Six months before our parents were killed, there was an assassination attempt.ย ๎ขe fevers had only just begun, but I was hardly aware of a problem.ย ๎ขen, my parents were still well loved, and Iโd just begun to attend their meetings with the consuls. My brother had been attending for years, and Iโd heard stories about them all. Allisanderโs father, Nathaniel Sallister, was full of blu๏ฌย and bluster, and he challenged my father on every issue.
I remember being presented with my own folio, my own fountain pen. At my side, Harristan was doodling horses and dogs in the margins of his own folioโbut I could tell he was listening to everything said. I read every word twice, hoping to have an opportunity to share my โworldlyโ insights on something. Anything.
By the time the meeting pushed past two hours, however, I was bored and looking for any excuse to leave. Iโd begun sketching caricatures of the consuls in the margins of my folio, complete with Nathaniel urinating on a pile of papers. Harristan glanced over, choked on a laugh, and drowned the sound in a sip of water.
Stop it, he mouthed at me, and I grinned.
Across the table, my mother gave us both a look, but her eyes were twinkling.
๎ขen a crash and a shout echoed from the hallway, and the twinkle disappeared from her eye. Everyone at the table went silent. Another shout, followed by many more. My father was blocking my mother against the wall. Harristan grabbed my arm and shoved me behind him, but I wrestled to get in front of him.
โYouโre the heir,โ I hissed, like he needed a reminder.
Something hit the door with a loudย thunk, and it didnโt matter which of us was in front, because my father gave an order, and two guards blocked us
from view. My heart was in my throatโbut whatโs worse is that I remember being more worried that Consul Sallister would see my drawing than of anything happening.
Wood cracked and split, and men poured into the room. Crossbowsย red almost instantly.ย ๎ขe men fellโall except one.
Micah Clarke, the Kingโs Justice before me, caught one by the arm. He twisted it up behind the man, then slammed him facedown on the table, right where Iโd been sitting. My eyes were wide, and I could hear Harristan breathing.
My mother peeked out from around my father. โWhy?โ she whispered. โWhy are they here?โ
Micah looked at my father. I donโt know if he was waiting for permission, or an order, or something else entirely.
But my father looked away.
๎ขe man wrenched his face up from the folio and inhaled. Later, Micah would say he was going to spit at my parents, but to me, it looked like he was going to speak.
He didnโt get the chance to do either. Micah drew a blade and cut his throat. Blood poured all over my drawings.
We never found out who sent them. Itโs long been rumored that they were theย rst attack sent from Traderโs Landing, but weโve never been able to prove it.
I think about that day sometimes.ย ๎ขe way my mother seemed confused.
๎ขe way my father looked away.ย ๎ขe way my brother kept trying to drag me behind him.
๎ขe way everyone was afraid, except the Kingโs Justice, who was forced to act.
Today, I expect Harristan to be furious a๎er the riot outside the gates, but heโs not.
I am.
Listen to the Benefactors.
I donโt know what that means, but Iโve been turning it over in my head since the guards dragged us o๏ฌย the stage.
๎ขe consuls requested a meeting the very instant we returned to the palace, but my brother has been making them wait. Heโs been quiet for hours.ย ๎ขoughtful. Contemplative.
๎ขe longer he sits quietly and thinks, the more agitated I become, until Iโm the one pacing his chambers.
๎ขree of the prisoners escaped during the melee. Five were killed, but three slipped into the crowd when citizens began swarming the stage and the guards moved to protect Harristan and me. One of them was Lochlan, the man who smashed Allisanderโs face against the bars.
๎ขe consul is probably boiling with rage. Iโm surprised steam isnโt pouring from the other side of the door.
As if on cue, someone raps at the door. โEnter,โ calls Harristan.
One of the guards swings the door wide. โYour Majesty, Master Quint would like to remind you that the consuls are gatheredโโ
โ๎ขey can wait,โ says Harristan.
๎ขe guard nods.ย ๎ขe door swings closed.
โYou canโt hide in here all day,โ I say to him. โWe need to address this.โ โIโm not hiding.โ Harristan doesnโt move. โDo you think it was planned?โ โWhich part?โ
He looks at me. โAll of it.โ He pauses. โ๎ขere were cries for revolution in the crowd, Cory.โ
You can stop this! Fight them! Fight back!
I run a hand across the back of my neck and sigh. โI heard them.โ โEveryone heard them.โ He hesitates as if he has more to say, but he falls
silent. Heโs so quiet that I can hear the clock ticking on his desk. A๎er a moment, he coughs, and my head snaps around.
๎ขat makes him glare. โStop that. I donโt need a nursemaid.โ
I study him, looking for telltale signs of the fever. His cheeks arenโt
ushed, and his eyes are clear. I listen to his breathing anyway.
