Chapter Sixteen – Scarlett
Chapter Sixteen
Scarlett
My return to the Ravalian encampment was a victorious one.
I arrived ahead of a host of tribal warriors, with their leader, Malek, riding at my left and Aric at my right.
To my army, it seemed like I had ventured bravely into the desert with the intent of winning the Red Dune warriors to our side.
But when I lay alone in the darkness, there was no hiding from the truth: Severin was gone.
And he had taken part of me with him.
Using my illusions, I slipped past the guards and walked unseen through the camp – and beyond it.
The bodies from the latest skirmish littered the stretch of desert between our encampment and Damar’s high walls.
I had ordered them left there. Tomorrow, after I had signed the peace agreement with Malek, I would contact the Zigilian insurgency and relay our terms for surrender.
Then they would be allowed to collect their dead, as they should have been from the beginning.
I hoped Severin would have been pleased with my plan. I hoped he would have understood that I was trying to be better than my parents. That I was trying to honour his memory.
I walked aimlessly for hours, weaving my way between the bodies, until one caught my eye.
I recognised this man.
It took me a moment to place him, to remember that Avril had provided me with sketches of the high-up members of the Zigilian insurgency.
The rebel leader, Drakos, had three younger brothers – and the corpse in front of me bore a striking resemblance to them, w ith the same deep brown skin and heavy-lidded eyes.
I wasn’t sure which brother was lying in the dirt in front of me, but it hardly mattered.
I would order the body brought back to camp, where Avril could identify it for me.
Except my legs refused to move. I couldn’t look away from the young man’s blood-splattered skin, imagining Severin in his place – his beautiful face caved in by the impact of his fall. Barely recognisable even to me.
I had known, hadn’t I? Deep down, I had always known that Severin was too good, too kind to survive the Ravalian Court.
To survive Zandri .
The worst part was the knowledge of when he had died.
In the seer’s vision, Severin had been wearing the same clothes he had worn to Mira and Cassius’s farce of a wedding, when I had dismissed him in favour of resurrecting Lillian.
I hadn’t even given a thought to Severin that night, too elated with my success, with the knowledge that I was one step closer to the Ravalian throne.
Then Zandri had summoned me to the catacombs, and I had felt so certain in our plans, so sure that everything was coming together exactly as it should–
And all along, Zandri had known that Severin was dead. Had probably ordered one of her warriors to bury him in an unmarked grave.
A mirthless laugh bubbled from my lips. No wonder my search parties hadn’t found him.
No wonder there had been no sign, no trace –
I turned away from the corpse in front of me. For the first time since I’d killed my father, I wished I hadn’t done it. That I had listened to Severin’s warnings and made a different choice.
I could have run away with Severin. I had access to my mother’s cavern of blood rubies; I could have stolen his and fled to the Western Lands with him, or perhaps even left the Ravalian continent altogether.
We could have started over somewhere new, free from the dangers and temptations of the Ravalian Court.
Instead, I had chosen politics and magic and power. Instead, I had condemned the man I loved to die at my mother’s hand.
Instead, I thought as I walked through the field of corpses, black tendrils snaking through my veins, I had made all the wrong choices.
And now was I paying for them.
Nightmares plagued my sleep, leaving me with dark circles beneath my eyes. Aella dutifully concealed them each morning as she was doing now, never asking any questions.
She braided my hair and arranged it on top of my head like a crown, as I had once seen Mira do. Black veins surged at her touch, but I held them back with a thought, and the illusion over my skin didn’t so much as falter.
‘I’ll take over from here, Aella,’ Lillian said, softly but firmly. When my attendant had left, she met my gaze in the mirror. ‘Will it be armour today? Or would you prefer a dress?’
‘A dress,’ I replied. ‘We are supposed to be signing a peace agreement; armour might set the wrong tone. Though I’ll wear my riding boots and a dagger. Just in case.’
Lillian nodded and walked back through the tent, collecting the items I’d asked for. I wondered if she could sense the gratitude squeezing my chest. If she could, she didn’t remark on it.
Once I was physically and mentally prepared, I entered the crimson pavilion.
Aric and his lieutenants were already sitting at the long wooden table, along with Malek and the Red Dune warriors who had accompanied him.
With their spiked helmets on, it was impossible to tell what they thought about this meeting – or the peace agreement laid out in front of the seer.
I had formed the plan four days ago, when were at the Red Dune encampment. A way of ending this war with Zigilia without further bloodshed, and proving that the Ravalian Empire would be different under my rule.
It wasn’t exactly the decisive victory I had wanted, but it was a compromise that I hoped both sides could accept.
Malek paused, his quill in hand. ‘I have one last condition.’
It was hard not to feel frustrated, given the many hours we had negotiated and re-negotiated terms. But I thought of the way my people had massacred his, reminding myself that it wasn’t easy to put aside old hostilities. Trust wasn’t something that came naturally to me, either.
‘I’m listening.’
‘You mentioned that some of your Masks will remain behind to help oversee the transition. I would like Avril to be amongst them.’
I drummed my fingers against the table, considering his request. As far as I was aware, Malek had barely spoken to Avril – but she was Zigilian; I supposed Malek felt that gave them some common ground.
And since Zandri had intended for Avril to become the next Provincial Governor, I doubted she would be missed in Ravalia.
‘That seems fair.’ My gaze slid to the Mask operative. ‘Unless you have any objections?’
Avril shook her head, her mouth curving at the corners.
