“Of course, I want her trust,” I said. “I won’t be able to do my duty if she doesn’t trust me.”
“That’s true.” Vikter faced the door. “And that’d better be the only reason you seek her trust.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” I said, “though I’m pretty sure I’m not. However, I do believe you said that you didn’t need to know what I was thinking for either of us to carry out our duties.”
I watched the muscle throbbing in his jaw. Smiling, I returned to staring at the door.
“You weren’t wrong,” Vikter admitted after a moment.
“I know. I rarely am.” I heard footsteps nearing from the other side, thank the gods.
“Hawke?”
“Yeah?”
“You can be right.” He moved in front of me as the door finally opened. “And still be wrong.”
FROM BLOOD AND ASH
“Because of the gods’ Blessing, the Rise did not fall last night.” Duke Teerman shouted his lie for everyone in Masadonia and then some to hear.
I could barely stop myself from laughing my ass right off the balcony as I stood behind Penellaphe and Tawny. The Rise had held because of those who defended it, many who died doing so. Too many, I thought as I eyed the crowd below. The air was still heavy with the smoke of the funeral pyres and incense. I couldn’t even count how many wore the white of mourning or who had hung black flags from their homes.
“They reached the top!” a man yelled from below, where the throng of people stood in the light of the oil lamps and torches. “They almost made it over the Rise. Are we safe?”
“When it happens again?” Duchess Teerman replied. “Because it will happen again.”
“That will surely ease fears,” I murmured.
“The truth is not designed to ease fears,” Vikter responded just as quietly.
I smirked. “Is that why we tell lies, then?”
“And what lie has been spoken?” he countered.
As if there was only one. “That the gods were responsible for the Rise not falling. Those who defended it are.”
“Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive,” he replied.
For a moment, I entertained the idea of picking Vikter up by the throat and tossing him off the balcony. However, I supposed that wouldn’t help me gain Penellaphe’s trust.
“The gods didn’t fail you,” Duchess Teerman said as she walked forward, placing her hands on the waist-high railing. “We didn’t fail you. But the gods are unhappy. That is why the Craven reached the top of the Rise.”
A wave of fear swept through those below like a flood.
“We have spoken to them,” the Duchess continued with what had to be the least reassuring speech I’d ever heard in my life. Those in the crowd were growing paler by the second. “They are not pleased with recent events, here and in nearby cities. They fear that the good people of Solis have begun to lose faith in their decisions and are turning to those who wish to see the future of this great kingdom compromised.”
What a load of bullshit.
Effective bullshit, though. The crowd shouted their protests, much like the guards had last night, when Jansen had asked if they would let the Rise fail. The horses’ nervous prancing drew my attention as I scanned the crowd, spotting Kieran on horseback.
“What did you all think would happen when those who support the Dark One and plot with him are standing among you right now?” the Duke demanded. “As I speak, at this very moment, Descenters stare back at me, thrilled that the Craven took so many lives last night.”
Kieran inclined his head, and I knew he was likely struggling as much as I was, doing nothing as the Ascended spewed their ridiculous lies.
“In this very crowd, there are Descenters who pray for the day the Dark One comes,” the Duke said. And that was true. “Those who celebrated the massacre of Three Rivers and the fall of Goldcrest Manor. Look to your left and to your right, and you may see someone who helped conspire to abduct the Maiden.”
My eyes narrowed as Penellaphe shifted from one foot to the other.
“The gods hear and know all. Even what’s not spoken but resides in the heart,” the Duke said from where he stood beside his wife. “What can any of us expect? When those the gods have done all to protect, come before us, questioning the Rite?”
What in the fuck?
Penellaphe went still as my narrowed-eye gaze swung back to the Duke. What happened last night had nothing to do with the gods, let alone the Tulises, who he was clearly speaking of.
“What can anyone expect when there are those who wish to see us dead?” the Duke asked, lifting his hands. “When we are the gods given form and the only thing that stands between you and the Dark One and the curse his people have cast upon this land.”
It took everything in me not to laugh. The Ascended wouldn’t stand between the people and a mouse.
The Duke continued jabbering on with his nonsense, riling up the crowd and filling them with anxiety and anger just like a damn Soul Eater would. This was how you controlled the masses. Give them something to fear, to blame for all your losses, and to hate. It never ceased to amaze me how effective it was, and yet—
Kieran caught my attention, jerking his chin toward the front of the crowd. Checking out the faces below, I stopped on a familiar blond-haired and broad-shouldered male making his way forward.
Lev Barron.
Shit.
What was he up to? For the last half an hour or so, he’d been steadily creeping closer to the front of the mass of people. He wasn’t the only one. Three more flanked him, those I didn’t recognize. Contrary to what the Duke would say, I didn’t know every single Descenter.
Penellaphe suddenly stepped back.
Vikter caught her by the shoulder. “Are you all right?”
I focused on her. She was still, but she was trembling. I didn’t think anyone else noticed. Who could blame her given what the Duke was shouting at the top of his godsdamn lungs?
“But if we continue as we have, the gods may not bless us again. The Craven will breach the Rise and then there will be nothing but sorrow,” Duke Teerman said. “And, if you’re lucky, they’ll go for your throat, and it will be a quick death. Most of you will not be so fortunate. They’ll tear into your flesh and tissue, feasting on your blood while you scream for the gods you’ve lost faith in.”
Good fucking gods… “This is perhaps the least calming speech ever given after an attack,” I muttered.
Penellaphe jerked slightly, but the trembling appeared to have ceased a few moments later. Tension brewed in my gut as I stared at the straight line of her back. Based on what I had seen last night and what I knew before then, she wasn’t someone who scared easily.
But she knew exactly what it felt like to have what the Duke spoke of done to her. That was pain and fear she knew firsthand.
Yet she still went out and helped those infected, knowing they could turn at any second.
My reluctant respect for her grew.
Penellaphe tipped her head to Vikter. “Do you see him?” she whispered. “The blond male near the guards. He’s large-shouldered. Tall. Wearing a brown cloak. Clearly angry.”