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The guards obeyed, but kept their heated glares fixed on Felix.
King Gaius silently regarded Felix for a long, tense moment. He looked perfectly calm for man who’d just been seconds away from being assassinated.
“Well done, Felix. I knew Aeson would use this opportunity to make an attempt on my life.”
“And so you just sat there?” Felix sputtered.
“I was more than ready to defend myself,” said the king, pulling a dagger from his leather surcoat. “But you acted swiftly, and chose to protect me. You passed my test.”
The realization of what the king said slowly sank in. “Well, good then. So . . . now what? What does this mean? Will you pardon me?”
The king re-sheathed his dagger and slipped the orb into his coat. “I’m leaving Auranos’s shores tomorrow at dawn to set out on an important journey. You will accompany me as my bodyguard.”
This unexpected pronouncement stunned Felix every bit as much as a slap would. He grappled to find his voice. “Where are we going?”
The king smiled, but his eyes remained cold. “Kraeshia.”
CHAPTER 6
AMARA
KRAESHIA
I will find you . . .”
This is what Ashur snarled in every nightmare she’d had since leaving the shores of Limeros.
“And when I do, I will tear you apart for your betrayal. I will make you scream for mercy, but no one will hear you.”
She woke with a start, frantically reminding herself that no, her brother wouldn’t find her. Not ever again. She tried to focus on pushing away any remaining doubts she had about her new responsibilities, and what still needed to be done to fulfill them. Nothing else mattered.
Finally, her ship passed through the sea gates and docked at port. She’d returned to the Jewel of the Empire, the capital of Kraeshia.
“Welcome home, princess,” said a familiar voice. Mikah, a palace bodyguard, waited for her at the end of the gangplank. Like all Kraeshian guards, Mikah started his training at the age of twelve—after having been sold to the emperor by his parents—and had now been stationed at the royal residence for a decade. In a way, he and Amara had grown up together.
She raised her chin and did not smile in greeting. “Take me to my father.”
Mikah bowed. “Yes, princess.”
The following journey to the palace went by like a blur. She didn’t bother to gaze at the sights her carriage passed—she’d seen them a million times before, and even her long stay in Mytica hadn’t done much to erase them from her memory. One could get bored even with beauty when one was constantly surrounded by it.
Auranians believed their City of Gold was the most beautiful place in the world, but that’s only because they had never been to the Jewel. Here, it wasn’t gaudy gold or cold marble, but rather the brilliant and diverse colors of nature that ruled.
It was evident everywhere one looked that Emperor Cyrus Cortas favored shades of amethyst and emerald. Huge murals depicting the emperor himself adorned the walls of every block in every neighborhood, painted predominantly in those two bold shades. The streets were paved in beautifully complicated patterns of purple and green cobblestones, and so many citizens of the Jewel daily wore purple and green robes and gowns to try to please their ruler that foreign visitors might think it was the country’s official uniform.
The emperor was passionate about nature and insisted that the conditions be made such that it could always flourish, but he also insisted that every shrub, every leaf and blade of grass, was well-tended and tirelessly manicured. He imported rare plants and flowers from conquered lands. An army of gardeners was constantly trimming hedges and trees into precise geometric shapes. Landscape artists were summoned from all over the world to apply their skills to the Kraeshian canvas. The road Amara was traveling on appeared to be a seemingly endless blanket of beauty, which led straight to the royal residence: a massive green tower; an emerald spear piercing the sky. So it was fitting that the structure was known as the Emerald Spear. Most of those who’d ever seen it before called it a miracle of architecture, constructed with angles so impossible there had to have been magic involved.
But nothing was impossible if you had the resources to scout the best and the brightest, those with true vision and expertise, to do the work. The emperor found these artists and architects in kingdoms he’d not yet conquered, and paid them small fortunes for their skills. They always returned home smiling, eager and willing to come back at a moment’s notice to do more. It had taken more than twenty years for the Jewel of the Empire to reach this height of beauty, but Amara’s father was still not satisfied. Just as he did with everything else in his life, he always yearned for more.
After having grown up surrounded by so much manufactured beauty, Amara had come to want something different. Something that wasn’t necessarily beautiful. Something imperfect, interesting, and perhaps even ugly.
But ugly wasn’t allowed in the Jewel.
“Did you have a pleasant trip, princess?” Mikah inquired after a long stretch of silence.
“I did. And now I’m very happy to be home.”
The orb of aquamarine sat heavily in the pocket of her silk cloak. She wrapped her fingers around its cool surface. For days on the ship she’d tried to unlock its secrets and learn how to harness its water magic, but each time she’d failed. Finally, she’d grown so frustrated with it that she’d nearly tossed it overboard.
