Chapter Two – Mira
Chapter Two
Mira
At dawn, the full extent of my failure would become known. Three thousand Kalurian warriors.
Three thousand.
For months they had been stationed in a nearby field for our protection, maintaining a respectful distance. Now they encircled the Temple like a ring of steel, their hands on their swords. Fully prepared to cut down anyone who tried to resist V?lund’s authority.
I met their eyes as I passed through their ranks. Most were warriors I had sparred with, warriors who had pledged their loyalty to me and listened as I outlined military campaigns. I hoped they remembered that now. I hoped they looked at me and felt the shame of their actions.
From ruler to glorified prisoner , I thought bitterly. How quickly loyalty shifts .
‘No one else in or out,’ Thoren told me, his voice a harsh rasp. ‘Nari’s orders.’
I paused on the well-worn sandstone steps. Behind me, I felt Jadis and Elian move closer – guarding my back.
‘Surely the priestesses can–’
‘No exceptions.’
I held Thoren’s gaze, refusing to be intimidated by his hulking build or the emerald tattoos on his pale cheeks, marking him as chieftain of clan Asbj?rn.
‘Until V?lund makes his decision, I am still your queen. And as your queen,’ I said loudly, my words carrying to his companions, ‘I am ordering you to make an exception. Those people out there–’ I nodded at the makeshift dwellings spanning from the Temple walls to the forest beyond– ‘depend on food and water from the Temple stores. Are you willing to have their deaths on your conscience?’
‘V?lund will be here soon enough.’ Thoren folded his muscular arms. ‘He can decide what happens to them then.’
I was so angry I could have taken his axe and gutted him. The Kalurian refugees had been ousted from their homes in the capital – men and women and children who had come here for my help, my protection , and now . . .
I had failed them. Just like I had failed Darius.
But I would fix it. Even if it meant crossing a line I had hoped not to.
Straightening my shoulders, I entered the Temple complex.
Large doors inlaid with bronze carvings opened into a pillared courtyard, surrounded by colonnades.
During the day, the banquet hall and work spaces were filled with cooks busily preparing meals, artisans crafting wood and metal in their workshops, and servants filling store rooms with grain and other necessities.
But at night everything was dark and still, people having retired to their living quarters on the level above.
‘You should get some rest, Mira,’ Jadis said to me, her exhaustion obvious. Her hands were covered in dirt; she and Elian had helped me bury Darius in the forest close to the Temple. ‘There’s nothing that can be done tonight.’
She was wrong. High above, in the Inner Sanctum, Velanthe would be waiting for me. It had been bad enough seeing the disappointment in Nari’s face. It would be even worse to see it in the high priestess’s.
But if tonight had shown me anything, it was that Velanthe was right. If I was going to be a true queen, I needed to embrace every advantage at my disposal. Even the ones I found unpalatable.
‘Go on without me,’ I told Jadis, already turning away from her and Elian. ‘I’ll see you both tomorrow.’
A set of double doors barred the way to the main domed Temple – almost as tall as the mountain it was built into and fashioned from dark basalt stone.
The inside wasn’t any more inviting. A faint smell of sulphur wafted from the cavernous chamber far below, where priestesses cleansed themselves in the hot springs before ceremonies.
Firelit wall sconces illuminated my way as I followed the curving staircase upwards.
The whisper of silk alerted me before the priestesses came into view, their youthful faces cast in a faint reddish glow. They bowed their heads as I passed into the Inner Sanctum – an imposing expanse of polished black stone, with towering columns holding up a high ceiling.
It had been designed to dwarf those who entered, but as I walked through the echoey chamber, I felt even more insignificant than usual. The Sorceress’s life-sized statue dominated the space, a reminder of the legacy I had to live up to. A legacy I was falling short of.
Velanthe was waiting for me at the base of the statue.
She raised her hands in ceremonial greeting and the material of her dress moved with her, attached to her arms by fitted black bracelets.
As high priestess, she was the only member of the Temple permitted to wear the Sorceress’s colour, striking ebony silk criss-crossing her chest before falling to the floor in slitted panels.
In front of her was an obsidian altar, usually overflowing with blood offerings.
Tonight, a person was laid out on it instead.
Swallowing down apprehension, I asked, ‘Did anyone see you take him from the dungeons?’
