Chapter 22
Idon’t sleep that night. Instead of resting, I spend the night forcing my body into stillness to avoid disturbing Mare or the princess. In the middle of the night, I erupt into a fever from a possible infection in my shoulder, but it breaks before sunrise. Still, my body feels burning hot. My shoulder aches now that the adrenaline of the day is waning. All I want to do is toss and turn to loosen my muscles, but I put all my energy into keeping my body taut.
I can handle the day without sleep, but I can’t expect them to, not with everything I’m asking of them.
I wake up to the sound of drums. The sun hasn’t risen yet, so the Aya Runa must be making a political statement. They do not follow the Inka, so they do not respect Inti the Sun God either.
It’s the first ceremony of Intiraymi, but it’s twisted. The soldiers’ synchronized steps are shaking the roads. Music is projected in all directions, traveling through the air as if played right next to me. However, the Inka’s voice isn’t being projected through the empire.
I run to the window and look outside as the first rays of sun hit the city. The worst is revealed to everyone flooding the streets. The Aya Runa have made good on their promise. TheInka and Panaka are here, in Cusco, carried in on their golden platform on the way to Korikancha.
On their knees, gagged and bound.
Ready to be saved or already lost? The thought makes its way into my head impulsively.
I’m supposed to be the hero of the empire, but our Inka is being paraded on a platform for all to see. Of course people were mourning on the streets. Of course I couldn’t do anything to comfort them. I might as well have failed already. I might as well have never existed.
It’s the start of the day, but I’m starting to think there’s no glory to be had. Not here.
“They’re setting up the moment nicely for you,” the princess says. Her voice drips with disdain, for the plan, for me, for the show the Aya Runa is putting on; I don’t know. She gives me a double take and softens. “It’s your chance to play hero, champion. I thought you would look more excited.”
I thought so too. I shake those thoughts out of my head.
“Let’s go to the lookout spot,” I say. “There are enough people out now.”
The start of the plan hinges on that. I had no start time other than whenever the Aya Runa showed themselves and when there were enough people on the streets that we could blend in. Once those two conditions were met, then it was a matter of setting up somewhere with a good viewpoint of Korikancha and waiting until the moment to interfere.
But everyone was right. I am a fool. The world doesn’t wait for me to be set up and get ready.
“Release our Inka and you may leave with your lives.” A man of about 30 years old and average build steps in front of the procession before they reach Korikancha. The princess and I just walked outside of our lodging when the sky explodes with his image. Someone from the Aya Runa is projecting everythingthey see onto the sky. The man grabbed the attention of the mimic projecting the event and is front and center. My eyes barely adjust to his image before he’s on the ground.
The amount of blood makes it impossible to know what happened to him. The projection stays focused on him andall that bloodas he dies. I don’t see any weapons, so it must have been mimicry.
We hear the rest of it inside after running back to our rooms amidst the frenzied crowd. I hold Mare to my chest and cover his ears.
The man was the leader of a small group. One by one they all get slaughtered like animals up for sacrifice.
“We’ll be expecting offerings. These men will count as our first.”
The Lima attack was twisted, but to me, this, the Inka on her knees, murder projected to the empire, all of this, is the beginning of the end.
Unless I can stop it.
Mare calmsdown faster than I could have ever hoped. He’s teary-eyed when I ask him if he’s okay but he nods anyway. That’s the best that we’ll get. We need him to project for longer than he ever has.
And he does it. It takes some time, but then he’s in a trance with his hair starting to blanch.
This needs to be quick. He won’t burn out too fast because it’s not so all-encompassing. It just needs to reach the platform and be loud enough for those at the top to hear. No one else.
“Remember Mare, don’t open your eyes. No matter what,” the princess says, even though she told him that same thingmultiple times before. He’s incapable of answering in his current state. When Ave mimics project, they often project every sense they have if they aren’t careful. Mare doesn’t have any experience behind him. If he opens his eyes and sees Yanami, her image would be projected too.
It’s Yanami’s one request. She doesn’t want to give away her new appearance and risk being captured. Her breaths are coming in and out fast, and I can see how repeating the instructions isn’t doing anything to allay her anxiety.
Me, on the other hand? My breath has never felt steadier. There’s unease gnawing at my bones, but my lungs don’t let that affect anything. No. It’s like I’m at the height of battle and not even my fastest sprint could make me struggle to breathe.
My shoulder aches. My bones weigh me down.
Failure. That’s what I was feeling this morning, like a failure. But I will not fail. I cannot. I’m the hero, and it’s time to prove it.
