I wonder if Alaric is planning some kind of last minute escape.I go to the window, looking for any sign of him.It’s possible he might have colluded with Rowan to help me, but I can’t see any signs of people approaching.There are guards throughout the palace gardens, clearly prepared for any infiltration by the resistance.Maybe Selene is hoping the resistance will make an attempt, so she can capture more of them.Alaric’s escape from the prison must have been a blow to her.
It's just about the only thing that hasn’t gone Selene’s way in this.She’s manipulated everyone in the city, building her fame as a gladiator, then setting herself up as an authority figure.She has foreign representatives meeting with her, senators doing what she wants, other cities looking to her for leadership.Now, she’s the one conducting my trial.
I look out beyond the palace gardens to the colosseum at the heart of the city.Rebuilding work is happening all around it, trying to extend it and make it more impressive, ready to hold Selene's grand tournament.Everything I've heard from her suggests that will be the moment when she announces herself as a ruler, and if I haven't done enough to convince the Senate here, I won't be in any position to stop her.
At best, I’ll be thrown back into the prison, trapped and reduced to a powerless prisoner.At worst… Selene said she didn’t want to kill me, but it would be so easy for her to change her mind.She might have me impaled on the edges of the city, or on the walls of Ironhold.She might have me dragged through the streets to be vilified, before being publicly executed.
Can anyone stand against her now?Alaric is out there somewhere, with the rest of the resistance.They’ve been able to achieve small victories, but it doesn’t feel like enough.Rowan… officially, he has the most power of anyone in Aetheria, but he has deliberately limited his office as First Senator to stop anyone from using it to make themselves emperor.He can’t just order Selene killed, and I’m not sure if anyone would listen now if he did.
I look through his papers while I wait, greedy for any information about the city.A part of me hopes he might have left me something here that might help me escape my captivity.What I find instead only makes my heart sink more.
There are reports on his desk showing that Arboria and our other neighbors have issued proclamations, recognizing Selene’s authority within Aetheria.It should be damning evidence of her treachery towards the Republic, but she has enough control here that I doubt Rowan can do anything with it.Maybe Rowan left the papers as an explanation of why he isn’t able to do more to save me.
I don’t blame him.I understand how impossible his position is, even as I wish heweresome kind of benevolent emperor right now, able to order my freedom and Selene's incarceration without having to work with the Senate.
Marcus is a different matter.He could have spoken up for me.Heshouldhave at least tried to save me.Instead, he was complicit in finding fabricated evidence to condemn me.He didn’t make any attempt to say that it was fake, just went along with Selene’s plans.As always, Marcus seems to be doing whatever is most expedient for himself.
I was a prisoner, a slave, the first time I came to Aetheria.I was brought to the city in chains and forced to fight for my life in the colosseum.Even then, I felt freer and more in control of my fate than I do now.At least then, I could ensure my survival through my own skill with a spear or trident.I was a pawn in someone else’s game many times, but at least itwasa game, and I had a chance to play it against those who would control me.The emperor was a deadly enemy, but Selene feels deadlier.She has robbed me of any way to fight against her, is seeking to remove me from the field of play completely by seeing me locked away in the deepest prison Aetheria possesses.She plans to make me into a spectator while she takes full power within the city.
What will she do then, with me, and with the Republic?When it comes to Aetheria, the answers seem clear: she’s already spoken about her vision for a renewed empire, ruled by those with the most magic.The grand tournament will just be the start of that vision.Soon, there will be laws allowing her soldiers to kidnap people to fight in the games again, or making it obligatory for nulls to serve those with power.
With me, will she just keep me in a cell?Will she see me tormented until I beg for death?Or will she quietly kill me when the time is right?I don’t know, and not knowing terrifies me.
A knock comes at the door, and I jump as much as my chains allow me.I wasn't expecting anyone to knock.I'm a prisoner, after all, not a guest.The guards open the doors; obviously Rowan has told them to be polite.
“The senate has rendered its judgement,” one of them says.“It’s time.”
Time for me to learn whether the Senate has seen through Selene's lies, or will condemn me as a traitor.It's too late for me to run, too late to fight.All I can do is return to the Senate chamber and hope the verdict goes my way.It's just that, as the guards march me back, hope is hard to come by.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
Every step through the corridors of the palace feels like a march towards the place of my execution now.The guards hold my chains tightly, as if they can sense my fear, making sure I’ll have no opportunity to run or break free.
I look around as we walk, hoping with every step to see Alaric letting go of an illusory disguise as he leaps forward to take the guards down.Why isn’t he here?Why isn’t he saving me?I know why.I know he can’t hope to succeed here.Despite that, a part of me keeps insisting that he’ll come to help me, even as far more of me is grateful that he isn’t throwing his life away like that.
When we reach the doors to the Senate, I freeze.The guards yank me forward, and I know they'll drag me into the chamber if they must.My only choice is whether I go to hear the verdict with dignity or not.I shuffle forward as quickly as my chains allow, stepping into the senate chamber once more.
The public galleries are full again.The Senate must have allowed people in, even as they sent for me.Selene will want as many people as possible here for this spectacle.The guards lead me to the middle of the floor, then tug sharply at my chains.
“Kneel, prisoner.”
I hesitate.I wasn’t required to kneel for the trial, so why should I do it now?That hesitation is enough that the guard hooks a foot behind my knee, sending me tumbling to the floor.
“I said kneel,” he snaps.
There’s a burst of laughter from the viewing gallery above.It’s clear the people there are enjoying my humiliation.It’s a sound that reminds me too much of the colosseum in the old days, when people would seem to love a fighter, but they would love seeing them fall just as much, would cheer to see them beaten, their blood upon the sands.I’ve been turned into a figure of hate within the city, so people are only too happy to watch me humbled.
So I kneel and wait, watching the faces of the senators.Marcus won’t meet my eyes.Olivia looks me over with a smile I can’t decipher.There’s silence in the senate chamber now, seeming to stretch out, filling with tension.My heart is hammering as quickly as if an opponent were standing over me with a sword.
“Lyra Thornwind, you have been accused of the worst crimes it is possible to commit,” Selene says, breaking the silence.She steps forward, standing only a little way from Rowan’s seat.I’m surprised she’s the one speaking when he’s the First Senator.Is this her way of asserting greater authority than him?“You have been accused of treason against Aetheria, and you have openly admitted supporting the so-called resistance, which works against the city at every turn.”
She pauses for effect, her violet eyes locking onto mine as the certainty of what she’ll say next settles on me, stealing away my breath and making it feel as though a dagger has been thrust through my heart.
“The senate has voted, and you have been found guilty of those crimes.”
There’s a roar from the gallery, approval mixing with disapproval.
“Traitor!”
