Page 97 of Between Despair and Hope

“Nereza and I have known each other for a very long time.”

“I’ve known you my entire life.”

“Yes, and you’re just a babe as far as being a king is concerned.”

“So, my father knew?”

“Your father,” he sighed, before rubbing his face. “Your father didn’t want to know anything. There is more I’ve forgotten about your father than you’ve ever even known.”

That surprised me. It was always my mother who dealt with the Supreme and the Myriad. And yet, he claimed to know my father that well? “And my mother?”

“No. She knows nothing. The way the—I couldn’t tell her without Soren.”

“And Folterra?”

“Yes. Declan believes he is the Accursed because of it. Or yearns to be—I don’t know.”

“Our spies tell me he plans to make moves on Lamera first. That he’s building an army and plans to bring it across the Mahowin Strait. Do you expect Nereza to come to your defense when he does?” He only stared at me, eyes darting over to Em. “You’ve hidden this information from Vesta, whom you share a continent with, who hosts more of your temples than any other kingdom. And yet you expect us to come to your defense when a product of that information comes calling?”

“I swore a verit oath to only tell the sitting monarchs. I could not tell you until your father died, and since then you’ve been occupied. It was not for lack of trying—unless you mean to tell me you have received none of my correspondence since your return from Folterra?”

I wasn’t sure if I’d received anything from him. It wasn’t impossible.

“I realize how this looks.” He held out his hands in supplication. “I assure you, I only knew about the Cascade because of Shivani. A smarter man would have never shown the texts with the true prophecy in them until I was prepared to explain it. Perhaps it was subconscious. The weight has been heavy on me all these years because of Soren’s reluctance to hear anything. After Larke’s death he—” He shook his head. “Despite my attempts, I could not convince Soren to meet with me about the true prophecy. That is why I convinced Shivani, and Medina before her, to allow me to build more temples in Vesta. To watch for any signs of the Accursed. To be ready.”

It had been a long time since I’d heard Medina’s name. She’d died in childbirth along with the son who might have been king instead of me. I’d always wondered if it was their death which turned my father’s heart to stone, but perhaps it had been after Larke’s demise when it hardened.

“I apologize, truly. If I had come to Astana, perhaps you’d be more willing to forgive my errors,” he said, voice somber.

I wished we were speaking with him in Astana too, for a few reasons. Not the least of which was being able to hear his heart and have a better estimate of the truth of his statements. I wanted to believe him. He’d always been kind to me, warm even, when my father never had been.

“You will need to come to Astana either way,” my wife spoke up, and I glanced sideways at her. The Supreme only lifted his eyes to hers, a slight tilt to his head. “You need to clean out your temple. Do you claim no knowledge of what Filenti has been doing? I suppose you know about the task he asked me to complete?” Her brow arched, and her voice held strong.

The Supreme looked confused as he said, “The same task I asked of Rainier. To prove your abilities to protect one another. I’ll admit, if you came here for your task, I would have spent a considerable time questioning you. Your divinity was no match for his, as far as I understood, and I worried the bond might not have held. But I see now, I was wrong. Did he question you?”

A cold laugh crossed her lips, sending shivers up my spine. I rubbed my thumb over the back of her hand, wishing I could take away that memory for her. “He forced me to kill a woman with my harrowing. A mistress. Miriam? Does she mean anything to you?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I do not believe it. Miriam was seized with apoplexy.”

“I watched her die. I assure you, it was at my hand.” Her voice shook.

“Why did you not mention it when you were here for the font?”

“Because we didn’t know if you ordered the task, and we needed to complete the ritual. I wasn’t risking you preventing our access,” I snapped. “She needed my divinity.”

The Supreme’s mouth was parted, looking between the two of us before holding his head in his hands, elbows on his desk, looking as human as I’d ever seen him.

“I—I am finding this difficult to understand. I—Filenti wouldn’t do—He has been in charge of the temple in Astana for decades. He prefers to worship Hanwen. He is just and fair. This makes little sense to me.”

“He is trafficking your novices,” Emma said quietly, and I wondered how she was feeling. So much had happened since she came back into my life, and I knew certain aspects had to weigh heavy on her soul. I hadn’t even given the dead mistress a second thought, and I understood now why she so badly wanted to come with me. She needed to make sure Filenti would pay. I had been surprised to find out she hadn’t gone to deal with the master herself while I was in Folterra but glad she showed restraint. It was one thing to steal a book from the Supreme, but to kill one of his masters would have consequences which I hoped to avoid.

My wife explained what Nor had told her when they’d sat together in recent days. I’d originally planned on talking to the woman myself, but I changed my mind at the last moment. Considering how she’d helped me, I shouldn’t have, but her face was a reminder of those days spent in the dampening cell. I listened with rapt attention, starved for details Emma had refused to divulge. It was a brilliant and effective strategy of hers—denying more than the bare minimum to me while I did the same to her.

I fucking hated it.

“Your masters in the capital are all complicit. We’ve been watching and have intercepted thirteen women over the past three weeks.”

I knew about the guards she’d placed near the temple, hiding in plain sight. I knew they’d intercepted the women. But I didn’t know how she’d done it without alerting the masters of what we knew.

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