Nnenna surged to her feet—a burst of frantic energy that no one expected from a woman who had been trembling for the last quarter hour.Two stumbling steps to the stone pillar at the edge of the dais.
The sound of a skull slamming against a solid mass was quieter than Azul expected.
Screams erupted, and chairs scraped as people tried to avoid the splatter of blood.The younger princesses turned away.The Elder of Justice stood frozen with the scroll still in his hands.
Azul did not move.
She watched the body slide down the pillar, leaving a dark streak on the pale stone.Then she watched the blood spread slowly across the polished floor toward the hem of her red gown.She thought, distantly, that red had been the correct choice this morning; it suited her white robes quite beautifully.
Nnenna had made only one mistake.She had chosen the wrong patron.
Azul cocked her head to the shocked Elder of Justice.
"I believe," she said quietly, "the council has what it needs to execute the devil."
The last three lines—not read from the scroll—were as follows.
I followed the wrong person.
May you forgive me and my bloodline; I will pay my debt in full.
Leita, the only name written in blood.I hope to see you in Ukhel’s embrace.
The Ugoeze’s name.
Chapter 33
Theroomsmelledofher.Somadina had noticed it the moment he entered—that subtle, intoxicating scent that seemed to cling to everything she touched.Hemlock and something sweeter underneath, something that made his chest ache and his pulse quicken.
She was reading by the window; seeing her so at peace in his own space felt surreal.
He joined her, resting his head on her lap, and closed his eyes.
Azul's fingers moved through his hair in a soothing rhythm that made his thoughts fade.He had not slept properly in days—not since his father's death.Preparations for the upcoming battles had stretched him to his limits.But in all this, there was a future after him.
"I like how your room smells," he murmured."It smells like the Igbele."
"Perhaps because it's the only place in this palace that belongs to me."
He smiled against her thigh."Then the whole palace should smell like you, for what part isn’t yours now?"
They were quiet for a moment.Thunder rumbled in the sky as the land prepared to receive another bout of relentless rain.
"I'm scared," he whispered.
Her fingers paused, then continued.
"Of what?"
"Of everything."He opened his eyes, staring at the patterns of light on the ceiling."I'm not...I'm not a good man, Obim.I've done terrible things.I've hurt people; I’ve hurt you."
"You are a violent man," she said."Raised in a place that demands violence.And now you are the only one standing.You have no enemies anymore.The throne is yours to take."
He turned his head, looking up at her.
"When this battle is over," she said, "you will be king.The reinforcements have been sent.Ragnar will return with his forces, and Orda Naiman will be driven back.And then the Borjigin will have a ruler who understands what it costs to hold power."
Somadina tensed at the name.Ragnar.The Great Khan.The man who would return and claim her, take her away, and leave him alone in this palace with nothing but memories of her scent and her touch.
