Page 35 of Jeweler to the Blessed
“What do we do now?” I asked. “The festival didn’t exactly go as planned. Do you have to take me to Glanmore Castle?”
I didn’t want to go but wondered what he’d say. He had little reason to lie about being assigned as my guard, but I still only had his word that was why he was here. I’d rather hear it from the prince or Vaddon.
He shook his head. “No. The streets are still a mess. You’re safer here tonight.” He pinched the bridge of his nose again. “We’ll go in the morning. I’m sure Elias will want to expedite the festivities. He won’t risk the Blessed looking weak in light of … everything.”
“In light of the Cursed King’s little tantrum?” I filled in the blanks for him.
His laugh was rich but sharp, like I’d caught him off guard.In another situation, I might seek to draw forth the sound as often as possible.
“Exactly.”
“I didn’t think he was real.” I wasn’t sure why I admitted it. Maybe because of the way he laughed at the statement.
“I’m sure you’re not the only one. King Rodric honors Themis a little too well, making everyone forget he’s not her champion.”
“Everyone will remember now.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, a blue light in the distance caught my attention. Fear raced down my spine. We were far from the castle, but I knew what this was. In the darkness, the blue glow was visible even from here. It was what I’d searched for on the castle balcony amid the Cursed King’s attack.
My guard arched an eyebrow as the glow strengthened. I didn’t like the warmth spreading through my limbs at my guard’s proximity. The rapport was too familiar. I didn’t know him. He knew Alaric, but Alaric hadn’t seen fit to trust me with any information about him. My emotions flowed too freely in front of him.
And he was still Blessed—no matter how much help he’d been.
Now, the way he glared between me and where my gaze locked on King Rodric’s balcony made me wonder if he was aware of how the king calmed this city. Most under the influence didn’t seem to realize they were.
The blue light identified the calming magic King Rodric wielded. Though the opposite of the nightmare magic used tonight, its impacts could be just as harmful. Those affected only paused momentarily before continuing their lives in a slight stupor. It made those it touched forget their fears and worries, along with their hopes and dreams.
I couldn’t prove it, but I was convinced this magic held thecitizens complacent in this city so stacked against them. It made the life they led here not seem so bad.
Not having felt the magic at the base of my neck, I knew it hadn’t reached us yet. I realized too late that I shouldn’t stare so openly at the blue glow. As a magicless human, I shouldn’t be able to see it. I still had so many questions for my guard. Questions about Alaric, the youngleaf, the Feared—but this night had been too long, and I didn’t want him to question me, and I had absolutely no desire to fake the calming magic’s impact. If my guard wasn’t lying, I’d see him in the morning anyway.
“I have to go. My parents need me.”
He kept his arms folded into his chest, giving a final glare between me and the direction of the blue glow as I jogged back to the staircase to help them.
12
I have to save him. He grows weak down there.
— ALARIC SARE’S LETTERS TO ISABELLE ARKOVA
Ididn’t want to face the day. Getting up and going to the castle meant Alaric was still missing. It meant everything that happened yesterday was real. My plans to leave the city were indefinitely on hold. I was now Jeweler to the Blessed. Sourcing the adamas and crafting the gems that would granted the Blessed power were my responsibility, and because of that, my life was in danger from the Feared.
I could lay here a bit longer.
Staring at the ceiling, I thought about the history of the Cursed King.
The heart of his story was defiance. He railed against the fate he didn’t choose. Those summoned byThemis were required to be her champion. In books forbidden in this city, one could learn that Themis’s sister, Eris, also chose a champion.
Her champions were granted choice.
It was said Eris’s Champion came first. She wanted someone to challenge the order Themis had imposed.
From there, it had become a game of thrones across the continent. Which kingdom worshiped which goddess? Kavios was one of three. There was a time when Themis was the only goddess worshiped in all of them. Eris had changed that.
In Linia, the kingdom I’d planned to escape to, a descendant of Chaos’s original Champion still held the throne. Hence, information on both goddesses was more freely accessible. I believed Aven, the third kingdom, worshipped Order like Kavios.
All I knew of the Cursed King from Alaric’s texts was that he fought his fate. I wasn’t sure if he didn’t want to be Themis’s Champion or didn’t want to be told what to do, but whatever he did—attempting to make demands of a goddess ensured his curse.
I wondered how much the rest of the city would fear the Cursed King’s presence and the power that came with it. King Rodric’s calming magic had overtaken my parents on the staircase last night. Afterward, they had seemed almost unbothered by the evening’s trauma. Father’s ankle was still in bad shape, of course.
