Eldred’s shriveled eyelids trembled a bit.
“This one isn’t completely empty in the head,” Eldred mocked. “But he’s wrong.”
“Then you were part of the Circuit,” Cain said immediately.
Arienne looked back and forth between them in surprise.
Eldred’s grimace widened. “That’s not what’s important now. Think harder. If the Circuit can’t be controlled, what can they do with it instead?”
Arienne said, “With over three hundred Power generators? They can’t do anything except… overload the Circuit to make it explode? But that would mean the whole city would…” She gasped, her eyes darting to Cain.
Not meeting her gaze, Cain considered all he had learned in the days since Fienna’s murder. He thought of Gladdis, who was being investigated for treason by the Ministry. Of the Power generator, stolen by the rebels. Of the silent man who went in and out of the house the generator was hidden in. Of this so-called princess of Arland. Of the Circuit of Destiny. Where did Fienna fit into all this? Was it a coincidence that he had encountered Arienne and Eldred?
“Not an unlikely plan, if inelegant. But there is another possibility,” said Eldred. “Have you ever heard of the Star of Mersia?”
Everybody has,Cain thought. Mersia had declared independence and was devastated by the Empire as an example to the world. The Powered weapon used then was called the Star of Mersia. A weapon of absolute power, one that no one knew anything about, but at the same time one that everyone feared, whether they believed in its existence or not. Eldred did not wait for Cain’s answer, as his expression made it clear that Cain had heard of this infamous weapon.
“An overload of the Circuit may take out the Capital. But in Mersia, nothing lives, not a blade of grass, not even worms. There are just ashes, dust, and dead things. So shall the Imperial heartlandbe, if the Star shines on it. For the Circuit of Destiny does not simply predict the future; it creates destinies. The Star of Mersia is one of the ways the Circuit can be used. A way the Empire will never use again.”
Cain didn’t understand. “What do you mean, never use again?”
“Well, you see, they weren’t trying to use it that way in the first place. The Star of Mersia did not happen because the Empire wanted it.” Eldred paused, as if savoring their shock. “In fact, Mersia had always been a faithful lapdog of the Empire. They had never declared independence.”
Arienne said, “But then who brought Mersia to ruin, and why?”
Eldred’s grimace returned.
“Indeed.”
Since exiting the room in her mind, neither Cain nor Arienne had spoken. She sat on the edge of the bed. Her leather travel sack, packed and ready, leaned patiently against the bed as well. Cain sat next to it, on the floor, ignoring the chairs.
Eldred could be lying; the thought had crossed Cain’s mind. But what else could be happening here? It sounded like a fantastical piece of propaganda concocted by the Ministry of Intelligence, of provincial rebels plotting to destroy the Empire and all it stood for. But that only made it feel more real somehow.
“Should we… tell the patrollers at least?” said Arienne finally, a look of disbelief still on her face.
Cain was supposed to meet Septima of the Ministry at midnight. It would make more sense to tell her instead of the patrollers. But was that the right thing to do?
To many people, the Empire was the world itself. It just existed, the way the earth existed or the ocean. What was about to happen would be like an earthquake or a tidal wave. But different. An artificial calamity. If that were so, the Empire also was not like the mountains or the rivers, for it was also artificial, built and maintained by the hands of people as well. Before the Empire conquered them, the Imperial provinces never would have imagined their kings or parliaments falling either.
“I will try to speak to the one orchestrating this. To hear what they have to say.”
“You know who it is?”
Cain sighed. “I have a feeling.”
Gladdis. Maybe there was someone behind her, but Gladdis for now.
“I’ll leave the Capital as planned,” said Arienne, “and maybe I’ll learn more when I’m in Arland. Maybe if I met that princess…”
Cain nodded. Even if she never got to meet the princess, someone outside the Capital needed to know what was going on, or about to happen.
Arienne added sheepishly, “I’m on the run… I wouldn’t be of any help to you. And even if I wasn’t, I don’t know how to do anything that could help in this situation.”
She got off the bed. Cain looked up at her.
“Do you think if the Capital is destroyed, Arland will be free?” he asked.
“Maybe the whole world will be free. But what would it matter?” Arienne answered in a soft voice. “Hundreds of thousands would have died in the Capital alone. We’ve both lived here for a long time. Everyone we know would be dead. Maybe it’s silly ofme to say such things when I’m trying to leave everything behind, but…”
