Page 28 of A Reign of Embers
In her eyes, I deserved much worse. And in her position, I doubt I could have found even the shred of compassion that led her to keep me alive.
She beat me in both might and kindness. I’ve never encountered a force as formidable as this astonishing woman. How the fuck can I be angry with her?
My foster brothers are another matter.
They hover around her, all smug eagerness, relishing their proximity to her even more while I have to watch from afar. Prince Bastien and Prince Lorenzo don’t bother to disguise their disdain when they glance at me. Prince Raul likes to outright smirk when Aurelia won’t notice.
He isn’t smirking at the moment, though. They’re all completely fixated on her—on the urgent tone her voice has taken that yanks my attention back to her too.
“Sabrelle’s been working against me formonths,” she’s saying. “Almost the entire time I’ve been in Dariu. Neven started getting those dreams not long after I was crowned empress.”
“She didn’t like you offing the emperor she put on the throne,” Raul suggests, speaking of my father’s murder so casually I have to restrain myself from throwing him out the window.
If I even could. I’ve seen the prince of Lavira win enough arena battles to know he’s no slouch in a fight.
Aurelia waves her hand as if dismissing the details. “Whatever the initial reasons, she’s only continued to like me less. It wasn’t until the coronation tour that she ramped up her efforts to encouraging assassination.”
Yes. Through that wretch Valerisse, who deserves my wrath more than any of the traitors in front of me. If I have the chance to get my hands onher, there won’t be any hesitating.
Lorenzo’s illusionary baritone, a voice I’m not yet used to him wielding, carries through my skull.“I’d have expected her to soften at least a little after seeing you display your might openly. What could she want from you?”
Aurelia’s mouth twists. “I don’t know. It’s possible… there isn’t anything I could do. That’s my point.”
Bastien is studying her with a gaze more incisive than I remember recognizing before. Did he play a dope around me in the past, or did I never bother to consider him properly?
“Where are you going with this, Aurelia?” he asks.
Her gaze darts to me. My heart leaps at the momentary attention and then sinks at the tightening of her expression.
She aims a wry smile at the princes. “I’m thinking about the strategies that have served me best in the past. When I couldn’t win over my husband even a little, instead ofcontinuing to throw myself into a hopeless cause, I found other allies to turn to.”
My teeth grit, but I manage to keep my mouth shut. What could I say that wouldn’t add to her point?
Raul shoots me a cocky glance. “So if Marclinus is Sabrelle in this comparison, then we are…”
“The other godlen. They must have their own opinions about what happens in the empire’s half of this world they watch over. There areeightof them—surely if they were all on my side, they could overcome whatever animosity Sabrelle is holding on to.”
A wobble runs through my gut. Does she really think?—
Before I can put my apprehension into words, Bastien is diving into the idea. “You can already count on Elox. I can’t imagine any of the other gods would harbor ill-will against you.”
She shrugs. “I don’t know whether they’d have any feelings about me at all right now. I need to find ways of showing I’ll honor each of them in the way I rule the empire. Give them a reason to stand up to Sabrelle and her dedicats on my behalf.”
I can’t keep quiet. “To focus on eight instead of one?—”
Lorenzo’s voice overwhelms mine.“After those sick challenges Linus demanded while trying to put himself on their divine level, it shouldn’t be hard for you to look pious in contrast.”
Aurelia gives a soft laugh. “I hope not. You may be able to help with that. If you can meditate with your own godlen on what they’d most want to see from the empire—or consider from your past experiences… I can use all the guidance I can get.”
But not mine. I open my mouth again, and Raul glares at me before a sound can slip past my throat.
Fine. I’ll just wait until they’re not hovering around her. Istill have the one advantage of being able to openly walk at her side, if in a much-diminished role.
After a brief negotiation, it’s decided that Raul will be spending the night. While Aurelia vanishes behind her dressing screen to change into her night garments and he sprawls out on the bed, I force myself to lie down on the now-familiar sleeping roll.
The rustle of his caress and the murmur of their kiss lance through my awareness. It’s a small blessing that I don’t have to endure any more gasps or moans.
I’ve become accustomed enough to my new position to fall asleep once Aurelia’s breaths have evened out. My instincts jerk me awake at the first purposeful stirrings on the bed come morning.
