiting.
Can’t feel his pulse if you’re shaking , she reminded herself. “I’ll have to remove the blade first. So—”
“Sarai, stop.” Hands gripped her shoulders, gently pulling her away. She struggled against the hold, but it only tightened.
“Don’t do this to yourself.” Anek’s voice trembled, features tormented. “He’s gone. ”
“He’s not gone! He needs a healer. I can help!”
“Look at him,” Anek said quietly. “ Look at him and tell me what you see.”
Frustrated, Sarai turned to Kadra, swallowing at his pulpy face, at the burns Aelius had inflicted. His robes hung in tatters, bisected at his chest where the hilt of Aelius’s sword jutted out. And he wasn’t moving.
Her heart cracked. “No, I don’t accept that …” She knelt before the man who’d protected her only moments ago and shook him by the shoulders. “He wouldn’t just go without a word!”
Anek pulled her into a tight hug. “Sarai, I’m so sorry.”
Aelius shrugged. “Not to worry. You’re all about to head where he did.”
He stretched out a hand, lightning forming within, and she numbly waited for it to strike her, the panic in Cassandane’s eyes indicating that even she didn’t know if her shield could withstand Aelius.
A red streak appeared across Aelius’s cheek and the fire winked out as the dagger hit the ground behind him. He touched the cut, and turned slowly, looking strangely hurt, before his features hardened.
Cisuré’s eyes were unseeing, glazed, a blonde marionette whose strings had just been severed, arm still outstretched from the throw.
“Not you too.” The fire winked back to life in his palm as he gripped Cisuré’s neck. “Not after all these years.” Cisuré’s lips parted in a scream just as Cassandane lurched to her feet, freeing her sword from its baldric.
“Stand down,” she snarled.
Aelius glowered at both women, webs of fire building around him.
It’s all gone to hell. Sarai numbly gripped Kadra’s cold hands. “You can’t be gone. You—you said you belonged to me.” Her voice broke.
Anek looked close to tears. “Sarai, please let him go—”
A manic laugh left her at that. “He didn’t let me go! And I hunted him—hated him for so long. We both had it wrong and ruined our lives over what he did.” She pointed at Aelius, who was now dueling with Cassandane and Cisuré. “And now the gods do this ? ”
The gods. A single thought separated from her grief with complete, piercing conviction. She tore free of Anek’s grip, pulling their dagger from its sheath as she did.
“Whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t,” they bit out with a glance at where Cisuré had escaped the fracas to flee down the dais toward them.
“Sarai, I’m so sorry,” she sobbed, then paused at the dagger in Sarai’s hand. “What are you doing?”
“This is my decision.” The words were steel. Sarai held Anek’s gaze. “Don’t you dare take this from me.”
With a grim nod, Anek stepped away, pulling Cisuré with them when she tried to grab Sarai.
“You’ve done enough,” they hissed.
Sarai didn’t look at what was happening on the dais as she sliced her hand open from palm to elbow. She needed blood for this.
The runes from Admia’s Summoning two weeks ago returned to her with absolute clarity. Daubing a finger in her blood, she drew the first one. Sword . A hysterical laugh slipped from her at the knowledge that each one was far too apropos for the violence of the last hour.
Flame, strength, heart, blood, end . She painted each one onto the Aequitas’s floor with the dim shape of Cisuré screaming in the background and Aelius battling Cassandane—none of whom she could be bothered with at the moment.
With every stroke, her chest tightened as it had four years ago, breath growing painful as magic drained from her in waves. But pain was an old friend now, and she paid it no heed.
Unity was the second-to-last rune. Then, modrai. The invisible band around her chest constricted as black flames flared across the Aequitas’s stage. For the third time in her life, Sarai sat in a mess of her own blood.
And waited for Death to come.