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Tears welled in my eyes. My lips trembled as my eyes focused on Morgana, the question on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t bear to ask it aloud.
Morgana bit her lip, her black eyes rimmed in red. “They killed him.”
I shook my head. “Father’s….” I couldn’t speak. I was going to be sick, yet I didn’t have the strength to even turn to my side.What’s wrong with me? What happened? What time is it?I’d been on the field of the arena. It had been night. Rhyan had just cut off Haleika’s head after I’d set her on fire. And then the screams had come, and Father…Father…his body…his eyes…the twisting of his limbs….
“That was last night,” Morgana said, her voice clipped. “It’s,” she coughed like she was trying to hold back some of her emotion, “it’s nearly three.”
“In the afternoon?”How long have I been asleep?
The bells rang, louder and harsher than I’d ever heard them before. The tone was shrill, almost painfully so.
“They’re not the normal bells,” Morgana said quietly. She wrung her hands together in her lap and leaned forward so more hair fell over her face. “They ring them only for the passing of an arkasva. I heard them when mother….” She shook her head. “They sounded like gryphon-shit back then, too. They’ll switch back to the normal bells when the new arkasva is consecrated.”
The new arkasva.Not Father. Because Father was….
“I think you’ve been out for almost twenty hours,” Morgana said. “The moment the,” she paused to clear her throat again, “teststarted, the Emartis made themselves known. They were shouting, flashing black seraphim masks and their sigils in random patterns across the arena. Fights were breaking out. Mobs forming. The Emperor insisted the test continue despite the insanity taking place. And when it was over, when you’d killed Hal—the akadim—and Rhyan finished her, I don’t know. The soturi were scattered. Father’s guard remained at his side. It was so chaotic. I don’t know how it could have happened. We were surrounded, protected, and somehow, with all the fighting, all the displays of treason, the Emartis managed to break through our defenses. He was lifted—it was magic. Our soturi weren’t fast enough. His guard, they—they tried to grab him, to save him. Our mages were throwing out protective shields from every direction, and I tried…I tried to listen, to find out who it was. But….” She hissed out a breath. “There were too many voices, and I couldn’t—I couldn’t. I’d been so worried about losing you, so scared for you, and then, just like that…he was gone. They flew him up, higher and higher, and then…. They let him fall.” Tears streamed down my sister’s cheeks.
“I passed out,” I said in horror. I’d seen him fall, seen his body broken. I’d seen his eyes close. And I’d passed out. I’d retreated. I’d left.
“No,” Morgana said. “I don’t think that’s what happened. I don’t know what, but I know you didn’t use kashonim. You seemed to—to have tapped into something else. Something bigger.”
“My power?” I asked.
Morgana shrugged. “I don’t know. Do you feel like you have it now?”
I shook my head. I couldn’t move.
“It was good you were with him. When the mob broke out.”
I blinked. “With Rhyan?” I asked.
Morgana swallowed and straightened, pushing her hair behind her ear. A long cut ran across her right cheek. “They weren’t done,” she said. “They tried to get me.”
“Where’s Meera?” I sat up.
“She’s fine,” Morgana said quickly. “Downstairs. In the Seating Room. Eathan is, um, Eathan is the acting arkasva. Meera’s talking to him and the Council, making plans.”
“She’s going to be High Lady,” I said, a pit forming in my stomach.She won’t survive—she’ll never be able to hide, not with all the extra scrutiny she’ll receive.
“I know,” Morgana said. “But we have a month to plan. They’ll set a date to coincide with the next full moon and to give the other eleven arkasvim time to arrive in Bamaria.”
My eyes widened. “The other arkasvim?” Rhyan’s father. The Imperator of the North, he’d be here. Then we’d have two Imperators in Bamaria.
Bells rang again. Not the bells of the timekeeper. Warning bells.
“They’re still fighting in the streets,” Morgana said. “Rounding up every suspected member of the Emartis. The Shadow Stronghold is already full of traitors. It’s a miracle we all made it home. We had to be evacuated with ten escorts each. I’ll be in Rhyan’s debt forever for him getting you here safely. Fuck. That reminds me.” She reached into her belt pocket and pulled out a small vadati stone.
My vadati stone. The one Rhyan had given to me. My nostrils flared as she held it to her mouth and said, “Rhyan.”
White smoke swirled, filling the nearly clear stone until it burned with blue light.
“Morgana,” Rhyan said through the stone, his voice strained.
“She’s awake,” Morgana said.
There was a gasp and then a long pause on Rhyan’s end. “Thank the Gods,” he said, relief flooding his voice. “Is she in pain?”
Morgana narrowed her eyes at me before saying, “She’s a bit sore and aching. Mostly tired.”
