“The commander said it himself: we proved Baron Ionis’s innocence.”
“But others?—”
“Enough, Guardian. That is my final word on the matter.”
If Raithe believed my theory on the brand’s magical ability to keep its wearer silent, it was odd that he didn’t voice it now. Perhaps he wanted to avoid incriminating himself, givenit had no effect on him. Or he was lying and he, too, had a brand. He struck me as the type of man willing to do whatever it took for his own gain—including revealing his princess as a branded apostate. Maryn didn’t believe the brand’s significance—for now.
Raithe’s tenacious ambition to trample the apostai would convince her in time. When that happened, I wondered if he would make good on his threat and personally escort me to the dungeon.
I scanned the stone walls, seeking windows between ornate tapestries. Seeking a reprieve from the heavy revelations in this room. My blood pumped laboriously. I needed air. I needed to feel the wind on my skin, hear its soft music in my ears, or else this palace was going to cave in on me. Or else?—
“Perhaps it’s time we adjourned this meeting, Queen Regent,” Raithe said, drawing the room’s attention again—including mine. The confident calm in his face tempered my rising panic. “And instead, address the matter of punishment for my disobedient absence these past few weeks.” His eyes regarded me with… withunderstanding. As if he saw my shallow breaths, felt my too-fast beating heart,heardthe panicked voice in my head.
That couldn’t be right. Apart from using me to further his personal agenda to end the apostai, I didn’t know what reason he would have for saving me from humiliation. His distraction allowed me a moment to get my head straight. I thought of the little girl in the street, Novah, and the stranger’s game that helped calm her.Three things, he’d said.
Felaf took a step forward. “Mine too, Queen Regent. For having withheld Novah’s presence from you.”
Maryn glanced between the two of them, a gluttonous gleam in her eyes. She seemed all too eager for whatever punishmentawaited them. Perhaps that meant mopping duty or mucking the stables.
“Very well. We’ll resume further discussions on tutoring and subsequent training tomorrow. Let us give credence to Scorpio,” Maryn instructed. The room echoed her chant. “And you,” she directed at me, rising from her seat. “Restwhile you can.” Her eyes flicked over me with disapproval. “Time will show if you’re as worthy as Scorpio allegedly believes you to be.”
Chapter 27
Raithe
Word had spread quicklythroughout the palace of my punishment, thanks to Barto and Chessah. Historically, Maryn preferred to keep news of my disobedience quiet with few present, including Felaf to inflict the punishment.
Today was different.
Lividity simmered beneath Maryn’s relatively composed exchange with Rahzlyn in the council room. I’d left for weeks without her permission. Such a thing couldn’t go unpunished. Neither could my behavior.
She wanted a spectacle.
The training courtyard was burrowed behind the palace and the armory, serving also as a sparring ring. I stood in the center of the square pit, my head tilted up at the queen regent who sat elegantly on the balcony of the second level.
Nearly every staff member of the palace congregated to witness Felaf whip me until it pleased the queen regent.
She could have forced me to remove my talisman, but only a guardian was truly capable of delivering physical punishment to another guardian. Maryn wanted me to suffer. I would feel the pain from Felaf’s might with every excruciating blow.
“On your knees, Guardian,” Maryn called down to me.
I obeyed, sinking into the sand beside my leather uniform. I was bare from the waist up, having stripped down to only my fitted black trousers. I paid no mind to all the eyes that watched with grisly curiosity. They never got to see a guardian be so thoroughly humbled, let alone witness the strength of one.
Gregorios sat beside Maryn, his lips pressed into a solemn line. Alekko and Vesperah stood below the observation balcony, tucked behind a potted plant. Their arms were tightly crossed over their chests. Neither appeared particularly happy, but no one dared cross the queen regent.
I’d disobeyed a common rule ingrained on the Martial Isles: do not act without direct approval from the reigning sovereign, queen, or queen regent. Deep down, I knew I deserved this punishment—and more—for mistakes made in my youth. Mistakes I could never atone for, even as a Chosen.
Besides, if Gregorios and I told the queen regent the truth about his message from Gemini and how we’d found Rahzlyn, Gregorios would be right. Maryn couldn’t be trusted tonotaccuse Gregorios of being an apostate. I was surprised she hadn’t done so with me yet.
I couldn’t give her a reason to want toactuallykill me before breaking the curse and seeing the end of the apostai. Rahzlyn was the key to their undoing. Maybe I could prove Gregorios’s prophesied words true from all those years ago: that I would be a hero to this queendom, not a wretch who never should have been born.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, shoving away the ghosts of my parents’ memory.
“Give credence to Scorpio,” announced Maryn. “And watch what happens to those who act against the interest of our queendom by disobeying me. Begin.”
Felaf shuffled closer behind me. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry for this. You know this is my punishment too, don’t you?”
I scanned the audience. Following the meeting’s adjournment, Letti had ushered Rahzlyn away to rest. She’d been moments away from passing out due to the strain on her body by standing upright. Her spiraling mind hadn’t helped. Anxiety was a common ailment suffered by many, manifesting worse in those who did not recognize the root of its cause nor the coping skills to ground themselves. I saw it in her eyes—the out-of-control dread. Having experienced it myself years ago, I knew what it meant to have someone step in and claim attention when such panic took over.
