CHAPTER 9 #2
Kahvrah halted us. “Life and loss must always be in balance. We all know this, but it does not change the way it hits our hearts. There is no shame in sorrow. Come, let us go this way.”
We turned down the first market street we had ever visited.
People still stared, though I liked to imagine there were fewer with open hostility.
My thoughts melted away when we turned a corner and stopped at a stand full of books.
After a quick conversation in Rihtish, Kahvrah handed me a small hardbound book painted across the cover with leaves.
“Read this. When you finish, bring it back here, and she will give you another.”
I flipped open the cover. It was a children’s story, but I could already read most of the words. It was a simple story about a little green dragon who turned away from her dragon friends to help a small village that would not survive the winter without her gifts. I grinned.
THAT NIGHT, I dreamt of sweet grass as blue as the night sky.
I spread great leathery wings and soared through the pink clouds with a red sun at my back.
A lovely turquoise pool with golden fish called to me from below, and I made my descent.
They chattered their small wants and dreams in my ears, and I swatted them away with my great, clawed feet.
I drank my fill of the cool water, then swam to the shallows, finding a watery bed to continue my rest.
On the fourth day after my Sun Trial, Kahvrah appeared at my door holding a new set of clothes.
“Come, we must dress you,” she said.
Dread flooded me. Since that first day, I had dressed each morning myself. “For what?”
“Your First Sun.”
The relief hit so hard, I nearly toppled over.
My First Sun—my first day as a Riht. They weren’t going to kill me.
Yet. But did that mean I’d passed the Sun Trial?
Neither Kahvrah nor Dane had been explicit about what would happen during the First Sun, despite the many times I tried to ask.
I had the sinking feeling the worst was yet to come.
My arms shook as she handed over the bundle of clothes.
“So the Sun Trial is over?”
“It is.”
“But then—”
“No more questions. Dane will explain.”
The outfit consisted of an elaborate overdress, an underdress with half sleeves, and soft leggings—all in pale yellow. They melted around my skin like sunlight. It was the first thing I’d worn here that I truly loved.
Kahvrah then braided my hair and oiled my boots.
When the process was complete, I frowned.
Yellow was not a common color in this city of earthy neutrals and muted tones.
It was also not lost on me that this particular shade of yellow mirrored the yellow rose insignia from the Cavendaffe crest. A chilling thought struck me—I was being sent home after all.
“If you have jewels, you may wear them.”
I looked from Kahvrah to Gerta at a loss.
Nothing from my previous life was welcome here.
In fact, I had not seen a single Riht—man or woman—adorned with jewels, outside of the eyes on the dragon clips some wore in their braids or the occasional ring or pendant.
But surely they wouldn’t put me in jewels and a stunning new dress to face an executioner, would they?
Gerta crossed the room with eyes afire and thunderous footsteps, returning with a gold and peridot necklace.
The gem was cut into a teardrop, the embodiment of joy and sorrow.
This piece was one-half of a set, the other a single matching hair comb, which Gerta secured behind my left ear.
Even I had to admit, the result was simple and striking.
“Head up,” Gerta whispered, and I snapped my eyes forward from where they had slid to the ground. “Show them nothing.”
I nodded, questions and fears warring within me. If Gerta knew more, she offered no explanation.
“It is time,” Kahvrah announced.
“Time for what?” I tried.
She only pursed her lips. “Come.”
I fell into step beside Kahvrah, Gerta close behind, and we marched swiftly out of the keep.
We did not stop until we reached the castle wall, where Dane waited for us, but he was not alone.
A dozen people were gathered just inside the towering portcullis that led to the lower city.
Each person wore a stoic, expressionless mask.
“Lively crowd,” I murmured to Gerta.
“Daughter Serae,” Dane Auldren hailed, his voice carrying the same formality as during the trial. “Today, we present you to the Riht.” He gestured across the moat where people lined the street, all watching me.
He motioned me toward a woman holding the reins of a regal blond mare. The creature watched our group approach, but she did not shy.
“Her name is Kappa. She’ll let you ride her,” Dane added more quietly. There was no taunt in his voice.
“She’s magnificent,” I replied.
