Page 7 of Requiem of Silence

“You’re the Poison Flame,” he announced. Everyone grew silent. A cold fear wafted off the Lagrimari—one she didn’t require Earthsong to sense.

“Yes, yes, I am.”

She held his gaze for a moment, then scanned the others. Some faces crumpled, others hardened in anger. Mothers grabbed their children tight and nearly everyone took a step back. The Elsirans didn’t understand the words and looked curiously at the reactions.

No one said anything. The soft patter of worry and care were now silenced. Tears came to one woman’s eyes.

No, Kyara didn’t know these people, but they certainly knew her.

She took a deep breath, lungs still stinging, and inclined herhead. “May wenotgreet each other again,” she said, twisting the common saying.

She turned and headed down the beach, back to her cottage. Back to Darvyn, who should be home soon. Back to hiding, and solitude, and a quiet life by the sea that she did not deserve.

CHAPTER THREE

Responsibility is rain for thirsty roots

deep in the ground.

But if you are not careful,

it pours into unwatered mouths

and dribbles out,

overflowing

and wasteful.

—THE HARMONY OF BEING

The tray in Zeli ul-Matigor’s hands wobbled as she planted her foot carefully on the uneven step. These rough, old, stone staircases were dangerous; she’d nearly twisted her ankle more than once on her daily trips up and down. Tantalizing aromas from the food under the silver cover made her stomach growl, though she’dalready eaten. But she’d never touch a morsel on the tray. For all she knew, it was poisoned by the kitchen staff.

And with good reason.

After surviving the staircase, she passed through a dank hallway then entered a somewhat brighter antechamber where a trio of Royal Guardsmen looked up at her entrance. None of them changed expressions, so maybe she imagined their disdain.

What did they think of the short Lagrimari teenager who came this way every day bearing food for a man who’d harmed so many? If she’d still had her Song, she would know for sure—probably for the best then.

One of the guards unlocked the main brass gate leading to the dungeon. Zeli kept her head high, not looking into any of the cells she passed. There were truly vile people down here; it was only through weeks of practice that she’d managed to control the shaking in her limbs as she took this journey.

After deftly negotiating the familiar warren of passageways, she paused at the mouth of a shallow, narrow inner corridor, set deep in the heart of the palace’s dungeon. The door to the only room in this section—a former storage space once used as a cell—was now back on its hinge. Weeks ago, it had been cracked into pieces and hung askew, the splintered wood appearing to have been kicked open from the inside.

Now the door was fixed, no doubt by the figure standing in front of it, peering inside the empty room. The Goddess Awoken was resplendent as ever in a flowing, white dress. Her hair was blown by an invisible breeze, power that crackled from Her like charged air just before a lightning storm. She was always connected to Earthsong, and Her strength was uncomfortable to be around.

Zeli approached, used to the faint buzz of magic whisperingacross her skin. When she’d been appointed the robemistress of the Goddess—a position of high honor—shortly after joining the Sisterhood, Zeli had been overwhelmed by Her power. In awe at the very sight of Her. Now, she squeezed by the woman, set her tray down in front of the door, and slid it through the small hatch. Not a gourmet meal, but a quality one. Such a shame for it to go to waste, when ostensibly free refugees were standing in food lines for rations. The prisoner hadn’t eaten anything even when he’d been here. But she still acted out this farce twice a day at the Goddess’s behest.

A chill formed over her skin at the thought of the escapee somewhere out there in the world. The True Father, the immortal king who had tyrannically ruled Lagrimar for five hundred years. When the Mantle fell, the Goddess and Queen Jasminda had subdued him, drained him of his stolen Song, and imprisoned him here to await trial. And now he was gone.

Zeli was disgusted at herself for keeping the secret she’d been ordered to. No one but she and the Goddess knew of the True Father’s escape. No one else knew the danger they were in, not just from the former king, but from whoever had been powerful enough to break him out of the dungeon and disappear without a trace.

“Did you need anything else, Your Excellency?” Her voice barely wavered.

When silence greeted her, Zeli turned to find the Goddess’s normally bright eyes dim. She realized she’d never seen Her eat. Did She need food? Could Earthsong alone sustain Her or was it just another trick?

Zeli tried to rid herself of the traitorous notion, but it wouldn’t leave her mind. She envisioned the Goddess locked away in a hidden chamber somewhere in the palace where no one could see Herstuffing Herself with sweet fruits and tubers and handpies and those Elsiran pastries with the creamy icing on top.

The Goddess didn’t move to answer, so Zeli shrugged and headed to the exit. She hated these trips to the dungeon. They brought back bad memories.

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