Page 226 of Children of Fallen Gods

An uneasy smile twitched at the corners of Nura’s mouth.

“Thank you, Councilor.”

“You have many times over proven your commitment to the Orders and to Ara,” Iya said. “And for that service, we all owe you deeply. But I do not offer you the title of Arch Commandant.”

A gasp rippled through the room.

He turned to the audience, his silver gaze landing on me. “I call upon the candidate of Maxantarius Farlione.”

Hundreds of stares snapped to me, gasps ascending into murmurs. I rose to my feet. I could barely feel them. Somewhere in the back of my mind, that buzz rose to a shout:What the hell are you doing, Max?!

I did not look at the crowd. I did not look at Tisaanah, or Sammerin, who muttered a confused curse. I did not even look at Iya.

Instead I met Nura’s eyes, eyes that were wide with utter shock. And my voice was stronger than I felt when I answered, “Maxantarius Farlione accepts the call.”

Chapter Seventy-Five

Max

For a moment, there was silence. Then murmurs rippled through the crowd. Even without hearing the individual words, I knew what they were saying.Disqualified, they whispered.Excommunicated. He can’t do this…can he?

Nura was staring only at me, her eyes round, lips parted. I had seen that look before — on the faces of soldiers who looked down and realized there was an arrow burrowed between their ribs. I realized that it had simply never occurred to her that this would happen. The thought just never crossed her mind.

She jerked to her feet, forcing her expression back into composure. “Maxantarius Farlione is no longer eligible for the title, due to restrictions placed upon him in the aftermath of Sarlazai.”

“That is no longer true.” Tisaanah’s voice rang out beside me. She rose. “I hold in my possession a contract with the Orders. In its terms is a stipulation that Maxantarius would be released from any restrictions inflicted upon him. Anyone may read it if they wish. But Nura knows that I am not lying.”

“Is this true?” one of the other Councilors said, haltingly.

Realization spread across Nura’s face. She let out a small scoff. “A clean slate,” she murmured, as if to herself.

Still, I did not look at Tisaanah. But I could hear the hint of her smile in her voice as she repeated, “A clean slate.”

“As one of the previous candidates, General Farlione has completed all requirements, and has competed and passed in the three previous trials,” Iya said. “He is a viable candidate. Neither of them have earned the title of Arch Commandant until we conduct the fourth trial.”

Another wave of murmurs, louder than before.

“Then I see no other route,” another Councilor said. “On the fortnight, we will conduct the trial.”

“No.”

Nura’s gaze finally broke from mine. The final vestiges of her hurt disappeared, buttoned up beneath hard focus the same way she buttoned up her scars beneath her white jacket. She turned to the Councilors, hands clasped behind her back.

“If we do this, we do it now. We have no time to waste.”

“Now?” Iya said.

Now?the crowd whispered.

Now?I thought.

“Ara is a rudderless ship,” Nura said. “A country recovering from not one but two wars, still steeped in uncertainty. Given the greater responsibility of the Arch Commandant in such trying times, we must settle this matter quickly.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tisaanah shoot me a glance of uncertainty. And I couldn’t deny that I felt it, too. I knew when I walked into this room that I was about to do something totally contradictory to everything I had wanted for the last ten years. But I certainly didn’t expect to actually do the final trial — something that normally would have taken weeks or even months of preparation —today.

But was I about to let Nura know that? Of course not.

“I’m more than willing to settle the matter as quickly as the Council wishes. If that means doing the final trial today, then I am ready.”

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