Chapter Seventeen
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
She wandered the city. Thinking, trying not to think. Life outside a Petitor’s strict schedule seemed a busy, beautiful thing. Coin to be earned, a thousand ways to spend it, all manner of books, clothes, foods, and lands that seemed close under a sunset that made everything feel possible.
Perhaps she could run away. Leave behind vengeance and people who saw her as a tool. Before the thought would have felt like a betrayal of her younger self, but she was so horribly tired. Perhaps the Fall didn’t matter, and she should have moved on with her life as Cisuré had said. Maybe then, she wouldn’t be facing charges for abusing her power.
Her head hurt. She wished she could down Telmar’s entire supply of ibez .
Hours after an unsuccessful attempt at eating, she squinted at a Tower Gate. The letters etched at the top swam in her watery vision.
“This is the Favran Tower Gate,” one of the magi standing guard finally muttered in exasperation when she rose on her toes to decipher the lettering.
Cassandane’s tower . Entering, she walked beside Caelum, kicking a pebble across the cobblestone path. Ahead, Favran Tower was at least a hundred and sixty-five yards high. Vines and flowers curled possessively over the orange-red limestone surface exterior. Wine red, they perfumed the night breeze with traces of cherry and mint. The petals were an exact match for Cassandane’s crimson robes .
At the sound of hooves behind her, she turned to find the Tetrarch herself, dark hair tumbling loose about her shoulders. Looking surprised upon sighting her, Cassandane dismounted.
“Petitor Sarai.” A dimple flashed her cheek when she smiled. “What brings you to my tower?”
Sarai bowed. “I was admiring the flowers.”
“Naiya’s Orchids. Hardy little things.” Cassandane plucked a low-hanging bloom and handed it to her. “I’ve tried a few varieties, but nothing grows as well as these beauties.”
“They’re lovely.” Sarai traced the soft petals with wonder. Arsamea hadn’t had much in the way of flowering plants. “Is there a reason for the name?”
Cassandane’s eyes brightened. “It’s an old tale. Centuries ago, when matters were quite sour between Ur Dinyé and the island nation of Kashyal, there was an Kashyalin debt-slave, Naiya.” She leaned against a column bracketing the entryway to her tower. “Now, Naiya understandably has little interest in being a slave and escapes one night. But as the gods would have it, she’s mistaken as the subject of an ancient prophecy, a heavens-sent demon master, and captured by a bounty hunter.”
Sarai whistled. “And does she escape the hunter?”
“Unfortunately not. And she discovers that our hunter is the demon himself. He knows that the nation that controls Naiya will turn him into a tool of war and he wants none of it. So he resolves to kill her.”
“But she isn’t the demon master.”
“Ah, but he doesn’t believe that.”
“So he kills her, and these orchids bloom from her blood?” Sarai guessed.
Cassandane gave her a reproving look. “They fall in love.”
She winced. “So it’s that kind of story.”
“And the first flowers he brought her were these,” Cassandane continued, undeterred. “Hence the name. ”
Sarai held Caelum back from attempting to eat the orchids. “What happened with the prophecy?”
“That’s a much longer story.” The Tetrarch laughed, before casually adding, “I’ve been wanting to meet you.”
“I’m honored, Tetrarch Cassandane.”
“More specifically, I wanted to meet the Petitor the Metals Guild has just put an internal bounty on.”
The ease of their conversation gave way to a sudden, thrumming tension, the laughing storyteller vanishing in favor of a steely-eyed Tetrarch, who looked just as ruthless as the rest of the Tetrarchy.
“What do you mean?” Sarai whispered.
“Any Guildsman who separates your head from your body will be rewarded for it.”
Sarai’s legs would have given out if she wasn’t holding Caelum’s reins. “I see.” Her voice didn’t shake. Her nerves had been cauterized. “I broke the law. There’s always a price.”
“I won’t comment on whether you should have Materialized that memory or not, but the fact remains that the law won’t protect you now.” Cassandane’s gaze dropped to the bruises Tullus had left on Sarai’s neck, and her face closed. “But I can.”
“I don’t understand.”
