26. Rahzlyn
Rahzlyn
“So this is the mysterious woman you’ve been harboring without my permission, Seer?” the Scorpion queen regent crooned the following morning. “You have quite a bit of explaining to do.”
Seated at the head of an oblong table, the queen regent appeared tall and starkly thin.
Her skin was fairer than Raithe’s, with bone structure sharp enough to cut through rock.
Her silver hair was coiled tightly into a low knot at the nape of her long neck.
She wore an elegant black dress studded with tiny, expensive jewels.
Icy blue eyes pierced mine through narrowed, assessing slits.
I winced from the guards’ brutal grip around my arms. They—a burly man and surly woman—had escorted me from the seer’s observatory to this ornate meeting hall where my fate was to be determined. In the Scorpion court, my glyphs apparently didn’t matter.
Only the queen regent’s opinion did.
“She is our next Chosen princess,” Gregorios declared beside the guards holding me captive. Our mission was to convince the queen regent I was indeed Chosen whilst weaving a believable tale that didn’t connect me back to Gemini—a tale even I still struggled to believe.
“Ha!” she laughed shrilly. “Seer, did you forget that Astrals do not Choose twice in a year? It’s unheard of. They simply don’t have the power for it.”
“I’m aware of historic precedence. Yet here she stands.”
“Do you take me for a fool, Seer?”
The guards curled their fingers deeper into my biceps. “Loosen the grip, will you?” I hissed at them.
The queen regent slammed her fist on the table. “Do you know who you stand before, girl? I am Maryn, queen regent of Scorpio. You do not speak unless spoken to.”
“Apologies—”
She held up a hand. “You are nothing more than a fraud with self-inflicted marks. I’ve seen it before. Everyone knows the laws for impersonating a Chosen. Take her to the dungeon.”
“Queen Regent,” Gregorios implored. “I assure you this is no trick. Scorpio has indeed Chosen another princess for us. Please, listen to her.”
Maryn’s eyes roamed over me in my black smock of a dress, from my messy hair to my bare feet. “You have three minutes to convince me. Release her.”
The guards obeyed, hurling me further into the room.
I righted my balance and faced the queen regent head-on. Several others were seated around the table, examining me with quiet caution.
“Well?” Maryn’s sharp black nails strummed along dark wood. “Do you have a name, imposter? Or are you conveniently mute?”
“Novah Artemis,” I said. My fingers toyed with a loose thread in my skirt.
Gregorios, Raithe, Felaf, Letti and I had spent the night aligning on a story that wouldn’t see us all in the dungeon.
I was exhausted, having not slept a wink, and needed to perform an act worthy of saving our heads.
We couldn’t risk my name tying me to Gemini in any way, so I was forced to create a new identity for myself.
Under pressure, I’d selected my last name based on the story of a goddess my grandfather and I used to read about together.
According to Pahn’s storybooks, Artemis was fierce, independent, and protective—everything I aspired to be.
Knowing such stories were forbidden, I was surprised Gregorios didn’t object to the name. If he recognized it, he didn’t let on.
As for my first name, I could only think of the little girl in the streets of Dioscuri who lost her way. I didn’t know why her name stuck out to me, or why that day was seared into my memory. I supposed I saw myself in her, longing to be with my own mother and father.
The dream of such a reunion was slipping away with every second that passed.
“We did not mean to deceive,” I explained humbly. “Gregorios was hesitant to announce my presence because of historical precedent. And my… Choosing was quite brutal, rendering me unconscious for—”
“Spare me the sob story. Where do you hail from, Novah?”
“Pipma,” I answered.
The room raised quizzical brows. Someone coughed aggressively. I craned my neck to find Felaf standing along the wall, shaking her head minutely. At her side, Raithe’s stony expression gave way to exasperation.
Had I not said it right?
“I meant… Pipirima. I was born in Pipirima.”
Maryn’s glacial gaze cut to Raithe. “Your village. What are the odds of that?”
“Slim,” I answered for both of us, having only been told it was small and resided near the Barrier.
“I haven’t lived there in years. I was only passing through when the Choosing started.
” I glanced at Raithe, finding his penetrating stare on me.
“Thank Gem—thank Scorpio that your guardian was there too.”
“What our new princess says was not luck,” Gregorios affirmed.
“As I told you shortly after Raithe’s abrupt departure weeks ago, Queen Regent, I received a dream from Scorpio encouraging me to send Raithe to his home village.
