Divined (12 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Clio couldn’t find her voice. There was no hiding from an Oracle, Clio knew that well, especially when the Deity controlling this Oracle had made it his mission to take her.

Let me back in and I can give you the Visions you need to find her. You know there’s no other way to fight someone who can See what is to come.
Vazuil’s voice was soft, but Clio heard every word. They seeped through her mind, into her blood, where she felt Vazuil’s strength coursing through her.

She should accept. She knew that. Once more, she would bargain with Vazuil to fight an enemy she had no means of defeating on her own.

She would do it—become the Oracle once more to defeat an Oracle. As she prepared to let her defenses down, to allow Vazuil to put a Vision behind her eyes once more, a young boy burst into the room.

He was out of breath, his chest heaving as he rushed to Ealis’ side to whisper something in his ear. Clio watched as Ealis’ eyes widened. He stood, pushing the messenger aside with uncharacteristic brusqueness.

“Forgive me, ladies,” Ealis said, his voice high and strained. “I’m afraid I must report to the council immediately.”

“What is it?” Clio asked.

“A commander of Morek has arrived in the city. He has made demands of the council. I must go at once if we are going to find a way to prevent war with the Empire.”

Ashira’s eyes flashed in Clio’s direction. Ealis was nearly out the door when Clio stood with a heavy sigh.

“Wait,” she called. “I know what the commander wants.” Blood roared in her ears. “Me.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“I can’t believe his nerve!” Clio muttered as they rushed to the council house.

“What do you mean? Is he here because of what you are? We won’t let him take you,” Ealis huffed at her side.

“No. He’s not here for that. The insufferable, vain, arrogant—”

“
Clio
!” Ashira cut her off with a hard look.

“How many men did he come with? What demands has he made?” Clio asked, biting back the rest of her remarks.

“He has a small retainer, but he speaks as if his army is nearby. We have sent out scouts. He says he’s here to find a fugitive—a thief,” the messenger answered.

“A
thief
?” Clio yelled as they reached the council house. The building was white marble, like everything else on the eastern bank. It stood taller than the rest, several stories rising into the air, casting black curling shadows on the houses below. “A thief. I cannot believe him.” He was supposed to be in Morek where he would be safe. Coming here with only a small retainer—dread flooded through her. There was nothing standing in the Oracle’s way.

Ealis walked them through a wide corridor, past small arenas where scholars debated or presented to crowds of men and women in white robes. Finally, he stopped outside a closed door.

“The rest of the council is in here, along with the commander.”

Clio nodded. “Ashira, wait here, keep your eyes open.”

“Are you sure you want him to see you?” Ealis asked.

“No,” Clio answered as she pushed past him and entered the chamber. The room was small and arranged like an amphitheater with two rows of stone seats circling an open space in the center. The five council members, each wearing the medallion of Cearo, sat around the room, but Clio’s eyes skipped past them all, landing firmly on the man who stood in the center.

“Riece, what are you doing here?” she hissed.

Riece turned. He was dressed in all his commander regalia, and for a moment his mouth slipped into a satisfied grin at seeing her, but he quickly recovered himself and faced the council once more. “See? That wasn’t so difficult, was it? Now, I will be taking this thief to Morek so she can answer for her crimes. Thank you all.” He tried to grab Clio’s elbow, but she shook him off.

“You will be doing no such thing! I can’t believe you would resort to something this base—trying to pass me off as a common criminal.” She shook her head, ignoring the way Riece’s jaw twitched in either restrained anger or amusement.

“Commander, we cannot let you remove a woman against her wishes from Cearo’s protection. It goes against our laws,” a councilwoman said, her face completely unreadable. Clio caught a glimpse of the small prophet mark on the woman’s neck.

Riece clapped his hands together. “Well, happily for all of us, this isn’t against her wishes. I guarantee it.”

“It most certainly is!” Clio said, stepping up to him. Their eyes locked together, and Clio felt the familiar heat build between them. She crossed her arms as if that could protect her, and Riece raised an eyebrow at her defensive posture.

Riece turned to the council. “As the commander of the Emperor’s forces and the heir to the Emperor himself, I find myself in a unique position to offer you a boon should you grant me my request.”

