Sapient Salvation 4: The Claiming (Sapient Salvation Series)

by Jayne Faith

  A sigh of relief escaped my lips, but a hard, cold look from the Priestess reminded me that we’d been interrupted.

  “Make no rogue moves, Lord Toric,” she said, her words commanding but rushed. “You are not free to make decisions on a whim. Think of your people. You are the Guardian Lord of Calisto and Earthenfell, and you must do your duty. You are bound by birth, by the sacred texts, and by the laws to do so. Your first obligation is to your people.”

  The Priestess peered at me, her eyes drilling into mine, but after a second or two when she looked away she seemed satisfied, as though she’d taken my silence as acceptance of her words.

  I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek as thoughts and emotions roiled inside me.

  I was not backing down, but for the moment it was best to let the Priestess believe I was.

  As we waited for Maya to arrive, I fumed. Not just at High Priestess Lunaria, but also at myself. If she thought she could command my heart and my actions with a few stern words, then it was because I had given her the impression that I could be easily overruled. Overpowered. Too quick to submit in the name of duty.

  It was true. I’d spent my entire life submitting to the will of outside influences, whether people or rules or conventions.

  I’d had enough. But that would have to remain my secret for now.

  At her assistant’s announcement that Maya had come, the Priestess went to open her office door and I stood, straightening slowly to my full height. A new sense of purpose surged through me like a fortifying elixir.

  I felt Maya’s energy before I saw her appear in the doorway of the reception room. Her signature mingled with my own energy, warming and deepening the sensation around my heart.

  I felt my expression ease as she approached, and the friction of my confrontation with the Priestess dwindled a little in the intensity of Maya’s presence, as if the very fact of her existence confirmed my conviction.

  Her face, tight and pale, was framed by wisps of dark hair that had escaped the loose braid that was arranged over one shoulder. When she spotted me, her eyes brightened but then clouded with caution when she glanced at the High Priestess.

  Maya bent in a low, graceful curtsy.

  The High Priestess gave a magnanimous smile. “I trust you were treated well, young woman?”

  With an almost imperceptible shift of her weight away from Novia, the priestess who had arrived with her, Maya smiled and inclined her head once. “The priestesses have always been good to me, Your Holiness.”

  “Very well, very well.” High Priestess Lunaria was already gathering her robes as if ready to turn and retreat back to her office. She glanced at me. “Shall we continue our morning meeting, my Lord?”

  I stared at her a moment as I realized she wasn’t planning to speak to Maya in private. The High Priestess was trying to appear unconcerned, and I believed it was mostly for the benefit of Novia. As much as I wanted to get away from the High Priestess, I knew I needed to play along.

  “We shall, Your Holiness,” I said. Before I followed her, I faced Maya. “I will see you this evening.”

  I caught the spark of pleasure in Maya’s eyes before she tilted her face down for a curtsy, and a flash of warmth shot through me at the thought of her joining me in my bedchamber later.

  Once back inside her office, the High Priestess handed me a tablet and picked up where we’d left off studying the texts and the Sequence for the Return at the end of our last meeting. As she spoke, I watched her face closely, realizing she truly seemed to have put to rest my pitch to marry Maya. The High Priestess appeared to thoroughly believe she’d dissuaded me.

  Determination filled me like slowly hardening cement as the High Priestess talked. She was so very wrong. My mind was made up.

  I nodded in response to a question from the Priestess, squinting a bit as if I were focusing on the implications of the text we were examining, but my mind was elsewhere.

  I would have Maya, and I would lead the Return. But I wasn’t sure I could accomplish what I wanted to alone. The image of my brother’s face came to mind. At first I pushed it away, but after a moment I reconsidered. Would he be willing? And more important, could I trust him?

  When my appointment with the High Priestess ended, she rose and walked around her desk to stand before me. Her folded hands disappeared within the long sleeves of her robes. She gave me what I’m sure she believed was a kindly smile.

