“I've seen the best men turn into the worst beasts, simply because they tasted power. People who took pride in their honesty, their virtue, their benevolence... How hard they tried to resist these dark, primal urges, how guilty they convinced themselves they felt when they believed they had sinned, and how sickened they were when they realised they felt satisfaction, and not pity, as they crushed their enemies. But the sad truth I found is that men cannot avoid being consumed by their true nature – they had never been able to resist it, and they never will.

-Regheon the Wise, descendant of Dael”

* * *

Rina

The healing herbs tasted bitter and she had to refrain from spitting it out. She put down the cup of tea on the table and shifted in her seat as she thought about Astrael's report.

The cup shook and banged against the table, and she waited for the small seizure to pass, holding her trembling right hand with the steady left. Astrael and the doctors had told her it could last for a few hours, or a few days even, until her body evacuates the poison. Other than that, stiffness and a strange urge to move around were the only symptoms that she had ever since she woke up this morning.

“So Phiramel took control of this situation,” she concluded. “How bad is it?”

Astrael sighed and rose from his seat. “Bad enough,” he said as he walked aimlessly in her room, glancing at the bookshelves and whatnot. “I wanted Therenus to weaken Phiramel, so that people who lost faith in him could turn to you. Ideally, we would have gotten rid of him in some way after that, and you'd have no trouble controlling the church and the city.”

She swallowed her saliva, still feeling uneasy about that. Her, controlling the city? She understood the need to fight against the churchmen who wanted to make a puppet out of her, but the whole city? That was making her quite nervous.

“When is elder Therenus' execution due?”

“This afternoon,” he said and stopped to open a book, going through the pages with uninterested eyes. “Will you come and watch?”

Rina shook her head. “It feels like we condemned an innocent man to death...”

Astrael stared at her for a moment and let out a faint chuckle. “Beloved sister. Therenus was no saint. He was good to the people because it served his own interests, and I'm sure he did his fair share of misdeeds in the shadows.”

Was? Rina gazed at her feet. You think him a dead man already... She surprised herself, feeling pity for Therenus, even though she had agreed with her brother's plan to have him take the fall for crimes he didn't commit. She had been fearing the elder, but now that his fate was decided, she only felt guilt.

“How will he die?” she asked.

“They'll bleed him out.” said Astrael as he closed the book with a clap and kept going through the shelves. “Someone will open his veins from elbow to wrist and everyone will be watching as he falls unconscious, and eventually dies. People will be expecting that you witness it, but if you don't want to, we can say you're still unwell from the poisoning.”

Her heart started to beat faster. Was she scared? I don't want to see that, she tried to convince herself. Her feet kept moving, knocking on the floor, and so she got up and began walking around the room too. As she did so, she thought she saw a glimpse of Astrael's smile before he turned his head.

But when he faced her again after a moment, there was no smile to be seen. “I'm sorry about Odel.”

She avoided his gaze. “It's not your fault,” she mumbled. No, it wasn't his fault. She knew that. Her brother had told her the Vieran died with honour, acting according to his own code. She wondered if Odel had been thinking about his pride, his morals, his bravery, as he felt the life escape out of him because a knife was lodged in his eye socket.

She never knew who the fencing master really was, nor had she been able to understand him. Now that he was dead, it seemed to her that none of it mattered anymore.

“It wouldn't have happened if Phiramel had locked Therenus in a real cell, right?” she continued. “He knew that Odel would try to free him, and he baited him.”

Even though no one could have predicted that Odel would do that. Even though no one really knew how Odel would react to all of this. Even though no one could have guessed that Therenus still had friends willing to help him. The high-priest had made a safe bet and it simply paid off.

“Yes...” Astrael nodded and looked straight in her eyes. “Phiramel is to blame.”

Phiramel is to blame. She did nothing to resist that soothing thought, and convinced herself that he was at fault.

“He needs to be taken care of,” she simply stated as she neared the window and looked down at the city.

But how? With his rival out of the picture, Phiramel couldn't be attacked by anyone right now, so how? ...Should we kill him? She bit her lip and closed her eyes. No, no... Astrael would have already suggested it if he thought it would work. Think.

“We have to weaken him first,” Astrael said from behind as if he had been reading her mind. “And strengthen your position. There is no point in getting rid of him if you don't snatch his allies and assets. Right now I reckon he basically owns Callir. His disappearance would either lead to someone else succeeding him, or cause the city to be thrown in chaos, with the lords from his faction fighting each other for power. And we don't want any of that. Not now, at least.”

It made sense to her. “Because if someone is to succeed him, it has to be me. And if his faction breaks apart, I have to be able to rally his former allies under me.” She turned around, looking for her brother's approval, which he gave with a nod.

