regret it deeply. What can I do? How can I fix this?”
“What’s done is done, I’m afraid. I can’t trust you—not like I might have.” He begins to turn away. “But…” He glances back at me. “I cannot bring myself to hurt everyone who believes in me. In the Lunalette. Not now when emotions and fears are so delicate.” I’m not saying I’m going to play along with this story he’s created forever, but only for now.
“Oh, thank the Moon,” he says, voice shaky, with the relief like a man who’s just been spared.
“But I need to take on more of a leadership role. I will not be your symbol any longer. I want responsibility. To make decisions and lead my own faction of soldiers. If I’m going to play Lunalette, I need to do it my way.” He nods, but I can see he’s spinning a deal in his head. “Otherwise,” I add, “I’m out.”
“So, if I give you a larger, more important role in governance, you won’t tell anyone what we’ve discussed … about how I helped the legend along?”
I have to bite my tongue after he adds that last bit, but I firmly reply. “I won’t.”
Only. For. Now.
He nods confidently. “Consider it done.”
“Good. As my first act of leadership I’m informing you that the Imperi officer who helped me escape is staying in cave number five until further notice. Her sister was one of the prisoners and, as part of our agreement, I set her free. The officer’s name is Imi, and it’s our job to protect her now. She will be my second-in-command.”
His face turns a deep shade of red in a matter of seconds, and he opens his mouth to argue or swear or commend me, I’m not sure which because I speak right over him.
“I know you aren’t pleased that I released the Imperi officers—”
“No, I am not. Yes, you are in a place of leadership down here, but you cannot do as you please without consequence. You risked what might have been a much larger plan releasing those soldiers.”
“The Settlings were wrong.” I stand. “No better than Raevald’s Offerings. Larger plan or not, you know I’m right.”
I swear he’s physically biting his tongue, but he nods. “Very well.” He places his hands under his chin and goes on because he really can’t help himself, can he? “There will be no more Settlings. But, Veda, please know the ceremonies weren’t meant to be cruel. I had to show Raevald we wouldn’t stand for his antics. He’d taken you, planned to execute you, and he deserved to pay for it.”
Firmly, I place my hands on his desk. “But don’t you see? By stooping to his level we become no better than him. He’s not influenced by shows of power, Sindaco, he thrives on it. You of all people should know this—you probably understand him best.” He thinks I mean because he’s the High Regent’s son, but in truth, I’m saying they are more alike than anyone realizes. Even him. Mostly him. “Not all Imperi are bad, just as the Night isn’t all bad. They don’t deserve to be punished or killed for simply fighting for what they believe is right.”
He takes a moment to think on that, nods slowly. “You’re wise beyond your years. So much like your mother…” But the phrase, once uttered by Raevald himself, isn’t comforting at all. In fact, it turns my stomach.
The Sindaco stands. “I don’t have all the answers, Veda. All I can do is try my best. Make the decisions I feel are right in the moment.” He walks over to a small cabinet and pulls out a key—one that looks like the keys Dorian carries around that open the various padlocks to the den doors. “And I am still leader of the Night. You cannot do as you please because then we aren’t united.” I open my mouth to argue, but he continues before I get a chance. “All I ask is that you respect my position. Come to me before you do something that will affect my army and my people, please.”
“And will you do the same for me?”
“I will.” He holds the key up before him. “As you’re now second-in-command, I have something I need to share with you. Something I’ve been working on since the day of the first attack at the Coliseum. That evening, I promised the Night that I would work tirelessly to have you returned. What I’m going to show you