She rolled over and rested her forehead against Caio’s. His eyes opened, revealing his unguarded soul.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“You can’t leave me alone again.”
“Never again.”
She pulled his body against hers and savored the warmth of his skin.
Caio used two hands to massage around her heart, with one hand on her chest and the other on her back. “Can you use your ability to make yourself invisible again? I need you to come with me today. I don’t know what is going to happen, but if anything happens to me, I want you to go back to Rao.”
She sensed sadness in his voice. “Why do you say that?”
“Last night I dreamt this would be the final day of the war. Of course, I want you to come back to Remaes with me. I want you to see our palace. There’s so much space there: tall ceilings, atriums revealing the stars, white clay walls. And love. Everything there is full of devotion. It is paradise.”
She tried to visualize it, but couldn’t stop worrying about the fear beneath his words.
“If anything happens to me, I want you to be happy, and that means staying away from my father and going back to Rao,” Caio said.
The commotion of soldiers readying themselves for another march surrounded their tent.
“Let’s go to Remaes today, then. I want to see your holy city. I want to see the temples and minarets.”
“I would give you anything you ask of me. But now I have a duty to perform.” He kissed her lips softly three times.
Stay with me. Hold me. For once, let other men fight.
Caio sat up near the edge of the bed, keeping one hand over her heart. “I must fulfill the duty before me. Lord Oderigo assured me in my dream that on this day, the will of Lux Lucis will be done.”
After Caio dressed himself and completed his morning prayers, Narayani activated Aayu’s mantras and followed Caio through the Rezzian camp. The sight of each officer’s tent generated feelings of unease, but no one seemed to be able to see her, other than Caio.
She stayed with him after he mounted his grey horse and set off with his father riding beside him. The entire army terrified her, but her invisibility made the experience thrilling at the same time.
She noticed the king’s guilt, something he could not conceal behind his golden armor: the tightness of his jaw, his shifty eyes, his awkward attempts at conversation with his son. She noticed the sword Caio’s father wore across his back and wondered how she might be able to slit his throat with it.
Caio looked down often, to make sure she was keeping up with him. Narayani carried all she had brought with her, one leather bag hanging near her belly, with its strap wrapped around her left shoulder.
The army marched at a brisk pace throughout the morning. The sun had traveled high when the Rezzian drummers began pounding their instruments and the army halted its progress. Messengers arrived to explain to the king and Haizzem that a white horse had been spotted with one Pawelon pulling it. The army took a needed rest while a diplomatic party investigated. Eventually a man in a fine red and yellow uniform rode through the Rezzian ranks to address the two Rezzian leaders.
“Havah ilz avah Haizzem. It appears Pawelon’s very prince walks alone through the desert with Lucia on horseback—on her own horse, in fact.” The diplomat continued and explained Rao’s demands.
Narayani felt ripped in two when she discovered Rao was risking his life to rescue her. She knew then that Rao must have argued for the exchange of Caio’s sister and herself. His pleading must have been denied by his father or, much worse, her father. Or both of them.
“Where is the girl?” the king asked.
“She’s gone. I let her go.” Caio looked down at Narayani and nodded as if talking to himself.
His father stared at him, his mouth open in the sea of his beard. “You’re going to need to find her.”
“That’s impossible.” Caio sat tall in his saddle. “I have no idea where she’s gone.”
“You lost a valuable prisoner, and you’re telling me there is nothing we can do to find her, to bring back your own sister?”
“I am sure we can find another way.”
“We are talking about your sister’s life, Caio. Surely you can think of some way to find the Pawelon.”
“Impossible.” Caio looked back toward the Rezzian camp, away from the king.
Narayani felt heartened by Caio’s refusal, but her mind spun with confusion over what outcome she should hope for.
“We will just have to take Lucia from him,” Caio said.
“It is obviously a trap, my Haizzem.” The king turned from Caio to address the diplomat again, “How sure are you that he has Lucia? Did you see her up close?”
“Yes, my King. She seemed to be under some kind of spell, unable to free herself. And,” the man put his lips together and waited a moment, “I neglected to mention, their prince holds the relics of Ysa, her sword and shield.”
The king slapped his saddle in frustration, leaned back, and bared his yellow teeth as he shook his head. “Caio, do you believe we can take him together? Tell me.”
“Yes, but we would have to act quickly and finish him before he can react.”
Narayani walked a handful of steps away from Caio, to the west. He didn’t seem to notice. “Caio, why don’t you talk to him first?” she asked. He gave no indication he heard her.
“Thank you, you are dismissed,” Vieri said to the diplomat. He looked directly at Caio for one of the first times that day. “They must have men hidden out there, some sort of ambush prepared for us.”
Caio’s wide eyes narrowed into a determined look. “Then pray we’ll be ready for them.”
“If we get far enough, we’ll talk to him, ask him about this magic he claims to have implanted in Lucia. You’ll use your senses to find out if he is lying. If he is, we’ll slay him then and there. If he tells the truth, we’ll find out his demands. And if he insists on the Pawelon girl, you had better be able to find her. Do not admit that she is gone, even if she is. Not that I believe you.”
