by Claire Luana
“I hear that King Evander and his staff are meeting with people,” Thom offered. “The military. The nobles’ council. The Guilds. Making them swear loyalty.”
Wren frowned. “What? Why? Have we talked to anyone from the other Aperative Guilds? Found out what these meetings are like?”
“Maybe that’s something Callidus would have shared in one of the three meetings he summoned you to,” Thom said around a huge bite of waffle.
Wren threw a piece of dill at him, and it floated down between them onto the table. “Not you too.”
“There’s talk that those who supported King Imbris were...taken care of,” Olivia said in hushed tones, her blonde ponytail bunched in one hand. “We haven’t seen Grandmaster Beckett since the coup.”
“Marina hasn’t heard from him?” Wren asked. Grandmaster Beckett was the traitorous grandmaster who had tried to seize the Guild from Callidus by turning him over for treason and execution. He sponsored Wren’s friend Lennon and was father another of their members: the beautiful but cold Marina.
Olivia and Thom both shook their heads. “Not a word.”
Wren frowned. “He did throw his lot behind King Imbris. Maybe he’s cooling his heels in the Block.”
“Or maybe he’s at the bottom of the Cerulean Bay,” Thom said. “I hear these Apricans like to make people disappear.”
“That sounds like market gossip,” Wren said. Part of her didn’t want to hear about any of this. She was done with politics, with kings and plans and coups.
“I can’t believe these are our lives now,” Olivia said, pushing a raspberry around on her plate. “We’re Apricans.”
“No one will ever mistake us for Apricans,” Wren said. “Well, you’re blonde enough to be one, so maybe you could pass, but Thom and me? No way. Apricans are built like the Sower himself. Tall and muscular, and too handsome to be fair, especially for a bunch of invaders. Apricans look like...”
“Hale,” Thom said.
Wren sighed. “Yeah, like Hale.”
“No.” Thom pointed behind her with a hiss of breath. “Hale.”
Wren whirled on her bench, her elbow knocking into her coffee cup and splattering the dregs across the table. The slow-seeping liquid barely registered in her mind. It took all her energy to keep breathing, to keep moving the air into her lungs and out.
Hale stood in the doorway of the dining hall like a blond angel of destruction. An Aprican uniform of sky blue trimmed with gold stretched over his muscled form, the country’s golden sunburst on his breast. His blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and his hand, the hand that had once stirred caramel and poured chocolate in the teaching kitchen with Wren, now rested on a sword hilt. But the worst change was his face. Gone was the easy grin, the playful crinkle in the corners of his turquoise eyes that told you that he was definitely, absolutely, up to something—something that you wanted to be a part of. It was replaced by a blank canvas, a wall of a man with nothing behind it. No light, no mirth.
Hale strode stiffly to their table and held out a letter sealed in gold wax. A bit of spilled coffee dripped onto Wren’s skirt, but she couldn’t move. She was frozen. She was stone.
“Wren, this is a summons for you, Thom, and Callidus. You’re to meet with Emperor Evander’s representative this afternoon.”
Emperor? Thom mouthed to her. Wren was frozen to the spot.
Hale wagged the letter again, motioning for her to take it.
Thom finally reached out and retrieved it. “Thanks, Hale.”
Hale nodded. “Okay then.” He turned in his shiny black boots and walked from the room.
Chapter 2
In. Out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Suddenly, Wren was gasping. She pushed up from the bench, her breakfast forgotten.
“Wren, are you all right?” Olivia put a steadying hand out, but Wren flinched away.
“I just need some air,” she said.
“What are you going to do?” Thom called after her, but she was already out the door, into the hallway. Her feet pounded on the polished marble of the hallway, the plush carpet of the antechamber, and then she was out the front door, the October chill dousing her like a bucket of cold water. It shocked her senses and brought her back through the fog that had fallen over her. “Hale!” she called, wrapping her arms tightly against her chest and hurrying down the five Guild steps to where Hale was taking the reins of a chestnut horse from a groom.
He turned, his expression wary.
