In the Wake of the Wicked (Veridian Empire #1)

10. Rose

10

Rose

“ T hank you to Miss Everest for her work implementing the Decemvirate this year,” Emperor Gayl began. All eyes instantly locked on him. His voice was the kind of low, quiet strength that demanded you hold your breath and will your heart to pause, if only to hear it linger in the air.

Lark dipped her head in acknowledgement, and he settled his attention over the crowd.

“Every ten years, this empire asks its citizens to prove themselves. To show themselves worthy of power, and to take that which is theirs.” He extended a fist and clenched his hand, which was gloved in thick, black leather. “Six of you have answered the call, and for that, I commend you. But this is only the beginning. These trials are designed to show who among you is greatest, who among you deserves the magic from our land, and what you are willing to do in order to gain it.” He paused, eyes sweeping over the crowd. “I have a feeling this will be a Decemvirate to remember,” he finished softly.

The room was silent, save for the quiet echo of his words. The atmosphere grew thick with challenge. His gaze raked over us one more time before he turned away, his emerald cloak swishing at his heels as he exited the chamber. Two guards followed swiftly. Excited whispers began as soon as the door shut.

“Well, he is exactly as I thought he would be,” a sultry voice said from a few steps behind me. My hand inched toward my satchel as I twisted to find the same man who’d caught my attention before Lark spoke, the one with wavy blonde hair and a matching beard.

I was immediately on my guard. Anyone that handsome knew exactly what they were doing.

His dark blue eyes flecked with silver gleamed as he caught my movement, and he tsk ed. “Such nimble fingers, darling. Save that for the tournament.”

“Who are you?” I snapped.

“You can call me Nox.”

“Well, Nox. Thanks for the advice.” Stepping around him, I made my way to the nearest refreshment table, eyeing a cream pastry with melted chocolate drizzled on top.

A rough hand littered with glittering rings enveloped my upper arm and pulled me back. Instinctively, I reached for the dagger at my belt and whirled to press the blade against my assailant’s wrist.

“Nimble fingers, remember?” I taunted darkly. The humor on Nox’s face grated on me, making me push a little harder than necessary.

“You’re a viper, aren’t you?” he said with a chuckle. He held his hands in the air in a sign of peace. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

I rolled my eyes and lowered my dagger. “Has anyone ever told you not to go around grabbing strangers?”

“Oh, some of them don’t mind,” he said, his gaze roving over a few of the nearby guests. The ones closest eyed us warily, but within seconds were back to mingling and drinking. I supposed it wasn’t so unusual for two challengers to already be at each other’s throats during the Decemvirate. At least, I assumed he was a challenger .

“What province are you?” I asked sharply, tipping my chin at him.

He reached to a table and grabbed a flute of gray liquid. “Drakorum. At your service.”

Drakorum. Shifters . My eyes narrowed, a white hot flash of anger pulsing through me. Before he could take a sip of wine, my hand shot out to grip his arm.

“Did you send your people to attack my family last night?” I hissed.

The confusion was evident on his face—creased brow, parted lips. This close to him, I could tell he wasn’t quite as young as I first thought. Small wrinkles graced the skin around his eyes and forehead. He couldn’t be more than eight years older than me, although his spirit seemed much younger.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he responded. When I only squeezed harder, he lowered his voice, keeping our conversation from drawing more attention. “I swear to you, I know nothing of any attack.”

I searched his face for another moment. The mischievous glint from earlier was replaced by genuine concern. I didn’t know if he was telling the truth, but there wasn’t much I could do about it in this crowded hall. Releasing his arm, I pushed away.

“What was that you said about grabbing strangers?” he grumbled, flexing his hand then taking a sip of his drink.

Gray wine. The one Horace said made people spill their secrets. Did Nox realize what he was drinking?

“Who attacked you?” he asked. “Tell me everything.”

Glancing around, I kept my voice quiet as I answered. “Three Shifters. A snow leopard, a serpent, and a coward. The last one got away, but the first two are dead.” I paused, waiting for some sort of indignation that his people had been killed, but his features remained smooth. “They stopped our carriage in the middle of the night on our way to the palace. They killed our driver and tried to kill my uncle, but we got to them first.” My thoughts once again strayed to the cloaked man from last night, his dark eyes flashing at me when I blinked.

Nox took another drink of wine. “I’m sorry that happened. But I promise, I had nothing to do with it.”

“Why should I believe you? You’re the Drakorum challenger, aren’t you? How do I know you didn’t find out the Feywood challenger was in that carriage and send them to take out the competition?”

“Because I don’t care if I win this ridiculous tournament,” he spat out, enunciating each word with heated blue eyes. For a split second, his pupils seemed to elongate.

I stepped backward and blinked my shock away. He didn’t care about winning? That didn’t make any sense. “Then why are you even here ?”

Sighing, he inclined his head to a shadowed alcove beyond the rest of the guests. After a moment of deliberation, my curiosity won out over self-preservation. I nodded and followed him.

“You don’t understand what it’s like where I come from,” he said in hushed tones. “In Drakorum…there’s no higher honor than being selected as the challenger. No more important purpose. And if you fail or reject what you’re told, their retribution is swift and without mercy.”

He must be an incredibly powerful Shifter if they chose him. I could understand the significance each province placed on their challengers—we all took the Decemvirate seriously. But the haunted look in his eyes told me Drakorum was an entirely different breed altogether. One I should be thankful not to be involved in.

“I don’t wish to be here, but I have no other choice. My people”—he cleared his throat—“have ways to ensure my obedience. But believe me, I despise everything this Decemvirate stands for, and have no desire to play into their twisted obsession with power.”

