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But his peculiar eyes and strong jaw were the only visible parts of the king, who wore his usual silver mask, crafted of the finest polished metal and etched with intricate whorls and curving lines. No one had seen him without his mask for decades. The last man who’d dared question it found his head decorating a spike. Put there by me.
“I wonder what it is that’s occupying that head of yours, dear commander.”
A dozen faces whirled in my direction, and a dozen chairs creaked as the bodies that occupied them shifted.
I could feel invisible flames lick at my skin. How I longed to lunge across the table, to wrap my hands around his neck and squeeze.
“My king.” I stood, straining to appear nothing less than calm, indifferent. Loyal. “I am aware you know of my concerns about sending in the young recruits. All I am asking of you is to wait until their training is complete.”
“I, too, agree, my king. If time is running out, as you say, we should make sure our final attempt leaves no room for error.”
I glanced to Lord Baridin, a once wealthy landowner from the south. He’d pledged his allegiance to Cirian thirty years ago, but since then, his lands had withered in the night—along with his riches.
Cirian shoved out of his chair, his nearly luminescent skin a striking whitish gray in the yellow candlelight. He ignored Baridin entirely as he sauntered my way.
I held my ground, hands clasped behind my back, shoulders tall, as the merciless ruler of Asidia stopped inches from my frame.
He could do his best to intimidate me, but I had long ago ceased to fear this man.
I’d seen enough cruelty in this lifetime to fill a thousand more. A man who no longer feared death did not wither beneath its gaze.
“I thought I made myself very clear, Commander Maddox,” the king snapped, cocking his head to the side. My reflection played across the smooth expanse of his mask, my expression stoic and expertly apathetic. If the king only knew what Itrulythought of him…
“You did, Sire, but this batch of recruits is far from prepared, and I want nothing but the best for your efforts.”
Cirian clucked his tongue. “Ah, see, I know you’re hardly afraid of a little sacrifice. And we’ve exhausted the other routes entirely. Soon, the few crops we’ve been able to harvest will wither away, and our people will have nothing. I’m sure you don’t want that.”
He flashed a sneer in the direction of his advisor, a slimy man with a protruding gut who quivered beneath his master’s penetrating gaze. “Call it intuition. Call it a vision from the gods.”
Cirian paused to tilt his head mockingly to the ceiling, aiming for the heavens. “But I’ve been assured that this isfinallythe right path. That we will find the keys to break the curse out there, our salvation taking the form of three objects that, once united, will bring back the day. And you would do well to not question my judgment. Understood?”
There wasn’t any other response I could give but “Yes, Sire.”
He didn’t elaborate on these mystical objects, thekeysto break the curse. When Cirian had briefed me earlier, all he’d mentioned was that the gods themselves would aid us in our plight.
But that couldn’t be true. The gods didn’t care.
“Very well, then.” Cirian swiveled in his boots, his long black robes fluttering about his lean frame as he moved back in the direction of his seat. But before he reached it, he grabbed hold of Lord Baridin’s graying hair and yanked back. A silver dagger, hidden in the king’s sleeves, slipped out and into his gloved hand.
Baridin didn’t have a chance to scream as his throat was cut. Blood gushed from the wound, a spray of red wetting the papers he clutched in his still-twitching hands.
Cirian shoved the dying lord onto the table, his head striking the surface with brutal force. Gurgling noises sounded as Baridin bled out beside the refreshments.
The tension in the room became a thing of pain, though I felt hardly anything at all. The sight should have bothered me much more than it did.
“If anyone else wishes to voice their concerns about my plan, now would be the time.” Cirian sighed, wiping his bloodied dagger on his long robes.
No one spoke. No one dared breathe.
“Perfect. Now, I am well aware of what needs to be done. And you all should move forward with your instructions.” Cirian smiled at his advisors, and the high lords all blanched. Many shook their heads.
I’d yet to settle back into my chair, my muscles taut and on alert.
That could have been you, I thought, my nails digging into the fleshy parts of my palms.One wrong word, and you’re dead.
I’d carelessly forgotten Cirian’s ruthlessness. It was the reason he’d maintained the throne for so long. Many had tried usurping him, and all had failed. He was a man who’d become a monster, and too few were willing to battle a living nightmare.
“Good, then it’s settled.” King Cirian waved a careless hand in the air, dismissing the room.
