The people surrounding her had turned over chairs in their haste to retreat from her wildness. They watched her with shades of guilt and remorse, sorrow and pleasure, fear and curiosity. So much, yet nothing all at the same time.
Even Empress Chaska, sitting just a few seats away, did nothing. For all she had beseeched Nina to be courageous, she was sitting like a coward, mouth agape, waiting to watch the show.
No one stepped forward to intervene, to hold Sacha’s hand when Nina could not. No one spoke a whisper of a word.
No one except Kasik, who struggled against the hands that held him, Nina’s name a chanted plea on his lips. One of the walla dug his blade deeper into Kasik’s throat, and Nina tracked a drop of blood as it carved a path down his neck.
“Tell me, Sacha,” Emperor Maicu said. Nina flicked her eyes back to him, to Sacha who swayed on her feet. “Can you See Nina’s future? Can youSeehow her life will enrich Tawantinsuyu?”
Sacha’s mouth worked to form a word, but her voice was little more than the rustle of a solitary leaf as she said, “Yes.” Her eyes, however, said so much more. They were narrowed in ire, burning from within. They glittered in promise even as the emperor’s smile was sharp with wicked delight and cunning victory.
Behind her, Atik’s chuckle filled Nina with such a murderous rage that she felt like a hapless creature caged beneath his touch.
All the pieces she had been haphazardly collecting fell into place.
Nina had used her power, and they had come for her and found Sacha. She had brought their enemies straight to their door. Kunay Atik had used her love for her sister against her. They were the Girl and the Sister. An Ikara and a Seer.
One as collateral. A pawn.
The other, a spare. A sacrifice.
Nina had been utterly and thoroughly fooled.
The rage came rushing back in like a tidal wave, building up slowly before it reached a crest and broke upon a shore of desperation. She lunged forward with a roar, hair tearing from her scalp, the pain ignored as she reached deep beneath the blanket of Atik’s attay to grasp at her own, willing to tear it from her insides and let it shred her soul if it meant shredding everyone else in this room. She would have them beg. Shewould make them regret ever having set eyes upon her, forcravingher—
“Aht,aht,” Maicu tsked, his eerily calm voice breaking through the fog of her wrath enough to clear her mind and see the knife he held at Sacha’s throat. “We’re not finished yet.”
Sacha was limp in the emperor’s arms, her body fully leaning on Maicu. Her beautiful baby sister with the purest heart, reduced to a prisoner for the sake of Nina’s cooperation. She simply could not comprehend it. Refused to imagine a scenario in which that knife went through her sister’s throat.
“There is one more gift.”
The crowd was nonexistent, as far as Nina was concerned. She had eyes and ears only for her sister, whose name she whispered over and over, a desperate plea for her to open her eyes, to see. They had called her a Seer, and Nina knew the truth of that word as she knew the truth of her name. Memories of her sister came unbidden, the dreams she had shared with Nina, the strange conversations and the things Sacha had known that couldn’t be explained. They had always thought her ill and strange. Weak. But all Nina saw when she looked at her now was the strength of her love.
“This one is for all the citizens of Tawantinsuyu.”
Silence fell as the emperor took slow, measured steps down the length of the room, dragging Sacha along in his arms. Nina was hoping he would bring her close enough to touch, but he gently let her go into the arms of a walla before walking back to her.
Behind her, Atik shifted away, and Nina almost collapsed from the loss of his touch. She heard Kasik say her name again, and she heard a chair shift down the table, but she focused solely on Maicu. “If you so much as lift a hand against me, your sister’s life will be forfeit,” he whispered, his lips close enough that she could feel them against her ear. Then he turned back to the gathered crowd. “Nina of Limac, an Ikarawith attay the likes of myth, will usher in the favor of the gods in its full glory, through an honored sacrifice.”
Maicu’s extended hand slid around her neck and settled at the back of her head, replacing Atik’s touch. But the damage had been done. His power had seeped into every crevice of her and filled it with an emptiness that left her hollow. “The gods have chosen her for their service, and it is her blood that will grant Tawantinsuyu strength and longevity as we face down those who decide to form against us.”
Whispered confusion erupted from the crowd and melded with the whispered dread of Nina’s heart.
She heard words likearchaicandsavage. But she also heard words likedeservedandnecessary. The people were greedy; they would accept whatever gifts they knew would ultimately benefit them, evident in the way the whispers turned into an excited roar. The sound of it bounced around the room, inside Nina’s skull, rattled her very bones, and it was a sound of triumph. Of celebration. Their faces had been transformed from shock to victory, sharp smiles and deadly eyes and hawkish greed.
Nina’s strength was failing. She tipped into the table and braced herself against it. “The Mamacoca leaf, when mixed with ground achilla, is the perfect substance to quell your powers. With enough of it, we can keep you subdued for weeks.”
As he spoke, chaos erupted in the room. Nina dared to glance away from Maicu and saw Kasik break free of the walla holding him. His blade swung through the air. Blood splattered the tables. Bystanders scrambled out of the way. Bodies fell to the floor.
“Take Empress Chaska to her rooms,” Maicu yelled at the same time Atik called out in panic, “For the gods’ sakes, someonestophim!”
People screamed and ran for the doors, a sea of red and gold passing by, cutting off her sight of Kasik. She saw flashes of Chaska’s long, darkhair in her periphery, but it was Sacha’s small body curled in a walla’s arms that she kept her eyes pinned to.
“Sacha!”Nina yelled, her sister’s name searing her throat. Her tongue felt numb in her mouth. “Do not harm her!I will kill all of you.”
But her threats fell on deaf ears. Atik only smiled and stepped closer. Nina pushed away from the table and collapsed. She heard Kasik scream her name and then his voice cut off. It had never been clearer just how useless, howpowerless, she was.
“She makes a fool of us with her words,” Atik said mildly.
