The way themagviswas kept…that was a horrible way to live. It felt like wool had clogged my throat when I spoke next. “Kings kept themagvishidden away because if the rest of us found out, others would want themagvisfor themselves.”
“It was a strategic decision,” Harthon acknowledged, essentially admitting he would have done the same.
And how dare he? “It isn’t right to imprison an innocent pers—” Well, not a person. “An innocentbeinglike that.”
“No. But sometimes the best decision is not the morally right one,” he countered flatly, as if there wasn’t something innately wrong with that opinion.
It was that very opinion that appeared to guide all of our leaders. “A lack of morals must be a requirement to be Princeps.”
“It’s one of many.”
I looked away, working my jaw in disgust. There wasn’t anything to say to that. Arguing with him would do nothing but waste my breath.
At my silence, he returned to what he was saying before. “Donon called on hismagvisto erect the Domus to maintain his throne in Centralis. To power itself, it siphons the life from our lands and skies, while the land within the Domus lives, thrives, as it naturally should.” Reluctantly, I dragged my attention back to him. “To put it simply, Centralis holds the resources we need to end the suffering of everyone in the Territories.”
Which meant… “Whoever gets control of Centralis and its resources will essentially have all they need to control the other Territories as well.”
“Yes.”
“Which is why you and Koerlyn both want in.”
Harthon simply dipped his chin in confirmation.
I studied the pensive man across from me. This wasn’t really about ending our suffering. That sounded nice, but it wasn’t the truth. It was about power. It was about becoming aking.
“And how do I supposedly help with that?” The words burned my throat.
“When Donon built those walls, he ensured there would be a way out in case he ever needed to escape. He had hismagvisbuild a tunnel network beneath the ground.”
My eyebrows shot up. That was certainly news to me. “If tunnels can get people in and out, why haven’t you dug your own into the Domus?”
“Nearly every Princeps has tried. No one has succeeded. Themagvisraised the walls, and themagviswas the only one who could build a path through them. Themagviswas also the only one who knew the path through the tunnels, where to enter, and where to exit.”
That didn’t make much sense. “What’s the point of having a way out if people can’t find it?”
“If anyone else knew how to access the route, the consequences would have been catastrophic. Someone could escape to the outside, inform a Princeps of the way in, and invade Centralis. Given his reputation for overindulging in drink and spilling secrets, Donon apparently didn’t even trust himself with that knowledge. He didn’t want anyone but themagvisto know the route, and he swore her to secrecy. Amagviscannot break an oath.”
I nodded, but the expression was more automatic than genuine. This was all sounding more like a story than reality, but I wasn’t ready to cut Harthon off.
Then it struck me that Harthon kept saying themagvis was.Notis.As in, themagvisno longer existed. The woman with that voice of pure power and black blood—the one who’d been stabbed before completely disappearing—flashed into view, and I grew still.
“And this brings me to you,” Harthon said, dark eyes fixed on mine.
The pieces clicked together into a horrifying puzzle. “She was themagvis?”
“Assuming you’re referring to the woman who turned your eyes into hers, yes,” Harthon confirmed all too confidently.
“Th-that…no. How do you even know that was her?” The denial sounded weak to my own ears. That stench, the foul, eye-watering odor that’d invaded the air just before she stumbled into the clearing, was not of this world. I’d known it then. It only made sense now. And when that black sludge had poured from her skin and she spoke in that haunting voice—
“Your eyes. Themagviswas the only kind of being withpurple and violet eyes that bled into gold.” Then, apparently reading my thoughts, he added, “There were other indications, as you know.”
“How would you know? You weren’t there.”
“Koerlyn’s scouts found you after following themagvisfor a while. They reported everything to him, and I have ears that reported to me.”
“Why were Koerlyn’s scouts in Second Territory?” Territory borders existed for a reason. Casually crossing them was asking for trouble, and no matter how congenial the relationship was between Koerlyn and Theo, I doubted that was okay.
“Like me, Koerlyn has had men monitoring the Domus, just in case themagvisor anyone else were to come out. Your Princeps in Two doesn’t exactly command respect,” he commented wryly, “so Koerlyn pretends as if those boundaries don’t exist.”
