“When you wish to leave,” the servant said, “I can have an escort arranged for you.”
I glared at him. “I don’t need an escort.” I took the linen from his outstretched arm. “I’d like to know the districts of Akadia, and their occupations. Is there a map available?”
“Of course, princess.”
“Bring it to me then. For the tunnels as well. Leave them outside the door. I will not require assistance with my bath.”
The servant hesitated a moment, then nodded and left with a bow. I wondered if he would check with Cyric before giving me the maps—or maybe he had been instructed to obey me. When he closed the door, I walked to the dresses he’d left. I intended to find one that would not be cumbersome, but only a quick exploration of the first few distracted me. They were gowns of Shaundakul. Soft silvers, with silk ribbons, encrusted gems. Some of blue or purple. I felt my chest tighten as I realized they were not merely dresses of Shaundakul, they were my dresses. One matched my crown so precisely, I remembered wearing it on the last dinner I’d attended in Uldin Keep.
Tears pricked my eyes, I wiped them away with my arm. Here I was surrounded by all the things I’d missed from my old life, but it was all twisted. It was a lie. Akadia pretended to be good, but it only rewarded the strong, or the skilled, or the beautiful. How many of my people had not fared so well as Cyric? How many were forced to work belowground as I had been? Or in hard trades when they might well have been sages or scholars in Shaundakul? How many women found themselves in a soldier’s service against their will?
Akadia could continue to parade whatever it liked before me, I would make them regret ever having let me inside their walls.
#
I spent the morning exploring the palace district, studying its routes, looking for weaknesses in its surrounding walls, which it had few of. Long drops acted most often for containment. It reminded me of falling from the granted temple, which reminded me that I only needed to retrieve my stone to escape.
I got used to the looks I received, clearly everyone knew who I was, but this worked well in attempting to communicate with other Shaundakulians. Not that I needed the proof of rumor or even my crown with them; in my Shaundakulian dress, cleaned, and with my hair braided many of them recognized me on sight. The court and commoners of Shaundakul had always been separated, but not so much that my people hadn’t seen me about the Keep. And of course there were lords and ladies in Akadia. It seemed, though, that there were very few Shaundakulians in the palace district compared with the other races. This made me proud, for most of the palace district residents, foreign or native, seemed comfortable with Akadia’s society.
I found no acquaintances. But in truth, I had never been close to anyone in Shaundakul, except for Scholar Padril, the other dragon riders, Kraehe, and… well, and one that was my friend no longer.
I decided I would have better luck in the other districts and was trying to slip out of the palace gate, when I was stopped by the Akadian soldiers.
“Leave me be,” I ordered. “I’ve been given permission to go where I like.”
“If that was true I would have heard of it. Besides, no one leaves the palace district unless they have work to do outside.”
“I do have work.”
He scoffed. “The property of Lieutenant Dracla working?” He erupted into laughter.
I felt my tendons coil while I forced the flush from my face. “He’s the one that’s said I can go where I like. If you reverence him, you should obey him.”
“I’m not about to take your word on the Lieutenant’s orders. If he’s allowed you to roam free I imagine it’s because he’s too busy taking over Scanth’s command of Akadia. We’ll protect his interests by keeping you from the rabble.”
“And if he should call for me? Isn’t he outside these gates?”
This finally gave the soldier pause. He looked to the female soldier beside him; I could see scathing dislike on her features as she considered me. “If it’s the Lieutenant you’d like to see, I’ll take you myself. But you won’t leave these gates on your own.”
The other soldier grew a smirk. “Looking for another chance to watch Dracla train?” he jibed the woman.
She flashed dark eyes on him, but didn’t respond. She crossed her arms and waited for my answer. I glanced outside the district, trying to see if I could spot any Shaundakulians trailing the streets. At worst, I decided I might spot a weakness in the other district walls. I nodded consent.
#
She led me down two main streets which circled back towards the red-rock wall that held up the palace. There was a large yellow-stone archway and beyond it a ramp of red earth that slanted downwards, eventually cutting a level into the ground. On either sides of this ramp were rails, half-walls, and viewing platforms, dotted with handmaidens and some ladies.
The female soldier passed all this, down a path that ran along the top sides of what I could see now were pits and stadiums, filled with training soldiers. It was these that the spectators stared into and as we neared a large rectangular cavern, the one pressed against the red rock wall, I heard a familiar voice below.
He was shouting, things I didn’t understand, as he paced the area between two groups of soldiers. Each soldier held a sword and faced another across from him. This pattern was repeated on either side of Cyric’s group, though the others didn’t have their own leader. From the way Cyric was shouting, and the soldiers watching him, from one corner to the other, I could only assume he led the lot.
He raised his sword in the air, barking a command, and all the soldiers struck towards their opponents. They seemed to be practicing a particular form. Cyric’s back was turned to me as he faced the trainees. None of them had a chance to fight for long before Cyric angrily stopped them, lashing out at a soldier at the front of the line. He struck his sword down with a fast blow from his, then addressed the entire stadium as he picked the sword back off the ground, put it into the hands of the trainee, then squeezed his hand tight around the trainee’s grip, holding it up into the air so that the others could see and yelling something about swords being useless if you couldn’t keep a hold of them.
