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The warriors glanced at each other and hesitated. Half the time, the words that came out of my mouth didn’t belong to me, even though it was my voice. It felt like Cyrene talked through me. It made me feel pathetic and weak. Why couldn’t I fight her off?
The warriors stepped back when I glared at them.
I marched toward the hovercraft. Before I stepped in, I glanced over my shoulder at the village mayor. He looked nervous, worried. If he had any idea what Cyrene had wanted me to do, he had reason to be.
“Good job,” I said. Forcing the words out was hard, and they tasted bitter in my mouth—in Cyrene’s mouth.
The mayor beamed, pleased that I was happy with his work.
I stepped into the hovercraft and gave the pilot the word. The guards and warriors climbed into the hovercraft with me, and we lifted into the air.
I directed the pilot to take me to the next town. I had to talk to the mayors around the kingdom and make sure everything was okay. It had been too long since I’d seen them, and if I wanted to retain their loyalty, I had to stay in their minds.
That was what I told myself, although the truth was that I needed an excuse to be away from the castle. I couldn’t be around Hazel, or face Vanya and Zita. I couldn’t be around my mom and sister after how I’d acted. I was ashamed and embarrassed, and I refused to admit to even that.
The next town was larger than the village where we’d just been. We touched down, and I stepped out. Again, I was met by a mayor who was happy to see me, excited to show me the changes he’d brought to the village. He’d done a lot, and I nodded while he talked.
Inside me, Cyrene was irritated. She didn’t like the mayor. He wasn’t my favorite person, either, but he did good for the town, and they’d voted him in, happy to have him in charge.
“These are for the winter,” he said when we arrived at new storage facilities he’d erected. “We’re already storing crops for the winter where can spare them, so that we can last all year round. Now that the crops are better, and we have a bit to spare, we can start planning ahead.” He looked at me with bright eyes. “It’s a strange concept to be able to do that, and not expect it all to crash and burn.”
He’s so filled with hope,Cyrene said bitterly.I don’t recognize my Conjurite anymore. This is the second one who’s looked happy.
I ignored her and tried to focus on what the mayor said through the words that rung in my ears.
I’m not going to go away just because you ignore me, you know,Cyrene said.
“Would you like to see the new school?” the mayor asked.
I nodded and let him lead the way. The guards trailed behind us, hanging back farther the more it looked like we had it under control.
I was in charge here. Cyrene had wreaked havoc in my personal life, but I was still the Regent, and these were still my people. So what if they had hope? What if they found happiness? They deserved it after the centuries of hell Falx had rained down on Palgia. Just because the Conjurite magic was rooted in darkness didn’t mean that fear and death had to be all there was to think about.
The school building was bland and boring, but the town seemed to be proud of it, and that was all that mattered.
“I’m pleased,” I finally said. “You’re doing a good job.”
The mayor beamed, just like the previous village mayor had.
Now would be a great time to burn the school building to the ground. A little humility goes a long way.
“It’s downright spiteful,” I hissed.
“What?” The mayor blinked at me.
“The school building is beautiful,” I said a little louder, enunciating the word as if that was what I’d said all along.
“Thank you!”
Cyrene’s laughter in my head wrapped all around me, making me feel sick to my stomach.
“Please, join us for dinner tonight,” the mayor said, inviting me to eat with him and his wife. “It will be an honor to have you.”
I would have said yes in the blink of an eye if I’d been here alone. Unfortunately, Cyrene would take the opportunity to do something despicable.
“I have a lot to get through in the next few days,” I said apologetically. “I can’t stay, but I’ll be back, and we’ll have dinner together.”
The mayor nodded, a little disappointed, but I felt elated that so far, Cyrene hadn’t managed to control me into doing anything horrible. I’d been terrified to come out and see the people, but it was working.
