The ministers came over before I could question Tejus any further.
“Your highness,” one of them muttered, “there is nothing we can do—it’s not a barrier that we understand. It is a powerful force that we can’t penetrate or disable. We wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
A huge surprise, I thought uncharitably.
“Keep trying—anything that you think might help,” Tejus commanded. “Consult the Impartial Ministers, do whatever it takes, but I want that door opened.”
The minister bowed his head in acknowledgment, and returned to the door.
Once he was gone, Tejus cleared his throat. “I need to return to the Fells. There’s a meeting to discuss the last trial. I need to be there,” he informed me.
“Are you up for that?” I asked, privately thinking that he still didn’t look completely healed and would have been better off staying indoors—and far, far away from the Impartial Ministers and the trials.
“Yes.”
The reply was curt, and I smiled to myself. I didn’t think that Tejus would ever admit to being in any kind of pain, physical or otherwise. It made him impossible, but I knew a lot of men back in The Shade like that—my dad, grandfather and uncle included.
“I’m going to stay here with the ministers and keep Benedict company,” I replied, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to talk him out of attending the meeting.
“I’d rather you didn’t. It’s not safe, and there’s nothing more you can do for your brother right now.”
“I disagree—I can keep him company. That’s what he needs right now. He’s all alone, Tejus. I can’t just leave him here,” I argued.
“And I can’t focus if I think you’re in danger,” he retorted.
I sighed.
“Tejus, I’m always in danger. Here or at the castle—it never stops coming. Haven’t you noticed that already?”
“I am all too aware of that, but here you’re right where the entity is going to be—and presumably the Acolytes use this place too. The ministers are next to useless; at least I know that the entity can’t reach you in my chambers.”
“This isn’t up for discussion, Tejus—I’m sorry. I’m staying with my brother.”
He scowled at me, clearly furious but for once trying to hold his tongue.
“I’ll leave before nightfall,” I promised him.
Tejus growled and then cursed under his breath. I appreciated how difficult this was for him—I knew that he needed to feel like he was protecting me at all times, and would have felt that he had failed dismally at that lately, but I also knew that my brother needed me.
“You’d better,” he warned.
Or what? I thought facetiously.
“I will,” I replied instead, not wanting to enrage him further.
“Lithan, Qentos!” he barked at the group of ministers, “We’re leaving. Praxus, make sure Hazel is home before nightfall. Hours before.”
He stalked off, Lithan and Qentos stumbling over the uneven surfaces of the cove in their effort to keep up. I watched Tejus depart, and then weaved my way through the group of ministers around the door.
I wanted to speak to my brother in the short time we had left.
Tejus
The meeting was over.
All had long since departed, and I had dismissed Lithan and Qentos. I was left alone in the empty pavilion, the sunset staining the ivory white of its structure a deep red. I should have left hours ago, but I had a decision to make—one that left me feeling completely adrift from the carefully orchestrated plans I had envisioned for myself.
There were three more trials left before the emperor would be announced.
For the first time since they had begun, I was seriously questioning my ability to succeed.
When the ghoul had taken a swipe at me, the feeling had been utterly soul-destroying. Not the pain of the wound, that was a mere scratch. It was as if the repugnant creature had left something inside of me—or taken something out. My insides felt utterly empty, as if its touch had sucked the life from me. My entire body hurt, and was plagued by an exhaustion that I couldn’t shake. Syphoning off Hazel had helped, but only temporarily.
The Impartial Ministers, in their smug, self-satisfied way, had apologized for the trial and their part in it, but they would not slow down the process. It would all begin again tomorrow, and I could not fight—I had little mental energy left. Just controlling the vulture to the graveyard and then using True Sight to see Hazel’s brother had wiped me out. The ride here had been even harder.
I didn’t understand it.
The night of the ghouls, I could have sworn on my life that I’d seen Queen Trina Seraq attacked in much the same way, but nothing seemed to have been troubling her in the same way during the meeting—if anything, she seemed livelier than I had ever witnessed before. Perhaps I was wrong, and she hadn’t been injured—it had just been wishful thinking on my part.