‘Good,’ I said, leaning forward in my seat at the head of the table. ‘Do you have any further concerns about the terms?’
‘I’m not concerned about the terms.’ Malek’s hazel eyes were steady on mine. ‘I’m concerned about the collateral damage.’
‘You said it yourself: seers used to rule your country. It was Ravalians who ripped away that tradition, and now we have the opportunity to restore it.’ A few of Aric’s lieutenants shifted uneasily in their seats.
I ignored them. ‘I can’t negotiate with the current insurgency, which means more months of blood and death.
But I can negotiate with you. And once this is signed, we can appeal to the ordinary people.
They don’t want this war to continue any more than we do.
I suspect they will overthrow the insurgency themselves. ’
‘It’s still a risk,’ Malek said at last.
Fleetingly, I wondered what diverging futures he might have Seen – and how many of those futures led to peace. His hesitation made me think that there was at least an equal chance of this ending in more chaos and bloodshed. But the fact that he was sitting here at all . . .
‘Everything is a risk,’ I said steadily. ‘But think of the benefits. Zigilia, the tribes of the Red Dunes . . . you’ve never had an ally like me before. I can help you. I am in a position to make a real difference – and so are you. All you have to do is sign.’
And he did.
I let out a breath, relaxing slightly as Aella brought the parchment to me. I picked up my quill–
Black-garbed Warriors poured into the pavilion. Malek’s warriors sprang into position around their leader, drawing their swords and spears.
‘What is the meaning of this?’ I asked Aric, who was speaking with the Ravalian Warriors in a low voice.
I knew I wasn’t going to like the answer even before he said, ‘The political situation has changed. We’ve received instructions direct from Ravalia – the insurgents were unwilling to negotiate with you, but it seems they were willing to deal with your mother.
Zandri has promised to recognise the rebel leader as the new ruler of Zigilia. ’
Anger bubbled up, and my death magic rose with it. I pushed it back down, rubbing my temples.
‘And what does he want?’
‘In no uncertain terms,’ Aric replied, ‘Drakos has instructed us to discontinue all contact with the tribes and hand them over to him. He has also agreed with Zandri’s order that Malek be sent to Ravalia, where he will serve in the Order of Artisans.’
Seconds. I had been seconds away from signing that damn treaty–
I turned on Avril with narrowed eyes. ‘How did you let this happen ?’ I snapped. ‘Drakos reached out to Zandri because he knew we were planning to install Malek in his place. It’s the only reason he would make this deal.’
Avril didn’t react to my anger. ‘My Mask operatives have been more focused on external threats than internal ones. They do what they can, but as you know, the occasional spy can slip through the cracks.’
‘That’s not good enough.’ Perhaps I was being unreasonable, but we had been so close . ‘This should never have happened. I don’t care what my mother says – Drakos has ignored me for months. I refuse to stand back and watch a real alliance dissolve around me.’
‘Zandri has already made a deal with Drakos,’ Avril reminded me. ‘She will expect you to honour it.’
‘It isn’t Zandri’s call to make. It’s mine .’
‘Scarlett,’ Aric murmured at my side, ‘you’ve only just united your army. Going against Zandri’s public orders may not be wise. Particularly as we now have the opportunity to end this war.’
‘By handing over our allies,’ I said coolly, glancing in Malek’s direction. His warriors encircled him, a solid wall of muscle, but they had no hope of standing against my army. If I gave the order, he and his people could be handed over to the insurgency in a matter of hours.
I didn’t need to be a seer to know what would happen to Malek then.
If he was lucky, he would spend his days telling futures for the Ravalian Court.
If he wasn’t, Zandri would take a liking to him, sending him on mission after mission, as she had done to Severin.
He had never spoken about them afterwards, but I had seen the toll they took on him – and sometimes I had seen dried blood on his clothes.
The thought of Malek following in Severin’s footsteps was sickening. If I allowed this to happen, it would invalidate everything Severin had done to keep him out of Zandri’s clutches.
‘No,’ I said firmly. ‘I’m not doing it. This was my plan – my alliance. The fact that Drakos went to Zandri only proves that my plan is sound.’
‘Scarlett–’
‘He’s afraid , Aric. For the first time in months, we have something that he desperately wants.’
‘Yes,’ Aric agreed. ‘And I think we should consider giving it to him.’
I walked past Aric to the front of the pavilion. Below the steps, a crowd of Warriors had gathered, reminding me of when I had dismissed General Harte. For too long, others had dictated the direction of this war.
Now it was my turn.
Avril looked at me, her expression carefully unreadable – but I knew that she approved. Even if she thought I was a fool for going against my mother. ‘What will I tell Zandri?’
Tell her that I know what she did , I thought, twirling the quill in my fingers. Tell her that she can go to hell.
But I couldn’t confront her about Severin’s murder. Not here, not like this. The only way I would win a war against Zandri was if she never realised there was a war at all.
‘Tell her . . .’ I paused. ‘Tell her that it’s handled. And that I look forward to explaining my reasons upon my victorious return.’
Avril raised an eyebrow, but nodded. ‘Your funeral,’ she muttered as she walked away.
Her words didn’t bother me. Not as I thought of Drakos’s brother lying in the dirt, a spear through his chest. I had known that discovery would prove important. I just hadn’t known how important.
‘I’m assuming you have a plan,’ Aric said from behind me.
‘Of course I do,’ I said, turning to face him with a razor-sharp smile. ‘All along my army has wanted a decisive military victory. I intend to give them one.’