Page 152 of The Surviving Sky
“I know.” Chaiyya didn’t look angry, only weary. “And I should tellyou—newsof Airav’s condition has spread. People already knew we were working on the battery and especially now that we usedit—well,the Maze Architects know of what happened to Airav.”
Ahilya stared at her. “You told everyone?”
“We had to. The Maze Architects had already noticed his absence. They did not see him in the Moment or on the Disc, and we had to make a statement to them to assuage their fears. We have told them that they needn’t fear the sungineeringbattery—thatyakshas can traject Ecstatically and we intend to use that for our purpose. Without that assurance, they will fear the use of a battery for their ownenslavement—”
“I understand thedangers—”
“Then you should understand your role in it,” Chaiyya said. “They may come to you, Maze Architects and Junior Architects, seeking to know more. You are the expert on yakshas, and your involvement in the battery is now well known. Ahilya, I know you and the council have had theirdifferences—”
“I won’t say anything that will make matters worse, Chaiyya. You have my word.”
Chaiyya nodded, then hesitated.
“There’s more?” Ahilya urged.
“What you did. Forcing us to make thechoice…the flight all alone to look forIravan…”
“I accept my punishment. I wouldn’t change my actions.”
“No—youmisunderstand. Iravan is gone, Bharavi is gone, and Airav can’t traject anymore. That leaves Kiana, Laksiya, and I in the council.”
Ahilya waited, unsure of where the Senior Architect was going.
“I’m offering you a position as Nakshar’s councilor,” Chaiyya said heavily.
Shocked, Ahilya stared at the woman, for a sign of a trap or manipulation, but Chaiyya only looked tired.
“I’m not an architect,” Ahilya said, at last. “Nor a sungineer.”
“No, you’re an archeologist. We’ve accepted Iravan’s nomination. Your assistance during the investigation, the information you shared about the yakshas, and frankly, yourdaring…Perhaps these are what we need now. The others all agreed. Do you accept?”
For a heartbeat, Ahilya remained speechless. Here it was, everything she had worked for from the very beginning, the opportunity to make a real difference to the society of Nakshar. Yet there was more to this than Chaiyya was saying. “Dhruv invented the battery,” Ahilya said slowly. “Did Kiana not nominate him?”
“Senior Sungineer Kiana made no nomination of her own. Instead, she seconded Iravan’s nomination of you.” Chaiyya took a deep breath loaded with meaning. “I cannot fault her reasoning,” she added softly. “Dhruv’s battery destroys an architect, butyourinformation might help the architects. You know the secret of excision already, you know what an architect sacrifices, you were married to a Senior Architect. None of the other candidates came close to any of these qualities. They were out of the running long before, and we decided unanimously, once Kiana seconded your position.”
Ahilya studied the woman. It wasn’t a fair decision, she knew. At the heart of it, they had decided based on who was the better choice for the architects.
And yet there was more there. What Chaiyya saidnow—thelogic behind choosingAhilya—itwas the public reason, no doubt. Another sungineer on thecouncil—especiallyone who had created thebattery—wouldonly create more fear for the architects who were questioning their own safety in light of this new invention.
But why not select a Maze Architect, then? Why choose someone like Ahilya who had a history of antagonism toward the trajectors? The council always had more architects thannon-architects—Iravanhad told her it was necessary. Yet with herself, Laksiya, and Kiana on it, that critical number would be switched. Why would Chaiyya take this step, knowing what the implications of such an imbalance would be?
No, this had something to do with the citizens, something Ahilya wasn’t being told.
She tore her gaze away from Chaiyya and studied the temple, how citizens still lingered by the pillars and walls, how several stared at her, speaking behind their palms. Ahilya was used to whispers about her, but now in their faces she discerned not contempt but admiration, even awe.
Nakshar had come close to its own destruction, only days past. Dhruv had told Ahilya that the council had chosen to inform the citizens about the attempts at a battery. They had done it, under duress, so the combined fears of the non-architects did not work against the trajection of the Disc and plummet the already-fragile ashram into the earthrage. But had the citizens awoken to their own importance, their own status, because of it? Ahilya’s absence had not gone unnoticed. Perhaps people hadtalked—andby strongarming the council, she had set a precedent.
The councilors needed her now. They needed a citizen to side withthem—someonewho was neither a sungineer nor an architect but still somehow associated withboth—yetit was not this alone. Matters were only going to become more fragile in the ashram, with the invention of the battery and the awakening of the non-architects. Chaiyya was looking for a scapegoat to sacrifice, for when things went awry. Ahilya had forced Airav to use a battery; she had smuggled in the spiralweed; she had put Iravan first before the lives of any of the citizens. If she slipped now, she would become the whipping girl for all the citizen groups: architects, non-architects, sungineers.
Her eyes widened as the truth of this hit her. She stared at Chaiyya and for the first time saw not a simple maternal woman but a keen politician who had undoubtedly thought of every angle before offering Ahilya the councilorship.
“Do you accept?” Chaiyya asked again, meeting her gaze.
Ahilya thought of the implications of those words, the burdens she had to carry, the future she would build. She thought of the traps and the machinations, her hostilities with the council, and the manner in which Iravan had lost himself within this very role.
“I accept,” she breathed.
Chaiyya arose ponderously. “Good. You’ll take your vows at our first meeting as soon as we land. We haven’t formally announced it yet, but the earthrage hasended—thesungineers of Reikshar and Nakshar have both confirmed so. It will be a few hours before the citizen rings begin chiming, but when they do, I will expect you at the temple again. See to your sister in the infirmary if you need to, and I’ll send Maze Architect Naila to escort you back here when it’s time.” Chaiyya paused, her gaze piercing. “Brace yourself, Ahilya,” she added softly. “Being a councilor isn’t easy.”
