Page 85 of A Sword of Shadow and Deceit

Punishment? I think. For what? What have I done to earn this sudden call from him? To earn a cell in the dungeons?

I’m so focused on Dolos’ words that I almost miss the sudden shift of the silent interloper. Whoever they are, though, it’s clear they didn’t expect this. What that means, however, remains a mystery to me.

Dauphine nods to Dolos, bows, and then quickly rounds his form and desk—her gaze cutting to me as she passes where I’m kneeling on her way out the door. I can feel eyes boring into my face. I don’t know if it’s from Dolos or the other person secreted away inside the room, though. Considering they haven’t yet revealed themselves and Dolos is acting as if they don’t exist, however, I maintain my composure and focus on the God.

Leaning forward, an elbow hits the edge of the desk’s surface and Dolos leans his face onto his upturned palm. The shrouds that surround him act almost like a thin veil and when he touches something beyond that veil, it opens—if only slightly—and what I see beyond it is a hint into what nightmares are made of.

“We rarely allow those from the Hinterlands into our fold,” he states. “Perhaps that is the reason for your fearlessness.”

“I am not fearless,” I reply.

“Oh?”

I shake my head. “I don’t wish to insult you by blubbering and prostrating myself before I know if that’s something you’d prefer, sir.”

“True—I do hate tears. They’re so very annoying. I appreciate that you wait to see what your betters prefer rather than simply assuming,” Dolos says.

“Then—” I don’t get a chance to finish.

“Your attitude, however, makes it clear that the claims made against you have merit. Normally, any and all Terra who disregard and break the three golden rules under which they should live by here at the Academy would either be killed or banished.”

“If I may, sir,” I start. “What rule have I broken?” Surely, they couldn’t be referring to leaving the Academy without permission. “If this is about my recent visit outside of the Academy, I assure you I did receive permission from my senior Terra.”

Dolos doesn’t move and I have the distinct feeling that he’s observing me. Silence does wonders for people uncomfortable with it, but I’ve learned to sit in it. So after I’ve finished speaking, I wait. Seconds tick into minutes and minutes slowly lose all meaning to me at all. It isn’t until I hear footsteps outside of the room that Dolos straightens in his seat and the door behind me opens.

Dauphine appears, rounding me once more as she goes to the God’s side and this time kneels down with a scroll in hand, lifting it for Dolos to take. “A cell has been prepared as you ordered,” she says with reverence. “Here is the decree you requested prior to the offender’s arrival.”

The offender’s arrival—meaning me. Yet still, I have no answer. I think back to the day I arrived at the Academy. What had the rules been? They’d been stated for us at the orientation.

Rule one, Gods and their children are the utmost authority of the world. Their word is law.

Rule two, permission is required for any leave from the Academy grounds.

Rule three, once a Terra is assigned a ward, there are no task changes allowed.

Dolos takes the scroll from Dauphine and unravels it in front of where I assume his face is. “The Terra, Kiera Nezerac, assigned to wards Theos, Kalix, and Ruen Darkhaven of the northern tower is to be reprimanded for the breaking of the most sacred law. She has exhibited a disrespectful nature unbecoming of a servant of the Gods and has participated in fornication with a ward under her servitude.” Dolos lowers the scroll and peers over it at me. “Though sexual relations between servants and wards are not unexpected,” he states, “as Terra are required to provide any and all services requested of them, this was noted within the complaint we received.”

“I—”

“Do not speak!” Dauphine barks, lifting and pivoting her head towards me as she cuts me off.

“There was another complaint long before this one, as well,” Dolos continues. “What was that about again, Dauphine?”

Dauphine returns to her prostrated position, bowing even lower than before. “Kiera Nezerac was reported to have entered a Mortal God only section of the Academy, Your Divinity,” she answers.

“Ah yes, I believe Caedmon was responsible for your punishment at that time,” Dolos muses. “I do suppose he can be far kinder than the average God. Kindness often leads to a poor education it seems.”

“My deepest apologies, Your Divinity,” Dauphine says quickly. “I shall ensure that once her punishment is seen to, I will never allow something like this to happen again.”

It doesn’t require a genius to know who made the first complaint—Rahela. I’d definitely made a bigger mistake with those actions. My rebellious nature had taken over and now regret is slapping me in the face. Not because I am truly remorseful over my actions but because of the current circumstances. An idiotic novice mistake, Ophelia would tell me. I’d gotten complacent and thought that my time with Caedmon following my near drowning had been the end of that. Apparently not.

Knots begin to form against my shoulder blades as the tension grows inside of me while I wait to find out exactly what this all means for me and what kind of punishment I will be facing. Dolos’ words, though, don’t tell me anything about the stranger in the room or who else could have been responsible for this latest complaint.

There are more footsteps outside of the room. My breaths come faster and faster. The door behind me opens. More Mortal Gods spill into the room, older and dressed as guards. What punishment could Dolos be thinking of? As long as it’s not death, I can handle it. Pain. Torture. Banishment, even, though it’d make my mission a bit more difficult. As long as I’m alive and still breathing, there is always a way to come back.

A hard hand lands on my back, and moves to my upper arm. Without a hint of gentleness, I’m ripped up from the floor in an instant. My hands are yanked behind me and clamped together. I stretch my limbs and nearly sigh in relief when I realize that the cuffs around my wrists are pure iron rather than brimstone. Of course, why would they use something to restrain Divinity on a mere Terra?

The relief is short-lived. “For the offense of disrespecting the Gods and violating the Mortal God only sections of the Academy, you, Kiera Nezerac, are sentenced to a hundred lashes to be performed by the God, Axlan, at dawn on the third day of your … imprisonment.” The last part of his announcement escapes him in a gratified rush, almost a prayer upon his lips. It’s light, but the weight of it seems to spread through his body. The shadows still lingering squirm and though I can’t be entirely certain, I swear they feel pleasure at that singular word.

---