Elena stared. “How did you—”
Samson swayed. She caught him by the elbow, and he sagged against her.
“I’m fine, just fine.” This close, she could smell the sweet musk of his sweat, the ash on his skin. For a moment, he leaned into her, his forehead pressed into her shoulder, his hand curved around the nape of her neck. He was heavy, warm. His fingers delicate against her skin. Her heart clattered—in bafflement, unease, and a deeper, darker feeling she could not name.
“Samson,” she said.
He straightened suddenly, pulling away. “I’m fine.”
His face had paled, and she noticed how his hand trembled around the hilt of his urumi.
“I’m fine, Elena,” he said, more forcefully this time.
She nodded, for his sake. “Shall we go find Saayna?”
“You go. I’ll make sure the Eternal Fire is…” He hesitated, as if tasting the word.“Cowed.”
She descended the stairs, and then looked back. Samson stood before the Eternal Fire, his shoulders stiff like a board. Though she could not see his face, she could feel his anger even from here.
Elena found Saayna and Kruppa together, talking quietly in the grove behind the ruins.
Most of the trees were blackened stalks, but the gulmohar tree remained upright, its bright red leaves a shock against the gutted landscape.
“Your Majesty.” Kruppa bowed quickly as she approached. Saayna turned.
They had not seen each other since Elena and the Black Scales had left for Magar. Somehow, the high priestess seemed to have grown gaunter. Her skin stretched tightly across her cheekbones, her lips thin and nearly colorless. She no longer wore the orange sash of the order, which had been dissolved by the Prophet. Nor did she wear a tilak or any marks of the Phoenix. But Elena saw how she still grasped the same wooden prayer beads. Almost imperceptibly, Saayna hid the beads into her sleeve, touching her crimson shawl.
“You recognize this, yes?” she said.
It was a deflection. Saayna smiled kindly, but Elena could see the quick panic in her eyes.
How long will we dance around this?she wondered.
“Is that the one you wore during my crowning ceremony?” Elena asked.
“The very one. It was a gift from your mother, long ago.”
They stood there, suddenly silent. The wind soughed through the gulmohar tree, rattling the dry leaves with a dolorous cry. Elena opened her mouth to say something just as Saayna began to speak, but they both fell back into silence. Kruppa glanced between them, smiling uneasily.
“Are you—” Saayna said.
“Does your burn still hurt?” Elena said at the same time.
Saayna blinked. Her shawl partly covered the mark, but Elena could see the dark coiling shape of a serpent on her cheek.
“It does not,” Saayna said in a heavy voice, as if it took her much effort to admit it. “The Prophet is merciful in his blessings.”
Merciful, Elena thought wryly as she looked upon the destruction around them. But she clamped down on the deceitful feeling beginning to stir in her chest.He freed Magar. He will help me free Ravence.She remembered his promise as they had stood in the inferno, months ago.He promised me vengeance.
“I spoke to the Prophet,” she said slowly. “He wants me,us, to investigate the origins of the Phoenix. We don’t have access to the royal library, but are there any scrolls left, Saayna, in the temple tunnels? Perhaps something of Priestess Nomu’s? Anything that can prove that—” And here she stumbled. Saayna looked away, her lips pinched, as if she could sense what was coming. Elena took a deep breath. “Anything that can prove that the Phoenix is a false god.”
The silence that followed was damning. Only the gulmohar spoke, singing its mournful song. Ash stirred at Elena’s feet, but she ignored it, trying to catch Saayna’s eyes. The priestess remained quiet.
It was Kruppa who broke the silence.
“Is it true, then?” she said, her voice small. “Is the Phoenix a lie? Is our Prophet born by another god?”
“Yes,” Saayna said finally. She turned to them rigidly, her mouth set, her shoulders steeled, but Elena noted how her eyes were softened by sorrow. “Our loyalty belongs to the Prophet and the Great Serpent. To continue to worship the Phoenix is… heresy.”
