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Chapter Forty-Eight

Aurelia

A s I gaze down into the dark, stone-lined pit, my fingers curl into the sleeves of my dress as if trying to pull my body away. The frenetic thump of my pulse urges me past my hesitation.

I glance up at the Kosmelian cleric who led us to this isolated room in the temple. “I’m ready.”

He looks even more hesitant than I feel. “Are you sure, Your Imperial Highness? We wouldn’t normally expect— The meditation hollow is typically only used by myself and our devouts— You can commune with Kosmel in the main worship chamber far more comfortably.”

My smile tightens. Every inch of my skin prickles with the awareness of my guards, my princes, and Axius watching. I have faith in my husbands, but will the others look at me differently if I lower myself into the shadows this way? See me as tarnished ?

But Kosmel is the patron of shadowy places and tarnished souls.

“I can’t commune with him anywhere near as closely there,” I say. “It’s important that he see how committed I am to honoring his will.”

The trickster godlen is the last divinity of the nine—the only one I haven’t made a direct appeal to yet. Maybe some part of me hoped I wouldn’t need to when he’s such a significant figure to my home country. Surely he’d feel some sympathy to my struggles.

I can’t take his support for granted, though. We set off to confront Valerisse’s forces tomorrow. Every detail of every strategy could make a difference in how many survive, in the fate of the entire continent.

This is no time for my courage to fail.

The cleric dips his head in acceptance, hands me the offering pouch I requested, and eases to the side. A narrow spiral path runs along the wall of the pit, leading down to its base some twenty feet below.

The stone floor is shrouded in shadow… but I can make out traces of movement within the darkness.

A creeping sensation runs through my nerves. My limbs balk, every instinct reminding me of the maladies rats can carry, of the fragile balance of my health that I’ve needed to consider since my sacrifice.

I will trust Elox and Kosmel to see me through this appeal.

I ease down the path with careful steps, setting my hand on the wall as soon as I’m low enough. My guards hover overhead as if they think they might have to wrench me back out.

No enemies wait for me below. Only the rustling of furry bodies brushing together and the tiny clicks of their claws.

My other hand clutches the pouch. My nerves jump at the thought that the rodents might leap at it rather than waiting for me to bestow my gift voluntarily.

The rats continue their scurrying across the floor of the pit. As I descend farther and my eyes adjust to the waning light, I make out even darker patches between the lowest stones: holes that lead to the tunnels they live in that weave through the entire temple.

My breath snags at the base of my throat. I hold it through my last several steps to the bottom, my heart pounding so hard it dizzies me. A musky smell that’s thick but not entirely unpleasant fills my nose.

As I place one foot and then the other right on the floor, the rats adjust their course to make room without seeming to pay much attention to me. There have to be at least a dozen of them scampering across the rough stones at any given moment, some slipping away into the holes while others emerge.

I lower myself to sit cross-legged in the center of the pit. A few of the furry bodies brush against my legs through my skirt, and I suppress a flinch.

They’re only animals. Sometimes harboring disease, yes, but also clever and determined and capable of affection. Hardly horrifying.

Swallowing hard, I loosen the mouth of the pouch and spread the bits of cheese, bread, and nuts across my lap.

At once, a few of the rats leap onto my skirt. In a matter of seconds, the scurrying bodies have become a flurry of motion, wriggling across my legs to snatch a morsel and darting off again.

My jaw has clenched, and my arms have gone rigid at my sides. Closing my eyes, I will myself to relax with all the self-control I can summon.

I lift my hand to tap it through the gesture of the divinities. Then I extend my thoughts beyond my body .

Kosmel, I come before you now to show my faith in you.

So many could die on my behalf in the battle ahead.

If any trick could see us safely through the danger, I’ll take it.

Please, show me what slyness you would have me carry out in your honor.

I put my life and those of my subjects in your hands as the first leader of Accasy did all those centuries ago.

I give myself over to the darkness and the movements of Kosmel’s sacred animal all around me.

Let the rats eat their fill. Let the shadows wrap around me. The darkness holds answers too.

