I finally gather enough strength to don my father's armor, restored to me by Ratu's light fingers and Arno's soldierly experience. However, I'm blocked at the entryway by a very uneasy-looking Ratu, shuffling her feet, her veil askew. Silently, she hands me my breakfast of a honey cake and a pitcher of mango juice. The syrupy sweetness coats my mouth, and I croak for water. Ratu obliges, patiently dabbing at my face to clean me.
"I'm able to take care of myself, nurse." I kiss her on the cheek. "You've been sent by the good gods to save me. Why are you so sad?"
A single tear falls down her cheek, scaring me more than anything. The Queen of Thieves doesn't cry without reason.
And then I hear it. The piercing screams echoing off the palace's mosaic walls. I hear the cries as they echo throughout my chamber, so loud that I feel the sound ache inside my teeth.
"Ode Ngayoh's a witch!" It's Ryu's voice, damning me like I damned Alef and Aziz. "Arrest the witch! Arrest the witch! Arrest her!" And then, after intermittent, childlike sobbing, there's a high-pitched wail. "Murderer! Murderer! Murdered that poor man..."
I tense. Ratu sees my unease, and she holds her hands to my shoulders, keeping me back. "The Advisor's encounter with the demon has driven him to madness. The Emperor doesn't know what to make of it. Arno and I weren't there during your battle, so we couldn't help Elio make sense of Ryu's ramblings. We decided to say nothing until you woke up to defend yourself." Ratu hugs me. I startle at the sudden sympathy. "They can't arrest you for saving the Advisor's life. They'd have to kill me and Arno first, sayang."
I pause. The halls have gone quiet.
Ryu's stopped screaming.
But quiet doesn't mean safety.
Ratu and I turn around and see ten armed guards have filed in at my door. They're dressed in full battle armor, all manner of blades and spears pointed at my throat. At their front, towers a very weary, yet still-imposing Emperor Elio in full golden-enchanted regalia. He nods his head to us, the action stiff, empty pomp and circumstance that his red-rimmed eyes show no patience for. Where is the young man who was so certain of himself back in that arena during the Divine Contests? Where's the conquering hero instead of this shriveled shell of a man?
"Walk with me." He stares directly into my eyes, the sun fighting the blood-moon, and then turns away, jaw tensed. "That's an order, Ngayoh."
***
Champions,
Elio, what are you doing?
What happened to Ryu?
What is happening?
Best
Sophia
YOU ARE READING
A Priestess for the Blind God (Legends of Rahasia Book 1)
Fantasy"The Blind God walks around me, and I feel my mind prodded again like it was in the cavern, a spider weaving a tangled web. "Would you do anything to be remembered, Ode, even play a villain, the one who rises against the Chosen One?" In answer, I dr...
