“Those two people,” said Fienna, “are at a crossroads. They haveto decide not just their own fate but the fates of countless others. Like kings. And such moments fill us, make us… We have power. We have knowledge. We are history, but we are not future. Our purpose must be given to us.” Fienna’s eyes darkened more. “By someone like you.”
Cain drew a long breath and said, “You want me to decide for you.”
Fienna nodded and reached out to him. “Take our hand. Come inside us. A throne awaits you. Every moment of destiny will be your subject. You are worthy. You can be king. You can save your homeland. And your friend.” Her voice was pleading. The real Fienna had never spoken to him like this. He suppressed a flinch.
“Then everything I wish for will come true?”
“As long as destiny allows it.”
Cain scoffed. “And Mersia. Was that also allowed by destiny?”
“… That wasn’t our fault.” Fienna looked sorrowful. He could not stand seeing her so sad, even though she was not truly Fienna. He couldn’t ask her what she meant. It wouldn’t matter to him, anyway.
“What happens to Arland if we leave them alone?”
“Not even we know. We are at a king’s crossroads. Arienne could still come to the battlefield with the dragon. The King of Arland might vanquish the gigatherion on her own. Or everyone might die and Kingsworth will end up a mass grave.”
Cain made his decision.
“What I really want, what frustrated me because it was never in my hands, was not the fates of the people from the place I left, but the people here, in Fienna’s home. I must go back to take careof them now. I have no desire to steal for myself what Loran and Arienne are fighting for.”
Fienna looked as sorrowful as ever.
“You are a sleeping king after all. Perhaps you aren’t ready yet to rule. But there will come a time when you awaken.”
Fienna vanished. Cain suddenly stood not on the plains of Arland or a land with red earth and a violet sky. He was instead in a narrow, dim chamber filled from floor to ceiling with large, coffin-sized drawers. He felt his way out.
He climbed the spiral staircase and got to the hall of the Senate. The sun was rising in the east. Seeing as the sky wasn’t covered in smoke, the fires seemed to have been brought under control somehow.
Just as he stepped outside, Septima came walking through the forest of statues. The stout man limped along beside her, and Devadas brought up the rear, no sign at all of having been wounded in the crash. Their faces were sooty, their clothes filthy. Only Septima’s green brooch still sparkled.
“You!” Septima shouted, and increased her pace. But Cain didn’t run. He stood calmly by the doors of the Senate, his back straight.
“You…!”
Oddly enough, Septima was having trouble finding the words. Cain looked down at his person. Was his being covered in blood throwing her off? Perhaps an explanation was in order.
“Safani’s body is in a room filled with drawers underneath the Senate.”
“Safani was there…?” This was Devadas with his low, thick voice.
“I killed him. I took care of the problem.”
The three of them looked at one another, and then the stout man said, “I don’t believe that. We’ve been unable to find for him for a decade. No way a badger informant has done what we couldn’t.”
The stout man came up to Cain, his hands balled up into fists. Cain took a step forward, coming face-to-face with him. “Youhad a job.Ihad everything at stake.”
The stout man opened his mouth halfway as if to speak. As Cain stared down at him, the man took a step back without saying anything, his fists loosening up.
Silence fell on the Senate hill.
Cain met Septima’s eyes. Her displeasure from a moment ago was replaced with something like amazement. As he further studied her face, she averted her eyes from him. The stout man was staring at his feet as well, unwilling to challenge Cain again. Devadas lowered his head for a moment, as if he was paying his respects, then looked at Cain. There was a glimmer of appreciation in his normally expressionless face.
Cain was surprised, not at the change in their attitudes, but that he had somehow expected all of this.
Septima finally spoke again.
“So… what… what happened? What happened in the end?”