  “You are a man of deep faith and a dutiful Lord, Toric,” she said. “I know you will allow the texts to guide you, and you will stay the path. The Temple is here to serve you in that purpose. Think of it, Lord Toric. Your name will be etched in the minds of every Calistan from now to the end of time.”

  I shivered involuntarily. Her words and the fanatic gleam in her eyes were a bit too reminiscent of my mother. Or Jeric, when he’d been in his obsessive fugue.

  I bowed to hide the distaste that tried to twist my face into a grimace.

  “Until tomorrow morning, Your Holiness.” I swiftly turned and exited her office.

  In the reception room, my two guards snapped to attention and fell in step behind me as I left.

  The Priestess had inadvertently brought to mind my mother, which reminded me that I’d been avoiding her. She’d been the one behind Maya’s kidnapping, and I believed she’d been traitorous in other ways, too, but didn’t have proof of it.

  Just another person on the list of those I could not trust.

  I touched my earpiece to get in touch with my assistant. “Camira, I want to verify that Hera received my order to summon Maya tonight. And every night hereafter.”

  “One moment, my Lord.” A moment later Camira’s voice returned. “I’ve verified your summons of Maya for this evening. However, Hera has refused to put in a ‘standing order,’ as she called it. The protocol is to put in a request each day.”

  I felt my chest tighten with annoyance, and I waited a beat before I replied. Camira didn’t deserve to bear the brunt of my frustration. In the calmest voice I could manage, I said, “Tell Hera that the Lord of Calisto and Earthenfell is hereby putting in an order to summon Maya every night.” I disconnected before she could reply.

  It wasn’t late yet, just past dinner, I realized, as my empty stomach grumbled. I had enough time to grab a quick bite in my chambers and then bathe before Maya’s arrival.

  When she appeared through a side door in my bedchamber, she once again wore her silken robe. The tie was cinched high on her waist, accentuating the curve of her hips and the length of her slim legs.

  I went to her and snatched her up, greedily folding her small frame into my arms. I allowed myself a moment to kiss the soft skin of her neck just under her earlobe. Then I lowered her feet to the floor, keeping hold of her hands.

  “Before I’m utterly distracted by my desire to devour you, I need to know how it went with the miracle commission today,” I said, keeping my voice very low.

  The sparkle in her eyes muted at my mention of the interview, and her energy seemed to draw inward.

  “Honestly, it was hard to tell.” She also spoke at a whisper. “They asked me to describe what happened before, during, and after. They wanted a lot of detail, and they asked me to repeat some parts several times.”

  As I watched her eyes grow wide and felt anxiety thread through her energy, I silently cursed the High Priestess for not finding a way to spare Maya the stress of a Temple inquisition.

  I summoned what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “The High Priestess was confident you’d do the job, and I was too.”

  She let out a slow breath, her gaze dropped, and her eyes unfocused. “I just hope it was enough.”

  With a finger under her chin, I tilted her face up, forcing her to look at me. “It was,” I said with conviction.

  I swept her up into my arms and carried her to my bed, where I was delighted to discover she was wearing nothing under the robe.

  She gave me a sensuous, lazy-lidded look. “I don’t have my new
garments yet, so I figured rather than repeat last night’s apparel . . .” She lifted one shoulder in a little shrug.

  A growl of desire rose up my throat as my arousal ignited. She reached for me and that was all the signal I needed.

  The next morning when I woke with Maya curled next to me, her head on my chest and her dark hair spread over both of us, I held very still. I watched the slight movement of her body as she inhaled and exhaled. Unable to help myself, I reached out a finger to stroke the curve of her shoulder. She sighed in her sleep and stirred a little but didn’t wake.

  Sudden longing for this, for her face to be the first sight my eyes took in every morning, flooded through me with such force I inhaled sharply at the sudden sense of vertigo. I closed my eyes and sent out a prayer to the universe, a plea that I would be granted the knowledge of the right timing and action to do what I planned to do.