He let go of the trainee’s hand, faced the man himself, and almost immediately swung towards him. The trainee seemed to have been expecting this and parried twice, but on the third hit he once again lost his sword. Cyric slashed his blade against the trainee’s hand, drawing blood. None of the other soldiers seemed surprised by this, some of the flinched, some of them laughed; all of them readjusted their grips on their swords.
Cyric turned and waved a hand at a soldier off to the side of the spectacle. And here I saw my stone. It glinted brightly against Cyric’s chest, where the cloth beneath his armor met his skin, it had clearly been loosened by the fight. It hung from a chain, though I could not see at this distance how it connected to the stone; perhaps a metal latch because more gold than usually showed around the amber.
The soldier he’d waved to went to collect the injured trainee, albeit roughly—dragging him off to the side, towards a fountain while the others returned to their drills. Handmaidens skirted that entire edge of the stadium, but the leading soldier waved them away from the injured one. He slammed the injured solider onto the ground, then looked back at the drilling soldiers with a cruel smirk. I recognized him now. He was a Shaundakulian, and not just any Shaundakulian, a man I knew, a soldier, his name was Slark, the son of a Lord, and perhaps the man I had most often seen badger Cyric back in Uldin Keep. Yes, it had even come to blows with them, at least according to Cyric (not that anyone besides me had ever believed him). And of course Cyric had never hit Slark, he could never have risked it. But I was at a loss, they couldn’t possibly be working together? I watched Slark return to Cyric’s side, then say something to him, nodding back to the injured man. Cyric grew a smile, cold and humored. Then his expression shifted.
His head still half-turned, his brows flicked upwards and he looked in my direction. No, not my direct
ion, directly at me. His smile was gone.
I wasn’t sure whether he would force me to leave or not, but as I looked at him, having heard while wandering the streets this morning, endless remarks about his high status, praise for his victories in the war, for his skill at training, and his familiarity with the beloved Commander Lox. Things I hadn’t known, like that he was now leading all the soldiers in Akadia until one of the commanders returned, or that he was expected to become a commander himself, the youngest since Lox. As I looked at him, knowing these things, I found that I was afraid. In our lives he had always been titled just a soldier, just a commoner; only I had been the one to see him differently. Now everything had changed. The superiority I’d believed he possessed since the first time we’d met, was now realized by everyone.
CHAPTER EIGHT
CYRIC:
The recruits had grown lax in my time away. Perhaps it was due to Scanth’s poor training, perhaps the fact that there were so many new men, and from lands we were still at war with (the eastern kingdoms) also Katellians. Either way I would make sure they were ready to impress Lox by the time he returned. I wouldn’t have weak soldiers under my command.
Before long it became obvious that Ellia’s presence was a distraction for them. I wasn’t surprised that she was there, her only skill had always been disobeying. I didn’t know why she drew their attention, she was clearly only ever looking at me. I could feel her gaze wherever I went, whatever I did. Just like I could feel her stone thanks to Veera.
“It will be safest around your neck,” she’d said. “You never let the soldiers get close to striking your chest, and your armor will protect it.”
I thought she’d just guessed that I didn’t like to touch the thing and meant to tease me, but when she’d jeeringly offered to find another solution, I wasn’t about to confirm her suspicions.
As the trainees broke for lunch, I gave instructions to Slark on what I wanted them to do during the second session; I had work belowground and would not be training them later. Then I went to the fountain to rinse my face and drink. I noticed handmaidens crowding nearby, watching me; just as intently as Ellia, though by now they’d learned to keep their distance. I nearly smiled, then I went to them, half disabling them with my attention. They served their purpose anyways. Laughing with me, smiling, eventually growing bold enough to touch me. And then I looked at Ellia. And I saw her red face. And I saw her chest rising. And I basked in the fact that I didn’t care.
Before I left I noticed Veera on one of the viewing platforms above. She was looking at me. Normally I might have waved to her, but I left without more than the glance.
#
I watched the foreigner run his hands along the behemoth’s body, into the cracks, and then measuring their deepness with an instrument, then spreading ointments which caused different reactions. I was in the tunnels beneath Akadia, in a small cave off the side of the behemoth’s cavern. I could hear their stomping and see their legs moving outside the mouth of the cave.
The behemoth inside the cave with us was just a child, and not much taller than the foreign specialist who inspected him. There was one other soldier in the cave, the one who’d been working with the foreigner before I’d arrived.
The diagnosis hadn’t been given yet, but I didn’t need the specialist to tell me that the granted creature wasn’t doing well. Its reddish brown hide was more purple than it should have been, and even nearing blackish in the places where its skin cracked. Instead of gold, its horns were pale yellow and tarnished. Its eyes were surrounded by stains, dark grey and so silvery that they looked wet; the marks they made resembled tears. The behemoths chains had been removed for the inspection, but where they had been the cracks were deepest, to the point that one of its trunkish legs looked deformed.
