Page 135 of A Reign of Embers

I will trust Elox and Kosmel to see me through this appeal.

I ease down the path with careful steps, setting my hand on the wall as soon as I’m low enough. My guards hover overhead as if they think they might have to wrench me back out.

No enemies wait for me below. Only the rustling of furry bodies brushing together and the tiny clicks of their claws.

My other hand clutches the pouch. My nerves jump atthe thought that the rodents might leap at it rather than waiting for me to bestow my gift voluntarily.

The rats continue their scurrying across the floor of the pit. As I descend farther and my eyes adjust to the waning light, I make out even darker patches between the lowest stones: holes that lead to the tunnels they live in that weave through the entire temple.

My breath snags at the base of my throat. I hold it through my last several steps to the bottom, my heart pounding so hard it dizzies me. A musky smell that’s thick but not entirely unpleasant fills my nose.

As I place one foot and then the other right on the floor, the rats adjust their course to make room without seeming to pay much attention to me. There have to be at least a dozen of them scampering across the rough stones at any given moment, some slipping away into the holes while others emerge.

I lower myself to sit cross-legged in the center of the pit. A few of the furry bodies brush against my legs through my skirt, and I suppress a flinch.

They’re only animals. Sometimes harboring disease, yes, but also clever and determined and capable of affection. Hardly horrifying.

Swallowing hard, I loosen the mouth of the pouch and spread the bits of cheese, bread, and nuts across my lap.

At once, a few of the rats leap onto my skirt. In a matter of seconds, the scurrying bodies have become a flurry of motion, wriggling across my legs to snatch a morsel and darting off again.

My jaw has clenched, and my arms have gone rigid at my sides. Closing my eyes, I will myself to relax with all the self-control I can summon.

I lift my hand to tap it through the gesture of the divinities. Then I extend my thoughts beyond my body.

Kosmel, I come before you now to show my faith in you. So many could die on my behalf in the battle ahead. If any trick could see us safely through the danger, I’ll take it. Please, show me what slyness you would have me carry out in your honor. I put my life and those of my subjects in your hands as the first leader of Accasy did all those centuries ago.

I give myself over to the darkness and the movements of Kosmel’s sacred animal all around me.

Let the rats eat their fill. Let the shadows wrap around me. The darkness holds answers too.

An image wavers up in my mind: a mass of soldiers in the Darium uniforms of white bones on black fabric. Other companies march toward them from either side in green and blue… and then, as they draw near, their clothes ripple into a matching black and white as if they’re all part of the same swarm.

My mouth goes dry. The image echoes the comment Bastien made to me last night after we left the hall of entertainments.“What if we could hide our allies in plain sight?”

Sabrelle has used that tactic against me enough times, hasn’t she? Transforming people I thought were colleagues or loyal servants into my enemies under my nose.

Do we have enough gifts between us—can those talents be stretched far enough?—?

The pictures flowing through my head waver with my doubts. I straighten my spine against them and inhale deeply.

I will honor Kosmel by trusting his tricks. It’s the best offering I can make to him.

The vision of the horde of soldiers expands in my mind—and just for an instant, a smoky wave seems to wash over them, wiping away all the colors and the skeletal designs, toppling them so they sprawl out in a sea of pure Kosmelian gray.

Then the image wisps away. I find myself blinking in the darkness, my pulse racing through my veins.

What was that last part supposed to mean? Or was the godlen simply confirming that he would feel honored if I follow his suggested tactic?

I close my eyes again and let my mind drift, but no further impressions come to me. The rats have settled down after their furor for the food, trotting past me to carry out their own business, though a light weight on my calf tells me one has decided my lap makes a good bed.

With an odd mix of amusement and revulsion, I nudge the little creature off onto the floor. It scuttles away with no sign of offense. I draw myself back to my feet, brushing a few lingering crumbs from my gown.

The climb out of the pit feels much faster than the descent. My party and the cleric all watch me intently as I take the last few steps to the surface. I spot a couple of devouts peering from a nearby doorway.

“I’ve seen Kosmel’s advice, and I will heed it,” I tell the cleric. “Thank you for giving me the space to reach out to him.”

“Of course, Your Imperial Highness. Should you ever need anything else, you only have to ask.”

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