lies even by omission. She used her gift as a hammer to bludgeon sophistication into truth and falsehood. More likely, given her detachment from normal human emotion, was the simple explanation that she’d decided to abandon her sister. After all, she’d shown little love for her real family when she encountered them in Sayonae. Why should she show compassion to the one who was favoured by her parents?
No, she’s more complex than you think, said Arathé in his mind. She has a plan, I’m sure of it.
I hope you are right. I can’t abide the idea of that girl locked away in her body forever.
Cylene continued to shout and scream, the voice alternating between the warnings and gloatings of the god and the girl’s agonised pleas. The shocked crowd began to follow Lenares along the road, out of the village, away from the unbearable sounds.
This feels dreadful, Duon said to Arathé. Walking away from someone’s suffering. There must be something we can do!
As they reached the open road, a space suddenly cleared around Noetos and the Bhrudwan lord. Further words had clearly been exchanged, a conversation Duon had not overheard but could guess at. “You heard my explanation. I would have prevented any further unnecessary suffering had I not been drawn away from Andratan to a meeting with the Most High.”
Noetos leaned forward, the courtesy and restraint in his words not matched by the strain on his face. At least the man had sheathed his sword.
“What,” he asked, “could have been more important than, as you rightly say, the unnecessary suffering of an innocent girl?”
“Innocent? I doubt that. But even given her so-called innocence, am I to take it you are objectively arguing that the alleviation of your daughter’s suffering—remember, her suffering was not going to end in death, because of my intercession—was more important than hearing what a god had to say?”
“Yes, of course,” Noetos said, and turned in surprise when he realised his words had been echoed by another voice. That of Stella, the Falthan queen.
“The fact she’s your daughter has nothing to do with it?”
“It has everything to do with it, you fool,” Noetos said, courtesy and restraint cast aside. “Had it been someone else’s daughter, I would not have known of it. Given that I know what happened to Arathé, I am led to wonder how many other faithful sons and daughters of Bhrudwo have suffered similarly.”
“He doesn’t understand your question,” Stella said, as the crowd continued to walk along the road out of Mensaya. “To the Lord of Bhrudwo, good government is the cold-hearted weighing of numbers. This action will save a hundred souls, while that action will save two hundred. Therefore the second action is favoured over the first, irrespective of how repugnant that action might be. If imprisoning and repeatedly draining young girls achieves an incrementally positive outcome for his empire, he will do it.”
“Yes,” the Undying Man said fiercely, almost proudly. “See how well my queen understands me?”
“Do not call me that,” Stella grated.
“My apologies. But Stella is right. Actions that for you, with your limited knowledge, would be immoral are for me not only moral but necessary. Do you not see it? For you to lay waste to a town would be a crime. But if I see that such an action would prevent civil war and ultimately save thousands of lives, would it not be immoral to refrain from destroying the town?”
“Now we are at the heart,” Stella said. Noetos looked on, his bemusement at this hijacking of his question plain to see. “You employ spies and researchers to gather information and statisticians to analyse it all. You then apply the solution that brings the least pain to your people. Yet you continue to be ignorant of what you are really doing.”
“And what is that?”
“First, you have no proof that your solutions are the most appropriate, only the word of your statisticians. Unless you are somehow able to fold back time and try multiple resolutions to your empire’s problems, you cannot prove that your actions are, in fact, in the best interests of your subjects.”
“You discount my two thousand years’ worth of experience.”
“I do not. I just do not believe it is infallible. Second, your statisticians calculate a less-than-complete set of outcomes. While a particular action may conclude with fewer lives lost, the fear and hatred spread thereby adds to everyone’s burden. Millions of lives are subtly altered for the worse.”
“Ah, yes, Stella, I have considered that. Show me but