Corvid Whispers (The Amethyst Wrath #1)

Chapter 1

Seda

Today was the first day of the sixth month, and the Wyrd alarms hadn’t gone off yet. Seda’s heart fluttered as if it were a trapped moth, its pattering wings thrashing against the confines of her chest.

As the soft hum of the computer vibrated beneath her fingers, she stared at the screen with trembling hands. The words in front of her blurred together as she read.

She anxiously checked the clock and saw it was noon. The alarms could go off at any moment, and she needed to be ready. Her gaze shifted from the clock to Cahir, noticing he had fallen asleep.

He was constantly nodding off at work, and she usually fought the urge to throw something at him, but this time she relented. She threw her last mandarin, which hit his forehead, then ricocheted across the empty room before finally landing with a slight thud in the far corner.

Cahir stirred and looked up at her with a lazy, dimpled smile, his lips and sleepy eyes curling upward. “You actually got me this time.”

“Wake up! You’re going to get us into trouble!” she snapped, jumping up from her uncomfortable seat and giving him a sharp glare.

Cahir chuckled and rubbed his forehead as he looked up at the harsh fluorescent lights, letting out an annoyed groan. He looked back at Seda, and his smile returned.

“Not if I’m caught up,” he replied, his emerald eyes sparkling with mischief.

She sat back down and tapped a random key on her keyboard, the letter multiplying across the screen. “What if we get selected today?”

“I won’t let that happen,” Cahir stated.

She bit her nail. That sounded reassuring, but what could he do? Their names were now in the selection queue.

As Cahir stood up and walked around their shared desk, he gently placed his hands on her shoulders and began to massage them. She closed her eyes, feeling her tension ease as she sank into his warmth, exhaling slowly through her nose.

“Thanks,” she said. Cahir was her best friend and always there to help calm her frayed nerves.

She smiled at herself as she thought about how the mandarin struck his forehead. Usually, he caught the objects she threw before they made contact with him. She really did get him good that time.

They remained in silence as they listened to the subtle ticking of the clock.

The piercing Wyrd alarm shattered their peace, jolting both of them out of their thoughts. Seda’s smile fell, and she felt her anxiety flood back in, like she was balancing on a tightrope with hope just beyond her reach.

By the time they arrived at the Palatium, sweat clung to Seda’s shirt from the scorching sun shining down through the city’s protective dome.

She panted from their brisk walk and caught the smell of the stale air, as if the crumbling Palatium walls were exhaling from years of repetitive, painful memories.

Unease filled Seda’s vision as she scanned the crowd that had packed into the stadium.

Her eyes softened as she spotted children quietly crying in the scorching sun, their fragile skin battling the heat.

Growing up in Joro, children learned from a young age to keep their complaints to themselves, as misbehavior often resulted in severe consequences.

Her gaze landed on the banner proudly displayed on the Palatium tower, showcasing the years since the victory. It had been nearly a thousand years since the gods abandoned their planet, Xyberus, forcing everyone to find refuge beneath the dome.

Just as the sirens were in the middle of their song, they suddenly stopped, and the entire crowd fell eerily silent. Seda froze with her hand trembling as it linked with Cahir’s.

“Everything’s going to be okay, Sed,” Cahir whispered, gently squeezing her hand. His chestnut hair clung to his forehead, and his eyebrows furrowed with concern as he gazed down at her.

A line of Rozzers surrounded the stadium walls, backed by brown, dried moss that had died years ago, stuck between the large, sand-colored bricks of the Palatium. The Rozzers stood rigidly, their dark red uniforms crisp, and their eyes methodically sweeping the crowd for any signs of misbehavior.

A few minutes passed in silence until the creak of a door echoed, and a short, stout man stepped out from the Palatium doorway, clapping his hands as he headed to the podium.

“Attention, all!” he announced into the microphone, his voice reverberating through the speakers. “As you all know, I’m Advisor Teivel, and I am thrilled to kick off today’s events.” His sharp eyes scanned the crowd, and a slight smile crept across his face. “Let us begin!”

A Rozzer stepped out of the doorway, forcefully shoving a man from behind.

A rope was tied around the man’s wrists, and blood trickled from a wound on his forehead.

The man was struggling with an injured leg, and he stumbled forward and fell.

A cry of pain echoed through the stadium as the Rozzer kicked him in frustration.

