Jeran nods once. He looks pale too, even under the evening light. “We don’t have much time,” he says quietly. And he doesn’t even have to explain his words for me to know what he means.
The Federation has sunk its teeth into the land of Mara, churning up its earth in an attempt to find something of value left over from the Early Ones. But the cylinder we’d seen them pull out… it can’t just be a relic. I’d seen with my own eyes how those workers looked before they loaded the object and after, bleeding everywhere. There is something happening here that I don’t understand, but I can feel the darkness of it hanging in the air, a foreboding of things to come.
It has come before, after all. The Early Ones were once mighty, and now they are gone.
If Karensa figures out how to weaponize what they found in Mara, whatever it is that has hurt those men, then soon it may no longer be just the Federation that we need to stop. Soon, all of us may become like the Early Ones—annihilated by something we couldn’t control.
16
TALIN
I’ve only ever known the Chief Architectof the Karensa Federation as a monster and a coward, a scientist who enabled all the anguish that Constantine has wrought.
It’s an astonishing experience to sit here beside her and the mayor of Cardinia and hear her speak against the Premier.
“Karensa values their premiers because of their perceived strength,” Raina says. “Their invincibility. Constantine’s father was a ferocious man who instilled fear in everyone he met. Constantine does the same. The people of Karensa who support the Tyrus family think of them as the ones chosen to inherit the power of the Early Ones.” She gives me a pointed look over her shining glasses. “But the Federation’s borders have become unstable. Conquered people can only tolerate so much. Now is the time to make our move.”
“Our plan is to weaken Constantine before his public,” Mayor Elland continues. “Ensure their—as well as the military’s—support of our move.” She holds a hand out at Raina. “Fortunately, our Chief Architect has quite a way with manipulating the human body. Don’t you, Raina?”
Raina winces at the mayor, but doesn’t disagree.
The mayor winks at me. “She’s so humble, isn’t she? That’s Raina’s job in our rebellion—to make sure Constantine’s health is where we want it to be.”
Throughout all the time I’ve been with Raina—while she’s been ordering wings grafted onto my back and steel infused into my bones—she’s been quietly working with the rebellion.
Raina now coughs nervously. “The medication I’ve been giving Constantine has been sickening him for over a year. Gradually enough that he thinks it is a real illness, and looks to me to help cure him of it.”
“And the military is primed for this?” I sign, skeptical.
She must sense my lingering dislike for her, because she shifts in her seat and looks away from me.
Mayor Elland looks questioningly to the Chief Architect to translate what I’ve said. Raina does, then answers, “The games that are about to happen are the right time to act. I will be increasing Constantine’s doses over the next week. It should cause him enough pain to make him visibly weak and thus unfit for rule. There are enough in the military ready to act against the Premier when we give the signal at the end of the games.”
“All of our rebels will be in place at the arena, ready to ignite the overthrow,” the mayor adds. “The appropriate members of the military are prepped.”
“And what happens afterward?” I sign. “Constantine is overthrown. Then what? What about General Caitoman? How will he react when you topple his brother?”
“We have a council ready to decide on the next ruler,” Mayor Elland says.
“We will handle the General when the time comes,” Raina says at the same time.
Then she pauses abruptly, as if ceding way for the mayor to speakagain. But the mayor just shrugs her agreement. After a while, the Chief Architect says, “At any rate, that’s not what you need to worry about. The coup is our main priority.”
The mayor smiles thinly at me. “You, dear Skyhunter, will be the catalyst that flips the public to our side.” She taps at one of the papers in front of us. It’s a detailed blueprint of the arena where the games will be happening. “During the end of the games, we will call for the military to turn against Constantine. You, as the most visible symbol of his power, are to step forward with us. You will be the one to arrest Constantine and take him away.”
Something in me bristles at the idea of taking more orders from these Karensan nobles, but then the impossible appears in my mind—turning to face Constantine and forcing him down from his throne, to twist his hands behind his back and lead him out of a screaming arena. The ability to strip him of his power just by turning away from him.
I remember the way the people looked to me in awe during our arrival into Cardinia. The mayor is right. I’m the most visible example of his power. If the people see me turn away, they will know that Constantine has lost.
“Why not kill him?” I sign.
Raina looks away with a grimace. “That’s what I’d wish,” she mutters sullenly.
But the mayor gives Raina a stern look and shakes her head. “Assassinate him, and risk a civil war among the people along with poisonous conspiracy theories,” she says. “Turn the public against the Premier, though, and it will work even better than death. His ferocious demeanor is meant to hide his deteriorating condition. But the whispers are already out there. All we need now is a moment in front of the entire public where we can stage a proper coup. And you are the trigger for that.”
Raina shakes her head, as if in disgust, but doesn’t voice her objections. Again, I feel the hint of an old argument between the two women. “The mayor has a soft spot for Constantine,” she tells me with a sidelong glance.
To my surprise, the mayor doesn’t deny it. Her voice softens slightly. “I knew Constantine’s mother,” she replies.
