Samson called for a holopod and, with the help of Muftasa, began to overlay images of the runes on a map of Ravence. Leo kept his eyes on Saayna until they were finished.
When he looked at the holopod, the roar in his ears became distant.
The runes joined together to create a large, smoldering maze that cut through Ravence. And within the center of the labyrinth, there lay no demon, but the Temple of Fire.
“The Prophet is a priest,” he whispered.
All this time, she had been in his grasp. All this time, the Prophet had grown in the shadow of his throne and in the care of holy men. He had given her food and shelter, prepared her in the ways of fire. She had watched him perform Ashanta ceremonies knowing one day that the Eternal Fire would claim him and his family.
The high priestess had sent him on a wild shobu chase.Shehad made him kill the girl.
Leo laughed, a dry, bitter laugh. Saayna bristled, shifting away from him.
He looked at the high priestess. She was no Prophet. She had no marks, and she burned just as easily as the others.
Still, he ordered a match. Arish brought it, and Leo struck it against the floor. The match flared to life. Without warning, Leo grabbed Saayna’s hand.
“What was it you said to me once—that people go astray without their leaders? That it is the role of the Prophet to lead us to enlightenment?” She struggled as he held her hand to the flame, but Leo only tightened his grip. Slowly, he pressed the match into Saayna’s palm. She yelped and flinched as there came a soft hiss and the smell of burnt flesh.
“You are the first to burn,” he said, his gaze never breaking. “And all the priests you’ve taught will burn after you. This is your path of enlightenment, Saayna, the path your Prophet will bring—one of madness. Destruction.”
He tossed the match, stamped on it, and stood. Gone was his headache. Adrenaline took its place, along with a surge of hope.
“I will not allow your insanity to endanger this kingdom,” he said. “I will burn your priests one by one until I find your Prophet. And then I will bury her in cold stone to end this cycle.”
Saayna cradled her hand to her chest, tears pricking the edges of her eyes. Still, when she spoke, her voice was clear. “Watch the winds. They don’t dance in your favor.”
For a moment, Leo hesitated. He’d already damned himself by burning that innocent girl. What would happen to him when he burned the priests? Killing a child from the street was one thing, killing the priests of the Fire Order quite another. His gold caps, who were frequent visitors of the temple, would sense something amiss.Elenawould sense something amiss. If the public learned about this, Prophet or no Prophet,theywould surely call for him to be hung.
Leo glanced at Saayna and then to the city map, his anger cooling.No, I can’t march in and just burn the priests without others noticing. But…
“You made me burn a girl,” he told Saayna. “An innocent child. I will not make that mistake again.” He turned to Muftasa. “End the search for the girls in the city. Cut off all public visitations to the temple. Say that the holy site is closed in preparation for the coronation and that the priests are secluding themselves within the mountain to fast and commemorate the event. Tell them they won’t emerge until after the ceremonial week.”
Muftasa accepted the command, but he did not miss her strained expression. Saayna hissed, rising to her feet.
“Word will break,” she said.
“Perhaps,” Leo said. “But we’ll move faster, won’t we? Arish, block all signals and communications to the temple, unless they’re military or palace. As of today, the Temple of Fire is a black site. Nothing goes in or out without my knowing.”
Saayna shook her head. “You cannot stop the Prophet. You cannot kill the order. This isblasphemy!” She tried to lunge at him, but Arish held her back. “You’re mad, just like your father. So do not blame your crimes on me.Youdid this.Youwill bring chaos on us all.”
“I’ll do what it takes to secure the welfare of my country,” Leo said.
He turned on his heel, leaving Saayna calling after him. He swept out of the Badala outpost, to the darkening desert beyond. Once outside, he stopped and stared at the mountains that lay to the west.
His father had warned him about the power of religion—the way it charmed believers to give up their thinking and follow not with their minds but with their hearts. Their weak, malleable hearts.
The high priestess was wrong. People did not go astray because they had no leader or Prophet. They became lost because they succumbed to weakness, to the soft part that wanted to be safe. They would rather chant hymns and worship a god than realize they had given themselves to a deity who did not care if they lived or died in Her name.
He pressed his fingers into his eyelids. When he opened them, his vision held steady.
The Eternal Fire did not need to burn a man to destroy him. It could eat him from within. Leo had seen it happen to his father. The old king had screamed and pulled out his hair on his deathbed, leaving Leo, a newly crowned king then, to handle the pressures of a kingdom without the former regent’s guidance.
But Elena will not be alone.Leo breathed in deeply. Unlike King Ramandra, he still had his wits about him.I will not go mad. I will not allow it.
He may not be the Prophet, but Leo knew he was stronger. He was the one who could stand in the harsh glare of the sun and still find his way.
CHAPTER 17
