All this time and I didn’t know. I didn’t even suspect. Why would I? The old emperor is supposed to be bedridden, attended to by an army of court physicians. They say his health is poor, that his mind declines by the day. But though elderly and frail, the old man I know does not seem like someone who has been abandoned by his mental faculties. In fact he seems perfectly astute. More than astute – cunning.
Am I really expected to believe that after everything he did to possess the three enchanted Eyes, he would just sit idly by while they are wielded by another?
He’s playing a game, only I don’t know the rules. I didn’t even know I was a player.
Heaving myself up, I go back inside in search of Mouse, but it’s not my kitten waiting for me on my bed. It’s a leather belt with a sheath, similar to the one River wears that holds his small silver trident, except this sheath is curved, as though it were designed just for …
I pick up my dagger and slot it inside. It fits perfectly. There’s a note, too.
For you.
‘Wake up,Your Majesty. It’s time.’ Spinner shoves a cup of well-sugared coffee into my hands. ‘Drink,’ she orders. ‘Gods, you lookawful.’ She pushes me gently into the chair before the dressing table and examines my face in the mirror, turning it this way and that. ‘Hmm,’ she says eventually. ‘It’s not going to be easy. But I think I can make it work.’
‘Glad to hear it,’ I tell her.
Spinner doesn’t look too well-rested herself. My guess is that she came straight from the medical wing. Like Sheen, she barely leaves. Not now that Flint’s awake. A few days ago I arrived to find him sitting propped up in bed, smiling weakly.
‘Well, sister mine,’ he’d said, ‘I hear congratulations are in order. It seems you quite literally took the third trial by storm.’
In true Flint fashion, my brother is somehow inconceivably cheerful. But I know, in the way only I can, that inside he is reeling. And when the shock eventually wears off, I worry about what might replace it.
I sit quietly while Spinner and Elva prepare me for the Ceremony, taking extra care to cover up the bruising around my nose, and by the time they’re finished, I am almost unrecognizable.
‘There!’ Spinner claps her hands together. ‘What do you think?’
‘I certainly look the part,’ I say.
Spinner squeezes my hand. ‘You don’tlookthe part, Blaze. Youarethe part.’
I walk towards the Choosing Chamber in a gown the colour of sunlit ocean – a bright, brilliant blue that glides out behind me, the material as supple and fluid as water. My hair is unbound, my eyelids dusted with a storm-grey powder. Round my neck I wear Syla’s Eye, and slung over my hips I wear the leather belt complete with sheath and dagger.
The Binding takes place in a gigantic domed chamber situated at the very highest point of the palace. Here, both Crowned Councils, the old and the new, congregate to complete the Ceremony, which is presided over by the Supreme Mother of the Valla Jakartis, an ancient sisterhood of Etheri who lead modest lives devoid of riches or grandeur, never marrying, choosing instead to dedicate themselves entirely to prayer and worship.
The Ceremony comprises two parts. First, the current emperor relinquishes the powers bestowed upon him by his Crowned Council, meaning his direct line into all four gifts will be severed. Second, the new Council will step forward and the whole process will be reversed. One by one, the Heirs will be joined with the new emperor, forging the bondthat will allow Hal to access and embody our powers for as long as he sits upon the Golden Throne. The coronation will take place tonight. The ensuing celebrations are said to last weeks. I only hope Flint will be well enough to attend.
I see the door up ahead, and my stomach seems to shrink at an alarming rate. I barely have time to take a breath before it’s opened and I’m ushered into a small chamber.
Queen Hydra is smiling at me from the other side of the room. She’s dressed in her usual simple attire, her blue eyes sparkling, long silvery-white hair spilling down her back.
‘If only your mother could see you now,’ she says softly. ‘She would be so proud.’
Drizzle threatens to fall, but I will it away. ‘Thank you, Your Majesty,’ I whisper.
At that moment the door leading out into the chamber beyond swings open. I have to clench my hands into fists to stop them from trembling.
Queen Hydra crosses over to me and takes my arm. Then she says, ‘Never doubt the tides of fortune, whether they break or bind.’
And with that, we step out into the beginning.
The Choosing Chamber is breathtaking, sunlight streaming in through stained glass. Curved golden pews have been erected for those important enough to witness such an event, and in the very centre of the room is a large circular pedestal. As I get closer I see that it is carved with five symbols – the Ignitia flame, Ventalla feather, Terrathian tree, Aquatori waterdrop and, in the middle of them all, the Imperial sun.
Queen Hydra and I climb the steps and take our places. Moments later there’s a collective intake of breath fromthe onlookers, and I turn to find Queen Aspen looking beautiful in a gown of rustling leaves. Beside her walks the Earth Cleaver, his sage-green shirt billowing open slightly at his chest, exposing a few inches of golden skin and golden chain. At the sight of him my stomach flips over, and I avert my eyes as he takes his place on my left, the space between us brimming with the secrets we now share.
Another door opens on the far side of the chamber, revealing King Balen and Zephyr, both dressed in cloaks of mist-grey silk. The King of the Air comes to a stop on his nephew’s other side, smiling round at the congregation.
I turn my attention towards the onlookers and spot Grandmother immediately. She’s sitting with Renly, murmuring quietly in his ear. When he sees me looking, my little brother grins and waves, and I feel some of the tightness in my chest begin to loosen.
Then there’s the sound of another door opening, and any solace I’ve found freezes solid.