‘No.’ Velanthe set the small bowl on the altar, her auburn braids snaking over her shoulders. ‘I made sure there were no witnesses.’
The words chilled me, because there was only one reason she needed to be concerned with witnesses. But I had faced enough death today that the prospect of sending one more soul to the afterlife . . . well, it was still horrifying, but no longer unthinkable.
Not like it had been months earlier, when Velanthe had first informed me of the price blood magic demanded.
I watched the faint rise and fall of the man’s chest. As I did, I noticed the smudged, bloody line across his forehead.
My eyes flicked to the bowl Velanthe had set down. The liquid inside was dark and thick.
‘I have tried to be patient with you, Kasmira,’ Velanthe said, each word as sharp as the blades she kept hidden on her person. ‘But we’re out of time. Your actions tonight may well have cost us everything.’
I didn’t try to make excuses. The simple truth was this: Roran had outplayed me.
He had bargained on me choosing to act with my heart, rather than my head.
By choosing Darius, I had lost sight of my position as queen.
And I had lost Darius anyway – along with Nari and quite possibly any chance I had at saving the Kalurian people.
‘I’m glad you appreciate the severity of the situation.’ Velanthe’s reddish wrist tattoos caught the light as she picked up a ceremonial dagger. She offered it to me, palm up. ‘Perhaps now you will be willing to take the necessary steps to win .’
Even though I had known it would come to this, I hesitated to take the dagger. ‘There has to be another way.’
Velanthe’s eyes met mine, as dark and unfathomable as the Sorceress’s statue. ‘There isn’t.’
I stared down at the unconscious Ravalian Warrior.
He looked nothing like the Kalurian I had killed during the third Trial, but for a moment that was who I saw in front of me: Governor Halvor, his face filled with resolve as he begged me to end it, to survive another day and find a way to help his – our – people.
Fight for them, Kasmira. Promise me.
By killing this man, I would be keeping my promise. But if that was the case, why did I feel as though I was moving further and further away from the ruler I had wanted to be? The ruler my mother had envisioned?
‘You’re doing the right thing, Kasmira,’ Velanthe murmured, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
I wished I could believe that. I wished I had another choice.
But now that Roran had offered V?lund what he had always wanted – the Wilds acknowledged as an independent territory, under his leadership – how long would it be until he handed me over to Roran for execution?
That thought frightened me less than the next. What would happen to the priestesses and refugees who had sought shelter at the Temple? Would V?lund show them mercy, or would he turn them over to Roran as well?
It almost didn’t matter. Even if V?lund did show them mercy, it would buy the priestesses and refugees time – nothing more. Roran would go back on his promises and destroy the Wilds, unless I was strong enough to stop him.
Satisfaction gleamed in Velanthe’s eyes as I took the dagger and sliced it across my palm.
I knelt at the Warrior’s side, trying not to notice his dark hair and lightly tanned skin. Trying – and failing – not to be reminded of Aric. But this man was a killer, not my former lover. He was every bit as responsible for the deaths of my people as Roran was.
I have to do this , I thought as I cut his hand and brought our bleeding palms together.
The moment our blood touched, my eyes fluttered closed, hazy images forming in my mind. Flashes of memory. Not mine , I told myself, forcing them down as guilt threatened to swallow me.
When my eyes reopened, it was as if I could see through his skin. Reddish tendrils were everywhere, infesting his blood. I was connected to all of them; his body and mind under my complete control.
As if from a long distance away, I heard Velanthe’s voice. ‘Remember, it’s all about control and intention.’
I held onto her words, willing myself to focus. My gaze went to the pulse pounding in his neck. His heart – pumping blood through his veins.
I willed it to slow.
That was all it took – one thought. His heartbeat stuttered, its natural rhythm faltering–
Emotion crashed over me like a wave, the man’s mind waking up to what was happening a second too late to stop it. Panic, fear, confusion – I felt everything he did as he fought me uselessly for control, his heart straining, fighting to keep beating even as I willed it to stop completely.
The wave of emotion crested, and the current swept us both under.
I dreamt in red.
‘Drink this.’
Velanthe’s pale face swam into view. She was holding something to my lips – something smoking.
I spluttered at the resulting burn and shifted into a seated position. I was still in the Inner Sanctum, though it was no longer night-time; sunlight filtered through the balcony at the far end of the cavernous space.
