The thought of taking even one step closer to Von Nevus makes me want to vomit, but I force myself away from the wall. I refuse to let Alaric lose control the way his father did. And I refuse to let Garitt Von Nevus have any power over me.
I stride down the row of beds, catch Alaric by the elbow, and yank him backward. “Thinkabout what you’re doing!” I shout, giving him a meaningful look when he snarls down at me.
His hands drop to his sides with a thump, and he falls back a few steps, the fury on his face morphing into horror and shame. Before hespirals too far, I tighten my grip on his arm, like Delphine did for me, and tell him to look at me. Breathe with me. Slowly, in and out.
“Thank you, Indira,” he whispers.
“Yes, thank you, Indira,” Von Nevus interrupts, wiggling his fingers in a mocking wave. “So nice of you to intervene on my behalf.”
“It had nothing to do with you,” I snap. “I would have let Alaric level the building and bury you alive, if not for the patients.”
Von Nevus lets out an exaggerated huff. “Why is everyone so touchy today? If you had let me finish”—he turns to Alaric—“I was going to say,I don’t serve youyet. But I will someday, which is why I’m willing to compromise now. So long as it’s of future benefit to me.”
“You’re despicable,” Alaric says. “We’re in a warehouse full of sick Vanzadorians, and you’re thinking of how it can benefit you.”
Von Nevus shrugs. “I’m not responsible for their condition. I’m simply taking advantage of an opportunity—which doesn’t harm them further, I should add. If that’s despicable, so be it. I personally think it would be worse to squander the opportunity to make some good come from this awful situation.”
“What do you want?” Alaric bites out.
“To be lead advisor under your rule,” Von Nevus says without a breath of hesitation.
Alaric barks out a laugh. “You’re daft to think—”
I step down hard on Alaric’s boot and shoot him an insistent look. Von Nevus is the only person who can tell us what’s happening here, so for now, we need to appease him.
Alaric closes his eyes and sighs. “I’ll take it under consideration—ifyour information proves useful. And truthful,” he adds sharply. “Who are these people? Where did they come from, and why are they ill?”
“These”—Von Nevus holds out his arms—“are the people—or, in some cases, the children of the people—who have chosen to sacrifice the largest quantities of their memories to the earth. Many courtiers doit for the wealth and status born of a large endowment. While commoners do it for appealing incentives like lower taxes, repaying debts, and educational opportunities. For whatever reason, these people poured so much of themselves into the ground—in order to fuelyourpower, I want to remind you—that there’s nothing left,” Von Nevus says with a theatrical frown.
Alaric’s face crumples with confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“We aren’t made of an infinite amount of memories. If a person sacrifices too much, they no longer have enough life essence to support themselves or the children they create. Nothing left with which to sustain or make a soul, leaving bodies without proper substance to animate them, as you see here.” Von Nevus turns a slow circle.
“No.” Alaric staggers back. “That can’t be true.”
I want to agree, but it explains why the courtiers are so distant and distractable, why people are mysteriously vanishing, and why Soren needs more and more bagrava.
Of course sacrificing one’s memories would have long-term consequences. The Vanzadorian people are draining their vitality more every day. Every hour. And minute.
“No,” Alaric growls repeats with more vehemence. “Our people choose which memories to give—and howmuchto give. They would never sacrifice more than is sustainable.”
“Tell me, Your Highness, how are they supposed to know when they’ve reached their limit? Is there a bell that rings to let them know their social climbing days are over?”
Alaric looks pale and dazed. He fumbles to respond.
Von Nevus fills the silence with another devastating blow. “We tried to mitigate the problem by adding bagrava to the water supply, which has helped to slow the epidemic, but it’s like trying to dam a river with a twig.”
I clutch my throat, feeling sick. How much bagrava have I unknowingly consumed? I should have realized, should have recognizedthe flavor. But how could I when I’ve never tasted it before? When Rowenna’s letters blamed the flavor on mineral deposits?
“We bring the worst patients here,” Von Nevus continues, “so as not to frighten and upset the rest of the population.”
“But don’t their families notice they’re missing?” Delphine speaks up for the first time.
Von Nevus shakes his head. “The majority of families havechosento forget their ailing loved ones, rather than live with the pain of losing them in this harrowing manner.”
“You mean the families have been compelled to forget,” Alaric says through clenched teeth. “My father forces them to purge the truth about their loved ones, doesn’t he? To ensure everyone continues depositing memories.”
“It’s not our place to question or criticize the king,” Von Nevus says. “If you are unable to move the earth, we won’t be able to keep the Marauders from scaling the mountain, and our mines won’t yield half as much. Not to mention our society as a whole will collapse. It’s built around rewarding those who give the most.”
