Claws? Just wait till I get these shackles off. I’ll scratch their star-damned eyes out.
‘You’re at the Arx Magnum’s mercy. Don’t push him. We don’t know how far he’ll bend before he snaps.’
Orthriel has still not materialised since we were taken prisoner, but it’s a relief just to hear their voice. I take a breath, will my pounding heart quiet, try to heed my Guardian’s advice as the guards wrench the metal from my bruised wrists and force me into my seat.
‘Where are the others?’ I look at the Arx Magnum, but focus my second-sight on Astrophel. It’s worth the risk of someone noticing my eyes mist over – I have to know if he’s really betrayed us. As my vision dapples, I cling to the desperate hope that this is a ruse, a clever ploy to guarantee our freedom. The energy radiating from him is grey, insubstantial as smoke. I haven’t seen an aura like this before: diaphanous, impossible to latch onto, revealing nothing.
Wretched magic. I can’t even do this right.
‘In the dungeons,’ the Arx Magnum replies, flashing me another rictus grin.
Astrophel raises his glass again. ‘Where the beasts belong.’
My skin crawls. ‘Astrophel, you can’t mean—’
‘Oh, I assure you I can.’ His eyes are unnervingly flat. ‘I was against this from the start, remember? It’s unnatural to form alliances with traitors, to make bedfellows of rats.’ He lingers over ‘bedfellows’ as he holds my gaze.
I flinch. His words hang between us like the foul stench of a fever-pyre.
‘Yes, I see how you moon after him and it disgusts me.’
Stars, no. He can’t think that. Can’t think that I—
‘Just a friendly warning, Radiance.’ The Arx Magnum leans towards me, interrupting my train of thought. ‘If that slippery Guardian of yours tries to breach the perimeter of the dungeons, I’ll be forced to take my disappointment out on you, my dear. Is that understood?’
I nod. Orthriel’s heavy sigh rushes through the bridge between our minds, as one of the Veiled Sisters sidles up to the Arx Magnum and passes him a note. He reads it and frowns.
‘The damned sylvanmare’s smashing up its cell. It’s skewered half-a-dozen guards already. We’ll have to execute it.’
I bite back a cry.
‘A pity, I was hoping to wait a while – see if those experiments we spoke of, Astrophel, might bear fruit.’ He hauls himself to his feet. ‘But every cloud… I’ve the perfect spot on my wall for its horn.’
I press my fingernails hard against my palm to stop myself from screaming. My eyes dart again to Astrophel. Something flickers in his face, but whatever emotion it is, it passes in a flash, schooled blank. I allow myself to hope. He’s feigning. He has to be.
Astrophel takes another sip of wine, his hand steady as the pulse of the starstone. ‘Would you allow me to try and subdue the beast? I’m good with horses, and I’ve travelled in its company for some time. I know its ways. I can bring it to heel.’
The Arx Magnum drums his fingers against the table.
‘I’ll need a bridle. A bridle and a whip.’ A smile creeps over Astrophel’s face, like frost on glass. ‘It’s a shame to waste this opportunity.’
My chest is so tight I can scarce draw breath. Did Astrophel just encourage the Arx Magnum in his dark schemes? Offer to hurt Briar himself?
It’s true he’s always hated the Outrealmers. I can still hear the venom in his voice as he railed against forming a Quaternity, his objections fiercer than even my father’s. I watch now as he sips his wine, awaiting a response from the Arx Magnum.
He’s calm. Too calm.
I grip the armrests of my chair to steady myself, and keep my eyes carefully trained on the flagstones. It’s risky to try this again, and I can’t be sure it will work without touching him, but I have to know. I refuse to believe Astrophel is really doing this. Light speckles my vision. I reach for the silven threads, use them as guides to wade through the strange haze of Astrophel’s aura, and reach into his mind.
Betrayal.
‘Very well.’ The Arx Magnum’s words shatter my hold on my magic. The threads snap, severing my flimsy connection to Astrophel. ‘If you think you can cow the beast, be my guest. The guards will accompany you to the dungeons, provide whatever restraints you require.’
Astrophel stands.
I reach for his arm as he brushes past me. ‘You can’t do this. Please!’
He shrugs me off. Doesn’t so much as look at me. Only strides to where the guards stand ready to escort him from the hall. His footfalls fade down the passageway.
