Page 18 of Ironhold, Trial Three

“A thing that has been forbidden in my empire,” the emperor says. “Anyone with more than a trace of the beast speech is suspicious, dangerous. And you have far more than a trace. Do you know why I forbade it?”

“They say you had a prophecy,” I say. I don't know why he's making me go through this. Is he just trying to see how I will react?

“The people say all kinds of things. They misunderstand the talents of myself and my family. Your talent is to control beasts. Mine is to control time.”

He moves back to the couch and picks up an apple. He tosses it into the air, and it hangs there suspended.

“I'm sure you've seen plenty of people who could do this, but they're not doing it the sameway. Some can control the air enough to hold the apple like a thing immersed in amber. Others might be able to manipulate it with telekinesis. You have foughtthe gladiator Vex, of course. Once in the arena, once in a training bout.”

It's not a question, and it shows a strange familiarity with everything I've done. The only way the emperor could know about the training bout I had against Vex is if someone reported it to him specifically. Has he been asking after me?

“I stop the apple in time,” the emperor says. “Or rather, I slow it to the point of immobility. I could do the same with you if I wished. In case you're thinking of trying anything.”

“I'm not planning to attack you, my emperor,” I say. Is that what he thinks?

"Your emperor?" The emperor laughs. "You were born in a small fishing village that barely counts as part of my empire. You were torn from it by my people and have been forced to fight for your life. I hardly think you have any love for me, Lyra."

That hits too close to home.

"I… hate what has been done to me," I say. "I hate that I'm forced to kill again and again. And you… are you the reason I have had so many difficult bouts?"

The emperor shrugs as he sits back down on his couch. "Perhaps I have been a part of it. But I have the right to do so. I am the emperor, after all, and if I wish to test your limits, I may. I can do what I like with you. I could have you broken, if I wished. I could have you impaled on a spike on the walls."

“So why don't you?” I demand, then realize the tone I’ve just taken with the ruler of the empire.

The emperor smiles. “That's something I've seen in you as well. You try so hard to be meek and gentle, but there's something harder and more violent in you as well. Why don't I kill you? Because you're more interesting alive, and because my prophecy isn't quite what people think. I see flickers of the future. I know the elements that are important to it. I know a powerful beast whisperer will play a role in the events to come,although even I don't know for sure whether it's to bring me down or save us all. AndbecauseI don't know, I won't condemn you outright.”

“So your persecution of the beast whisperers…”

"Let me identify the ones able to survive in spite of it."

The more he says, the less I feel I understand. There's a larger game here; I know that much from my conversations with Lady Elara. But I don't know all the details of it and I have the horrible feeling that I'm a piece in the game rather than a player of it.

The emperor stands again, moving around me. Suddenly and without warning, he grabs my wrist, holding my arm out to the side. There is a knife in his hand, pressed to my skin just above the dampener I wear.

“I keep wondering what I should do with you,” he says. “I go around and around, sometimes thinking I should kill you, sometimes thinking you might be my greatest ally when you finally understand. I could open your veins now and let you bleed. I could also cut away this… restriction on you, and give you back your full power. Perhaps I will, once you prove to me that you are of use. For all my skill, for all the things I can see, I still don't know which is the correct thing to do.”

He steps away from me, staring at me again, looking me up and down. "For now, I will do neither. You are too interesting to kill, but I can't be sure of you yet, either. Now, you should be getting back. They will be missing you in Ironhold."

He gestures for me to get to my feet. I do so, starting to back away, and then I'm frozen in place. I can still think, but I can't move. He's obviously used the same power on me that he did on the apple. He moves to me, the dagger brushing against my throat, then my lips.

“A very interesting young woman indeed. You should be careful in the next few challenges, Lyra. There are forces at play in them that I don't think you have accounted for. If you're notcareful, you might not survive long enough for me to make my mind up about you, and that would be a shame. Now go.”

He lets me go, and I practically run for the door.

Chapter Twelve

I never thought I would feel safe at Ironhold, but compared to being in the emperor's chambers, it feels like the safest place in the world. I breathe a sigh of relief as the great gates close behind me, flickering torches lighting the practice areas as the gladiators continue to work.

It would be easy to forget that not all of them are taking part in the Champions Trials. Many are simply preparing for the next round of holy days and the accompanying games. A couple of them look at me with jealousy as I come in. Is that because I'm a part of the trials, or is it just because I am not having to undergo the grueling training they are at the moment?

No, I realize the reason for it is because I have been at the palace because I have been summoned by the emperor. To them that is a huge honor, rather than a terrifying ordeal. But then, they do not have powers that have been all but outlawed in the empire. They have not been told by the emperor that he is still making up his mind whether he should kill them or not.

I have, and that fact makes me shudder. I know that the rest of the trials will be hard. The emperor has told me as much. He has told me to be careful of what is to come. But what can I do to prepare? My powers are still constrained by the dampener on my wrist, and no amount of training with the spear and weighted chain will get me to the point where I can defeat some of the others hand to hand.

I need another way, and the trial of the maze showed me what that way might be. I start to go looking through the fortress, searching it until I find Vesper. He is in a relatively empty chamber, kneeling before a statue of one of the gods. Is he deep in prayer, meditation, or something else? I stand there watching him, not knowing if I should interrupt.

“I know you're there,” he says in that soft voice of his. “Hello, Lyra.”

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