Maybe that’s why I can’t be anywhere near the senate chamber, though.If I interfere with the senate’s debates, I only risk driving them deeper into Selene’s arms.
But that means I must wait, and waiting is anything but easy.
“How long has it been now since we got here?”I ask, trying to judge the time by looking out of the windows of the villa.It’s dark, and the moon is up, but it’s hard to be precise.
“It’s been hours,” Alaric says.“But I wouldexpectsomething like this to take hours.”
“How can you be so calm?”I ask him.“Don’t tell me you’re trusting in the senate to make the right decision, when you’ve barely trusted the senate from the start.”
Alaric shrugs.“Maybe that’s what makes this easier for me.I know that, if it comes to it, I’ll just keep fighting with the resistance the same way I have been.I’ve never expected the senate to solve our problems.”
“That isn’t comforting, Alaric,” I say.
“I know,” he replies, putting his arms around me.“But you need to remember that this isn’t the end, whatever happens.You can keep fighting.I can keep fighting.Even Marcus will find a way if the vote goes against him.”
I know Alaric wants me to stay positive, but it’s hard when I’ve heard what Olivia proposed in the senate chamber.It’s worse than anything I expected, not even pretending to continue with the Republic and its laws.Our only hope now is that Marcus can persuade the other senators to strike down the proposal, getting them to see just how far they’ve stepped away from the Republic’s ideals.
For now, though, all I can do is wait, and I hate waiting.
There's a commotion near the gates of the villa, and I tense, half-expecting an attack.I reach out with my powers, looking into the night with the eyes of night crawling creatures.What I see out there makes me run towards the villa's gates.
“Lyra, what are you doing?”Alaric demands.
“It’s Marcus!”I call back to him.“He’s hurt!”
He’s more than hurt.I can see him staggering to the gates, hammering on them with the last of his strength.I run to him with all the speed I can muster, throwing open the gates just as he collapses.I catch him, and Alaric is there too now to help me drag him back inside, past startled looking servants.
We lay Marcus down on a couch, and I see the full extent of his injuries.One of his legs is twisted, and there are bruises all over his body, as if he's been beaten to within an inch of his life.There are stab wounds, too, some oozing blood, some bleeding faster.
“Fetch Thalia,” I say to Alaric.“We need her healing.”
“I don’t know if I can get to her fast enough for these wounds,” Alaric says.
I want to curse him for not trying, but the worst part is that he’s right.At the rate Marcus is losing blood, he’ll be dead long before Alaric can get to Thalia’s home and back.
But not beforeIcan get her here.
I reach out for the birds of the city, connecting with any I can find that might be able to do what I want.I find a parrot sleeping in the boughs of a cedar tree and force it into wakefulness, sending it flying with all the speed I can muster from it.
I send it to her shop, slamming it into the shutters claws first again and again until she opens them.I force words from the parrot’s throat, cursing the limitations of the creature’s vocal range even as I do it.
“Come to Marcus’ villa at once.He’s hurt.Maybe dying.Please.Run.”
I expect Thalia to argue, but she doesn't.Instead, she grabs a roll of what I take to be healing supplies, hurrying from her home.
I start to lead her through the city streets, keeping ahead of her at a pace that forces her to run to keep up.I use the other birds around Thalia to watch for danger, leading her down streets that aren’t watched by guards or caught up in violence.Dimly, I’m aware of Alaric putting pressure on Marcus’ wounds, trying to save his life despite the differences between the two.
I pull more of my attention back into the room, trying to help Marcus as well.He’s conscious, just about, his eyes wide with pain.
“They attacked me as I left,” he manages.“They hated that I’d betrayed Selene.”
“She sent people to do this?”I ask.
Marcus shakes his head.“Her followers.They didn’t like me trying to stop her rise to power.”
“And did you?”Alaric asks.“Did you stop her, Marcus.”
Marcus coughs, blood spattering his chin.“No.I couldn’t turn enough of them from her.She...if she wins, she’s empress.”
