“I thought promises weren’t your thing,” she said quietly.
“I’ll take that as a yes, then,” he said just as softly, then turned and slipped into Godhallem.
Immediately, Ramson dropped into a squat, and the dais—along with Kerlan, Sorsha, and Nita—disappeared from view. Behind the rows of kneeling courtiers, he wasn’t visible to anybody.
Sorsha continued to speak, her voice twisted in bitterness. “For my entire life, all of you have been watching my father use me, experiment on me, and then clap that vile collar back around my neck once he was done with me.” She gave a sharp laugh. “Today, it’s finallymy turn! My turn to watch the expressions on your pathetic faces as I destroy this perverse legacy my father and previous men before him have created.”
Ramson could sense the ripple of fear even as the courtiers’ bodies were held frozen by Nita’s Affinity.
Quickly, quietly, he shifted his belt, turning it so that his dagger and Sorsha’s blackstone collar were at his back. He couldn’t have them dragging by his side.
“Enough.” Kerlan’s voice rang out. “Well done, my daughters. You and I—we are paving the way to the future.”
Ramson could imagine the sick little smile playing about Kerlan’s lips. Drawing another deep breath, he gathered his wits, dropped to his hands and knees, and began to crawl toward the Earth Court.
“Bregon. Three Courts.” Kerlan’s tone turned magnanimous, echoing slightly indoors. “It is time for change. For so long, we have been sat on stale waters. Admiral after Admiral, Court after Court, with no big changes, no show of our true strength to the world.
“Tonight, all that will end. Tonight, Bregon will declare its allegiance to Her Glorious Majesty Morganya of the Empire of Cyrilia. And it will be my absolutehonorto serve…as your Admiral, and as your new King.”
There was a ripple of tension across the hall from the courtiers. Ramson froze in his progress, holding his breath. The searock floor was cool, shimmering torchlight weaving between streaks of aquamarine and navy blue. If he pressed his cheek to it, he could pretend he was underwater.
He took a moment to glance back at the entryway, the heavy doors that remained open despite the lashing rain outside. Beyond, there was only darkness. Ana was nowhere in sight.
“In just a few moments,” Kerlan continued, “we will be joined by King Darias, who will pass his position to me. Those who join me will be reappointed as officials of our new kingdom.” He snapped his fingers. “Nita, loosen their control a bit. Let us see what they have to say.”
A shout immediately rose up, somewhere in the area of the Sky Court. “You are nothing but an exiled criminal come to take your vengeance upon this kingdom,” the courtier declared. “I would rather die than serve under you.”
A rumble of conversation began as others prepared to call out their answers.
But Kerlan held up a hand, and Ramson’s veins turned cold when his old master said calmly, “Then your wish shall be granted.”
A whizzing sound, a cry, a thud of a body on the stone floor.
Godhallem fell into an ominous silence.
Ramson gritted his teeth.The bells,he thought, and lifted his head to look at the brass lever on the wall ahead.Focus on the bells.
“Delicious,” Sorsha purred. Ramson heard the clinks of her iron spikes. “More—give me more!”
Ramson shinnied forward faster. He was so close, just eight or nine steps away. They felt like the length of an ocean. The brass lever gleamed in front of him.
“I am generous, you see,” Kerlan continued. “I would not deny you a choice, provided that you make thecorrectchoice.”
Five steps. Crawling had never seemed more torturous. Sweat beaded on Ramson’s forehead. In the background, he could hear his sister speaking.
“Oh,” Sorsha said happily. “But I think we’re about to have evenmorefun, Lord Kerlan.”
Two steps. The lever hovered overhead.
“Won’t you show yourself,” Sorsha cackled suddenly, and Ramson’s blood froze, “oh Brother Dearest?”
The rain was lashing down in torrents by the time Linn and Kaïs reached the research wing of the Naval Headquarters. It took them each several seconds to take down the guards, and they were struggling to catch their breath by the time they reached the interior of the research wing.
It was pitch-black in the hall. There was the flare of a flame, and a torch burned to life. Kaïs raised it, and the shadows peeled away.
Linn looked up at him. Rainwater slicked his hair, trickling down the carved edges of his jaw and running down his neck in rivulets.
He motioned to her and began to make for the door to the research dungeons. This time, when he opened it, the light from his torch flared into the darkness beyond. Linn followed him through, and they began to descend.