  I crept from the bed, trying not to disturb the covers so I wouldn’t wake her up. Victor was waiting in my dressing room when I’d finished bathing, and he helped me into my clothes—tunic and pants made of storm-gray, rough-spun Earthen silk. I wore the crown of the Lord on my head. It wasn’t a requirement except during official events, but my media and public relations people had recommended that I never be seen without it. We were living in the midst of profound moments in Calistan history, and they felt the crown was a unifying symbol for the people. For once, I agreed with a PR decision.

  I elected to postpone breakfast until after my morning meeting with the High Priestess. It actually felt good to walk through the crisp morning air with my stomach empty, hollowed out as if my body were a vessel ready to be filled with purpose.

  After my confrontation with the Priestess the previous day, I was a bit on edge about meeting with her again. But I expected a report on Maya’s interview with the miracle commission, and my desire for that information was greater than my urge to avoid the Temple. As a precaution, I’d left Calvin with strict orders to watch over Maya and asked him to increase the guard in her vicinity three-fold.

  I reached the reception room of the Priestess’s office, and her assistant led me straight back to the office’s closed door, knocking once and then opening it.

  High Priestess Lunaria sat serene as always behind her desk.

  “Good morning, my Lord.”

  I noted that she didn’t rise. She wasn’t required by royal etiquette to curtsy upon my arrival, but by convention, the High Priestess usually at least stood for the Lord.

  I offered her a low nod that might nearly pass for a small bow. “Good morning.”

  There were two cups on saucers on the desk with steam curling lazily from the surface of the orange-brown tea. I made myself comfortable and reached for my cup.

  I brought the cup near my lips and spoke over the rim. “Before we discuss the texts, let us do a full review of the miracle commission’s activities.” I blew across the surface of the liquid and then took a small sip. The tea was rich with fruity notes, and the subtle infusion of bergamine reminded me of Maya.

  The Priestess didn’t respond or reach for her tablet for a beat or two, and for a moment I wondered if she was going to try to refuse my request. Not that I’d allow it.

  “Very well,” she finally said in a practiced unreadable tone, but I caught the tension around her eyes. It said, clearly enough, that she didn’t want to talk about Maya’s interview.

  Irritation bubbled up through me. The Priestess knew I expected disclosure, and she was intimately aware of how invested I was in Maya’s safety. I shouldn’t have had to ask the Priestess for this information. I sipped my tea again and focused on staying calm.

  “Maya repeated her story for the commission, and it was largely consistent with the other eye-witness testimony the commission has gathered so far.”

  I waited for more. When she didn’t elaborate, I swallowed a withering sigh and set my cup back on its saucer. “Largely consistent? Does that mean there were inconsistencies?” I prodded.

  “There are always inconsistencies among eye-witnesses, but I trust the women of the commission are smart enough to know that.”

  “You must have taken the commission’s temperature on this, either directly or through someone on the inside,” I said, impatience straining my voice. “Which way are they leaning on their miracle ruling at this point?”

  It was like trying to pull teeth from an ill-tempered donkey.

  “I believe things are on Maya’s side at the moment,” she said. She drew a bit straighter in her chair and leveled her chin. “Speaking of Maya, I do not think it wise to use her at the exclusion of all the other women in the harem. I understand she’s your favorite, but when we settle on Earthenfell, you will have to abide by the sacred texts and produce Earthen children with the rest of the active women of the harem, too. It doesn’t seem wise to alienate all of them.”

  My lips parted as my jaw dropped. For a moment, I could only stare at her in astonishment. I leaned forward, placing both hands on her desk. The heat of anger flashed up my chest and over my face.

  “Who I bring into my bedchamber every night is absolutely beyond the purview of the Temple.” I practically spit the words. “It is none of your business!”

  Wariness sent a cold prickle through my anger. The High Priestess seemed to know of my “standing order” to summon Maya every night, which likely meant she had spies in the harem. Probably one or more of the Calistan women who worked there.