‘How long was I out?’
‘Almost a full day,’ Velanthe said. ‘I warned you; blood magic demands much from the wielder. I’ll make up more tonic and have it sent to your chambers to help with the after-effects. But don’t rely on it. Its numbing properties can be addictive.’
I nodded, biting back a gasp at the pain in my skull. ‘Did it work? Is he . . .’
‘His soul is at peace,’ Velanthe said, her voice soft. ‘And now that the sacrifice has been made, you will be able to use your blood magic at will. The priestesses would be more than eager to play a role in your training – I’m sure I can find a few volunteers.’
Of that, I had no doubt. The priestesses were desperate for me to embrace my magic – not just because of their Temple ideology, but because they believed Kalure’s survival depended on it. Still–
‘No volunteers,’ I said firmly. ‘Not after what I did to Odessa.’
A trace of impatience entered Velanthe’s voice. ‘Odessa would be the first to thank you. You took away her emotional pain – and replaced it with purpose.’
I thought of how I had tried to comfort her in the wake of her parents’ deaths – of how uncontrollably my blood magic had risen up. Trying to impress on Odessa that she was safe, that she had finally found somewhere she belonged.
Purpose? I wondered, recalling how deferential she was to Velanthe now, how deeply she believed in the Sorceress and the Temple. How fiercely she believed in me . Or servitude?
‘We only have a short window to rectify your mistake with Nari,’ the high priestess continued. ‘V?lund is already on his way, and he must stand with us – or Kalure will fall, the Wilds and the Temple along with it.’
My throat went dry, because I understood what she was really asking. ‘You know how the clans feel about blood magic. If I use it and V?lund even suspects –’
‘If you use your magic properly, he won’t know you’ve influenced him.’ Velanthe straightened, the firelight catching on her dress and sending it sparkling. ‘There’s something else,’ she said. ‘V?lund is aware that we have Roran’s brother in the dungeons. He specifically requested an audience.’
‘With Cassius ?’
A terse nod. ‘There are rumours you and Cassius were responsible for Emperor Kalias’s assassination.
Perhaps the clan leader wishes to speak to you both about your reasons.
’ Velanthe paused. ‘Or perhaps his motive is more personal. You were engaged to Cassius. V?lund might wonder about your relationship, and what that says about your character.’
Judging by her slightly pained expression, my choice to lock up my ex-fiancé and alleged partner in crime didn’t paint me in the best light.
Ordinarily I wouldn’t care, but I was counting on Roran’s history of conquering and absorbing countries into the Ravalian Empire to count against him.
I couldn’t risk coming off equally untrustworthy and losing whatever chance I had at salvaging this alliance.
‘Can we deny that Cassius is here? Tell V?lund some lie?’
‘Too many Kalurians saw Cassius when you first arrived. But this meeting could work in our favour. While V?lund is unlikely to believe anything you tell him about Roran’s character, it will be harder to dismiss testimony from a family member.’
‘Fine.’ I sighed. ‘Accept V?lund’s terms. I’ll speak to Cassius – I know he’s eager to be let out of the dungeons.
With any luck, the threat of a return visit will keep him in line.
’ I smiled wryly. ‘The idea of meeting a clan leader and foiling Roran’s plans might be enough motivation on its own. He thrives on political intrigue.’
I turned, but Velanthe’s voice called me back. To my surprise, a smile curved her red lips.
‘And Kasmira? If Cassius can’t be controlled by ordinary means, remember, you have other methods at your disposal.’
Though she made it sound like an afterthought, I knew it wasn’t. I paused, staring into Velanthe’s glittering eyes.
‘I thought I made myself clear,’ I said, a bite of anger in my voice.
‘I listened to every word,’ Velanthe replied, holding up her hands in a pacifying gesture. ‘There will be no priestess volunteers. But perhaps there is no need for them. Sometimes, all that’s needed is the right motivation.’
Like a country hanging in the balance. And my reluctance to risk a life-saving alliance on the word of a duplicitous Ravalian prince.
If ever there was a good reason to use my magic, it was to help Kalure. And what better way to hone my abilities than by practising on someone who despised me? Someone whose personality I didn’t mind altering, because quite frankly, any alteration would be an improvement?
Maybe Velanthe was right.
Maybe this was exactly the motivation I needed.