Page 83 of Poisoned Empire

Both Belisarius and his father nodded solemnly, repeating the gesture when Magister Amethyst gave the same greeting.

“May the forgotten Gods see fit to remember you, Emperor Darius, Prince Belisarius. Dear Milena, you do our bloodline proud.”

While the two men knelt before him, Belisarius stood. The room quieted.

“Magister Miroslav Diamond, would you and your heir, Dominus Philip Diamond, join the Magistri Amethyst and Sapphire before me?”

Magister Diamond’s lightly tanned skin went ashen as he stood, a slight wobble in his knees. Both he and his heir knelt behind the other magistri.

“Esteemed guests, these men and their heirs kneeling before the throne do so as traitors to the empire and users of foul magics. Guards, collar them!”

At the announcement, the tables of the magistri erupted in protest and shock. Only the Sapphire heir attempted to lash out before being subdued. With mercifully little resistance from the rest, the magistri and domini were collared with magic-suppression collars, reserved for the worst of criminals and silver-tongue mages. Magister Sapphire appeared furious, Amethyst unperturbed and Diamond on the verge of vomiting.

“Explain! What is the meaning of this? What proof do you have of these charges?!” Magister Topaz shouted.

The outburst wasn’t unexpected. Topaz had historically been on good terms with both Sapphire and Amethyst, his province nestled between the two. Aside from the jolt of seeing his equals so reduced in public, he was no doubt gravely concerned about the continuity of revenues he garnered from the duties he imposed on traffic between the two larger provinces.

“Hold your tongue, Topaz, or I shall take it from you!” the emperor shouted back, looming to punctuate his threat.

Once again, silence reigned. Belisarius held out his hand to Selene, who calmly stood and took it. Marduk escorted Iliana to the step below the dais, resolute beside her.

“On threat of death, the woman beside me was forced to impersonate Domina Milena Amethyst, who currently sleeps in a coma, locked away on the Amethyst estate, a victim of foul magics. Explain, for those present, your situation,” Belisarius said.

The eyes of the crowd went to Selene. Only the slight tightening of her hand in his signalled her unease.

“My name is Selene, a poison mage and bastard daughter of Magister Amethyst. I was kidnapped and forced to impersonate Domina Milena Amethyst and ordered to keep the eyes of the prince off my sisters, who are all victims of foul magic. The magister made very clear what the cost of defying him would be when he murdered the very men he hired to kidnap me.”

“We cannot take the word of a self-proclaimed bastard of no repute over the word of an esteemed magister, Your Royal Highness. A man has every right to do with his daughters as he sees fit,” Topaz interjected.

The prince gave him a wintry glare before turning to Iliana. What Topaz said may have been the case legally, but there was no excuse for the use of foul magics.

“Strategos, if your fiancée would be so kind as to further illuminate the situation?”

Iliana’s face paled, but he was glad to hear her voice didn’t waver. He could feel Selene’s grip on his hand tighten once more.

“My name is Iliana. I’m a metals mage and bastard daughter of Magister Sapphire. I, too, was kidnapped and forced to impersonate my half-sister, Domina Roxane Sapphire. While imprisoned in the Sapphire estate, I came to understand my sisters were victims of foul magics. The magister said that my half-sisters would slit their throats with my knives if I tried to escape before successfully keeping their conditions unnoticed by the prince.”

“What is this foul magic the magistri are accused of committing, Your Royal Highness?” Magister Emerald asked, sanguine as always.

The prince was deeply glad that Emerald was a cooler head in this situation. Thankfully, the man cared blessedly little for the fates of anyone unconnected to his province.

“Domina Daria Amethyst, step forward. Domina Chrysanthi Sapphire, step forward. Domina Galena Diamond, step forward.”

The three women stood and obediently approached, each curtsying low, their hollow stares identical.

“Dominae, I command you, as your crown prince, to perform your mage gifts for those assembled.”

“I cannot, Your Royal Highness.” Chrysanthi replied first.

“And why is that?”

“My mage gift was given to my father, the magister.”

“Dominae Amethyst and Diamond, are you similarly incapable?”

Both Daria and Galena replied in unison.

“Yes, Your Royal Highness.”

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