“And what of the one who let this happen? What will you do withhim?” Valdis seethed.
“He will be dealt with in time, My Lord. We will not allow anyone who puts the safety of the empire at risk. Foolishness will be his death sentence.” Head bowed, the being’s lungs continuing to heal as Valdis’s poison curled its way around his body. The taste of iron would cling to his tongue for days after this encounter.
“And who will take his place?” Valdis barked.
“I’m working on finding a suitable replacement,” the creature promised.
“Good.” Valdis waved a hand towards the single wooden door to the keep and it flew open, revealing a crimson-cloaked figure who stepped into the room with quiet stealth. “In the meantime, we have other ways of dealing with oursituation.”
The firelight revealed the tattoos that covered the figure’s hands and shaved head as the man dropped to his knee and bowed. “My Lords.”
“It’s time,” Valdis commanded. “Kill the mage. Find a way, I don’t care how it gets done. Do so, and you’ll be rewarded beyond what someone of your station could ever wish for.”
The cloaked man dipped his head, teeth shining behind his parted lips against his crimson hood and pale skin. “It will be done.”
Chapter 14
Ambrose considered herself lucky when she made it to the last day of the Harvest Festival without seeing Casimir. The palace had become like a graveyard as servants and nobles filed about in ghostly silence. Even the week’s festivities couldn’t fully bring the warmth back, but tonight, Ambrose was determined to enjoy herself. She wouldn’t let anyone ruin the Harvest Festival.
Her magick lessons were quiet. They only spoke about the fallen mages once when they had a small memorial for them at one of their last lessons. Death was usually sacred—especially when a mage died—but Casimir had their bodies discarded like they were nothing. Without a proper burial ceremony. So, they’d taken it upon themselves to give them a small send-off and then knew they could never speak of it again.
“You always look so deep in thought, you really should lighten up.” Lily tapped Ambrose on the back as they headed towards the palace entrance.
For a moment, the walls around them disappeared and she was transported to the woods outside the city walls where she’d said something not so different to Adym what seemed like a lifetime ago. He’d be so proud to see how serious she’d grown, now that she was a Trial Champion. She hoped she could find him at the festivities. If she could find him and finally talk to him, maybe she could convince him to leave with her. They could grab Ernaline and make their escape while everyone was distracted. She would never forgive herself if she didn’t try.
“See? Where’d you go?” Lily studied Ambrose with a look of concern. “Are you okay?”
“Sorry.” Ambrose gave her a reassuring smile. “I just can’t get the festival out of my mind. This year has been so different.” Not the truth. Not a lie. She still wasn’t sure how much she could trust Lily, though she had come to deeply admire and respect her. It was an unexpected friendship that turned out to be one she didn’t know she desperately needed. She wanted to enjoy the last day of the festival the same way everyone else did—by throwing all her worries away for one night. She was going to enjoy it as a free citizen as it likely was her last one ever. She pushed the world’s impending doom from her mind and tried to focus on having fun with her friend.
“It has been. It’s pretty weird with Casimir always around. It’s as though the entire palace is frozen in this weird state of fear. Even the upper nobles are affected, I’ve never seen anything like it.” Lily tossed her red-brown hair over her shoulder and gave Ambrose a nod. “That doesn’t matter though. Tonight is the biggest celebration of the year and the only time the powers-that-be take the sticks out of their asses and let everything loose. I don’t care if he freezes the entire festival, we’re not missing it.” She pumped a fist in the air and linked her other arm with Ambrose’s.
Lily brought an encouraging amount of energy to each day.
“You’re right. I’m actually glad to be getting out of the palace today. I haven’t been to the market in ages.” Ambrose realized her mistake too late.
“The market?” Lily implored, “When was a palace servant ever in the market?”
Ambrose turned away and hoped she wouldn’t see the growing redness on her face. “In paintings of course, there are depictions all over the palace and I’ve always wanted to go in person.”
Lily looked at her as though she didn’t believe her but wasn’t upset at her for lying. “You don’t have to do that. Not when you’re with me. I know it doesn’t always feel like it, but you’re safe. I promise.” She squeezed her arm in reassurance. “I know this world can make it hard to trust, but I’m here for you. At least, I want to be. But you never have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”
Everything about Lily felt safe and Ambrose wanted to trust her, but shenever thought she’d meet a noble shecouldtrust, even Inanna maintained her status when she and Ambrose weren’t alone, as was expected. Lily was so open and kind, it slightly scared her to imagine opening up to someone who wasn’t Ernaline. Even Adym didn’t know many of her inner thoughts. A few weeks of a good friendship weighed hard against the unknown. Underestimating someone could get her killed, and Ambrose still wasn’t certain why Lily had taken such a liking to her.
“Don’t be weird,” Ambrose joked in an attempt to lighten the mood. “What do you want to do first?”
Lily beamed and quickened her step. “Shopping of course! Just wait, there’s so much to see and do, you’re going to be amazed.”
Ambrose returned her smile, hoping for a day of some normal fun. No terrifying ancient kings. No training or fighting. No powers she couldn’t control. Just two friends, having fun the way two girls their age should. Today, they weren’t mages or warriors, they were just Ambrose and Lily.
Well, and Akadian.
“Would you hurry your old ass up?” Lily tossed over her shoulder at the prince who walked slowly behind them, clearly unhappy with the day’s plans.
“I’m not that old. And I far outrank you, so watch it.” Akadian growled past the hair that fell in his eyes, though he kept his gaze turned down.
It genuinely impressed Ambrose how unafraid of the royals Lily was. Her family must have done something to earn never-ending favor from the gods for her to take so much freedom. No matter what she did, Lily never held back. It was something Ambrose not only admired but wished she knew for herself. Her entire life she’d been holding back when all she wanted to do was see what she could do without the restraints of their society. A smile tugged at her mouth as Ambrose wondered if it was her birth that gave her so much confidence or if she simply had it because she was… Well,Lily.
“That doesn’t mean shit if you can’t even keep up,” Lily cracked.