Wren pulled up short in front of him, tongue-tied now that she was faced with the reality of him. The last two weeks all she had wanted was to see him, to scream at him for what he had done—for betraying their entire country to the enemy, for stabbing Virgil, for turning Lucas into a fugitive she might never see again. But now that she was here...the words turned to ash in her mouth.
“Are you well?” was all she managed.
Hale let out a snort of a laugh. “Really?”
Wren nodded. Concern bled through her anger, mingling with it until she wasn’t sure where one left off and the other began.
“I am as well as could be expected,” he replied.
Wren shivered violently as an icy bit of wind swirled past them, cutting through the thin cotton of her skirt.
“Get inside before you catch a cold,” he said gently.
There was more to say. Words, books, libraries worth of things to say. But at that moment, there was nothing but the silence of her lips, the pounding of her heart. So she turned to go, her movements wooden.
“Wren,” Hale called.
She turned back.
“It’s not like it was before. Sneaking around...playing at inspector or revolutionary. Don’t cross Emperor Evander.”
“Or what?” Wren’s stubbornness kicked in. Her chin lifted in defiance. “You’ll kill me like you killed Virgil?”
Wren was rewarded by a slight flinch of Hale’s chiseled features. “I didn’t tell them about you and Thom helping Lucas and his siblings, and I won’t. But it’s not a game we play here. It’s war.”
“And here I thought you’d already won.” Wasn’t that what it had all been about? Defeating King Imbris at whatever cost? Taking revenge on their former monarch for his part in Sable’s death?
Hale shook his head, worlds passing behind those eyes. “You should have left when you had the chance.”
“Some of us don’t abandon our friends when they need us. If I had left, Callidus and Lucas would be dead.”
“So what, you bought your prince another few weeks? They’re going to find him. Maybe they already have.”
Fear surged through her at Hale’s words. Did he know something about Lucas’s location? She struggled to keep her features calm and unreadable. “Maybe,” she managed. “But maybe not.”
“Just be careful. I can’t protect you anymore.”
She gave a fake little bow. “You have made that quite clear, Sim Firena,” she said, referring to him by his formal Aprican name. Wren spun on her heel and marched up the steps and through the Guildhall’s front door. As soon as she was through, she sagged against it. She felt weary to her bones. Perhaps it was time to go back to bed.
Hale set his jaw against the bite of the wind, trying to think of something, anything besides the haunted expression on Wren’s face. She had looked gaunt, so painfully thin a stiff breeze might break her. But still, he’d have rather battled a dozen warriors than face the truth in her eyes. The truth of his betrayal. Of the man he used to be and the life he used to live.
He hadn’t wanted to go to the Guildhall; the Aprican legionnaires could have sent any of a hundred soldiers to deliver the message. It had been his new commander Captain Ambrose’s idea to send him. Just a bit of sport, the type of idle cruelty Apricans excelled at. It had been so many years since he’d lived in Se Caelus amongst people like Ambrose—he’d forgotten the politics and powerplays and backstabbing. He needed to remember quickly if he was to survive amongst his kinsmen. And survive he would. For this new l
ife with its uniforms and cruelty and loneliness was the cost of the bargain he had struck, the price to be paid for Hale’s revenge on King Hadrian Imbris. It had been his bet, but the stakes hadn’t been his. Anger and despair had overtaken him after Sable’s death, and in that moment all that had mattered was King Imbris’s death. They would all pay the price for his moment of vengeance—the city and Guild who had taken him in, the people he had loved. The cost was nothing less than the freedom of a nation. That had been the bargain, and now he would live with it. Whatever suffering and horror came his way, he would embrace it, knowing it was only a fraction of what he had doomed the people of Alesia to. Maradis was a captive, and so he would be too. He didn’t deserve the blessed relief of death.
Hale rode through the palace gates, his eyes sliding off the pale blue flag with its golden sunburst. He dismounted, handing his horse’s reins to a groom, striding inside the walls of his new home. His new prison.
“Lieutenant Firena,” a smooth voice called to him from down the hallway.
Hale stifled a grimace and turned to face Captain Ambrose. “Sir?”
