children and put one into slavery. They’ve seen how slaves are treated, they ignored us as we huddled in the corridors, freezing and starving, and now their child will be one of them. Is this what happened to me?
My body starts to shake again, and that thing I try to keep buried begins to grow, the force of anger behind it so strong that I’m not sure I can contain it.
“Be still, my beloved.” The Great Mother’s voice washes over me, instantly dousing my anger. “They are looking for an excuse to execute you, do not give them a reason,” she informs me, and I close my eyes briefly, taking a deep breath to keep myself calm. “These atrocities will not go unpunished. The scales are unbalanced, and I have very little power over the evil that has infected my people. This is one fact the priests have right—there is an evil, but it was not in those poor slaves.” I can feel her grief over the deaths of all those children, but her comments only confuse me. Why can’t she help? She’s a Goddess, she has ultimate power over all of us. I can almost hear her sigh as these thoughts spin through my mind. “There is something stopping me, a drain on my powers. I need you to trust me, my beloved.”
“I do trust you.”
“Clarissa?” Grayson’s voice has me opening my eyes, and I turn to see his confused expression as I realise I spoke out loud. I go to reply as a shadow falls over me.
“Is there a problem here?” Glancing up, I see one of the priests, and I get that warning tingle through my body again—the Mother is warning me. I need to tread carefully here.
“No, sorry, I was asking the Great Mother to bless our meal,” I say, making the praise gesture as I speak. Grayson, Wilson, Aileen, and her father all join in, making the same gesture. My heart flutters in my chest, they might not be lying on my behalf, but they are playing along with my untruth. The priest narrows his eyes, flicking his gaze around and peering at my companions briefly before he nods curtly and walks on.
The table seems to let out a collective breath of relief.
“Thank you,” I murmur quietly, as I start placing things blindly on my plate, not paying attention to what I’m selecting. The atmosphere in the hall is taut, like it could snap at any moment. Priests patrol the space like they’re soldiers, the guards still manning the exits and lining the walls. Thankfully, they’ve sheathed their weapons, but people are looking around anxiously or talking quietly to their neighbour.
“Things are much worse than we thought,” Merrin comments softly, his voice low and his expression grave. I had actually forgotten they were here, but perhaps now is the perfect time for their presence so they can see how bad things are.
“We need to consult with the other high magicians as soon as possible,” Ellis agrees, reaching for his goblet of water. I notice that while everyone has food on their plates, no one is really eating anything, just pushing the food around to make it look like they are. Following suit, I cut up some of the food and take a very small bite. It tastes like ash in my mouth. I drop the fork and reach for my water as the magicians talk amongst themselves.
“When do you leave?” Grayson asks, interrupting their conversation, and the three visiting mages share a look between then before turning to answer his question.
“Grayson…you need to come with us. We need your accounts of the events prior to when we got here,” Merrin starts, but Grayson slams his fork down on the table, causing a couple of startled glances our way.
“No, I won’t leave her.”
I stare at him in shock. Does he mean me? I can feel the gaze of the others on me, but I focus on Grayson. He looks at me and our eyes lock. He has an emotion I’m not used to seeing in his eyes—fear. Reaching out, I place my hand over his, squeezing it gently, wishing I had the words to tell him how I feel about him, about this situation, about everything.
“You know she can’t come with us, only those with magic can enter the—” He stops suddenly, glancing at our companions. “This is not the place to discuss this,” Pierre interjects, and I nod along with the others.