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The city square’s teeming with energy. I wouldn’t have expected this much activity on a random Raverday. There are people watching acrobats and musicians, stands selling grilled scallops and honey wine. Dancers who have donned feathers and bright clothing saunter through the square at a snail’s pace.
“Is there a carnival?” I ask Reiks as we’re escorted through the crowd, two soldiers wearing the black uniform of peace warriors paving a clear path.
His arm casually wraps around my shoulder, and it feels less of a statement, and more of a protective stance. I glance up to his face and see his eyes scanning the crowd, mistrustful. “Councils always attract the masses.”
I want to ask why he’s so uneasy if the crowd is normal, but I decide he’s anxious enough without my pushing the subject. “Do you always attend?”
Reiks inclines his head. “Anderkan has an ambassador in Magnapolis to vote on behalf of the king, but I take my maternal family’s seat. The Astros were prevalent in the international scene before my grandfather’s death.”
Inside, the hall is one great amphitheater seating hundreds of thousands, if not millions. The hall is covered by a dome spelled to give the impression of open air, though the heat’s far less oppressive inside.
“Lyss!” Mar calls, a frown creasing her perfect face.
She’s seated in a box where I spot a black flag with our house sigil. I wave awkwardly. It’s the first time I’ve come here and I’m not even sitting with my family.
“Would you like us to join her?” Reiks asks.
I glance between them. “Would that be okay?”
He shrugs. “My vote will count wherever I sit.”
I hesitate for a moment, unnerved by the entire concept of Reiks and Marline in the same space. Two forces like them might explode if they spend more than a minute together. For my own entertainment, I say, “Sure.”
It’s either a stupid idea, or an amusing one.
Arm still around me, Reiks lead us to the Frejr box; eight seats are empty, and Mar occupies the one closest to the balcony. “You’ll have to tell me how you dragged her here,” she says to Reiks.
He pulls out the seat closest to Marline for my benefit. “Coercion,” he replies flatly.
Mar chuckles as I sit. Reiks takes the chair to my left, and his arm slides around my shoulder again. Now it is posturing. The eyes of so many converge on the box, and I can practically hear their whispers.
“Since when are you guys a thing?” My cousin passes me an open bottle of black wine.
I see no glass, so I take a swig and hand it to Reiks. “We aren’t,” I reply, just as he says, “A few weeks.”
I roll my eyes. He can lie to the rest of the world if he wants to, but we’re not pulling the wool over my family’s eyes. “I broke some ancient, expensive shit. He’s making me play the girlfriend to compensate.”
Marline nods. “Sounds fair. I suppose that’s why you smell of him and sex.”
My eyes widen, and I feel my mouth fall. “No way!” I sniff my arm, trying to detect a difference.
My cousin and Reiks are both thoroughly amused.
“I can’t believe you fell for that one,” he says, drinking a little from the bottle, before handing it back.
Marline snickers. “She’s so naive, picking on her isn’t even fair.”
Oh, god. What have I done? Of course these two would gang up on me. It’s like putting two cats in one basket. They either kill each other, or they plot world domination. “I hate you both.”
This only serves to make them laugh harder at my expense.
Thankfully, an ancient man with a well-trimmed silver beard lifts one hand, tapping the ground with his long staff once, and the entire amphitheater falls into silence. All of the attention is directed to the dais right in front of us. We occupy a place of choice, so close I can see the bushy hairs coming out of the old man’s nostrils.
He wears a long white robe trimmed with gold. I mistake the symbol on his chest for the sigil of Anderkan, but it lacks the crescent moon that represents the rule of the Reikses. The torch and swords are the symbol of the Pillar.
“Is that the head of the church?” I whisper.
Reiks nods. “Vonderk Morath. He’s a piece of work.”
