doing something terribly unjust by passing the spirits.
Then, after passing a boy who is far younger than the Nightbringer’s usual victims, I go to swim in the River Dusk, to cleanse my mind of worries.
And I find that the rot has spread.
It smells worse than before, like the aftermath of a battle. The trunks of dozens of trees are crumbly with decay. The earth is raw and smoking, as if scorched, and dead fish lay stinking along the river’s banks. I taste the river water and spit it out almost in that same instant. It savors strongly of death.
Laia was right. Something is deeply wrong with the Waiting Place. And I can ignore it no longer.
XIX: The Blood Shrike
We try to keep word of the massacre in the kitchens from leaking out. But it’s impossible. Within a week, the news is all over Delphinium.
“If she can get to the kitchens, she can get to anyone.” Pater Cassius paces the throne room. Sleet hammers the roof, and though it’s early afternoon, the storm clouds are so thick it looks as if night has fallen. We’ll have snow by morning. I can smell it.
A dozen men nod or grunt in agreement with Cassius—nearly half of our advisory council. Musa and Darin, here to represent the Scholars, exchange a glance.
“She hasn’t yet gotten to the Emperor.” Livia straightens upon the ornate seat that serves as a throne. “Not even close.”
“Because she’s distracted by her campaign in the Tribal lands,” Cassius says. “We must consider a truce. Ask for clemency—”
“There will be no clemency from the Commandant,” I say. “I trained with her for fourteen years. She doesn’t understand mercy. If we give in, we die.”
“Do you not remember what she did to Antium?” Darin, quiet until now, stares down Cassius. “Thousands of your people were slaughtered. Thousands of mine too.”
“Silence, Scholar! You think because that fool Spiro Teluman trained you—”
“Do not invoke his name.” The steel in Darin’s voice reminds me of his mother. “Spiro Teluman was ten times the man you are. As for silence—we are done being silent. Without us, you can’t hope to ever take the Empire back from Keris. You need the Scholars, Pater. Keep that in mind.”
Cyrus Laurentius, a diplomat like my father, steps in. “Keris betrayed Antium to the Karkauns. She is the real enemy, Cassius. Skies only know what our people are suffering.”
“And what have we done to help them?” Pater Cassius glares at me.
His censure rings in my head as the argument rages. I circle the room, ignoring the Paters. And what have we done to help them?
Zacharias must take the throne. But he is a child with no power, and there is nothing any Martial respects more than power. Keris wields hers like a blade. It is why she insisted she be hailed as Imperator Invictus, instead of merely as Empress. It is why she is fixated on conquering and plundering the Tribal lands.
We need a victory just as resounding. One that will send a message of strength not only to the Paters of the Empire but to our people.
“Blood Shrike,” Harper murmurs from my shoulder. “What are you thinking?”
I answer him loud enough that the room can hear. “Pater Cassius is right about one thing. Our citizens in Antium have waited for liberation long enough.”
“How the hells do we take on the Karkaun army when we barely have enough men to hold Delphinium?” Pater Cassius asks. “I thought you studied war theory, Shrike.”
“We don’t use the army we have. We recruit the one in the city. There are fifty thousand Karkauns in Antium.” The shape of a mission coalesces as I speak. “To quell a population of well over four times that. Many women and children yet live. I know our people, Paters. If we can remind them that they are not alone, they will rise up. And if we take back the city, we can show Keris’s allies our strength—and win them over to our side.”
Pater Mettias, who until now has observed the proceedings from beside the fire, looks at me askance. “How can women fight against those monsters? How will you arm them?”
“Have you forgotten that the Shrike is a woman, Mettias?” Livia examines the young Pater with enough asperity to make him fidget. “Do not bore us with old prejudices. You are a better man than that.”
“We have weapon caches hidden in the city.” I glance at Dex, who nods. “Our spies tell us that Grímarr’s men have not discovered