Page 123 of A Pact of Blood

My nerves jangle with alarm. I glance from one man to the other. “What does Lavira have to do with the confirmation rites? Has the uprising spread into Dariu?”

My husband waves me off as if I’ve asked a silly question. “They wouldn’t dare. No, a perfect idea for showing off your devotion to the empire occurred to me. It should particularly quell any lingering concerns brought about by yourotherdedications—to your godlen and to your former home. What are the details you’ve worked out, High Commander?”

Axius clasps his hands behind his back. “Cleric Turentan at the Temple of Triumphant Valor approved of the adapting of the rite. He says it’s fitting for the spirit of the challenge, and his meditations with Sabrelle were quite favorable. Tribune Valerisse has already arranged to send some half a dozen of the main band of conspirators they apprehended to Vivencia so we can have our pick and use the rest in a more general statement. They should arrive within the week, and we’ll hold the rite immediately after.”

With every bit of news, my blood runs colder. “The imperial soldiers in Lavira caught the core group ofinsurgents? I still don’t understand how that factors into Sabrelle’s rite.”

Marclinus pats me on the shoulder. “It was only a matter of time. Now they can serve our own purpose. What better show of might and supremacy—and of loyalty to the empire above all else—than to battle and slay the citizens who’ve acted out of the mostdisloyalty to our cause?”

I stiffen so abruptly I have to catch myself from tripping over my feet. “We’re going to fight against these people—killthem ourselves?”

“Think of it as their much-deserved execution,” Axius says flatly. “Sabrelle’s confirmation rite is always held in the arena with some sort of combat. This is simply a variation on the theme.”

I was anticipating a fight—I could have guessed at that even if Bastien hadn’t mentioned it—but I hadn’t expected it to be quite like this. To slaughter people who were fighting against the same injustices I want to set right… To do it in front of an audience of thousands…

Marclinus chuckles. “Brilliant, isn’t it? You inspired me with your impassioned talk about proving ourselves to the empire.”

My stomach lurches.Iinspired him?

I asked for a bigger way to win over his people, and he came up withthis?

Why did I ever think anything good could come from turning to him?

In the midst of my inner turmoil, a large dun-brown shape races out of the trees onto the path.

The hound hurtles over the packed earth. It springs toward Marclinus with an eager baying, delighted to have found its requested target?—

And an invisible force crackles past me through the air, slamming into the animal when it’s still several feet distantfrom its master. The dog freezes in mid-bound, only one paw brushing the ground. A yelp of surprise bursts out of it.

Marclinus looks over his shoulder at his guards, who are hustling over to us with expressions of consternation.

“It’s only one of the hounds,” he says with a snort. “Must have gotten loose from the kennel and thought I’d be up to play.”

The guard who cast the magic that caught the animal releases it with a jerk of her hand. The hound drops to the ground with a grunt and stands there with its tail tucked between its legs.

The guard frowns at Marclinus. “If something’s running at you, we’re going to stop it first and determine the size of the threat after.”

And they identified the possible threat that quickly, even though a charging hound can’t be a typical danger the emperor would run into.

My lips tighten around my smile. My heart thumps dully on, every beat heavier and hollower than the last.

How could I possibly hope that even a magically raging beast would get its claws into Marclinus when his guards are that alert for a basic stroll in the woods? The hound didn’t even get close enough to sneeze on him.

It won’t matter if I manage to weaken his own reflexes with some subtle potion. I can hardly get away with poisoning his entire guard staff.

My sense of my tentative plans disintegrates. The hollow sensation spreads down through my chest.

As I wet my lips against the dryness of my mouth, Marclinus tugs me onward as if nothing all that eventful has happened.

In his mind, I suppose it hasn’t.

He reaches down to scratch the dog on the head and then takes in my expression. Something must show that I’d ratherdidn’t, because he takes on an arch tone that’s a little too self-satisfied.

“Of course, if you find you haven’t the stomach for it after all, there’s no requirement that you participate in the final rite.”

Yes. Sabrelle’s confirmation rite. The horrible scenarioIset in motion in my impatience to win Dariu’s devotion with a show of my own.

Thanks to me, the people of Vivencia will get a vivid demonstration of why theyshouldn’ttrust the conquered countries beyond Dariu’s borders and confirmation that slaughtering anyone who disagrees with the empire’s practices is fully justified.

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