We finally arrived at a door with a sign on it.
—Notice—
public trial to commence henceforth
The following day’s date was written at the bottom.
“Is that Althea’s trial?” I asked Elias.
He nodded.
I made eye contact with Nix and Lucas, and we all silently agreed we were going to be there.
We stopped at a sanctuary on the far north side of the building, where the service would be held. It was a huge space with a sky-high ceiling, all made of glass. At the far end was a dais, where three workers were busy polishing the ancient wood throne where I was supposed to be crowned.
“Can you believe it?” Nix said, squeezing my hand. She was a lot more excited than I was. “In a few days, you’ll be queen!”
I managed an uneasy smile.Maybe,I thought.Hopefully.
A woman walked toward us. She was barefoot and wore a long, simple sheath, with her waist-length hair loose.
Elias introduced her. “Princess, this is the priestess Luzviminda. She’ll be conducting the ceremony.”
The priestess bowed. “Your Highness.”
We followed her into the sanctuary. There were rows of benches for the congregants to sit on, but other than that, it was a simple space, clean and bright. A sharp contrast to the ornate palaces and festive villages and marketplace.
Luzviminda seemed to pick up on my thoughts. “Adornments distract from the sacred purpose of the ceremony,” she explained. “There should be nothing coming between the being and the blessing.”
I wondered if she could tell I had another problem, too. I decided I better not draw attention to my main concern. I nodded and asked, “What happens at the ceremony?”
“Are these your witnesses?” She gestured to Nix and Lucas.
I nodded. Since I had no kin of my own, I had asked Nix and Lucas to stand with me. I introduced them to Luzviminda, though she seemed familiar with Lucas already. I could tell she was surprised that he was there. I didn’t have much time to ponder that, though, because right away, she began to walk us through the ceremony.
“The congregants will all be seated prior to your arrival, and then Don Elias will escort you down from the preparation room.” She pointed to the upper floors in the center of the building. “Youand your witnesses and attendants will gather here. They’ll line up behind you, and inside, the musicians will play ‘The Song of the Sun,’ Biringan’s ancient coronation music.”
We lined up as she showed us, and she hummed the melody as we followed her lead. “And then you’ll walk in.”
We began to march down the aisle. Luzviminda’s voice echoed: “Walk, walk, walk. Yes, just like that. You’ll walk to the dais. Not too fast.”
I began to feel sick. This made everything so much more real. It was happening. Very soon. In three days, those empty seats would be filled with people. Watching.
When we got to the dais, Luzviminda had more directions for us. Everyone moved around me, taking places, learning their roles. I knew she was still talking, but her words became muted background noise. All I could hear was the pounding in my ears.
The room was so hot. I wanted to wipe my forehead, but not with the sleeve of my dress.
I gazed out at the empty audience, picturing the seats occupied, all those eyes staring right back at me. Counting on me. Expecting a princess to become a queen.
Luzviminda stood in front of me. She put her arms out like she was holding something. “The box,” she said. “At that point, the princess will remove the scepter...”
Right. Once I had shown my magic, I could touch the scepter.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to do that right now.
33
The following morning,we arrived at the Council of the Courts for Althea’s trial, as planned. I had the driver drop me and Nix off some distance from the entrance so we could approach without drawing a lot of attention. I shut the calesa door and flung a dark cloak around my shoulders, lifting the huge hood over my head. It didn’t matter if anyone knew I was here—not like it was forbidden—I just didn’t want to be bothered. Or start needless speculation.
