Divined (19 page)

“Don’t bother, Riece.” Clio shook her head. “We should have seen this coming. She told the Emperor the Oracle still lived. It only makes sense she would supply my name and allies to him as well.”

“I did no such thing!”

“How can you lie, after all this? You’re clearly prepared to hand us over, no matter what he does to us.”

“Yes,” she replied, unflinching. “But only because the Emperor asked for my help. He knew of my involvement as well. So yes, I am prepared to hand you all over, but I never told him anything.”

“You expect us to believe that?” Clio asked. “If it wasn’t you, then who could have told him?”

“I don’t know, Clio. And frankly, I don’t particularly care.”

“Of course you don’t. You’ve made that plenty clear.” Clio stood. “You’ve ruined us all, and you don’t even know what’s coming.”

“I don’t know what’s coming?” She scoffed. “Don’t act like you are the only ones wronged here. I stood before you. And you,” she said, facing Riece. “I begged you for help, and in return both of you forgot or dismissed your vows to me.”

“That’s not—” Riece began, falling silent at the accusation in Zarae’s eyes.

“Save your empty words, Commander. You never cared for me or my people. If you think I would be foolish enough to rely on you for help when the Order threatens my home, then you have underestimated me.”

Clio stilled, her chest deflating. “The Order?”

Zarae looked away. “They have begun sending priests to the Corner. There are plans to build a pyramid and a temple in the heart of the city.” Her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away, her face hardening. “We do not practice human sacrifice at the Corner. I will do whatever it takes to keep it that way.”

“Zarae,” Clio started, knowing her words were too little, too late. “You could have told us. We would have helped you.”

Zarae laughed. “I’ve heard that before. I’m not foolish enough to rely on either of you, not when your own cities aren’t at risk.”

Riece’s gaze narrowed. “And how does bringing Clio into Morek help the Corner? We wronged you, I admit. But what you are doing—it does no one any good. What could you hope to gain?”

Zarae stood. “Freedom, power, a
true
ally. Everything you promised me.”

“You think the Emperor would be your ally?” Clio asked, trying to make sense of it all.

“There are no longer any vows between us, Clio. I don’t owe you an explanation. But I will give you one final warning. The Emperor rarely comes to court anymore. He rarely leaves the privacy of his own chambers. He’s dismissed much of his staff, and the rumors are he is gravely ill and desperate to conceal it from the Order and the nobles. His time is running out. We all must shore up alliances and be ready because when the Emperor passes, the Order will be there, waiting to take the throne.” She walked to the tent flaps. “I wish you luck.” She nodded before ducking out.

“What could that mean? An alliance? Who?” More and more questions filled Clio’s head.

“I don’t know.” Riece’s eyes were wary. “But if the Emperor is ill… I don’t understand why he would agree to reverse his edict. Something very strange is happening.”

“We should get some rest. It’s going to be a long trip before we get any answers.” Clio set down her bowl.

“You are still planning to enter the Empire? After what Zarae said?”

“Isn’t that what you’ve been wanting all along?”

Riece’s expression hardened. “I want you to fight, not walk to your death. There’s an important distinction.”

“Perhaps. But it changes nothing. This is not my choice to make. We’re going to the Empire, we’ll see the Emperor, and we’ll hope he keeps his word.”

CHAPTER FORTY

The gates to Morek stood open before them. They had made the journey in little more than a week, traveling so briskly and relentlessly that it had taken half as long as Clio’s trip to Cearo.

She stood under the gates, remembering the last time she had stared up at them. She’d been a slave then, concealing her powers and fighting her fate. And now, Clio almost laughed. Now, she had no powers to conceal, no fate to fight, and yet here she was all the same.

Order men stood among the warriors guarding the entrance, their amber cloaks blinding in the high noon sun. The Order shouldn’t have been at the gates, and Clio knew Riece was desperate for answers. Every time they passed an Order member, Riece’s mouth furrowed in a tight grimace. Somehow, the Order had expanded the reach of their dominion. The last time Clio had been in the city, the Order had been sequestered in their temple. But now they were everywhere. At the gates, in the streets, walking with the nobles, watching the peasants. Their numbers had swelled beyond anything Clio could have imagined.

“They’ve been recruiting in more cities than Cearo,” Atzi whispered, catching up to Clio while their guards parted the crowds around them.