  The Priestess leaned in as well, her eyes flashing. “Maya Calderon is absolutely our business. Or have you momentarily forgotten that she spent several hours in front of the Temple’s miracle commission yesterday?” She pursed her lips and shook her head once. “You’re not thinking clearly. Many are already on Maya’s side, already believing that she’s a bona fide miracle. But all of Calisto knows who sleeps in the Lord’s bed every night. It’s not good for her image to be continually called to your bed. It reminds people that she’s one of the cadre of women here to serve your needs. It lowers her status in the eyes of the public.”

  I spread my hands wide. “Even if that’s true, who cares?” Unable to rein in my anger, the words exploded from my mouth. “You just said the miracle commission is likely to find in her favor. I don’t understand your angle. You seem bent on opposing me and controlling me just for the sake of it.”

  It was my turn to shake my head. I blew out a loud breath as anger and disappointment curled through me in an ugly torrent.

  She seemed to contract, pulling into herself and becoming deadly calm. “The miracle commission is not our greatest worry.” The chill in her voice nearly made me shiver.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Even if the commission finds in her favor, there are others in the Temple who are bent on proving—” She lowered her voice to a near-whisper. “Proving that Maya’s survival of the flame was a fraud.”

  My heart dipped in fear at her words, but I couldn’t let her off the hook so easily. “Explain to me how my shunning Maya would help.”

  “Appearances, my Lord. It doesn’t help the image of purity, of her status as a miraculous symbol, if people are picturing her in the Lord’s bedchamber. You understand as well as I do the importance of perception. It’s everything.”

  My heart was bucking, and my hands shook. The Priestess wasn’t completely wrong about the importance of perception, but I still vehemently disagreed with her suggestion and, increasingly, her overall approach.

  I fixed her eyes with my gaze. “If Maya were my queen, wouldn’t that legitimize her in the eyes of the public, of the entire universe for that matter?”

  She lowered her lids and pulled in a slow breath through her nose. When she opened her eyes, it was to give me a look as if she were a beleaguered mother trying to keep patience with a wayward child.

  “My Lord, I believe your fixation with Maya is dangerously clouding your judgment.”

  I stared at her for a beat and then slowly rose to my feet. I searched her face, lookin
g for any sign of the reasonable woman I used to know. I didn’t find it. “We’re finished.”

  I turned and took a step toward the door.

  “I will not allow Maya to become queen,” she said, her voice somehow quiet and commanding at the same time. “If I see that you are trying to subvert me, I will not hesitate to leak information to Novia and her group of dissenters. They’ll find out what really happened, and they’ll make sure the flame claims Maya in truth next time.”

  I wheeled around to face her, my mind reeling with a new level of incredulity. “But you believe Maya is the harbinger,” I said. “You’re doing all this . . . you’re working so hard to maintain that appearance. You would not let her die just to get back at me.”

  “You still don’t understand.” Her voice grew heavy, tired. “This is not about you. It’s not about Maya. It’s not about me. It’s about reclaiming Earthenfell—our home, our destiny. If you stray too far from the path of the Return, I must take it as a sign that it’s not meant to be. Not now, not for us.”

  I stared at her with undisguised astonishment. “You would sacrifice everything? Our chance at Earthenfell?”

  She simply nodded. “If it becomes clear that it’s not ours. We must abide by the texts.” She gestured off to the side at the locked cabinet where the sacred texts were stored.

  My jaw dropped. But she had already orchestrated a fake miracle. And now she was trying to force my hand and control my decisions.

  For the first time, I wondered if some of the madness that had touched Jeric might have infected the High Priestess.

  Without another word, I turned and left. My legs felt unsteady, as if I’d had one too many tumblers of brew.

  Could I be the one who was touched by madness? Was my judgment clouded as she’d accused? I gave my head a hard shake, suddenly disoriented and reeling.

  The Priestess and I were supposed to be working in concert to take our people home. But lately all she’d done was fill me with uncertainty.