Page 126 of A Dance of Shadows

My pulse hitches with the thud of the coffin hitting the base of the pit. The rhythm keeps stuttering as dirt falls onto the lid with a heavy patter. Despite my attempts to stay calm, a jitter of panic crawls over my skin.

I’m not convinced that Linus actually wants to dig me up alive. He could make an easy story out of my death, saying the gods judged me unworthy.

And even if that’s not his intention, there’s at least one figure among our companions who wants me dead. Will their gift allow them to attack now that I’m beyond the reach of all our guards?

I resist the urge to shove at the lid and heave myself out of the coffin. My godleniswatching over me. I can endure this affront as I have so much else.

No one will want to be ruled by an empress who’s broken down in seeming hysteria.

My breath has gotten short again. I squeeze my eyes tighter shut and focus on smoothing out its rhythm.

As the thunder of dirt against wood fades with the thickening layer atop my prison, a different sound slides into my awareness. Lorenzo’s resonant voice reaches me, low and soft as if he’s murmuring by my ear.

“We’re still here with you, Rell. We’re making sure you’ll get through this test alive. Bastien is working the air to keep a channel open in the soil all the way down to the cracks in the coffin, too small for anyone to see it. And Raul can use that gap to sense you through the shadows. Did you hear all that?”

A swell of relieved affection overwhelms me. It takes a moment before I gather my wits enough to nod in answer.

Raul must register that movement, because Lorenzo speaks again a moment later.“Good. He thinks he should be able to read any signs you make, as long as you’re slow with them and emphasize the shapes. We’ll keep watch, even after the celebration starts. We won’t let anyone hurt you.”

A pang of worry for them winds through my own discomforts. I swivel my hand carefully in the space in front of me.Stay away from danger.

I suppose it isn’t difficult for them to guess what I mean by that.“We’ll be subtle about guarding you,”Lorenzo promises.“We just want you to know you’re not alone even now. And if you feel like you need out right away, signal us and we’ll find some kind of excuse. I promise.”

A thread of a breeze, more of a current than should be able to reach this closed box, winds around my hand and brushes over my cheek as if in a caress. My throat constricts with emotion.

Linus can’t truly destroy us because he has no idea how much strength we offer each other.

Both my pulse and my breathing have evened out with the unexpected conversation and the reassurance it brought. I nestle my head against my arm, getting as comfortable as I can with myhip and shoulder pressing against the rough boards beneath me, and open my mind to the greater powers around us once more.

Show me what I need to see, Elox. Please. I know I haven’t followed every step of the path you laid out for me, but I swear I’ll embody your principles as best I can until the end. I can’t try to do what you think is best unless I know what that is.

For what feels like a long time, there’s nothing. My consciousness unravels, drifting into a hazy doze. Every time an uneasy quiver shoots through my nerves, Lorenzo is murmuring a few more reassuring words in my ear before my fear can escalate.

In one of the lulls in between, an image forms behind my closed eyes. I see a hand as if it’s my own lifted in front of me, clutching a gleaming knife.

I raise the blade higher as if to slash at something in front of me, and a gentle pressure forms around my hand. It holds me back, warding me off from the violence.

With a flare of anger, my eyes pop open to the darkness of the coffin.

Is that all Elox can say to me now? Hold my blows, don’t defend myself?

Am I not already bending to my husband’s will more than most people would tolerate? How thin am I supposed to spread myself before my godlen would think it acceptable for me to strike back?

I let myself be lowered into the earth to commune with him, and all he has to say is the same simplistic message of peace he’s given me before. As if he didn’t urge me toward assassinating Tarquin in the first place.

Does he really think Marclinus—or at least Linus—isbetterthan his father?

Lorenzo’s voice returns.“Are you all right, Rell? Raul says you tensed up.”

I can hardly explain with hand signals. As I form the gesture to tell them I’m fine, the baby squirms inside me with a nudge of my gut.

I loop my arm around my belly and aim my next thoughts toward my growing child.Hang in there, little one. We’ll get through this too.

“Axius is talking to Marclinus,”Lorenzo reports.“It looks like… Yes, he’s calling everyone over to watch. They’re going to dig you up.”

Thank the gods.

After another eternity, shovels scrape the coffin lid. Flecks of dirt slip between the cracks. Then the lid swings upward, spilling sunlight that’s never gleamed quite so radiantly down on me.

---