“This is not good. Have you Seen anything new lately?” Clio was careful to keep her voice low.

“No.” Atzi shook her head. “Only more of the same. I think the sacrifice isn’t far away.”

“You and Ealis must find Nox. If the Emperor goes back on his word, Nox is all we will have left. Have Ixie and Ashira take you to him.”

“You think we will have an opportunity to escape this?” She looked around at Zarae’s men.

“We’re about to find out.” Clio strode forward to where the princess walked with the head of her guard. “You said we would be welcomed as guests.”

Zarae turned to face Clio with an almost bored expression. “You are being welcomed as guests. Guests with an armed guard.”

“The deal was for me to go willingly. I am. Let my friends go.”

Zarae studied Clio for a moment. “All right.”

Clio nearly tripped in her surprise. “Truly?”

Zarae smiled and addressed her guards. “Let all but the commander and the Oracle go.”

“But Riece—”

Zarae held up a hand. “Will come with you to the Emperor. The rest of your friends may go. But please, try to argue with me, and I will happily change my mind and bring the rest of your friends to the palace. Or perhaps the temple.”

Clio felt her face grow hot with anger. “I hope your bargain pays off for you, Princess. I hope your new ally doesn’t see how quickly you move on from old friends.”

Zarae raised an eyebrow. “My ally and I are of one mind. Do not worry yourself, Clio.” They arrived at the palace, stopping at the bottom of the great stone stairs leading up to the heart of the Empire’s power. “You have much graver concerns to occupy you at the moment, I’m sure.”

The throne room was empty, the throne cold and barren. Riece’s face twisted with worry as Zarae’s men led them deeper into the palace. They didn’t see many guards, and not a single noble walked the hallways.

Zarae’s men halted outside the entrance to the Emperor’s private chambers. Only four guards waited for them.

“He will see them inside,” one of the guards said, stepping forward to take Clio’s elbow.

“And what about the rest of our bargain?” Zarae asked, holding Clio back.

“The Emperor will grant your request tonight at the feast. He thanks you for your service and loyalty.”

Zarae didn’t look pleased, but she dropped her arm all the same, allowing Clio to be pulled along with the Emperor’s men.

Riece walked ahead of the guards, his stride quick and panicked. Clio had never been in this part of the palace. The Emperor’s quarters were remarkably bare compared to the ostentatious display of the throne room. There was no gold, no gems, no elaborate mosaics and motifs. His hallways were almost dark. It looked more like the cells beneath the palace rather than the corridors of the Emperor himself.

All of a sudden, Riece stopped ahead of her.
 

“Your Highness.” His voice was lighter than a breath, and Riece fell to his knees, bowing his head.

Clio stepped forward. The Emperor stood in the middle of the empty room. It was a chamber meant for entertaining, but there was nothing inviting in the bare walls and small windows.

“Leave us,” the Emperor rasped to his guards.

After everything she had been told, after the emptiness of the palace, she had expected to find the Emperor frail, in bed, barely able to speak. Instead, he stood as commanding and powerful as Clio had remembered. He bore the great breastplate, the marker of his status, over his broad chest. His gray hair was braided in a club at the back of his head, and his eyes sparkled with sharp intelligence. Only the thick, ragged scar around his neck belied his invulnerability.

“They said you were ill.” Riece still kneeled on the ground.

“Do I look ill?”

Riece looked up. “Then why? Why is the palace empty? Why are there Order members at the gates, patrolling the streets? Why do you retreat to your quarters?”

“You’ve been away a long time, Riece. You betray me, commit treason against the Empire, and now you kneel before me asking questions?”

Riece blanched. “If you would let me explain—”

“How long did you know?”

“Your Highness, we were told you have promised to reverse the—”

“Answer the question, Commander. How long have you known the woman to be the Oracle of Sheehan?”

“For years.” Riece hung his head.

Clio stepped forward, refusing to drop to her knees. “Your Highness, I have never conspired against you or the Empire. Riece never would have stood by me if I had.”

The Emperor’s expression was stony as he faced Clio. “Approach,” he commanded.

Clio hesitated, looking at Riece and the pain written across his face. There was no avoiding what was to come. She had been running from the Emperor her whole life, thinking she could escape when, in reality, all she had done was delay the inevitable. There was no point in hiding any longer. She walked forward, holding her head high.

