Broken But Unburnt

Chapter 33 - Kazimir

Chapter 33: Kazimir

Dunes of Jvapi, Kingdom of Idoria

Something was very wrong.

It had been almost a day since he and his lieutenants had encountered the bastard prince and his strange companion in the Belleming Wood but he could still feel a lingering weakness as a side effect of the girl's immense power. He didn't speak of it and the others knew not to ask but he couldn't help but look down at his hands and remember from time to time as they journeyed along the western road to Idoria. It had been like nothing Kazimir had ever felt before. Except in his dreams.

He couldn't help but shudder at the thought. Those terrible nightmares that had been plaguing him for weeks. Had they been an omen? A sign that she was coming? She had cast upon him a void so consuming that he couldn't touch his power at all. It had felt like drowning and she was holding his head under the waves.

This changed everything.

"Sire?" someone was asking.

Kazimir snapped to attention, realizing he was standing before his lieutenants again in a tent the remaining Makana had erected among the Dunes of Jvapi, still miles away from the Palace of the Nebula Throne. They were making quick progress through the desert. It wouldn't be long before they were at the heart of Idoria and there was much to be done before they could be ready for what was to occur there. For now, he would have to put the girl out of his mind. For now, he would have to refocus, getting his plans back on track and setting aside that consuming void to be dealt with later.

"What's next?" Erol asked in a way that indicated it wasn't the first time. He raised a brow and waited, as the others did, for Kazimir's instructions. He had told them the goal but not the plan, promising to reveal it every step of the way as necessary. He thought that would be the best way to ensure no one had time to get cold feet before it was time for them to play their part.

"The church," Kazimir answered, much less charismatically than he had hoped, still caught off guard by their interruption of his reverie. He cleared his throat and tried again, some of his natural charisma returning as he spoke. "I will need to speak with the High Priestess Talitha. I sent Levana ahead to speak with the clarics, to request an audience with Talitha. As it's a matter of national significance, she obviously agreed. Make yourselves look pious. We're late."

The three lieutenants exchanged shocked glances as Kazimir pushed past them and headed out of the tent and toward his horse. He waited only long enough for them to saddle up beside him before he rode out to the meeting place among the dunes that he and the High Priestess had agreed upon.

He knew that his lieutenants could tell that he was in a hurry. Before, he wouldn't have been. He would have taken his time with this, crafted a perfectly executed arrangement in which he and the Priestess would not have been meeting on such equal terms, where he could have reminded her of the power he held. But now that power was in question. Now, a power to silence his own existed in the world and he would not rest until it was dealt with. So the rest of this petty, political nonsense needed wrapped up quickly.

The High Priestess waited with three of her lower priestesses and a whole religious guard at the mouth of the Qusilli Caves. Her blinding white robes trailed along the pristine sands as she strolled forward to meet them, arms outstretched and welcoming smile on her lips. Kazimir forced a smile of his own and leapt from his saddle.

"Talitha," he said in greeting, striding forward to return the offered embrace. He could practically feel his lieutenant's shocked stares from behind him. He had never exactly told them about his friendship with the High Priestess of Idoria. That was a secret he had kept in his back pocket until he needed it. And now he did.