In that manner, the clerk went around the bend, collectingayesandnays.Soon he’d made it almost halfway through the crowd, and the number ofnayswas overwhelming. Poppy clenched the black silk of her mourning gown so tight, her knuckles turned white. She would never get the chance to reverse her father’s legacy. Her father had died for nothing.
Bang.
The House clerk paused. “What was that?” he asked, echoing the question on everyone’s minds.
Bang.
The representatives in front of Poppy craned their necks, staring at the door. She turned, too, looking over her shoulder to see what they were all staring at.
Bang. Bang. The thick, heavy doors to the Central Chamber were trembling, shaking as an unseen force struck them from the other side.
Bang. Bang. Bang. The pounding continued. Between each strike, shouting came through the walls as well. Lord Colwick rose unsteadily, but before he could say anything, a deafening crash filled the room as the doors to the chamber flew open. A crowd of Virians spilled inside, filling the space of the Central Chamber. Poppy sucked in a gasp as she flew to her feet.
At the head of the group was none other than Hasan Devar, his knuckles bruised and bleeding, his clothes torn and in disarray, his brows drawn fiercely over his burning eyes.
She had not imagined she would ever see him again. She had so many questions: Why was he here, after he and Zeyar had betrayed her? What about his brother?
As the rest of the room dissolved into chaos, his eyes met hers. His split lip stretched as he gave Poppy a rueful, tentative smile. Then he shouted over the din, “For too long, you have made decisions without us, the people who are most affected by those same decisions. We demand the right to participate in the selection of our next leader. We’re here to cast our vote for Miss Sutherland, and we won’t leave until each of our voices has been counted.”
The crowd roared in agreement with his words.
Poppy’s chest and throat swelled with an emotion that lifted her up and rendered her impossibly vulnerable all at once. Hadn’t Hasan told her?Gods, blood, and kings do not decide who rules. The people do.
And the people?—her people?—had chosen her.
“Everyone get out,now!”
Guards poured in, half of them splitting off to fight the sea of Virians who flooded the chamber, the other half escorting the lords and representatives out. Poppy’s heart raced as one of the guards escorted her out, but fear didn’t drive her pulse?—joy did.
Just before the door swung shut behind her, she twisted, peering over the guard’s shoulder to catch one last glimpse of the chaos within, Hasan at its core, teeth bared, fists flying. She brushed her finger over the thin pink scar on her thumb, a strange warmth in her chest. All this time, she had been so consumed with fighting for the country, she hadn’t dared to dream that the country was willing to fight for her.
Chapter Forty-Six
Appease the Masses
Protestors Released from Marnapur Jail After Ten Days of Riots
This morning, the protestors who broke and entered into the House of Representatives were released with all charges dropped. This comes after ten days of destruction and defiance from the Virian populace. Workers across the colony have abandoned the fields and factories, spilling over Morning Bridge to demand that their voices be heard in the selection process of Viryana’s next viceroy.
“I think it’s an outrage, frankly,” James Alderfort said in a statement made earlier this week. “With these riots, we have no workers to tend the fields, plus the domestic supply chain has been disrupted by road closures and looting. The economic consequences can’t be ignored.”
Superintendent Nottingham refused to comment on whether the Marnapur police’s inability to subdue the rioters had any impact on the decision to free the trespassers. “These delinquents have been emboldened by our viceroy’s death,” Nottingham told reporters. “Without strong leadership, we can expect more chaos.”
The Special Committee will resume its hearing to select the new viceroy this Tuesday. In an unprecedented turn of events, six protestors will be permitted to sit in on the hearing and cast their own ballots. House Leader Colwick declined to make a statement on their inclusion. Only time will tell what ramifications this concession will have on Virian society.
• • •
Eleven days after the vote on succession was disrupted, the House of Representatives reconvened. In addition to the lingering gasoline fumes, stains shadowed the carpet, and the wooden desks and chairs were scratched and scarred.
However, not all of the changes were for ill. Six wooden chairs had been added to the U-bend for Hasan and his delegation. The representatives pinned them with outright hostile looks, but not a single delegation member faltered when they stood and asked the clerk to record their vote in favor of Poppy.
That being done, the rest of the representatives began to vote, starting from the beginning again. Some of the favorable votes, Poppy expected?—the Greenwoods, Theodore?—but others came as a surprise. There werealsovotes she had expected to have that she’d lost. She tried to keep her expression placid throughout, but eachnaypunched through her like a rod being shoved through her body, until she was riddled with holes.
Finally, the clerk finished with the Wainwrights, and the vote was over. Under her breath, Poppy counted the number of men still standing. She wasn’t the only one. Theodore’s lips moved in an echo of hers as he counted too. Even Lord Whitecliff had his neck craned, taking note of the number of people on their feet.
“I have now finished the tally,” the clerk said.
Bile rose in Poppy’s throat. This moment would decide her future. What would happen to her if she lost this? Desperate, she cast her gaze to Theodore, but Hasan intercepted her gaze. His face was composed, unbothered, but she still remembered the language of his body. His jaw was set, his limbs perfectly still: He was just as anxious as she was. Her heart beat so loudly, she feared she wouldn’t be able to hear the numbers when the clerk said them.