The Emperor stepped forward to meet her. She stopped in front of him, tense as she waited for the end to come. The Emperor’s eyes were black obsidian. He tilted his head as if to study her, and Clio watched grief unfurl across his expression.

Slowly, his hand came up to her face as Clio held her breath and closed her eyes, prepared for her fate. But his arm fell back to his side. When she opened her eyes, she found a tear sliding down the Emperor’s weathered cheek.

“I should have known the first moment I saw you.” His voice was ragged, steeped in years of unspoken pain. “But it’d been so long. I had almost forgotten her face.” He closed his eyes. “They told me she was dead.”

She
. The pain with which he said it left no doubts in Clio’s mind. He spoke of her mother. “She wasn’t,” Clio whispered.

Tears were streaming down his face. “All this time, she was only days away. I should have looked for her.” He was breaking in front of her, and Clio felt the need to reach out, to take away his pain.

“She left to save you. She loved you more than anything.”

“Foolish girl.” He shook his head and looked to Riece. “Stand.”

Clio watched Riece approach, her heart pounding in her throat. Somehow the Emperor knew. Somehow he knew everything.

“I will officially reverse my edict regarding Oracles tonight at the feast.”

“Your Highness…” Riece’s eyes widened.

“I didn’t know. I thought—I thought everything but the truth. I never should have given up.” He took Riece’s hand, then Clio’s. “Don’t make the same mistakes I did.” The Emperor smiled as he folded Clio’s hand over Riece’s. “Nothing would make me happier than to have Ires’ daughter for my own.”

Riece was speechless. His eyes hadn’t left the Emperor’s. “I don’t understand.”

“You love this woman, do you not? You needn’t hide it any longer.”

“I—yes.”

The Emperor opened his mouth to respond, but his gaze slid to something behind them. “Ah.” He smiled, his eyes lighting. “I cannot express my happiness at having the three of you with me.”

Clio turned, wondering who could have possibly taken away all of the Emperor’s grief.

A man stood in the archway. His robes were no longer red, and he no longer wore rubies in his many piercings.

The Emperor stepped past Riece and Clio. “It’s my great pleasure to introduce you to my son, Mannix.” The Emperor beamed.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Mannix’s thin lips split into a grin. He came forward, arms outreached, and laid a quick kiss on Clio’s cheek. “How happy I am to be reunited with you, dear sister.”

Clio’s hand flew to her hip, but Zarae’s men had stripped her weapons.

Mannix laughed. “Father, perhaps we should explain our purpose. The last time I saw Clio, I behaved rather badly.” He frowned as if he felt remorse for Lireen’s death, but Clio knew better. She stepped back to stand beside Riece.

“This man cannot be trusted, Your Highness. He has conspired against us at every turn, he has killed—” But the Emperor silenced Riece with a gesture.

“Do you wish to accuse my son—my own blood?”

Riece paused, hesitation creasing his brows. “Your Highness, I don’t know what he has told you, but he does not have our best intentions at heart.”

“Commander, I will ask you not to behave rashly. If it weren’t for Mannix, I never would have learned the truth. I never would have reversed my edict. And Clio would likely be awaiting her sacrifice in the bowels of the pyramid at this moment.”

“It’s a trick.”

The Emperor’s faced reddened, and for a moment, Clio feared he would draw his blade against Riece. Instead, Mannix stepped between them. “Father, they have every right to distrust and revile me. They don’t know the truth. They don’t know how I protected Clio when one of her own betrayed her to you.”

“One of my own?” Clio repeated. “You can’t expect me to believe this isn’t all one of your elaborate schemes to have me delivered to you without defenses.”

“It wasn’t Mannix who told me an Oracle still lived.” The Emperor spoke suddenly.

“Then who?” Riece asked. Clio could feel him rigid beside her.

“I cannot tell you. I never spoke directly with the source. I only ever received an unsigned note with a warning telling me an Oracle still lived. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to stoke the hatred in my heart. I wanted nothing but to destroy the final vestige of the woman who ruined my life.” The Emperor’s face softened as he looked to Mannix. “Everyone knew I was seeking the Oracle. I received reports daily, but it wasn’t until Mannix came forward with a story from my past that I learned the truth.