Caio ignored his father’s jab. “Before we do this, I have something to speak with you about. Ride with me.” Caio gave his steed a gentle kick. He and the king rode together past the soldiers and into the open desert, far enough from the front line to gain some privacy. Though Narayani walked with him, Caio looked about nervously, as if he could no longer see her.
She waved her hands at him. She called his name.
No reaction.
She remembered something Rao told her back in Kannauj, that the ability to see through Aayu’s sadhana had something to do with the depth of a person’s meditation and their state of mind. She wondered if something in Caio’s mind had changed.
“I would like to forgive you for what you did to Narayani, but I don’t know that I can. I see you more clearly now. I know you have always loved me and Lucia, but now I see the full truth, that you have never been ashamed to cause suffering to other people to further your own agendas.”
“In time, Son, you may understand me and my actions.”
“Not all of them.”
“It has not been easy, Caio, being your father, and failing to achieve even one great victory. Meanwhile, my people suffer yet another plague.” His father lowered his defeated eyes. “I struggle to understand many things.”
Caio looked at Vieri, whose gaze continued to focus on the ground. “There is nothing I have that I wouldn’t share with you. There’s nothing I am that I wouldn’t be without you. We are different, but we are the same. You truly love your people. You want the best for them. I do, too. We only go about it differently.” Caio looked around as if searching for Narayani, but clearly he could no longer see or hear her.
Hearing Caio capitulate to his father’s feelings, Narayani’s jilted gut churned with abandonment.
“Caio, I would like to say that I have done everything for you and Lucia, or for the people of Rezzia. In some respects that is tr
ue. But I wanted to be the one to save our people and elevate them. I have wanted to know that my legacy is greater than any king before me. For being a selfish man, I am sorry. I’m not a spiritual man.”
Caio’s eyes softened and his face turned kind. “Since my earliest memories, you have always been my hero. You always will be. I no longer agree with everything you do. I can’t. But you have always loved me. And I will always love you, no matter the things you’ve done. In time, I may forgive you.”
Narayani’s discomfort turned to an expanding rage.
You could still love this man? You would pad his ego and soothe his pride?
The king’s eyes looked wet. From his horse, Caio grabbed one of his father’s hands even as he continued searching for Narayani.
“Lucia told me something after the Ayot. Lord Danato gave her a message. The Black One said that only one, out of Pawelon’s prince and me, would survive this war. He said the war will not end until one of us is dead.”
Now I understand what you said about going back with Rao …
The king looked terrified as he stared into his son’s eyes.
“Then it is time we rescue your sister. Pray with me, Son. Pray with all the feeling and devotion your heart possesses.”
Narayani’s mind dropped into certainty.
She ran toward Rao.
She saw him up ahead, standing beside the white horse, holding a decorated round shield. “Rao!” She held her bag with her left hand and forced her legs as fast as they could go. “Rao!”
“Narayani!” he yelled back.
“Rao, they are coming to kill you! If the Haizzem senses you are lying, they will try to kill you.”
Rao pulled the horse forward as Narayani ran. She stopped before him and they stared at one another as if looking at mirages. Narayani closed her eyes and reversed Aayu’s mantra. She felt heavy and solid in her body once again. She fell forward into Rao’s arms.
Chapter 80: The Trojan Horse
CAIO WALKED BESIDE HIS FATHER, holding the sacred rod of Mya in one hand. His father carried Lord Galleazzo’s golden shield and his own thick, curved falchion. Caio felt his heart beating nervously and noticed his shallow breathing. It seemed surreal to see his mortal enemy again so soon, once again approaching from the desert, this time pulling Lucia’s limp body across her own horse. He recalled Ilario being in the same position not long ago.
The prince yelled, “Narayani!” as if calling to her.
Caio searched all around, but he still could not find her. He’d assumed she ran away, back toward Pawelon, while he was speaking with his father.
“Shall we?” Caio’s father said.
“Wait.”
The prince stopped. Narayani appeared out of nothing and fell into Rao’s embrace.
“And there’s the pretty pig,” his father said. “Outstanding!”
“Don’t go yet,” Caio said, putting his arm in front of his father. “Give them some time.”
His father grunted, but Caio refused to move. He remembered holding Narayani as she slept. He could still see her soft face and dazzling eyes.
How could I expect anything at all after what my father did to you? You’ve finally come to your senses about me and what I represent.
Rao’s and Narayani’s voices became louder. They seemed to be arguing. Rao shoved Narayani away, behind him.
“Now,” Caio said.
Caio walked westward with his father beside him, praying to Mya and Oderigo to protect them from hidden dangers. His scans of the area found nothing unusual, just Prince Rao holding Albina’s reins.
“Wait. Lucia’s moving,” Caio said.
She climbed into her horse’s saddle and waved. She wore a dirtied Pawelon robe and her customary long black gloves. Rao watched her and did nothing. Caio and his father exchanged confused glances.
The white mare approached at a walk.
“Lucia, thank the gods you have returned to us!” Vieri said.
Thank you, Ten of Lux Lucis.
“Pawelon’s prince freed me from their disgusting prison. He wants to speak with you. I’ve agreed to accompany him and protect him—”
“But—”
She spoke over her father, “He has saved my life three times already. Do not harm him.”
