“So, you would not allow her to view the roses, then,” Teerman surmised.
“Restricting her access to where she would like to go in the garden is unnecessary,” I said. “I would simply position her so that she remained out of sight of anyone seeking to exploit that weakness.”
“You would then take the arrow in place of her, as Keal did?” Teerman smirked. “Did you not just say sacrifice was unnecessary?”
“Positioning her so she cannot be struck from afar does not equate to me being felled by an arrow,” I countered. “There are ways to view those roses that require neither of us to be in danger.”
Teerman’s stare shifted to Jansen.
“He is correct, Your Grace,”
Jansen spoke. “There are several natural barriers that would’ve made any attack difficult. Unfortunately, Keal may have grown…too at ease guarding the Maiden since no attempts have been made against her.”
“And that is why he is dead,” Teerman stated. “He forgot that the threat of the Dark One has not lessened and paid that price in blood.” His attention returned to me.
“And you believe that’s not a price you will inevitably pay?”
“Yes,” I answered without so much as a hint of amusement.
Teerman shifted, resting an ankle on the opposite knee. “With the upcoming Rite, there are already heightened concerns regarding the Descenters and the Dark One. And as she nears her Ascension, there will likely be more attempts.”
“There most definitely will be,”
I agreed. “After all, if what people believe is true, and the Dark One wishes to stop her Ascension, then what occurred in the garden is only the beginning.”
“It is true,” the Duke confirmed. “The arrow used was engraved with their…”
His lip curled. “With their rally cry. Or, more accurately, their dying whimper.”
I smiled. “From blood and ash?”
“We will rise,” the Duke finished for me, much to my amusement. He was silent as his fingers tapped the calf of his boot. “With the recent attempt to take the Maiden and the growing…unrest here, it is likely that King Jalara and Queen Ileana will request the Maiden be brought back to the capital. Which means, you could be required to leave and make the journey to Carsodonia at any time.”
It would be a damn blessing if such a thing occurred. Being granted permission to leave with the Maiden was a hell of a lot easier than absconding with her through the city.
But I wouldn’t be traveling alone. There’d be a team of guards, which would present an issue.
“Would that be a problem?” the Duke asked.
“I have no ties here,” I answered.
“You say all the right things, Hawke,” he said after a moment. “And Commander Jansen believes you’re not only qualified but also ready for such an enormous duty. However, I admittedly have concerns. You would be considered young for such a position, and I find it hard to believe that none older are better suited. Though I do recognize that is not necessarily a detriment. Younger, fresher eyes carry different experiences. But you are also handsome.”
“Thank you,” I replied.
A faint smile appeared. “The Maiden is no child. She is a young woman with very little experience and knowledge of the world.”
I almost laughed at how incorrect he was.
His fingers continued tapping.
“Nor has she interacted closely with a man of her age.”
“I have no interest in seducing the Maiden if that is what concerns you, Your Grace.”
Teerman laughed with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I’m not concerned about that,” he said, leaving me to wonder exactly why he was so confident. “I am more concerned with her getting infatuated and therefore becoming a distraction. She does have a…habit of not setting boundaries between her and others.”
What he said and what he hadn’t stoked my curiosity. “I also have no intention of becoming a companion or friend to her.”
He raised a brow. “She can be surprisingly charming—her innocence, that is.”
While he was correct about her being charming, it had nothing to do with her innocence. “She and I would have absolutely nothing in common to bond over or even speak of.” That was the truth.
“She is a job. A duty. One I would be honored to have, but nothing more.”
“All right, then,” Teerman drawled. “I have some things I need to discuss with the Commander. He will let you know my decision.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.” I
bowed, then straightened and turned for the door.
“One more thing,” Teerman called out.
I faced him. “Yes, Your Grace?”
“If you do become the Maiden’s guard, you need to know that if she were to become harmed while under your care…”
The lamplight reflected off his black eyes. “You would be flayed alive and hung so the entire city could bear witness to your failure.”
I nodded. “I would expect
nothing less.”
NATURAL
ORDER OF THINGS
Every time I
looked at the eleven gods painted across the ceiling of the Great Hall, I had questions.
Starting with who in the fuck was the pale, white-haired God of Rites and Prosperity?
The Ascended called him Perus, but he’d never existed. I supposed they had to make up a god for their Rites.
My gaze swept over the ceiling as city folk entered the long, white chamber of marble and gold, carefully navigating the silver urns full of white and purple jasmine flowers. Whoever had painted this had talent, capturing the somber expressions of Ione, Rhahar, and then Rhain, the God of Common Men and Endings often depicted in Atlantia.
The red hair of Aios, the Goddess of Love, Fertility, and Beauty, was as vibrant as fire, not having faded in the years since the ceiling was painted. Penellaphe, the Goddess of Wisdom, Loyalty, and Duty, appeared peaceful and serene, while Bele, the Goddess of the Hunt, looked as I imagined she would if awake: like she was about to whack someone across the head with her bow. Even the different shades of skin, from the rich-brown-hued Theon, the God of Accord and War, and his twin, Lailah, the Goddess of Peace and Vengeance, to the deeper, cooler black skin of Saion, the God of Sky and Soil, were rendered with exquisite detail. It made me think the artist had been an Atlantian, or at least one who’d descended from Atlantia.
But Nyktos,
the King of Gods, was painted as he was throughout the entirety of Solis, his face and form showing only as silvery moonlight. Why they hid him was beyond me, as was the fact the Ascended appeared to have erased every mention of his Consort. Her name and visage weren’t even known to us, but we knew of her existence. Legend said it had to do with Nyktos being overly protective of his Queen, but for the Ascended to completely cut her out always struck me as a purposeful act. An odd one, just as the decision to hide Nyktos’s appearance was. There had to be a reason. Alastir had once said it was because, deep down, the Ascended feared the wrath of the King of Gods and couldn’t bring themselves to look upon him. And maybe that was true, but it didn’t explain removing all record of his Consort, to the point where most within Solis had no knowledge of her.