“Then leave, Senator,” Olivia says.“But a vote will still go ahead.Does anyone else want to speak against the proposal?”
She smiles with the certainty of someone who knows she has the numbers on her side.But still, a figure steps forward.It’s Marcus.
He walks into the middle of the senate chamber, looking around at the other senators as if seeing them for the first time.
“My friends, my fellow senators of Aetheria,” he says.“All of you know me.In recent times, I’m sure some of you have come to see me as one of Selene Ravenscroft’s most ardent supporters.”
There are nods from around the room, although some there clearly look suspicious.After all, Marcus has been trying to slow down the passage of the proposal from the start.
“But the truth is, I’m not,” Marcus says.“I never have been.My loyalty has always been to Aetheria.I’ve gone along with Selene because I didn’t think there was another option, and because I wanted to see what she intends for our city.”
He gives the other senators a hard look.
"Some of you already know what she plans.She's spoken about it in her salons and her meetings.For the rest...I'll spell it out.Selene Ravenscroft intends to create a version of the empire where those with the most magic rule over those without it, where nulls are little more than slaves.Where her enemies are killed in the colosseum.Already, she uses psychomancy, bribes, and threats to control people around her.Olivia says Selene isn't mad like Tiberius was, but that only makes what she's doing worse.She seeks to recreate the horrors of the empire, not out of insanity, but in a cold blooded attempt to give herself the most power possible."
He gestures to the benches now.
“There will be those among you who think you can profit from her gaining power, but ask yourselves this: how much magical power do you have?How much do those you love possess?Which of them will be pushed to the lowest parts of the social order because of Selene’s ambitions?Selene has proposed that the winner of the games should be empress?Well,Isay that Selene is a traitor for demanding such a thing and should be punished accordingly."
The senate chamber is in uproar now, with senators shouting on all sides, so it’s impossible to know what’s happening.Rowan might not be First Senator anymore, but it’s still his voice that rings out.
“Clear the chamber!Clear it!”
We head through to the ante-chambers beyond.I can feel the tension in the air.Marcus is there, surrounded by a gaggle of senators.As soon as he sees me, he hurries over.
“Lyra, what are you doing here?”
“I needed to see this,” I say.“I needed to see if there was anything I could do to stop it.”
Marcus shakes his head.“There isn’t.”He looks across to Alaric, who has switched disguises, but is sticking close to me.“This is all getting too close to call.I think it’s possible my words had an effect, but I don’t know what will happen next.You should take Lyra back to my villa, Alaric.”
“You think I’m going to wait there to find out if we’re suddenly going to have an empress?”I demand.
“Please, Lyra,” Marcus says.“I need to know you’re safe.I’m going to do what I can here, but you need to go prepare for the possibility that Selene will try something out in the city.”
Alaric puts his hand on my shoulder.“He’s right.We can’t do anything here.You aren’t a senator anymore, Lyra.”
I still feel as though I should be able to do something.But the truth is that I can’t.
“Please, Lyra,” Marcus says.“I can still fight this, but I can’t do it unless I know you’re safe.I need to focus on the fight here.My kind of fight, not yours.Go back to my villa.I’ll join you as soon as this is done.”
I don't want to go, but I don't feel as if I have a choice.Reluctantly, I step back.The fate of the city might well be decided in the next hour or two, and all I can do is wait and hope.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“We shouldn't have left,” I say, pacing the main living area of Marcus’ villa.
“We didn’t have a choice,” Alaric says.“Marcus was right: it’s a battle of words, not blades.Staying there would have distracted him.”
“So we were meant to just abandon him?”I say.
Alaric shakes his head.“To trust him.”
“Since when doyoutrust Marcus?”I shoot back, continuing to pace.
Alaric intercepts me, putting his hands on my arms to stop me.“I trust that he’s on our side for this part, even if I don’t agree with him about the way Aetheria should be run afterwards.I trust that he’s a skilled politician, and that, if anyone can talk around a senate chamber that Selene has gained control over, it’s him.I know you don’t want to be patient, Lyra, but that’s all we can do at the moment.”
He’s right: I don’t want to be patient at all.I want to march back to the palace and demand that the senate rejects Selene.I want to use my powers to influence their emotions, making them fear what will happen if they vote the wrong way or inspiring such anger towards Selene that they order her killed.I want to shout at the senators there for their stupidity in ever following her.