My eyes shifted around us, shocked by his brashness. This man was toeing a dangerous line. “Why would you say any of this to me? I could report you for treason. ”

“Yes, you could,” he said simply, bringing the flute to his lips again.

“And why are you drinking that?” I blurted. “Don’t you know what it does?”

“Do you ?” When I hesitated, he smirked. “Grimlock wine makes one incapable of lying. Very dangerous. I don’t recommend it,” he added as he drained the entire glass.

“Then why drink it?”

“Because, viper, the truth can be just as useful as a lie. Do you believe what I’ve told you? Do you believe I mean you and your family—or any other challenger—no harm?”

I ran my tongue along my teeth. Nox was a puzzle. Cocky and sly, yet genuine and open. My brain told me not to trust him, even with the supposed truth wine he’d ingested. We’d been conditioned to believe everyone was only looking out for themselves, and that the path to glory was paved by those you trampled beneath your feet.

But he seemed…different. Someone who had seen firsthand the ferocity and mercilessness this empire stoked and truly didn’t want a part in it.

Plus, the Grimlock. He wouldn’t have been able to say these things if they weren’t at least partially true.

I let out a breath, hoping I wouldn’t regret this.

“It’s Rose, not viper,” I finally said. “My name is Rose.”

At that, he chuckled. “Rose. How fitting. I certainly don’t want to be at the end of your thorns.” He tipped his empty flute to me. “What do you think of the rest?” he asked, motioning with his head to the chamber full of preening guests.

“I haven’t met many of them,” I answered, still keeping my distance. Searching the room, I spotted a tall, brown and gray haired figure laughing with a group of the emperor’s council by a table of drinks. “That’s Alaric Rinehart, the Tenebra challenger.”

Nox shot me a look of surprise. “I recognize that name. Didn’t he compete last time?” When I nodded, he let out a snort. “Well, that either bodes very well for us, or very poorly.” Using his glass, he pointed to the blonde woman who’d been leaning against the wall during Lark’s speech, the one who had asked about cheating. Arowyn, I thought Lark had called her.

“She’s the Strider,” Nox explained. “We arrived at the same time last night, and I saw her use her magic. Seems rather…prickly.”

As we watched Arowyn, she kicked from the wall and sauntered over to one of the finely-dressed ladies of the court, plucked a pastry from the woman’s outstretched plate and a bottle of wine from a servant’s tray, then crossed to the entrance doors and kicked them open with one foot before disappearing down the hall.

What an exit. I couldn’t help but be slightly impressed.

“Alright, so that’s Tenebra, Celestria, Drakorum, and Feywood,” I recounted, pointing to Nox and myself as I said the last two provinces. “I wonder which one is Iluze.”

Iluze had won the last Decemvirate, meaning the newest Illusionist challenger would have the most buzz surrounding them. They had difficult shoes to fill, as the reigning champion, but also wielded the most powerful magic.

I searched the crowd and saw a bright flash emanating from behind me. Jerking my head around, I let out a choked gasp as the flames from the decorative lantern at my back jumped to the sleeve of my thick sweater. I rapidly beat at my arm to smother the fire, glancing up to see Nox’s bewildered expression.

“What in the world are you doing?” he asked.

My jaw dropped as I pulled on the end of my sleeve, getting ready to rip the entire thing off. The flames wouldn’t go out, and the heat was beginning to sear my skin. “What am I doing ? Seriously? I’m trying to put out this fire!”

A snicker sounded from the left. “He can’t see it, but please, don’t stop taking off your clothes on my account,” the new voice said.

In the blink of an eye, the flames disappeared from my sleeve, the fabric not even scorched or smoking.

It wasn’t real.

Fates . I hated Illusionists.

Closing my eyes, I clenched my jaw and slowly turned on my heel. When I opened them, I was staring into the face of the young man I’d seen earlier in the crowd, the one with close-cropped black hair who’d seemed amused by the idea of brutality among the challengers. His square jaw flexed, his full lips pulling up in a smug smirk. A circular ring piercing his bottom lip glittered in the firelight from the perfectly intact lantern. Anger licked at my skin like the false flames I’d felt moments ago. Looking around, I expected to see a guard or someone coming to confront him for attacking me, but we were too far to the side for anyone to notice.

“You two are getting cozy awfully fast, aren’t you?” he asked, motioning between Nox and myself. His voice was low, with a hint of haughtiness that set my teeth on edge. “Is spreading your legs for fellow challengers a new tactic?”

Illusionists were such arrogant bastards. I schooled my features into a look of apathy, picking a loose thread from the opening in my satchel of herbs. “Are you offering?”

His dark eyes flashed. “For you, Feywood, I’d consider it. If only to save you from having to ride that piece of Drakorum?—”

Before he could finish his sentence, my fingers closed around crushed henbane petals in my pouch. I quickly placed one on my tongue and muttered, “ Phyxie .”

The man clutched his throat at my curse, his eyes bulging as the breath lifted from his lungs.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your name,” I said sweetly as I took a step toward him. I counted the seconds in my head, making sure I had enough time to banish the curse. His nostrils flared and his forehead creased in panic, one hand still around his throat while the other reached for me angrily.

I tsk ed. “Do they teach you manners in Iluze? Ask nicely .”

His knees dipped and he grabbed at the wall, his fingers digging into the marble for purchase. A few more seconds…

“ Finiscere, ” I said, feeling the spell banish from the air. The Illusionist fell to the ground, taking deep, gasping breaths.

Now, that got people’s attention. From the right came two guards, glaring at me with their hands on the hilts of their swords.

“I don’t need a new tactic, Illusionist ,” I spat down at him. “I’m doing just fine on my own.”

I turned my back on him and faced the converging guards. “I can see my way out,” I said with a mock bow, then grabbed a flute of red wine, drained the glass, and marched out the entrance doors.