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Page 20 of Ironhold, Trial Two

The strangest part is that Lady Elara takes me out of the Colosseum. I didn’t know she could do that, the way she can with Ironhold, but it seems that she can. We ride in her elegant palanquin without me saying a word to her.

“ Really?” she says. “You're not going to talk to me?”

I hold up my wrist by way of an answer. “You're the reason I have to wear this.”

“I did that to save you,” she replies. “I know you might not believe it, but I'm doing my best for you.”

“I'm not sure I do believe it,” I say, as the palanquin jolts its way through the streets. “It's obvious you have your own agenda. And you just stood by while the wraith broke free. You could have helped.”

“Only by using my own power over beasts,” she says. “And I maintain my position because people believe I am just an illusionist. If I had helped you, I would probably have had to flee the city.”

“So you muted my powers instead,” I say. I claw at the bracelet wrapped around my wrist. It does not yield. “Can this even be removed?”

“You can't remove it, but another might be able to damage it enough to break the binding. And before you ask, I won't do that, not yet.”

“Why not?” I ask.

She raises her eyebrows. “For one thing, it would be a little obvious. You leave with me, and you come back without the bracelet I had them put on you? They would know I removed it, and trouble would follow for me.”

“What about the trouble that’s coming for me?” I demand. “I still have another fight and you've taken my powers from me.”

Lady Elara shakes her head then. “They have not been taken from you, merely limited. You will still be able to fight and win. I believe that. You must trust me on this.”

“Again, we're back to trust, but you haven't given me any reason to trust you.”

I hear her sigh. She leans out of the palanquin. “That's far enough.”

We get out, and she leads the way through the streets, grabbing two cloaks as she goes. She passes one to me, wrapping the other around herself. I know without being told where we're going.

We don't take the same route into the catacombs beneath the city, but it doesn't seem to make any difference to Lady Elara. She seems to know the way, leading me back to the temple of Deira.

“Part of the reason I limited you is so that people won't work out just how powerful you are, Lyra,” she says. “They know that you have command over beasts, and that's enough to make them hate you, but for now, the emperor assumes that you will be killed in the games. He assumes that he will never make it through your five seasons. He is content to work within the restrictions of the games, rather than risk being seen interfering in something the citizens view as holy. If he knew your full power, he would throw everything he has at killing you, regardless of what that would mean for him.”

“You're saying that as if I'm something special,” I say.

“Do you know the categories of magical potential within Aetheria?” Lady Elara asks.

I nod. I know them vaguely. They range from nulls, with no magic at all, through the glimmers who represent so much of the population of the city, up through adepts with skill in one talent, mages who have true command, all the way up to archons.

“Well,” Lady Elara says. “I believe you could have as much potential as any beast whisperer who has ever lived. I believe you have it in you to be an archon.”

Those words shock me, making me stand and stare at her. Does she really believe that, or is it just another game?

“I still don't know if I can trust you,” I say.

Lady Elara nods, “I know. Just follow me.”

She leads the way to the temple. I'm surprised to find that there are others there waiting for us, dressed in their robes, the hoods up so that we cannot see their faces. She pulls my hood down, along with her own, stepping up to the front under the statue.

“My friends,” she says. “Some of you will have seen what Lyra was able to achieve in the Colosseum. I had to restrict her power so they would not see her as a threat, but I hope you understand her potential now.”

“She has power,” a woman says. She steps forward. “I will admit that much. And you believe that she should be allowed among us?”

“I do,” Lady Elara says.

The other woman pulls down her hood, revealing bright blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Some of the others around me gasp. Clearly, they were expecting her to maintain her disguise.

“Then let that be the case,” she says. “I was there, I saw the possibilities. I am Methisa, and I welcome you to the spectral covenant, Lyra.”

“There should be a vote,” a man near the back growls. And it is a growl, his voice almost bestial.

“Then let us vote,” Methisa says. “Although she's seen my face now, so we all know what that means.”

“Methisa,” Lady Elara warns.

Methisa smiles, and it is not kind. “It's our way, Elara. And you've tried to force her into our ranks. So we will do this. We will have the vote. If we are agreed, she will be one of us.”

“And if you're not?” I ask.

“Then you die,” the man with the growling voice says. “We can't have you revealing our secrets.”

Sudden fear fills me. Again, it seems that Lady Elara has brought me into the middle of something without explaining what's going on.

She steps forward, glaring at Methisa. It's obvious that she didn't want this, and equally obvious that there's some kind of internal wrangling going on between the two of them. I'm just the one caught up in it.

“Very well,” she says. “If you're going to force the issue, let me be clear. In Lyra, we have a chance to show the city that beast whisperers are more than just dangerous savages. If you have been to the Colosseum, you will know how many people chant her name. You will know that they are growing to love her. She is powerful, but more than that, she could be a symbol. She could become a champion in the arena, and Tiberius will be forced to make her a citizen, a noble. He will be forced to acknowledge a beast whisperer.”

“Is that all?” Methisa asks.

“No, it is not,” Lady Elara says, give her a hard look. “Because, as someone the people will grow to love, Lyra will be in a position of influence. They will look to her, and she will be able to reveal the worst excesses of Tiberius's rule. That will give us the influence we need to change things. Perhaps to remove him completely. But only if she is one of us. Kill her now, and you waste all of that. So choose. Who is in favor and who is against?”

Around me, the roped figures start to move. Some move towards me, and I tense, wondering if they are coming forward to kill me. Some move away from me. When Methisa joins them, I realize that is the group of those who do not think I should be there.

The process takes a minute or more before everyone is in position. I try to count the figures. Are there more on our side or on theirs? I'm not sure, and Lady Elara doesn’t seem certain either. Finally, though, she smiles.

“It seems we have it, Methisa,” she says. “It seems Lyra will be one of us.”

Methisa bows, although she doesn't look happy about it. “As you say. I just hope we won't come to regret this.”

“Come now,” Lady Elara says. “Let us welcome her, all of us.”

The robed figures close in on me, some taking my hand, others clapping me on the back. A few of them remove their hoods, but only a few. It's obvious that even amongst themselves, most prefer to keep their identities a secret. Animal scents surround me, and it seems there are growls or purrs from under some of the hoods.

I'm still not sure quite what has just happened. Lady Elara brought me here to convince me of her good intentions but everything she has told me shows that she intends to use me as part of a bigger plan. Does she really think I'm the key to bringing down the emperor? If so, is that a part I want to play? I will fight in the arena, because if I don't I die, and because I want to survive long enough to be free. But the rest of it… I'm pretty sure anyone watching this meeting would call it treason, and do I really want to be a part of that?

For now, though, all I can do is accept the congratulations of the beast whisperers around me. I am one of them now, a part of the spectral covenant. But I have not truly chosen it yet, have not committed to it. For now, all I can think of is the Colosseum. I still have one more fight to come, and it doesn’t matter if I am a part of all of this unless I find a way to live through that fight.