Page 45 of A Dance of Shadows

Irises. Like the parable of Estera and the flowering meadow… with the venomous snake.

Chapter Seventeen

Bastien

When Aurelia first passed on Marclinus’s comments to me, I hoped my interpretation was wrong. The moment he announced our destination, I knew it wasn’t.

Now, stepping out at the side of the road by the Temple of Hidden Truths, my gut feels as if it’s been wrung out like a towel.

I had the chance to let my brother know what I suspected. He must have passed on word to Father and Mother so they could make some advance preparations. I spotted a few members of the palace staff riding out in the direction of the temple before we headed down to the square for the ceremony.

But no amount of readiness is likely to make whatever Marclinus has in mind actuallysafe.

The temple’s cleric and a few of the devouts gather in front of the field of irises. The cleric catches my father’s eye with a discreet nod before focusing her attention on Marclinus.

“Your Imperial Majesty,” she says as he saunters over with Aurelia by his side and the court nobles clustered around them. “We of the Temple of Hidden Truths are honored by your visit. How can we best serve you?”

The emperor stops a careful distance from the field, gazing past the temple staff to study the vibrant purple flowers. They bob in the breeze—and sway here and there with the contradictory force of a body winding past their stalks.

Marclinus rubs his hands together. “I understand you cultivate this field out of respect for Estera’s lesson of the asp amid the irises.”

The cleric bobs her head. “Indeed. It’s one of our godlen’s most important teachings—that you must look beyond surface appearances to discern the full nature of a situation.”

The emperor flicks his fingers toward the broad stretch of flowers. “How many of the snakes would you say are living in this garden of sorts at the moment.”

“We don’t keep count, but I expect at least a few dozen. They come and go, but we feed them well, and they do enjoy the shelter of the flowers and the soil that forms from the fallen petals.”

“Excellent!” Marclinus spins on his heel with a swish of his jacket and aims his grin at the city folk who’ve followed our procession from the square. More and more commoners are crowding around the line of carriages, looking on with curiosity—and a little apprehension.

We Coteans well know that the emperor’s whims are often not to our benefit.

Marclinus’s gaze slides to my family, poised off to the side by their royal carriage, and back to our spectators. He pitches his voice to carry.

“I wish to confirm that the people of Cotea are wise enough to separate the snakes from the blossoms when their emperor asks it of them. Your long-ago ruler once discerned the threat amid the flowers. Surely you can do the same! Seek the serpents out and remove them all from this field by whatever means—send them off into the forest there if that suits you. For a short while, we’ll have a field that’s only flowers.”

My stomach plummets.

The cleric looks as if she’s fighting a grimace. “Your Imperial Majesty? There are far more asps living here now than in the fable we?—”

He waves off her warning without bothering to hear it through. “I’m sure your people will be inspired enough to do a good job of it all the same.” He casts his gaze toward the commoners again. “And you’dbetterdo a good job! An hour seems like more than long enough. We’ll be testing your thoroughness and discernment by having your royal family take a stroll across the field once your time is up.”

Fuck, no. I glance at my parents—and my brother and his wife and my young niece and nephew.

The poison of the banded asp is vicious. A grown man can be dead from it within an hour. Every person of Delphine knows to give the temple’s iris field a wide berth when visiting.

And what kind of idiotic plan is our emperor suggesting? Toss the snakes into the forest? Does he expect they won’t simply slither right back out again?

The image that forms in my head prods me into action. As Marclinus sweeps his arms toward the commoners, urging them toward the field as the first bell of the afternoon rings, I slip over to my parents as surreptitiously as I can manage.

I come to a stop next to my father as if I’m simply lending familial solidarity, but I speak quickly under my breath. “We should send people into the woods to grab sticks to handle the snakes. A few can stay there with sacks to collect the asps so they stay out of the field. They should keep out of Marclinus’s view among the trees, in case he’d object.”

Father nods with a swift jerk. “I was thinking along much the same lines.”

He pivots to murmur to one of the footmen. The man weaves off into the crowd, spreading the instructions.

Several civilians have ventured to the edge of the field, where it looks like the devouts already scattered some sticks in case the emperor wanted someone to interact with the asps. I doubt anyone who hadn’t spent the last few months in the imperial court would have guessed he’d want us to handleallof them, though.

As those closest by pick up a couple of sticks each and other city folk go hustling into the forest, Father turns back to me. He keeps his gaze on the people carrying out this task for our country, but his quiet words are obviously meant for me. “I wouldn’t have imagined you’d be the one suggesting we bend the rules, Bastien.”

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