Page 17 of A Broken Ember

“Was it peaceful when Enid left?” he asked, dropping my clothes that were to be replaced with the ceremonial garb. All the while, he maintained eye contact. His green eyes were flush with unshed tears. I nodded. He braced himself against my shoulder, taking a moment of silence to reflect upon our friend. She had suffered so much leading up to her death. The hand on my shoulder trembled as a sob threatened to emerge from Rohit. I took his hand in mine, squeezing gently. I debated telling him about Claeg’s involvement: it felt wrong to hide it and his identity.

After a minute, Rohit swallowed and wiped the wetness from his cheeks. “May De Vita bless her with its eternal breath,” he murmured, letting out a shaky breath before letting go of my hand and going to find my outfit. When he returned from the closet, his face was set, his grief hidden behind a mask.

I let Rohit dress me in a silver tunic; then he guided me to the plush chair before the fireplace. He quietly weaved my hair into braids as I stared into the caged fire. Its flames lapped at the edges, desperate to be free—but like me, the fire was contained inside, controlled, in a way that fire should never be. We needed an outlet or we would wither and burn out.

“Rohit, there is something I have to tell you,” I began slowly. I couldn’t keep the fire inside any longer. He frowned and cocked an eyebrow. At another time, the expression would have been amusing. “The Ruptor of the Circulus . . . was there when Enid breathed her last of this life.”

Rohit paused the intricate work of styling my hair, going eerily still.

I swallowed. Claeg had done what I couldn’t. I closed my eyes, guilt twisting in my gut. “I failed, Ro.” A tear fell from my eye, a sob building in my chest. My lip quivered, and I bit it to control the minute tremble. Rohit held my eye, silently willing me to continue. “Eleos did what I was too late to do.” The sob escaped me then, the sound so dreadful that I couldn’t help but continue. Rohit knelt before me, taking my hands in his, but I refused to look at him and see the judgment I knew would be there. “I’m so sorry,” I cried, my body trembling violently as Rohit wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace. He murmured sweet reassurances I didn’t deserve as I broke in his arms. “I failed her, and now I have failed him. They took him, Ro.”

For a long while, he was silent, taking up my hair again to continue weaving it.

When he finally spoke, it was like a shot to my heart. “Does Ercan know?”

I shook my head miserably. The admission actualized the betrayal, solidifying my guilt. Rohit studied me for a moment and nodded, accepting my decision without protest. The action only made me feel worse. I needed to tell him, but I wasn’t sure how.

Chapter 17: Claeg

Based on the chills racking through my body and the sweat coating my like an extra skin, my wounds were worsening. My wings ached with the need to fly almost as strongly as my broken Circles throbbed. Instead, I was confined to my room without water and given only a chamber pot, which was nearly overflowing.

There was no way to determine the passing of the sun or indicators of time. But by my best estimate, three days passed before a voice broke the silence. I blinked crusty eyes and attempted to lubricate my cracked lips with a tongue coated in ash. Had I imagined the sound? A low groan crackled in my chest when I pushed myself to stand. I collapsed under shaking arms.

“The boy must drink, Calian!” A high-pitched voice whispered from outside the door. Or perhaps they shouted. My ears were clogged with sand. Light streamed into the room and heat. Glorious heat for my freezing body. I grimaced away from the figure looming above me. A blurry face came into view when an older woman knelt next to me. She smiled at me sweetly and cupped my head. A chilled cup came to my lips, burning them, but I gulped down the water greedily. Merciful relief. All the while, the Ruptor screeched that I was weak for my reliance on it. Too soon the water left, along with the kind woman. I collapsed back against the cool stone and shivered some more. When my eyes closed, I saw Clotho turning her back on me. I crooked out her name, but she ignored me.

I spent my time in a stupor, waiting. Waiting for my friend, my death, to claim me. If I could, I would pray for the god’s mercy.

When light finally pierced the darkness again, Calian brought me out of the castle after dressing me in a sheer tunic. The fresh air was hardly noticed between the violent jerks of my chilled body.

De Vita members gathered around the oasis, and I absently searched the faces for Anastasius. He wasn’t among them. Amartya and Oriana stood next to the two other women I assumed were the Selected. They were all dressed in white, loose-fitting clothing, similar to mine and were lined up together, each of them standing proudly before the De Vita man himself, Odon. One stood taller than the rest, a singular eye watching me. I noted the disadvantage, planning to use her weakness against her. She bared her teeth at me.

The next woman was the shortest of the three but powerfully built. Muscles stacked on muscles. She refused to meet my eyes, holding her square chin high as if I were below her.

Then there was Oriana, with her shock of red hair and spiteful glare. She jeered and clenched her fists. I wanted to show her my strength in return, but I trembled like the last leaf clinging to the remnants of summer.

