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Soon the castle gates loomed over them, only shadowed by the castle that the walls contained. The castle was a deep but subtle shade of grey, as if the sand from the desert had been mixed into the mortar and stone blocks. It was a stark and threatening contrast compared to the white of the city. The castle stood at least three stories high, and its towers reached for the sky. Anchored in the center of the castle, the emperor’s keep stood tall, its spires and arches reaching for the heavens.
Two guards stepped forward and blocked their way at the gate. “Halt! The emperor is not seeing civilians today. No entrance allowed.”
Aiden slid off his camel, landing a little more gracefully than he had the day before. Standing tall, he asked, “Why are the gates closed?”
“Are you deaf?” one of the guards said with a smirk. “We said no admittance today—for anyone.”
Tempest could feel confidence rolling off the guards in waves.
Aiden stepped towards them. “I can understand why the emperor is not seeing anyone today, but youwilllet me in.”
“Oh?Doyou understand? What, exactly, do you understand?”
Unsure if the anger she was feeling was her own or Aiden’s, Tempest stepped between him and the guard, whose fist clenched. “Do you not recognize your own emperor in front of you?”
A single chuckle escaped the guard’s lips as he approached Tempest, not stopping until his nose almost touched hers. The smell of ale wafted into her nose as he spat out, “I do not, and never will, answer to a woman. Step aside before I throw both of you in the stocks.”
Aiden put a hand on Tempest’s shoulder and tried to pull her back, but she stood firm. She allowed a bit of her godly power to trickle into her voice as she retorted, “I suggest you open the gates before I do it for you. I am Tempest, representative for the goddess of the broken in the right of Dei Electi. You will feel her wrath if you do not let us enter.”
The effect of her words was immediately apparent. Both guards hurried back to their posts, eyes wide, and called for the gates to be opened.
Aiden put the camel’s reins in Tempest’s hand. “I can’t enter leading my own beast. We need to get in and find someone who will recognize me.”
She took a deep breath to calm her anger. “Understood.”
“You know, you’re sort of terrifying.”
At that, she smiled. “I know.”
As soon as the gates groaned to a halt, they entered an almost empty courtyard. Tempest could feel the eyes of the guards patrolling the walls on her, but she refused to look their way. If they were going to make it through this alive, she needed to show no fear.
A slender man in bright red robes hurried towards them with several servants following close behind. He brushed crumbs from his scraggly beard as he stopped in front of Tempest.
“You are here for Dei Electi? Who do you represent?”
Confused as to why he ignored Aiden, she quickly answered, “Tempest, goddess of the broken.”
His eyes widened with surprise. “It has been a very long time since she has submitted a contestant. Do you have her token?”
She had forgotten about this. A token was always given by a god to their chosen to prove that they were a legitimate representative. She groaned internally, knowing she would need to make up an excuse for Aiden later as to how she had one.
Tempest slid her hand through a slit in her dress to access her pocket as she called her token to hand. She presented it to the man with a smile. “Do you mean this?”
His hand shook as he slowly moved a finger across the large gold coin in her palm. He traced the path of Soulshadow’s chains as they wove across the surface and stopped on the ball. He read the words etched around the edge in a whisper. “Revenge does not heal the soul. Only forgiveness can truly give eternal peace.”
He slowly looked from the coin to her face.
“Does this suffice?” she asked.
He nodded and removed his hand, straightening as he did so. “It does. It’s curious that the goddess of the broken has decided to participate in this generation when she has not deemed it necessary to do so for so long.”
Tucking the coin into her pocket, Tempest shrugged. “I am not privy to the inner workings of the goddess’s mind. I am only here to represent her.”
“Yes, yes, of course. If you and your party would follow me—”
“How is it possible that one of my own inner court does not recognize his emperor when he stands before him?” Aiden interrupted.
The man froze. His head jerked to Aiden, and he immediately dropped to his knees, head bowed and hands on the ground. “Forgive me, Emperor Aiden! I was summoned for the representative and hadn’t taken in her party yet.”