“That she is. Let’s go.”
“Where are we going, Dane?”
“Around Drakh. You’re to be presented to the people for judgment.”
“Judgment of my trial?” I asked, trying to keep my brow from crinkling. I didn’t understand any of this. Had I passed my Sun Trial or not? Was this judgment—the First Sun—a decider of whether I lived or died in Drakh?
Dane chuckled, perhaps knowing where my mind had gone. “You might say that.”
I may not have been accustomed to riding long journeys, but I knew my way around a horse. As we approached, I stayed within Kappa’s line of sight and steadily cooed her praises. It was easy to do, considering what a striking figure the mare cut. I tried not to think of my sweet Copper back home.
“What a strong, beautiful lady you are. Your mane is like silk made of sunlight. Do you like the sun, my girl? Would you like to ride in the sun today?”
The woman holding the horse’s reins reached out and handed me a clump of crunchy oats. I offered it flat-palmed to Kappa, whose lips grabbed at the treat.
“Would it be all right if I rode with you today?” I continued. “Maybe if I’m atop someone as grand as you, the judgment will be a little less harsh. What do you say, will you help me?”
Kappa nudged me, which I took as assent. I moved to the saddle. Thank the Creator I had learned how to mount without a block.
Up in the saddle, I reached out for the reins, but instead, they were handed over to Dane.
He tutted. “Today, Daughter, I lead.”
Thus, our procession began. We set off at a meandering pace, Kappa’s languid gait jostling me back and forth.
Ahead was only Dane. Behind me walked the same two guards who followed him everywhere, whose names I was determined to learn one day.
They flanked the piercing-eyed general, another name I lacked, whose angry stare followed my every move.
Behind the trio of men were Gerta and Kahvrah, alongside Bracht.
Behind them walked two couples, each pair arm-in-arm, whom I had seen often around Dane but never formally met.
Calling upon my years of Mother’s training, I relaxed my brow forcefully, then painted a placid smile on my face.
Walking through Drakh was an experience altogether.
We began at the first ring of the lower city that surrounded the castle walls.
The last time I’d even glimpsed beyond the wall was on the day we arrived.
This time, there was no interaction between Dane and the people.
Some nodded as we passed, but most just openly stared.
I was an exhibit—meant for them to judge.
I had never felt more on trial, or more guilty, than in that moment. Parading through the city, an imposter on horseback, shining in the colors of my betraying house. Perhaps this was the real Sun Trial.
We rounded a corner and entered the next ring of the city. That was when the jeering started.
“Can you trust her on horseback, Dane, or will she fall off there as well?”
“Weak Inraen women don’t belong in the Riht!”
They spoke in Mayoran to ensure I understood.
“Takes more than beauty to be our dana!”
I snorted, barely suppressing a laugh. A beauty? I recalled the two times I had been called that since arriving in this wet, dark city, and both had been by Gerta.
“Look at her face—as sour as her dowsae,” spat a voice in the crowd.
I sighed inwardly. Had Gerta not warned me to give nothing away?
“And meek, too. How is she going to—”
“ENOUGH!”
The voice came from behind me. I turned and saw Bracht red-faced, a snarl on his lips.
Dane cleared his throat. “Bracht.” His voice carried a warning.
“Forgive me, Dane,” Bracht murmured as he bowed his head.
Dane Auldren nodded, then looked out at the last woman who had spoken. “Enough indeed.”
I scanned the crowd and saw her—my challenger—stomping off, her long platinum braid swinging behind her.
It was too intricate for her to have done on her own.
Whoever she was, she must belong to a prominent family.
My heart sank as her sympathizers turned hard faces back to me.
Though, thanks to Dane, no more spoke out.
I couldn’t help pivoting in my seat again, and my eyes immediately met Bracht’s.
The corner of my mouth turned up in a smile. He returned it with a wink.
Our progress continued, and similar insults were thrown on every street.
I bore them with my head held high and an annoyingly pleasant smile on my lips.
The hope that I had at least one ally in Rihtlond, outside of Kahvrah and Gerta, bloomed within me.
It might not be much, but in that moment, one was enough.