Page 128 of A Reign of Embers

As my last words ring out through the air, the tension in the crowd shifts. Several cheers rise up with an initial smattering of applause. More and more whoops and shouts of appreciation carry across the square.

In that moment, with so many hands and voices raised in support, I can almost believe we’re ready to bowl over Valerisse and her invaders right now.

Then the medic I noticed barges in front of me, his mouth twisting.

He jabs his forefinger toward me. “No! No more of this. Your reign must end here!”

Chapter Forty-Six

Aurelia

At the medic’s words, a chill sweeps through me. My jaw goes slack for a second before I attempt to compose myself.

My guards are already hustling forward, two of them grabbing the devout by the arms. He struggles against their grasp, his eyes flashing. “The empress tarnishes Elox’s name. She calls him her chosen godlen, and yet she’ll give us no peace!”

Is that what he’s taken offense to about me? He thinks I should roll over and let Valerisse trample me, my daughter, and the empire I’ve given so much to save?

As my teeth set on edge, crimson light flickers around the man. A glowing image of a stallion rears over him before vanishing in a blink of an eye.

He has Sabrelle’s support too. Ofcourse he does—she’s found a way to twist even the ideals of the godlen most opposite her to her ends.

“That’s enough,” one of my guards snaps. More soldiers are closing in to drag my critic away.

And the entire crowd is gaping, the celebratory atmosphere I managed to create disintegrating.

“Wait!” I step toward the medic, ignoring the lurch of my heart and Marc’s grunt of protest.

My people need to see that Iamstill in favor of peace wherever I can have it. That I won’t shout down complaints without giving them due thought.

I tap my bodice over my godlen brand. “I follow the teachings of our godlen of healing and peace as closely as I’m able. Elox has never called for an absence of all violence. One of his greatest teachings is that sometimes blood must be spilled to clear the ground for peace.”

A principle that helped keep me strong while I schemed to murder not one but two emperors.

The medic screws up his face as if he’s considering spitting at me. “You’ll bring only ruin. You’ve placed yourself above it all, no matter what words you speak. Nothing touches you, and you think that’s made you divine, higher than the rest of us who’ll suffer.”

His accusations sound like a bunch of vague blather, but my mind locks on to the comment about nothing touching me. What does he think has tried to “touch” me?

We knew someone at the palace must have been rousing members of staff against me. Is he upset that I’ve escaped those attacks?

Perhaps we’ve found the traitor who riled up the other staff against me. Hiding among us in plain sight all this time…

I don’t wish the crowd to hear about the threats I’ve facedand to wonder how many more I can endure after all, so I keep that suspicion to myself.

“I promise you, none of that is true,” I say. “It’s the enemies of the empire who are threatening us with ruin. I’ve never struck out against anyone. I meditate with Elox every day, and I know?—”

“You pervert his cause! You twist his ideals! You?—”

One of the soldiers clutching the medic’s arm slaps a hand over his mouth. “The ravings of a lunatic,” she hollers for the benefit of the crowd.

Or one whose mind is addled by another godlen’s influence.

I swallow thickly, groping for the right words to set this spectacle back on the right course. My sense of certainty escapes me.

What if he isn’t totally mad? Can I really say I’ve set the empire on a more peaceful course with all my schemes?

I lift my hands skyward in a silent plea to Elox. An omen from him now would settle all this conflict.

For a few strained thuds of my heart, nothing comes. Then a pale glow forms around me, shimmering off my skin.

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