Chapter 29
Chapter
Idragged myself toward my chambers. Dawn had already broken, and the world looked as if someone had rinsed all color from it.
Along the way I passed the remnants of the night: blood, cinders, the bodies of rats.
In many places, human bodies lay there too.
Bitten, torn, abandoned and motionless. The air carried the smell of smoke, blood, and iron.
I reached the living room and sank into a chair. I was smeared with soot and blood, my hands shook as if with fever. Mirabel, paler than her wont, prepared a bath without a word. Steam rose from the bathtub, scented with herbs. It took effort to undress.
When I slid into the water, there was a moment of ease. Only a moment. Each time I shut my eyes, I saw his face. Malric. I felt his touch upon my skin. I shuddered as if ice had been poured into my veins.
After the bath I dressed in clean clothes and did not know what to do with myself. I felt hollow. I did not wish to return to my bedchamber. I could not bear to look upon that place. I sat in the gardens where Aidenar and I had once trained. It was quiet there. No water, no laughter, no life.
Today should have marked the final day of the Gathering and the Election. But the attacks had forced Cassandra to postpone until tomorrow. Another day trapped within these walls. Another night to endure.
When evening fell, I could not force myself to return to my bedroom. I remained in the living room through the long hours of darkness. My eyes would not close. I could not sleep. I did not wish to.
At dawn, I heard movement in the main courtyard. Several lords were packing already to depart for home. Everyone was terrified. Everyone wished for this to end so they might flee to their distant keeps and forget what they had witnessed here.
I delayed until the final moment before joining the Gathering. I did not wish to attend the vote. I didn’t want to know how it would end. What we were. Aidenar and I. What each outcome would mean for us.
If he won, he would become the Regent for five years. Five years in this city, beside his mother, bound to the same life of intrigues.
If he lost, he would fail his Family and all their expectations. The Cavareths would lose their advantage. Everything he had been trained for would turn to nothing.
And where did I stand in this arrangement? What was I to him in either future?
Finally, everyone made their way to the Inner Court. The square had been cleared, though the scent of death still lingered. I walked there as if in a dream, my head empty, my chest heavy. The lords took their seats. I sat beside my father. Cassandra mounted the dais and opened the council.
“We meet for the last sitting of the Gathering,” she began. “After last night, no one needs to be told how grave our situation is. A dozen people are dead. Dozens of wounded are fighting for their lives in the infirmary. But together, with the gods’ forces, we managed to repel the enemy attack.”
A murmur went through the hall. Cassandra lifted her chin.
“Yes, an enemy. Someone actively trying to destroy the world as we know it. The attacks, the Plague, the rats, these are no coincidences. I believe we all see this now.”
Aidenar watched me, but I couldn’t return his gaze. My eyes felt empty.
“When you return to your lands,” Cassandra went on, “search every temple. Everyone. If you find black vases, destroy them. Through these the enemy spreads the disease,” she paused.
“And now... The Election.”
“As you have witnessed,” she declared, “the Plague may be defeated through the power of the elements. Nothing will grant strength and protection to the Dominium as surely as a Regent bound to elemental power. I announce my son, Aidenar Cavareth, as successor to his father.”
It came as no surprise. But Aidenar seemed absent, distant, as though none of it concerned him.
Eric Salvadore rose.
“We thank Cassandra for holding the Regency to its end,” he said, his voice steady. “But as we can all see, the Dominium wavers. We stand vulnerable before an unknown force. I believe the time has come to change our course and restore stability to our lands. I offer myself as Regent.”
The hall stirred with whispers. Many glances turned toward Lord Dorthal, waiting for him to rise and announce his presence, but he merely inclined his head toward Eric Salvadore.
“Then we shall vote,” Cassandra said.
By tradition, the eldest of each Families cast the vote. In the Dominium, you could of course vote for yourself.
For Eric Salvadore the voices rose: Dorthal, Mermont, Orthalis, Iskareth and Salvadore.
My father remained silent, he was deciding for our Family now.
For the Cavareth heir: Cavareth, Dravenor, Zorathiel, Veymaris—I heard my father’s booming voice. Then silence.
Five against four.
In the event of a tie, the Regent’s vote carried double weight. And so, all waited for the final voice.
Dricus.
All eyes turned toward the man dressed in black. And my heart pounded like a hammer. But did this Election mean anything to me at all?
Dricus looked to Aidenar. Then to me.