“We don’t break the laws upon which our great city was built for anyone, Commander, no matter how powerful.”

Riece’s eyes narrowed, and his scar tensed around his neck. Clio swallowed a laugh as she watched him fight to rein in his temper. “Well, in that case, I must remind you I could easily bring my army back. I wanted to do this diplomatically, but if you wish to leave me without any other choice—”

Clio stepped in front of him, cutting him off. “Councilmembers, would you grant me a moment alone with the commander? I’m sure he doesn’t mean to level any threats,” she added, twisting to give Riece an admonishing glare.

“You wish to be alone with him?” a councilman asked, astonished.

“Only for a moment.”

“If it is agreeable to both of you, then we will wait outside,” the councilman said.

Riece nodded, and the council filed out until Ealis was the only one remaining. He paused by Clio, putting a hand on her arm.
 

“We will be right outside—you only need yell if you feel the least bit threatened.”

Clio patted his hand quickly, conscious of Riece’s stare. “Thank you, Ealis. I will.”

With a final parting look back at her, Ealis walked through the door, leaving Riece and Clio alone.

“What was that all about?” Riece asked, clearly displeased. “Who was that?”

“No.” Clio held up a hand. “That is not going to be the subject of this discussion. I can’t believe you! I told you to let me be. It’s not safe for you here.”

“Is he why you wish to be left alone?”

She threw her hands up in the air. “Ealis is a good and honest man and one of the prophets of this city.”

“He spoke to you rather casually for being one of the city’s leaders.”

“He’s a friend, Riece. Only a friend. How could you even think otherwise?”

Riece’s mouth split into a broad grin, and his eyes flashed dangerously.

“Don’t start with that,” Clio said, taking a preemptive step back.

“I started nothing.” He raised his hands in surrender.

“You are in danger here, Riece. You need to return to Morek, to your army.”

“All right. Let’s go,” he said cheerily.

“So you’re saying you found out who told the Emperor about me, you dealt with them, and I’m no longer in danger of being recognized as the Oracle?”

His grin slipped off his face. “No. Not yet.”

“Then I can’t come back with you, Riece. You know that. What did you think would happen? Why did you even come here? You should be thinking of your people, not wasting your time searching for me when there’s no possible way I could return with you.”

“I
am
thinking of my people,” he roared suddenly. “The truth is, I didn’t come here because I missed you—not that I didn’t,” he added quickly. “But some of my men went missing somewhere between Morek and Sheehan, and I’ve had reports one of Morek’s holdings to the west has been attacked. We haven’t been able to get word to them, and all the men I send out to investigate never return.”

“What are you saying?” Clio asked, stiffening.

“That holding, it would have been one of the key points of defense if Morek was ever attacked from the west.”

“You don’t think… Riece, he wouldn’t.”

“It will only be a matter of time before Sheehan declares war on Morek.”

Clio shook her head. “That doesn’t make any sense. Sheehan only recently got out of a devastating war. Why would Derik plunge his people into more conflict this soon?” She wouldn’t believe it. Her dearest friend wouldn’t declare war on Riece. It would be suicide.

“He’ll never have a better opportunity than now. Morek is weak from the famine. And with these offerings quotas, unrest is high. Sheehan came out of war with the Untouched stronger than ever before. Derik’s armies have swelled with Untouched. They’ve fortified the city once more, and they don’t depend on Morek for food now that the Untouched have replanted the fallow farmland.”

Her veins filled with ice, and her head grew heavy with Vazuil’s attempts to break through. She didn’t want to See whatever he was trying to press behind her eyes. The Deities would protect Morek, the seat of the Order. Whatever Vazuil had to show her wasn’t for Sheehan’s benefit, not if Sheehan sought to oppose the Empire.

“I will write to him immediately. I’ll beg him not to do this,” she said, pressing her thumb into her brow as if she could push Vazuil out. “But I don’t think Derik will listen to me.”

“I agree.”

“Then what would you have me do? I won’t fight on Morek’s side against my own people. And I won’t fight on Sheehan’s against you. You should release Sheehan. You should have released them ages ago.”