I thought perhaps it was meant as a respite, but clearly it was because of Novah. ”
If I didn’t know the truth already, I would have taken Gregorios at his word.
“That guardian takes enough unauthorized time to himself.” Maryn sipped her tea. “Even if what you say is true, Seer, I gave no approval for such leave.”
“My deepest apologies, Queen Regent,” Raithe interjected, not meeting her eyes. “I should have obtained your permission first.” On the surface, he appeared remorseful.
His casual detachment said the opposite.
Maryn’s upper lip curled. “How did you find her, Guardian?”
“I was walking out of the temple when I heard a commotion behind one of the shops. It turned out to be Novah, in the midst of her Choosing.”
“Did anyone else witness this?”
“Only me. I immediately recognized what was happening. Given it is half a day’s flight, I barely got her here in time.”
It was frightening how easily Raithe and Gregorios wove the lie.
If I was to be successful, I couldn’t let my emotions overrun me.
I had to play into my new narrative long enough for me to gain not only Maryn’s trust, but especially that of Raithe, Felaf, and Gregorios.
I had inside knowledge, albeit limited, to the apostai.
If I helped them take down the apostai, then maybe an exception would be made and they’d let my family live.
I swallowed. It was foolish to harbor such wishful thinking, but I had no other alternative.
“Pipirima’s lake’s been long since dried up. It’s hardly a skyland to holiday on,” Maryn said. “What were you doing in such a desolate place?”
“I… am a dancer and live a nomadic lifestyle,” I recited from the speech Gregorios prepared. “I grew up travelling with my…” Perhaps it was sleep deprivation or the tonic Letti gave me to ease my pain, but a ruthless idea popped into my head.
I wondered what would happen if I revealed the truth about Gregorios’s dream, and Raithe’s subsequent illicit travels, to Maryn.
Both men were spooked enough by the idea that I realized I could use such knowledge against them—with the promise of keeping my family safe from any sacrificial offerings.
I plastered a demure smile on my face and continued. “Traveling with my grandparents from town to town. They passed tragically in a skyship accident, and I have been on my own since. I know of no other living family member.”
Felaf and Raithe’s disbelieving stares singed my cheek. I’d deviated from the script, risking a lot on a desperate whim.
Suspicion clouded Maryn’s eyes. “Has our seer confirmed that?”
“Not yet,” Gregorios answered smoothly. His graceful composure gave away nothing. I willed my nerves to settle, but they were on the verge of combusting.
How much longer could this go on?
“Tell me about your education. When did you graduate from a Royal Academy, and from which location?”
“I… didn’t.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I never attended an Academy.”
Maryn stewed on my words. “That’s impossible.”
I gestured at myself, wincing from my taut, burning skin. “So are two princesses in a year, apparently.” Sweat trickled down my forehead and at the nape of my neck from the room’s scrutiny. I couldn’t keep it together much longer.
“It is rare, but not impossible,” Gregorios reminded Maryn.
“While the institutions are meant to educate and prepare those for Chosen life, several Scorpion queens did not hail from an Academy. Perhaps Scorpio saw potential in Novah that could not be found in someone from an Academy. Perhaps, Queen Regent,” Gregorios said softly, “it is because of these strange circumstances in which Novah has come to us that we must trust in Scorpio more than ever. I didn’t believe it myself and didn’t want to alarm you should it be false.
But Blood Healing worked on her, and she survived the Choosing.
She could very well be a sign that our darkest days are behind us. ”
Maryn surveyed the room. “You all know the rules in place. I will not tolerate disobedience.” Her eyes settled on me. “Until you prove yourself, until your eyes change to the color of the topaz, I am in charge. You, like everyone else, will obey my command. Am I clear?”
Having just met this woman, it was evident she craved control. No wonder she kept everyone around here on a tight leash like pets. I had no intention of being one of them for long.
“I said…” Maryn leaned forward, resting her weight on her elbows. “Am. I. Clear?”
“As quartz,” I quipped.
She straightened in her chair, displeasure tightening her mouth.
The dynamic between a queen regent and the rest of the court was odd. Here I was, supposedly a Chosen—something I had yet to wrap my mind around—and it was evident I had no real power here.
Maryn’s shoulders loosened. “Now that we’ve established who you are, I suppose you should meet the rest of this court. Across the table is our commander, Alekko.”
A formidable figure stood from his seat. He had deep brown skin and black hair tied in strands down his back. A dark, sleeveless tunic clung to his muscular frame partially covered by layered black armor on his shoulders. With deep-set eyes and a strong brow, I found the man intimidating.