“Eric Salvadore,” he said. “Family Cineris casts its vote for Eric Salvadore.”
Four to six.
The Cavareths lost the Regency.
Aidenar was left with nothing.
Cassandra’s eyes burned with naked hatred.
The chamber erupted in murmurs.
As the council dispersed, some gathered around Eric Salvadore, offering congratulations and reminding him, no doubt, of promises yet to be fulfilled.
Aidenar rose, straight-backed, and held Eric’s hand.
“Your loss, my son,” Eric said softly. “And I do not speak only of the Regency.”
Velena looked upon me with all the spite she possessed. The new daughter of the Regent.
“Perhaps this was the gods’ design,” Aidenar said.
Eric smiled thinly. “Ah. The gods.”
Aidenar walked through the Inner Court and approached Dricus on his way. They measured each other for a long moment. They were so different in every way. Aidenar extended his hand.
“Thank you,” he said. A pause hung between them. “For the help. In the name of the city, the Regent, and my own. Without you, many more would have perished. I owe you a debt.”
There was sincerity in Aidenar’s voice, an open honesty that came rarely from him.
Dricus smiled faintly and inclined his head. “The day of payment may come sooner than you think. Farewell, Lord Cavareth. Look after your people.” He glanced at me as if to add more, yet held his tongue, then turned and went to his men that awaited him.
Aidenar inclined his head toward me. We left the Inner Court among the first, passing beneath the palace arcades.
Behind us came Cassandra, furious.
“You have ruined everything,” she screamed toward Aidenar, who stopped behind me. “This is your fault! I gave you everything I had. I made you what you are. Your father and I. Without me you are nothing.”
“And her,” her gaze cut toward me. “I hope whatever is between those legs was worth it.”
Aidenar halted.
He turned, and with a gust of wind, threw Cassandra against the wall. Her head, arms, and legs were pressed against the marble. Her eyes bulged. She couldn’t breathe.
He approached her slowly, his voice dark and measured.
“You will never speak to me in that manner again. You will never utter a single foul word about her.” His gaze hardened. “Your rule is over. I return to Durminas to take care of our Family legacy. And you… do whatever you want with yourself.”
He released her. Cassandra knelt on all fours, gasping for breath, clawing nails at the stone.
Aidenar turned to me, his eyes dark as smoke. He extended his hand toward me.
I knew this fight with Cassandra was irreversible. That Aidenar was cutting himself off from everything he’d known his whole life. Mother, Regency, Velena, White City. And he wanted me to walk this path with him.
I looked into his eyes. Where rage and hatred had burned moments before, there was now only a quiet request. A plea for me to take his hand, so he wouldn’t be alone.
I stepped forward and took the hand that waited for me.
We walked in absolute silence. I felt Aidenar still struggling against his power, fighting to keep it contained. I felt the fierce grip of his hand, as though he feared to release me. He led us to his chambers.
When the door closed behind us, I felt his shoulders drop. Still, he held my hand.
I stood before him and allowed him to pull me close. He rested his head in the hollow of my neck. I felt him draw long, steadying breaths as he calmed himself, as he inhaled my scent. I knew how much this day had cost him.
“I am sorry,” he said, his voice trembling. “For everything. For my mother. For what happened to you. That I did not come quickly enough. That I failed you.”
I closed my eyes tightly. I did not wish to think of it.
He drew back and cupped my face between both hands. His thumbs brushed gently across my cheeks.
“I know what we must do,” he said. “You will come with me to Durminas.” I looked at him surprised.
“That doesn’t sound like a question.”
“Because it’s not.”
“Why should I go there?”
“I don’t know how to help you. But I know someone who can. You won’t be safe anywhere so long as they can reach you.” He paused, studying my face. “When did you last sleep?”
“The night of the rats.” I could not meet his eyes. “For how long?” I asked at last.
“For as long as it takes. Until you learn to control your mind and your dreams.”
“When are we leaving?”
“Tomorrow.”
As we stood there, I saw the scar on his throat, the one my knife made.
“I am sorry,” I whispered. “For that.” His skin trembled beneath my finger when I touched him.
“You do not have to apologize for anything,” he replied. “But before we depart, I want to say goodbye to my father. Would you come with me?”
The question surprised me. “Say goodbye? You don’t plan on coming back here?”
“I do not know what fate will bring,” he answered calmly. “But I wish you were there with me. So that he... would know you.”