Farther ahead, Rao pleaded with Narayani to stay back. She remained where he asked her to, but with her face molded into an indignant expression. “I come to speak about these prisoners,” Rao said in Rezzian as he strode forward holding the sword and shield of Ysa.
Lucia directed Albina to step backward until Rao caught up with her. Caio and his father stood side by side.
Caio gripped Mya’s rod and felt its power coursing through his veins.
The king raised his sword slightly as he took a sudden step forward. “We will take my daughter back and you can have your lady.”
“It’s not that simple. I’ve saved your daughter’s life more than once already. I know what she means to you, to your kingdom, and to your army. My lady is but a civilian.”
She’s not good enough for you? Caio thought.
“You can’t bargain for more now, Prince,” his father said. “We have already exchanged our prisoners. I believe you’re holding two relics that belong to my family.”
“Father,” Lucia said, “there’s more to this. He cast some form of dark magic into my body. I experienced it going into me and I still feel it inside me.”
Caio looked to his father. You know I can’t read Lucia’s emotions. Rezzia’s king pursed his lips before exhaling forcefully.
“What do you want then?” Caio asked, surprised at the venom in his own voice.
“An end to this war. Your entire army must leave this canyon as we agree to end our conflict in a stalemate,” Rao said.
Just as we are about to defeat you. Just as Lucia returns to us.
“What will you do if we refuse?” Vieri asked.
“He’s promised me he’ll kill me,” Lucia said. “He promises he can do it even from a distance.”
“Would you do that?” Caio asked.
The prince looked at Lucia. He did not answer.
“He has told me over and over that he would,” Lucia said.
Why won’t you answer me?
“Let the man speak for himself,” his father said, then gave Caio another glance.
“Speak,” Caio commanded him. “Would you do this to my sister?”
“Your sister has already explained my position. I will not repeat myself. Your only option is to agree to lead your army away from this conflict.”
“Maybe I will,” Caio said, “but I promise you I won’t do so until I hear you say it yourself. Tell me you would kill my sister, that you have implanted some foul magic into her so that you can end her life at your whim.”
Rao widened his stance, as if preparing to defend himself.
Caio sensed the prince’s fear and embarrassment. You’re lying. You lied to Lucia about your power, too.
“Caio, you know this conflict is unnecessary and cursed,” Lucia said. “There was never any reason for it. We can finally have the peace you’ve wanted.”
“That’s not why we’re here, Lucia,” her father answered. “We came here for you. Rezzia’s soldiers still have their honor to uphold. Don’t you know their citadel is beginning to crumble, thanks to your brother?”
“Caio is the commander of what was your army,” she said. “He can make his own decisions now.”
“Are you really telling us the truth?” Caio asked Pawelon’s prince. “Tell me about this foul magic you have used against my sister.”
“Caio, he’s saved my life three times already. Once after the duel. Once when he freed me from their prison. Once this morning, as he fought his own men to save me.”
“And yet I don’t know if I believe him now,” Caio said. Caio continued probing Prince Rao’s emotions, but discovered only anxiety and fear beneath his calm exterior.
“You would actually risk you
r sister’s life?” Rao asked.
“Says the man who ran a spear through her chest,” Caio said.
After a brief pause, Narayani yelled, “Rao, use Aayu’s sadhana! You can’t trust them. Come back with me.”
“Caio, I swore to protect him,” Lucia said. She threw one leg over Albina and dismounted.
“Let me show you again that I am a reasonable man,” Rao said. He handed Ysa’s sword over to Lucia.
Lucia took the white blade and pointed it downward. She took a position between Caio and Rao and held up her other hand to call Caio and her father off. “Can’t we agree with his proposal, Caio? We are on the verge of winning, aren’t we? We can leave with our pride intact, knowing we showed our enemies mercy.”
“I think he lied to you, Lucia. He hasn’t put any magic in your body that can kill you. Aren’t I right, Prince?”
“Can you take that risk?” Prince Rao asked.
“Father, he’s lying.”
Four gods surrounded them. Behind Caio stood Lord Oderigo and his sister Mya, the vine-covered pair. Lord Galleazzo stood to King Vieri’s left; the god’s crimson cape hung flat against his back. The silver-armored goddess, Ysa, watched from atop her own white steed, beside Lucia and Rao, facing the other gods.
Caio’s father surged forward with his falchion raised, around Lucia’s right, to strike the Prince of Pawelon.
Lord Galleazzo took one long stride in sync with the king.
Lord Danato’s message to Lucia flashed in Caio’s mind: “He said this war will not and cannot end before one of you dies—either you or Pawelon’s prince.”
Time slowed for Caio just as he desired, after he called on The Lord of The Book of Time. Caio observed the panic on Lucia’s and Rao’s faces. He gripped Mya’s holy rod and prayed: My goddess Mya, if I have ever been a good servant to you, finish him now without warning.
Mya appeared, stepping forward beside him, wearing her dress of vines. The goddess’s eyes were wet with tears. She tilted her head to the right as she stretched out her right arm and pointed her fingers at Prince Rao.
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