The captain, sporting a uniform of white and sky blue, was a handsome, sandy-haired man with a neat brown beard. Hale hated him and everything he represented.
“Did you impress upon your old Guild fellows the importance of this afternoon’s summons?” Ambrose asked, a gleam in his green eyes.
“I delivered the message, sir,” Hale said, not willing to give the other man the satisfaction of knowing how much the trip had affected him.
“Excellent. Before you hurry off to your next task, I have need of you.”
“Very well.” Hale fell into step next to the other man, whose long stride ate up the polished marble floors of the Imbris palace. Well, it wasn’t the Imbris palace anymore. The soldiers and officers who walked these halls didn’t seem to fit, too bright and brash for the dark mahogany and gray stone of this place.
“Where are we going?” Hale asked as they rounded a corner into an unfamiliar building and headed down a narrow set of stairs.
“The dungeon,” Ambrose replied. “We’ve got an old friend of yours.”
Hale’s stomach lurched at Ambrose’s words; his mind raced to try to identify who the captive could be. “A guild member?” he asked.
“Indeed.” They passed into a corridor of roughhewn stone, torches burning in iron sconces on the walls. A low moan echoed through the chill air, raising the hackles on the back of Hale’s neck.
Ambrose slowed to a stop, turning to Hale. “I’d like you to speak with this fellow and take his measure. He claims to be loyal to Aprica, but I’m unconvinced. He served Imbris before the coup, and you know anyone loyal to that man is suspect.”
“You just want me to…talk to him?” Hale asked.
Ambrose leaned closer, the torchlight limning the angles of his cheekbones, making them stand out in stark relief. His voice was low. “I want you to pretend you’ve snuck down here to speak with him. Tell him you might be able to get him out if he’ll help you against us. See what he does. If he agrees to betray us, I have my answer.”
“Who is it?” Hale asked, swallowing the bile rising in his throat.
“Grandmaster Beckett.” Ambrose grinned slyly, holding a heavy iron key out to Hale.
Hale relaxed imperceptibly, taking the key from Ambrose’s outstretched hand. He didn’t wish to see Beckett’s head on a pike, but he wouldn’t spare any tears if Beckett got what was coming to him. The man’s betrayal of Callidus and the Guild had set in motion the chain of events that had led to Sable’s death. “I’ll do it.”
“He’s right down there,” Ambrose said, pointing to a cell two doors down. “And Hale...I’ll be listening.”
Hale nodded stiffly, trying to resist the urge to look through the cells at the other prisoners. He didn’t want to know. Not really.
Beckett’s door opened with a screech of hinges. Hale slipped inside, closing the barred door behind him.
Beckett was sitting on a lumpy mattress on the floor, his watery blue eyes wild and wary. He didn’t relax when he saw Hale, his fingers worrying a button on his stained suit. “What are you doing here?” he rasped.
Hale stood awkwardly in the cell, his head nearly touching the foul ceiling, wishing he had somewhere to sit. He approached slowly. “They don’t know I’m here. I’m trying to find a way out. To do that, I need allies.”
Beckett scoffed, his pale jowls quivering. If anything, the man had gotten fatter during his several-weeks confinement. “You look like you’re doing fine…Lieutenant?” He pointed towards the gold bars on Hale’s jacket, signifying his rank.
“Don’t let the clothes fool you,” Hale said. “I’m as much a prisoner as you are.”
“And what do you think I can do for you?”
“You were well connected once. If I get you out, we could help each other. Get out of Maradis. Out of Alesia.”
“Your inbred Guild family doesn’t want you anymore?”
Hale rumbled in anger. He took a step towards the door. “I must have been mistaken.”
“Wait!” Beckett cried, throwing out a hand towards Hale. He quieted. “What would I need to do?”
Hale wracked his brain for an answer. “Just be ready to go when the time comes. Be willing to do whatever it takes to get out of here. Even kill Aprican soldiers.”
Beckett nodded, licking his lips nervously.
“Good,” Hale said, striding back towards the door, anxious to be gone from this place. What was Ambrose going to do now that Hale had confirmed that the man was willing to betray the Apricans? He shoved down his guilt. He was sure it was the first of many distasteful tasks Hale would be required to perform. It was no more than he deserved.