His eyes narrow. โIf you want to worry about something, worry about what weโre going to tell the consuls.โ
โI thought thatโs whatย youย were spending all this time thinking about.โ โAllisander will be furious.โ
โUndoubtedly.โ โLissa will be as well.โ
โIโve already o๏ฌered guards for their supply runs.โ
โ๎ขeyโre going to want more. More assurance. More promises. More . . .ย more.โ
๎ขen I realize what heโs been waiting for. What heโs not saying. He asked for a spectacle this morningโand he got one. Not the one he wanted, surely, but it was a spectacle all the same. Now he wants another one. Something that will appease the consuls and stop the populace from thinking revolution is an easy path.
Heโs been waiting on me.
Iย nally stop pacing and look at him. โ๎ขen letโs give them more.โ
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Allisander only has one black eye, but the bruising across his jaw and forehead seem to make up for it. It must have been too painful to shave around that perfect goatee, because it looks like he started before giving it up. Poor baby.
๎ขe pain doesnโt stop him from railing at me during the consul meeting. โ๎ขey were all to be taken care of,โ he snaps. โNow youโve let three get away.โ โI didnโt let anyone get away,โ I say evenly. โ๎ขeyโre not theย rst to escape,
and they surely wonโt be the last.โ
โ๎ขey can reorganize,โ he says. โ๎ขeyโll be a๎er our supply runs. Youโll see.โ He slams aย st down on the table. โYou promised me, Corrick.โ
โIโve o๏ฌered additional guards.โ I glance across the table at Lissa Marpetta, whoโs been sitting in silence while Allisander has a tantrum. โFor your supply runs as well.โ
โWho are these Benefactors?โ she says, looking down her nose at me coolly.
โI have no idea.โ
โNo idea,โ thunders Allisander. โNo idea, yet you felt no need to torture them during questioningโโ
โItโs concerning,โ Lissa says quietly, her voice at complete odds with Allisanderโs, โthat your guards were unable to complete their duties in time.โ
โ๎ขose guards should be tried for treason,โ Allisander snaps.
โ๎ขose guards kept your king alive,โ says Harristan, and thereโs enough of a chill in his voice to remind them whoโs in charge here. It draws some of the tension out of the room, though displeasure still hums in the air around us.
At the end of the table, Roydan clears his throat. โConsul Sallister. You wish to punish a dozen guards for failing to stop a thousand people from
rushing the stage?โ
Arella Cherry adds, โShould we assume you punish your own guards when your supply runs are attacked?โ
Allisander turns his glare on her. โMy sector is no business of yours.โ He pauses for a rage-ย lled breath. โI understand that you asked for these smugglers to beย pardoned.โ
She doesnโtย inch, and her eyes are ice-cold as she regards him. โPeople in these sectors are dying, Consul Sallister.ย ๎ขeyโre not criminals.ย ๎ขeyโre desperate.โ
โWe canโt keep them alive if outlaws keep raiding our supplies,โ says Jasper Gold, Consul of Mosswell. โIโve heard reports of missing dosages from within the Royal Sector. Escaped prisoners always embolden others. Especially if theyโre being funded by someone with means.โ
His words drop like a rock. Most of the people with means in Kandala are sitting at this tableโor theyโre close to someone who is.
โAre you implying someone here knows about these raids?โ says Roydan. He sounds truly concerned, as if insurrection from within our own circle only just occurred to him.
Arella makes an exasperated noise. โYou think these rebels are well funded?ย ๎ขey were barely more than children!โ
Jonas Beeching clears his throat. โ๎ขoseย childrenย were old enough to commit a crime.โ He glances at Allisander. Jonas is still smarting from his bridge proposal being rejected, and he very obviously wants to keep friends at this table. โ๎ขey should be stopped at all costs.โ
Allisander turns a glare his way. โYou were just seeking twice as much silver as you needed, were you not? Perhaps we should investigateย your
nances, Consul.โ
I want to roll my eyes.
โEnough,โ says Harristan. โWeโve doubled the number of patrols in the Wilds. Weโve mandated searches of the forges in Steel City, and weโve o๏ฌered a signiย cant reward to anyone who can provide the identity of the three smugglersโor anyone else involved in the trade of stealing Moonย ower petals.โ
Quintโs eyes almost bugged out of his head when he took down the orders. Itโs a reward large enough to provide medicine for a family for an entire year.
โAre you still o๏ฌering them refuge in Sunkeep?โ Allisander snaps at Arella. โMaybe we should start there.โ
โGo ahead,โ she says evenly. โI am not harboring criminals.โ
โWe need swi๎ย action,โ says Lissa. โDo you not agree, Your Majesty?โ โI agree,โ says Harristan. His gaze shi๎s to me.
My thoughts have been spinning with shock and anger since the moment we lost control of the crowd, but now that I realize what is expected of me, a cool certainty takes over my thoughts. โSwi๎ย action?โ I say. โOr swi๎ย justice?โ
Allisander looks across the table at me, and I can tell heโs remembering the moment in the Hold, when Lochlan jerked his face into the bars and I broke the manโs wrist with my bare hands.
I wonder how much of Allisanderโs fury is rooted in the fact that Lochlan is one of the prisoners who escaped.
โBoth,โ he says, and his tone is vicious.
Iโve never backed away from brutality, and I donโt now. I hold Allisanderโs eyes and nod. โConsider it done.โ