An image wavers up in my mind: a mass of soldiers in the Darium uniforms of white bones on black fabric. Other companies march toward them from either side in green and blue… and then, as they draw near, their clothes ripple into a matching black and white as if they’re all part of the same swarm.

My mouth goes dry. The image echoes the comment Bastien made to me last night after we left the hall of entertainments. “What if we could hide our allies in plain sight?”

Sabrelle has used that tactic against me enough times, hasn’t she? Transforming people I thought were colleagues or loyal servants into my enemies under my nose.

Do we have enough gifts between us—can those talents be stretched far enough?—?

The pictures flowing through my head waver with my doubts. I straighten my spine against them and inhale deeply.

I will honor Kosmel by trusting his tricks. It’s the best offering I can make to him.

The vision of the horde of soldiers expands in my mind—and just for an instant, a smoky wave seems to wash over them, wiping away all the colors and the skeletal designs, toppling them so they sprawl out in a sea of pure Kosmelian gray .

Then the image wisps away. I find myself blinking in the darkness, my pulse racing through my veins.

What was that last part supposed to mean? Or was the godlen simply confirming that he would feel honored if I follow his suggested tactic?

I close my eyes again and let my mind drift, but no further impressions come to me. The rats have settled down after their furor for the food, trotting past me to carry out their own business, though a light weight on my calf tells me one has decided my lap makes a good bed.

With an odd mix of amusement and revulsion, I nudge the little creature off onto the floor. It scuttles away with no sign of offense. I draw myself back to my feet, brushing a few lingering crumbs from my gown.

The climb out of the pit feels much faster than the descent. My party and the cleric all watch me intently as I take the last few steps to the surface. I spot a couple of devouts peering from a nearby doorway.

“I’ve seen Kosmel’s advice, and I will heed it,” I tell the cleric. “Thank you for giving me the space to reach out to him.”

“Of course, Your Imperial Highness. Should you ever need anything else, you only have to ask.”

I hold the message I received in as we hurry to our horses. Only once we’ve left the temple well behind in the city streets do I start giving my orders.

“High Commander, the illusionary specialists and the gifted dedicats we meant to pair them with will need to set out as soon as I give them their instructions. Kosmel reassured me that completely concealing our military allies shouldn’t be necessary.

We merely need to convince Valerisse’s forces that the soldiers from the outer territories are merely more Darium troops coming to join them—make them look as if they have the right uniforms. ”

A rough chuckle tumbles out of him. “Still an immense task, but adjusting the appearance of their clothing should be significantly less immense than erasing them from view altogether. You think we’ll be able to deceive the tribune for long enough for them to get within striking distance?”

“Kosmel will be watching over our trick. I believe he will see it through.” I pause. “We’ll need to send at least a couple of pairs to Goric and on a cautious route to Lavira as well, in case the other kingdoms are sending their own soldiers.”

If Rione and Cotea were swayed, there’s a decent chance the others were too. I can’t leave them to be slaughtered.

Of course, if we stretch our resources too thin unnecessarily, we all might be slaughtered.

The uncertainty pinches my gut, but I set my chin. I took a chance reaching out to the outer territories for their aid in the first place. I owe it to them to trust them to come through for me when we need it most.

Not that long ago, I thought the biggest leap I’d ever make was crossing the continent to marry into the imperial family. I thought the only person whose life I’d be risking for my plans was my own.

I never could have imagined the precarious territory I’ve found myself venturing into now, but my plans haven’t changed. If I want to see the empire’s people free and safe, I have to keep going.

Everyone who’s agreed to come with me has accepted those risks for themselves too. I can’t let myself forget that.

As if influenced by my thoughts, Bastien speaks in a low tone. “I could ride ahead toward Cotea and prepare them for the strategy. Whichever officers my father has sent with the troops might listen to me faster than Darium representatives.”

Conflicting jabs of anxiety pierce through me: the fear of seeing him leave clashing with my worries about our schemes going wrong. But it isn’t just the Cotean soldiers we need to think of.

I shake my head. “I need you here for everything we’re going to attempt. At some point… I have to trust that my allies will cooperate without special persuasion.”

Or we’re most likely doomed regardless.