Beckett called after him. “Hale. Can you do something for me? Do you...have that power?”
Hale stilled, his hand resting on the bars. Would the man ask him to take a message to his daughter, Marina?
But no. “No more bread,” Beckett said. “I can’t eat any more. Please. Just get me something else.”
What? Hale’s brow wrinkled. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Every day they stuff me with it. Sourdough, rye, pumpernickel. Bear claws and croissants and doughnuts. I’m drowning in it. I can’t eat any more. I think I’d rather die.”
“They’re feeding you too much bread?” Hale asked, still confused.
Beckett nodded, his face weary. “Please, no more.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Hale said before hurrying out of the cell.
Chapter 3
The letter Hale had handed Wren summoned her, Thom, and Grandmaster Callidus to the royal palace at 2 p.m. that afternoon. And so Wren found herself sitting in the silence of a rocking carriage, looking out the window onto the bleak Maradis afternoon. The gray winters had never bothered her before, not really. She’d had Master Oldrick’s kitchen to keep her warm, and the world outside had seemed little her concern. This year, the rain seeped into her soul, bearing her down with heaviness and damp. It threatened to wash her away, and she was half-inclined to let it.
“Son of a spicer,” Thom swore, peering out his side of the carriage next to her. His curse roused her enough to lean over to look out his window—a move she regretted instantly.
Her stomach somersaulted into her throat as she saw them, the line of gruesome heads on pikes decorating the palace gate like a string of yuletide lights. “I think I’m going to be sick,” she said as her mouth turned dry and her breakfast heaved itself skyward.
Callidus pounded the ceiling of the carriage. “Stop!” he cried, his blue eyes wide with revulsion. The carriage lurched to a stop, and Wren toppled forward and then back, which didn’t help the precarious situation in her stomach. She tumbled out of the carriage door onto the ground just in time to empty the entire contents of her stomach onto the slick, gray cobblestones.
The heads filled the periphery of her vision—from here she could recognize the twisted and
rotting faces of the Imbris line: King Hadrian and his wife, Queen Eloise. Crown Prince Zane. Lucas’s other older brothers—Casius, Maxim, Rikard, and Virgil. Poor, selfless Virgil—an image of him surfaced in her mind—Virgil in the library in his brown robes, petting Ella’s cat. Then the image of him standing before Hale, bravely trying to save his father’s life. A father who had never given him a second thought, who hadn’t deserved his protection. Certainly not his life.
Wren wiped her mouth and shakily hauled herself back into the carriage, shutting the door to let it trundle the rest of the short way up to the palace doors.
Callidus’s nose was wrinkled, his thick brows furrowed. “You smell like sick.”
“Thank you for your astute observation, Callidus,” Wren said, weariness washing over her.
“Are you all right?” Thom laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.
She nodded.
“If you have to vomit again, at least try to do it on an Aprican.” Callidus sniffed.
Wren and Thom exchanged a look. “Was that... Was that a joke?” Thom asked, bewildered, as the carriage came to a stop.
“Surely not,” Wren said. “Callidus cracking jokes? Then I would know the Huntress has come for us all and dragged us down to hell.”
“It may come to that before the end,” Callidus said, disappearing out the carriage door in a flurry of black.
“No way to go but forward,” Thom said, gesturing towards the open door.
The royal palace seemed little changed from the last time Wren had been here, when she had come looking for Lucas and had ended up sneaking out a second-story window. Well, little had changed if one ignored the heads lining the wall and the Aprican blue and gold decorating the palaces’ flagpoles and uniformed officers. And Wren very much felt like ignoring those items. After the trio announced themselves, the guards led them through the ornate hallways, past rows of bleached spaces where paintings of Alesian monarchs had once hung.
Their armed escorts showed them to separate rooms to be questioned. The thought of being split up made Wren’s stomach churn yet again. She tried to rally her courage and found it thin indeed. But she had faced the Grand Inquisitor and the Block. She could do this.