“There’s a Tribune in Kirtule who’s searching for a scribe. I can smuggle you out of the city tonight. No one would find you. Outside Edessa, the Metals Guild doesn’t know what you look like. You’re in dangerous waters, and I don’t want to see you drown. You showed strength at the Robing, standing up to Kadra.”
“I haven’t had an inch of peace since.” Sarai’s shoulders slumped. “He got what he wanted. He’ll be rid of me one way or the other now.”
“If Kadra wanted to be rid of you, he had every chance at the Robing,” Cassandane said matter-of-factly. “But he’s gone to extraordinary lengths to keep you close, and I’m not the only one who’s noticed.”
“I made myself useful, and I’ve served my purpose. ”
“You live with him. He barely lets you out of his sight. Word in his Quarter is that he dotes on you. Those aren’t the actions of a man who doesn’t want you here. You may very well know him better than I do, because throughout our careers, I’ve never seen him show any hint of partiality. Not until you.”
I can’t hear this . “Trust me, Tetrarch Cassandane. He doesn’t care.”
Moonlight struck Cassandane’s face and sank into the tense lines of her forehead. “Petitor Sarai, last night, during the Tetrarchy’s triweekly meeting, Helvus visited us to discuss you. He complained of being Probed without consent.” Cassandane looked weary when Sarai flinched. “Don’t tell me if that’s true or not. The gist of our resolution was that an investigation would be opened into your abuse of power. Helvus is a powerful businessman. You would have been pulled before the four of us and Probed by one of your colleagues. If you were guilty, you’d not only be dismissed from the position but also be barred from Edessa with at least a year in the mines,” she finished grimly. “Then, in a few hours, Helvus is dead.”
Sarai’s breath seized as the implication slammed into her. “But Admia killed Helvus.”
“Stormfall had ended hours ago. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. But my people report that a lightning bolt, just one, came out of nowhere and blasted Admia’s home to embers.”
She went cold, recalling Kadra’s raw power. Of course . That would explain why the bolt had targeted Admia’s scuta. He’d known they would explode, and known that Admia would go after Helvus. He knew there was iron dust in there from the start. Had he hidden it from the public because he didn’t know who Helvus’s clients were?
Cassandane sighed. “Admia was unpopular, but that doesn’t change that she was a woman with dreams and a husband she loved deeply. And now she faces a Summoning.”
“I tried.” Sarai’s voice was hoarse. “I wanted to get to Helvus in time to stop her.” She realized that Kadra had given Admia a head start. “I didn’t know until it was too late. ”
“Petitor Sarai, you don’t belong here,” Cassandane said gently. “I knew it when I saw you balk at burning that man at the Robing. You’ll lose pieces of yourself the longer you stay. Kadra’s playing a dangerous game, and for some reason, he’s placed you at the center. Save yourself. The Metals Guild’s furor will die without a target.”
Stricken, Sarai stared at the ground. She isn’t wrong . To stay here in the face of charges for abuse of power was foolishness, and she’d partaken too much of that fruit already.
She’d never believed herself capable of cowardice. But right now, she wanted nothing more than to leave the Sidran Tower Girl in the past, abandon Ur Dinyé’s south to scuta that would kill them, and toss aside a man who had only sought to use her.
At her silence, Cassandane’s features grew pinched. “Take the chance. I’d prefer not see another Petitor die.”
There it is . Every time she wanted to leave, there it was. “Are you …” She took a deep breath. “Tetrarch Cassandane, are you saying the Petitor deaths haven’t been suicides?”
Something remarkably like fear passed over the Tetrarch’s face. “There’s nothing keeping you here.”
“You’re right.” Tears blurred her vision. “But I can’t sit back when I know that someone’s about to be hurt. I wish I could ignore and focus on myself and be as practical as you are. My life would be the smoother for it. But I don’t know how . Thousands of lives have been and will be ruined by the Metals Guild. I can’t let that keep happening. If there’s a chance I can win this trial, I have to try.”
“There’s no chance, Petitor Sarai.” A bleak edge underlay the observation. “Not with these people. Only death.”
She nodded. “I’m familiar with those odds, Tetrarch Cassandane.”
“Then if they ever appear too great, come to me.” The older woman looked grim. “The offer stays open.”
If she did go, then all was truly lost. “Thank you.”