Calian dragged me to the center of the gathered De Vita clan and discarded me alongside them. I fell to my knees, hissing as gritty sand entered the wounds on my palms. Their laughter met my ears. For a moment, I envisioned what they saw—a beaten man, thrown into this competition with no chance of success. I would show them how wrong they were. I ground my teeth, forcing myself to my feet. Every eye was on me, but mine were solely on Odon’s. He would never break me. When I straightened to my full height, a wave of dizziness threatened to topple me and I wobbled, deepening my humiliation. I hadn’t eaten or slept in what I presumed had been days, only being awarded the occasional drink of water. It was their attempt to weaken me and it had almost worked. But I was Circulus. It would take a lot more to shatter me.

“Give me strength,” I murmured to my gods—the ones who created the first Circle and would see the last Circle completed. I would accept their judgment when the time came—even if it meant my Circle was truly broken, but I needed their strength to endure whatever test De Vita had to throw at me. Odon smirked at me, letting his amusement show briefly before tearing his eyes from mine to address the crowd.

“Brothers and sisters of my De Vita: today, we begin a time-honored tradition meant to find the most appropriate mate for our crowned prince. This is the first test, one selected to Prune the weak from within the Selected’s ranks.” His words sounded so Circulus I nearly jolted with surprise. He turned to the four of us. “Today, you will prove your strength by scaling the mesa. Once you reach the top—if you do,” he glared at me, “you will be tested further. Whoever reaches my son last shall fail the trial. The first three shall proceed to the next test, which will occur in one moon turn.”

I smiled. The trial was too simple: fly to the top of the mesa and unite with the prince? Easy. I was fast and strong. It didn’t matter what was waiting on top of the mesa. I would win.

He looked at Oriana. “May De Vita be on your side, Oriana.” She bowed before Odon turned to the next Selected, the woman with a missing eye. “Janus, may the De Vita gods favor you.” She nodded, her single eye narrowing before she took off after Oriana, immediately beginning her ascent of the mesa. I frowned at the climbing women. Why had they not shifted? Had I misunderstood the assignment? “Aurora, De Vita guide you,” he murmured and the woman with the muscular frame took off. Lastly Odon faced me. He sneered. “Eleos, may De Vita have mercy on you,” he said and opened his arms in a gesture to begin.

Fuck. I looked up at the mesa and the castle etched into it. The spiraling peaks reached for the clouds. A few staircases weaved in and out of the rock as they wound up and inwards, the stairs sporadically scattered among the fanciful windowsills and balconies of all sizes. The grandest of all was a set of twin balconies on opposing sides of the mesa: Odon’s faced the rising sun, and Anastasius’ saw the falling star. The castle was so tall, its plateau reaching into the clouds.

Traversing the surface would be easy at my peak strength. Now, with my three competitors already making progress towards the top, I wasn’t sure I would make it. But I had to. This was my fate. This was the path towards success. Despite Odon’s threats, I couldn’t lose.

I walked toward the base of the red castle as I assessed the easiest way to the top. There were three main paths, all of which ended with a climb up a sheer surface with nothing but the clothing on our backs to aid us. Oriana and the shortest woman had opted for the most direct path: although it had its own challenges, it appeared to be the fastest. Only the one-eyed woman had chosen another, one that at first glance appeared the hardest, but my gut told me to follow her, and it had never led me astray. Perhaps I could use her weakness to knock her off the wall.

I quickly began my ascent with a simple staircase lined with arched windows, each with little ledges that I planned to use as stepping stones and handholds to pull myself up. My hands ached in anticipation of the upcoming task. The broken Circles were swollen and oozing fluid; any healing accomplished by Anastasius was undone by my captivity. My palms throbbed along with my heart.

The stairwell flew by, my legs pounding up the steps. I kept my gaze forward and up, up, up. Janus was ahead of me but Oriana and Aurora were behind. It wouldn’t last long though. Once they were done with the beginning stretch of their ascent, things would become easier for them. By the time I reached the top of the exterior stairwell, I had only advanced a third of the way up the mesa. The remaining sections were where the challenge began: first with navigating the puzzle of jumping from window ledge to window ledge, then with the nearly flat surface to the mesa’s plateau. I still didn’t know how I would climb the rest of the way. I had no rope, no shoes, nothing but a few scraps of clothing that adorned my waist.

Janus pulled herself onto the first of the platforms, gingerly gliding from the first to the second and third, making quick work of the path. I followed suit, clinging to the wall with my palms, which immediately complained at the pressure. I hissed, sweating pouring down my brow. My vision blurred. Fuck. I wasn’t going to make it, and I had barely even begun. I clutched the rock, my chest heaving. This shouldn't be hard for me. I was bred to perfection, a challenge like this should be nothing. I pinched my eyes closed tight and took a steadying breath. When I opened my eyes, I tried my best to ignore the screaming of my wounds.

My progress was achingly slow, Janus easily leaving me far behind. Still, I pursued her, unwilling to give up. Sunny spice and honey rode the wind, teasing me with his scent. I wondered where Anastasius was, considering this whole charade was for him. Therefore, he should’ve been at his father’s side.

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