“That’s not my decision to make. The Emperor would never entertain it—why should he? Sheehan is too close to Morek—to allow it to remain outside the Empire leaves a constant threat to the capital. And in the end, Sheehan can’t win this war. Even with the Empire weak, Derik will not win. The Emperor will crush this—I will crush this, and Sheehan will suffer for it.”

“Then what do you want from me, Riece? I can’t watch you destroy my home, my friends.”

“The only way to stave off war and unite our two cities is through noble marriages—blood alliances are stronger than words. As the heir to the Empire, it is only logical I marry a Sheehan noblewoman.”

“Zarae won’t take to this idea,” Clio said, mulling over his words and ignoring the stab of jealousy at the thought of his union with another. “Who did you have in mind?”

Riece laughed and stepped closer to her, taking her hands in his. “Clio, you are a warrior of Sheehan, a noble, and you happen to be the closest thing to blood Derik has. There is no better choice. I should wed you, for the sake of our cities,” he said with a half-smile.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Clio’s mouth fell open as Riece lifted her hands, drawing her closer.

“What do you say?” he asked, his face suddenly near hers.

“Have you completely lost your mind?”

He dropped her hands. “Deities, would it kill you to simply say yes to me without a fight? For once.”

“Actually it would. And you, too, for that matter. Riece, what do you think Zarae will do? She won’t like to be set aside, and if she’s the one who told the Emperor about the Oracle, then what’s to stop her from telling him who I am in order to regain her status?”

“Zarae wouldn’t do that. I know you think she is responsible for this, but she isn’t.”

“How can you think that?”

“Because I know her. She wouldn’t turn on you, on me.” He paced around the room, stopping to look at Clio as he passed.

“Forgive me if I don’t find that assurance enough.”

“Clio, you have to trust me. Zarae cares for her people above all else, and her people are better than ever. I’ve just returned from visiting the Corner, and for the first time in generations, the men there have the time to study, to write. Instead of soldiers, the streets are filled with artists, musicians, scholars—all because the Empire has put an end to the Corner’s wars. When I tell Zarae, she’ll want to return. It’s not as if there was ever any love between us. There’s no reason for her to insist on marriage any longer.”

“Riece, I—what do you expect me to do? I haven’t escaped Vazuil yet.”

“And we will still search for answers on that. But”—he walked up to her—“in the meantime we could prevent war. Derik wouldn’t attack Morek if you’re in line to be Empress.”

“
Empress
?” Clio repeated, suddenly needing to sit down.

He smiled. “If I’m to be Emperor then you’ll be Empress. And if there’s a Sheehan woman on the Morek throne, then in time Sheehan will not even be considered a subject of Morek. Our cities could be sisters, especially if we reinforce the alliance with a match between Derik and a Morek noble.”

She opened her mouth to reply, then closed it and shook her head. “Oh Riece, please tell me you aren’t considering arranging a match between Tirza and Derik.”

He straightened. “What if I am? As my sister, she’s the closest thing the Emperor has to a daughter.”

“Riece, no. Tirza would never—how could you even think she would—what about Nox?”

He turned around, resuming his pacing. “A king is a better match for Tirza than some brash, rebellious priest who can never hope to marry.”

“I don’t even know where to begin with all of this!”

He stopped, and Clio saw something harden in his eyes, but when he looked up at her it was gone, replaced by bared and burning yearning. He strode to her, so quickly and forcefully Clio would have backed away had she been able, but right before he reached her he dropped to his knees.
 

“Clio”—he took her hands in his—“there will always be reasons for us not to be together. There have been more reasons to stay apart than to be together ever since I laid eyes on you, but it hasn’t mattered. Would my life be easier if I wed someone else? Absolutely.” He grinned, and Clio resisted the urge to swat his hands away. “But I don’t want anyone else, and I don’t think you want anyone else either. I want to tie my life to yours, forever, no matter what the Emperor, or the Deities, or anyone else throws in our way. What do you say, Clio?”

Her head throbbed. Vazuil wasn’t pleased, and she would need to take more of the draught to keep him at bay if he kept up this assault. But she couldn’t move—she couldn’t even tear her eyes from Riece. His hands tightened around hers.