Seda’s eyes widened, and she instinctively bit her fingernail with her free hand. The sight of blood and pain on the man’s face was too much to bear, and she quickly looked away.

She wished everyone would follow the rules. When you followed the rules, you didn’t get hurt.

A wave of fear swept over her as she recalled that, for the first time in her adult life, she had broken the rules today. It wasn’t because she didn’t try hard enough, but the regulations in Joro didn’t account for that.

“And what do we have here?” Teivel asked with a grin. “An absentee from today’s festivities?”

The man cried as he lay on the floor. “I’m no absentee, sir,” he slurred, blood dripping down his chin. “I was making my way to the stadium from the Murkway, but the sirens stopped before I could arrive in time.”

“You see…” Teivel started, his eyes sparkling with delight. “You’re considered an absentee if you don’t make it inside these walls before the sirens stop. That’s one of our many important rules.”

When the sirens for the Wyrd sounded, it was expected that everyone would stop what they were doing and attend.

Sometimes the sirens went off right after the morning prayer, sometimes in the middle of the afternoon, and other times a few hours before curfew, which was the scariest time for Seda to hear them.

Hearing the alarm then left little time to get home before the Rozzers rounded up anyone still out.

“You’re today’s first rehabilitation member.” Teivel smiled like a wolf scenting its prey.

“My wife and I have had two children before turning thirty! My babies, please, sir. My wife!” the man bawled, pleading for himself. His voice was hoarse as he begged.

“Rozzer, please process this man and bring him into the cell.”

The Rozzer seized the man by his ropes and dragged him across the platform, snatching his ID card and tossing his injured body into the cell, slamming the door shut.

A woman in the crowd let out a piercing cry and rushed forward. Seda’s eyes quickly shifted back to Teivel, her stomach tightening.

“My husband!” the woman screamed. “He was coming!” She dropped to her knees and sobbed as she clasped her hands together, pointing them toward the stage. Two little girls ran up behind her and clung to her, their cries blending with hers.

Please don’t hurt her. Please don’t take her, too.

Seda’s mind flooded with memories of her coworker, Esper, who went to the Camp for a similar reason. Esper’s loved one, Diantha, was collected during the Wyrd, and Esper resisted, calling Joro a tyrannical society.

It was the first time Seda had ever heard those terms, and when Cahir explained what they meant, she disagreed with them, but that was before their time ran out.

Seda brushed away a tear that slipped as those memories overwhelmed her mind.

Cahir gave her hand another reassuring squeeze.

“These are not my rules. I would suggest you pull yourself together before the same fate comes to you,” replied Teivel as his eyes softened.

“I would hate to see you end up in the Camp, as you have proven yourself valuable to society.” He looked at her daughters and back to her.

“Your husband has an opportunity to prove himself loyal to us for this disagreeable behavior.”

For Seda, the Camp was a terrifying prospect. She knew it was her one shot at proving she was worthy of rejoining Joro’s society if selected, but the truth was, nobody really knew what went on there. And Seda had no desire to find out firsthand.

She was mostly happy with her life in Joro, by Cahir’s side. She simply yearned to have a child to share their life with.

Teivel looked away from the woman and back to the crowd. “We cannot tolerate absentees or misbehavior. Those are the rules.” He waved his hand to the Rozzers, telling them not to interfere with the woman or her children.

The Rozzers, who had started to step toward her from their spot on the wall, moved back to their original position, their swords falling back to their sides.

The woman remained kneeling on the ground with her daughters, their cries softening into sniffles. A few bystanders helped lift them off the rocky ground. Dirty streaks now marked the girls’ faces as they brushed away tears, and dust now covered their worn-out dresses.

“Now, for the important part,” said Teivel with a dramatic pause to ensure that all were listening. “But first, our prayer in honor of our lord, Lord Mordred.” Teivel nodded his head to the Rozzers on the landing above. The Rozzers turned around and flipped the switch to play the song.

The seraphic voice of the same prayer they heard each morning began to fill the speakers across the city, the music an eerie reminder of why everyone was still alive.

Oh, our lord, Mordred,

protects us from these evils that consume,

and prevents the Monsters who dwell,

from us meeting our gloom.

The gods wished us farewell,

but his love allows Joro to bloom.

When the prayer ended, Teivel perked up. “And now…” he paused again before raising his voice, “Lord Mordred!”