The King turned his attention to Master Tarek.
“What do you have to say for yourself, Tarek?” he asked.
Tarek drew himself up to his feet. I could see the resignation in his eyes. He knew that we were dead men. Nothing we said would change the King’s mind now.
“All I have done has been for the good of Alexandria. It was all my doing, Your Grace. I set the young Prince the task of translating the documents without telling him what they contained,” he said. “Whatever punishment you deem appropriate should fall on me, and me alone. The boy did not know what he was doing.”
“No! That’s not true!” I said, stepping between Tarek and the King. “The work was mine! Master Tarek wasn’t involved. You won’t find his hand in any of the translations.”
The King swept his gaze back and forth between us. I had spread my arms wide, as if to protect Tarek from a physical blow.
“Please, Father,” I said, going down on my knees. “Do not harm Master Tarek. All he has ever done was try to prepare me to be a good King. Maalik is lying.”
As I stared into his eyes, willing him to believe me, my heart pounded in my chest so loud I swear I could hear it. I could feel the ground moving slowly beneath my feet, my mind only half in this room. Everything around me seemed too bright, too loud.
Master Aurelius stepped forward and whispered something into the King’s ear, and the doubt was washed away from the King’s face. His jaw clenched as he stared back at me, his icy blue eyes cold and alien. I was the only true born son of his body. Surely he couldn’t believe I was involved. Just in case, though, I continued my work on the tunnel beneath us. It was close now.
“So the Queen was involved in your treachery as well? Hear my judgment,” he began, his stance rigid. “Lucien Alexus, blood of my blood, I find you guilty of conspiring to assassinate your rightful Crown Prince and fomenting sedition. I hereby disinherit you. Youare no longer a member of my household or my family. You have no claim on me or mine for succor or support.”
I saw Allard standing behind my father, his eyes wide in shock. He knew the truth of what Maalik and Aurelius were. I thought for a moment he surely would speak for us, but the moment passed and he pressed his lips into a thin line, a look of surprise flashing through his eyes. The King’s words seemed to vibrate through me and became a roar in my head. I saw Aurelius staring at me, a small smile on his face as the King disowned me.
“Tarek Baltim Wasil,” the King continued. “I find you guilty of fomenting sedition and conspiring to assassinate your Crown Prince. The penalty for these charges is public execution by drawing and quartering.”
It felt like the ground disappeared beneath me and I was falling. There was an intense pounding in my head that grew louder and louder. The guards stepped forward to take Master Tarek by the arms.
“Father, you can’t restrictknowledge!” I said. “That’s like trying to restrict the very air we breathe! The more you try and hide it, to push it down and bury it from the light of day, the more likely it is that it will escape! Why do you fear it so much?”
I knew I had miscalculated as soon as I spoke. Saying my father was afraid of something was like waving a red cloak in front of a bull.
“I am afraid ofnothing!” he thundered, standing and striding back to the front of his desk, his long hair flowing over his shoulders.
I felt oddly lightheaded, and words tumbled from my mouth without my volition.
“You are afraid ofeverything, King Cyrius Alexus,” I said, my voice ringing with a strange power that was not my own. “You fear the knife in the dark, the poison in the cup, and the false friend behind the mask. Hear the words of your Goddess.”
By him saved, and by him bound
The truth shall rise and now be found
The tiger stalks its ancient prey
Heed now the Keepers of the Way.
Air shall rise
And earth shall quake
Water boil
And fire wake.
Release the truth
All shalt be freed
By the Sons of Hecate.”
With each line I spoke I felt something rise up in my chest, something heavy and burning and strong. I felt my strange sense of the earth beneath me expand. Tarek looked at me, shaking his head and whispering.