I waited with crossed arms for the man to finish. He was Kanthian, or so I’d heard. His accent was nothing like the only other Kanthian I knew, Seraphastus; it was much thicker. But his skin was the same almost brown tan. At least what I could see of it, most was hidden beneath cloth, black cloth, he was covered from head to foot. Only his face was exposed now and that was because I’d forced him to remove it.
Finally he turned to me and the soldier at my side.
“Do you know what it is?” I asked plainly.
“This one is worse than the others,” he said.
“Yes, we’ve discussed this, that’s because it’s only been born recently. Whatever this is, it’s not affecting the full-grown behemoths as fast, but when they breed this is the result.”
“These creatures are not meant to be without the sun.”
“Is that it, then? The lack of sun is making them sick? Why would that affect the newborns?”
The man shook his head. “The cause of their sickness comes from the earth, not above. Do you know what their shackles are made of?”
I recalled the make and color, I’d been in the mining city of Akadia long enough to know how such things were built. “Iron. Copper. Lead, but not much.”
He bent over to touch the behemoth’s foot. It let out a small grown, and when the man pulled away he rolled black dust between his fingers. He smelt it. “It could be any of these metals, even ones that they don’t come in contact with, but I would guess that the lead is responsible.”
“Like, what? The lead is poisoning them?”
“Granted animals have irregular immune systems, they often prove to be susceptible to substances that don’t hurt other creatures, other times you can use them to identify what is harmful to all life, only at a slower rate.”
“That would mean lead was poisonous to every creature,” I said, laughing a little, “even humans.”
The man looked back at the dust between his fingers. “As I said, it could only harm the behemoths.”
“But you’re sure it’s the metal? Well fine, we’ll just figure out another way to restrain them.”
“It’s not so simple. These tunnels are filled with metals, the air, the rock.”
“There has to be a way to counteract it.”
“If they were taken aboveground, permanently, perhaps they could recover.”
“That’s not possible,” I dismissed. “What else can be done?”
The man looked over at the legs of the behemoths in the next chamber. “Better ventilation. More time to rest.”
Neither of these options were ideal or simple. To allow more rest maybe impossible. But at least they were options. I could present them to Lox and he’d be the one to make the decision.
I left the foreigner with instructions to inspect more of the creatures and confirm his results. As I walked through the tunnel that led back to the surface, I saw the behemoth’s cavern through a viewing hole on my right. It had grown larger since the first time I’d entered it. There were now many more furnaces beyond the river of coals—necessary, since Akadia continued to expand. If the smiths were on schedule, Lox’s new weapons were being replicated in the forges there as well.
I passed another cave to my left, well-lit and glowing with veins of precious stones. One stood out, vivid blue, a gem known as azure. I noticed it for a reason, it reminded me of the messenger I had just sent to Lox… and now I would have to send another. Azure was a rare gem, classified as semi-precious for its lack of transparency, though you wouldn’t think by looking at it that it wasn’t worth a fortune. The blue is variegated with clouds of turquoise and spidery streaks of white and gold. I’d read a lot about them recently. They unnerved me because even though I’d never seen a gem like them, they were completely familiar to me. Of course if the myths were true, there was a good reason for this.
But I’d sent all this information on to Lox. As with the behemoths he would be the one to make the final decision. And then I would make sure whatever he wanted came about.
CHAPTER NINE
ELLIA:
I pretended to inspect a crate of silks while I tuned my hearing to the nearby soldiers. They’d noticed me at first, idling beside them o
n the street, but were now returning to their discussion. I hoped that I might actually learn something this time.
For days I’d been spying on the soldiers of the palace district, even going so far as to sneak into barracks; my aim either to hear something that would help me escape, or help the Warrior’s fight Akadia, should I ever escape. Now these ones were talking about a captain and it reminded me of the worst thing I’d learned thus far. I’d had some hopes after the first night, of speaking with Molec again, telling him about my first captivity to Akadia, and how Lox had murdered Tobias. But now I’d learned (as Amalia had alluded to before) that Lox’s killing of Tobias was known and considered just. On top of this, Lox had already told Molec of my first visit, no doubt with lies; but all of Akadia talked of it. As usually Lox had planned for everything. Well, it didn’t matter anyways. My second day in Akadia, I’d discovered that Molec had gone back on his promise to me not to build the weapons that killed chimera. After this I was glad not to speak with him, and ever gladder that there had not been any opportunities yet where I had been forced to.
The soldiers talked about the recent victory in Selket, and then about the wyverns in Ghaund (all things I’d heard). Finally, they mentioned a story I’d only gotten pieces of so far.
“Did you hear that one of the Democedian palaces was attacked?” one asked.
“Aye. Wasn’t a prince killed?”
“Yes.” He laughed. “The rumors have it that the palace was so rugged, built up into the side of a hill, that our men didn’t even realize what it was before they killed the prince, his family, and all.”
“I thought that we weren’t supposed to kill the royals anymore?”
“That’s what Lox has ordered, but this was Venoc. They say Lox is furious about it. I don’t think anyone would be surprised if Commander Venoc finds himself replaced soon.”
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