He sounds as though he hates the decision, but there’s nothing he can do. We head out from the senate chamber, and Rowan catches my arm.
“You’re about to tell me that bringing up her psychomancy was a mistake?” I guess.
“It showed her followers what you’ve guessed,” Rowan whispers to me, “but this isn’t about that. If Selene has gone this far, then her influence will continue to expand. We need to find another way to counter her. I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I need you to contact the resistance. If this goes the way I think it will, they may be our last line of defense against Selene, and the return of the empire.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
I do what Thalia suggested I should do when we met: I send a message to the tower using a bird. It's a brightly colored parakeet that no one would think of it as a messenger bird, but I can control it well enough to send it where I want.
I consider my message carefully, knowing that my words must be enough to persuade Alaric to meet with me. I’m sure Thalia will help me but she isn't the head of the resistance, just one of Alaric’s lieutenants. She can't decide to bring its full power behind me to fight against Selene.
But it's about more than the practicalities. Iwantto see Alaric. I miss him, and everything that used to be between us. I miss his sharp wit and his sense of danger, the feeling, not that I was ever safe with him, but that at least he would stand with me against the world.
So I write carefully, determined to make sure Alaric sees the importance of this message.
I need to meet with A. Selene Ravenscroft is gaining control of the senate using psychomancy. Already she's forced herself into a role as an adviser. It's only a matter of time before she has full power. If we don't work together, it could mean a return to the empire. Please. L.
I don't know if the message will be enough. I suspect it will get me a meeting with Thalia, but she's not the one I want to see. I roll the message tightly, tying it to the leg of the bird, then using my powers to send it out over the city, fluttering through the district given over to thinkers, mages, and philosophers until I reach the top of the tower where I met Thalia before.
She's there, so I have the bird tap against the frame of the window until she notices. She takes the note from its leg and reads carefully, her face grim. She looks straight at the bird,obviously guessing that I can see through its eyes since it hasn't left.
“I'll talk to him,” she says. “For something like this, he might be willing to meet with you, but I can't make any promises.”
I cut the connection to the bird, then pace my rooms, waiting for an answer. But as the minutes stretch out, I can't simply stay there. Instead, I head through the palace determined to get on with the work of a senator. There are always meetings and discussions on different issues, and even when there aren't any formal committees, there are always small groups of senators talking to one another.
I find Senator Olivia talking to a few of the others from different factions within the senate: military men who would never normally have much to do with her. She's noble, but she's soft and hedonistic in a way that's at odds with the military discipline they’re used to.
“I know we don't have much in common most of the time,” Olivia says to them. “But perhaps the time has come to correct that. I'm holding a gathering in the reception rooms of the colosseum that I would love you to attend.”
“One of your parties?” a senator named Nasos says, with a note of contempt. “Do you really think we can be lured in with drink and women?”
“Nothing so wild this time,” Olivia says. “But since Selene Ravenscroft is going to become an adviser to the senate, it occurred to me it might be good for you to meet her. Perhaps once you've spoken to her it will assuage some of your fears about her.”
I realize what she's doing: trying to get as many people as possible to come into contact with Selene. If Selene really does have psychomancy on her side, it will allow her to gain control of more senators.
“Don't go,” I say to them. Not that I'm exactly their favorite senator. I'm a common-born and former gladiator. Men like this probably can't understand why I'm on the senate at all. If they respect me it's usually because of my role in the rebellion or because of my connection to Marcus. And that connection has largely been severed in the past couple of weeks.
Olivia looks offended. “This is a private discussion, Lyra.”
“We'll think about what you've said,” Nasos replies. He looks from me to Olivia and back. “Now, excuse us.”
As they go I catch Olivia by the shoulders, looking her in the eye.
“I know what you're planning, or rather, what Selene’s planning,” I say.
Olivia looks offended. “This is the nonsense you've been spouting about mind control? I am fully in control of myself. I've just seen that helping Selene helps all of us. There are going to be so many more-”
“Opportunities for pleasure?” I say. “You keep saying that whenever I ask about her.”
“Because it's true,” Olivia says.
“You need to fight this,” I insist, taking her hands. “Fight back against whatever control she's exerting.”
Olivia pulls away from me. “I will not stand here and be insulted like this. Your behavior is not that of a senator.”
She strides away from me. I feel helpless to stop what I believe Selene is doing to the senate. She's taking control of it little by little, and without help, I won't be able to stop her.
Which is why I'm grateful when a servant runs up to me and shoves a note into my hands, hurrying away before I can get a good look at them.
