Page 126 of Between Fear and Favor

I eventually found my answer in cruelty. I stood at the corner of one of the busiest streets and a wide alley leading to more rowhouses I hoped were empty. I only hesitated because I saw a member of the Supreme’s guard poking at a pile of refuse. Only when it moved, did I understand what was happening.

“Get up, thief,” the guard said, and the person laying on the ground shifted.

Hair that might have once been blonde before turning grey with filth was uncovered from a dirty cloak. “I’m not a thief,” the woman said, but the guard didn’t care. He unsheathed his blade, and she reeled back toward the wall she’d been sleeping against.

“Sleeping on the street is a theft against the innkeepers,” the soldier began, “and loitering on His Holiness’s streets is theft against the gods. Now, get up.”

The woman stood, gathering her meager belongings, and the soldier slapped them out of her hands. “Won’t need that in the cells,” he said, sneering.

I knew I should have remained silent and not brought attention to myself, but I couldn’t watch this man treat another human with such disrespect over something so simple. She clearly didn’t have the money to pay an innkeeper nor a home to return to.

Keeping my face shadowed beneath my cloak, I walked toward the two of them. Unbothered, as if I had every right to be there, I pretended to ignore their interaction. The man was green, young and thoughtless, and all he did was step back as I approached, as if to let me pass between them.

So I did.

“Pardon me, miss,” I said, but as soon as I stood on the guard’s other side, I opened a rift. Far outside the city, there was a cow’s pasture that Em and I had used as a rift point to get to Lamera. It was there, hopefully on top of a pile of cow dung, that the guard landed when I shoved him through. He was still clambering to his feet as I let my rift shut.

The woman stood with an open mouth, staring, until she let out a laugh loud enough to draw attention. “Well, you have my thanks,” she said, before turning to gather the things the man had slapped out of her hand. “I suppose I should move before another guard notices he’s missing.”

“Can you help me?” I asked, hoping my kindness would pay off. “Are there any vacant houses near here?”

Her laugh continued, only softer. “Nothing in Lamera is vacant, only repurposed. The house I was staying in got raided by the guards, so it’s probably empty now. Someone lives next door, though,” she said.

“Take me there,” I demanded, then quieter, “please.”

She frowned, then looked me over from head to toe. Though she appeared desperately in need of a bath, she wasn’t too worse off for living on the streets. Her skin was toughened from the sun, and she was missing one of her incisors, but she didn’t seem to be suffering like so many did. I wondered what had caused her to end up here.

For a moment, I grew nervous over her indecision, hoping she didn’t recognize me. Without any novice garments that fit, I was in my own clothing. My boots were well-kept, and my cloak was relatively new. When her eyes wandered to the pommel of my sword, I put my hand on it to cover the intricate details. It was likely she knew I was well-off, but I hoped she didn’t know me for my true identity.

Because if she recognized me as the Vestian king, it was certain she would weigh her choices. What kind of life could she have in Lamera if she alerted the Supreme to my presence?

“It’s two streets to the east. The old woman with the yellow shutters is kind,” she said with a hint of a warning in her voice. “The houses on either side of hers are usually empty.”

“I’ll be sure to mind her safety, just as I did yours,” I said, and that seemed to appease her. “That said, I’d make my way to the edge of Lamera, if I were you.”

She only stared at me, the moonlight drawing attention to the large bruise on her cheekbone. “Good luck, Your Majesty,” she whispered, before scurrying down the dark alleyway.

After rousing a confused,elderly occupant from her sleep, and rifting her to an inn just outside of Lamera, I returned to the now empty rowhouse I intended to burn. I assessed my surroundings, dismissing the idea of using Em’s divine fire before the thought fully formed. Not only would it alert the guard and the Supreme of her presence, I didn’t want the innocent people of Lamera blaming Vesta for the destruction.

I supposed we were to blame, but I was beyond caring. The rowhouse I planned to start the fire at was abandoned, and anyone nearby would have plenty of time to leave their own houses before the fire spread.

I didn’t want to waste any more time, so I opened a rift and knocked over a street lamp onto the rooftop. I used my divinity to spread the flames. A strong wind fed the fire, and it grew nearly out of control within a matter of seconds.

After the flames spread to the next set of houses, I closed my rift and waited.

And waited.

By the time that set of rowhouses was ablaze, no one had raised an alarm. I didn’t want any innocents to die because of my fire, so I took action into my own hands.

“Fire!” I bellowed, just as I stepped through a rift that took me a street closer to the Supreme’s guard. “Fire!” I called again, before rifting once more. No one saw me, and my conscience cleared as screams rang out around me.

Perched atop a building halfway between the Seat and the fire, I watched and waited. Half the soldiers ran toward the flames with haste, but that wasn’t enough. I needed all of them to move. As one of their conduits attempted to pull water from a well, I closed my eyes and focused my own divinity on the water source.

I was stronger. The soldier was unable to do anything because the water was in my control. Eventually he gave up, and instead pulled on the rope to hoist a bucket up. I allowed it, instead focusing on moving the earth. Just a hair, not enough to be detected, I shifted the ground beneath the well. The water found the crack, and I forced it through. Within moments, the well was dry. And if this conduit were of average ability, it would be rather difficult for him to summon the water from beneath the cobblestones.

“Help!” he shouted, and finally, more soldiers followed. The severity of the situation became clear when their conduit, who was adept with water, was unable to handle the fire on his own.

Still though, a small company of soldiers waited. Stationed at intervals on the massive staircase, they stood watch. Positioned at rest, two dozen soldiers refused to move to put out the flames.

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