“As I said, we have to weaken him.” He paused and came near her, resting his elbows on the window ledge. “There is a way... Not ideal, but still.”

“I don't like how it sounds,” Rina muttered.

Astrael gave her a complicated smile. “We need to make his faction crumble from the inside. I suspect there are quite a lot of people who only follow him because they want to avoid suffering the same fate as Therenus. Lord Danalion, for instance, or the sibyl Viriane. They'll start searching for safer options if they feel Phiramel is becoming too much of a threat. They would turn to you – loved by the people, blessed by Xito, with growing power and influence. All we need is a crack to start with... And I dare say, in all modesty, that I am a fairly dangerous crack.”

* * *

Rina took a deep breath and stepped inside Phiramel's room. Her guards stayed outside and she heard a servant closing the door behind her. The high-priest was seated in front of his desk, scribbling down messages with his quill, perhaps trying to forge new friendships with foreign kingdoms and monarchies, now that he was free from Therenus' meddling.

“Young mistress,” he said without lifting his gaze from the paper. “How are you feeling? The physicians told me you recovered quickly.”

“Yes,” she said in an intimidated voice, “I am well.”

He finally bothered to glance at her, and gave her a nod. “Hm. Good. Forgive me, but our time is limited, the elder's execution will take place shortly. What can I do for you?”

She stepped forward and sat in a chair, fiddling with her fingers. Her right foot wouldn't stop trembling, adding to her appearance of unease and nervousness. “You see... Elder Therenus, he...” she interrupted herself and glanced sideways. “I'm told he still has allies and accomplices roaming the streets of Callir, perhaps even the corridors of the temple.”

“Nonsense. I guarantee you, we took care of his associates. Fear not, young mistress, there isn't a single person who wishes you harm in the entire city-state.”

They both knew it was a lie, and she made sure to show it by knitting her brows in a doubting frown. “I beg to differ. What of the elder's slaves and servants?”

“What about them?”

“Therenus is an old man. I wonder how he managed to procure himself the poisons he tried to assassinate me with. Perhaps... he sent a lackey to buy what was needed? It may be wise to find out his identity, and see what happened to him.” She swallowed her saliva as loudly as she could. “I could not sleep soundly knowing that there may be such a criminal still lurking in the temple...”

Phiramel stopped writing, put his quill down, and stared at her. She stared back, and somehow, she knew. You're curious, aren't you? You don't even think Therenus was the one who did it. You know he is smarter than that.

The high-priest must have known that, like him, the elder wouldn't gain anything from her death, and that even if it was the case, he wasn't foolish enough to involve Vierans in a plot of his creation.

Even though you've taken control of the situation... You feel like you've been played by someone, and you have no idea who. Don't you want to find out? That unknown chessmaster, who bought the poisons, who planted them in Therenus' room, who allowed you to get rid of your oldest enemy... No, perhaps he already knew. Perhaps he was already preparing countermeasures, and if it was the case, then Astrael was in danger.

Phiramel cleared his throat. “Yes,” he said at last. “I shall be looking into this... as to relieve you from your worries. You do need some undisturbed rest, you've been through so much, after all...”

She got up and bowed her head. “Thank you, your excellency.”

The old man chuckled, but Rina knew it to be a fake laugh. “No need for such formalities, young mistress. I am at your service, after all. You can rely on me whenever you're in need of advice.”

You certainly do hope that I'll do so after my consecration...

She turned around and left the room, her knights immediately following her. A pair walked past her and kept a steady pace before her, four were flanking her, and another pair made up the rear guard. Sir Leon wouldn't be part of her guard as long as his leg was healing, but she was thankful for that. When her brother confessed to her all of his schemes and secrets, she had learned that Leon had an affair with a priestess, and ever since that revelation she didn't want the knight anywhere near her.

Strangely enough, she was neither resentful nor angry. As if she had always known the impossible nature of her wish.

In the end, she was thankful for this state of mind. Astrael didn't say it explicitly, but Rina knew that being aware of Leon and Julia's relationship would allow her to control these two if she needed to. And soon she would require all the tools she could get her hands on. Best not get attached to them, then.

She went back to her room, where her brother was waiting for her. “Is it done?” he asked once she had closed the door.

Rina nodded. “He took the bait. I don't know how long you have, but I wouldn't linger here if I were you.”

“Hmm.” He thought for a bit and sighed. “I suppose I'll leave tonight. I need to gather my stuff and borrow a horse from Leon before I go. Preferably a fast one, I'm sure Phiramel will send riders after me.”

“...Do you think it'll work?”

“It should. I am Leon Feanir's squire, and I technically answer to him... At least, it will ignite the flame, though whether or not the fire survives and grows depends on you. As soon as you see that Phiramel suspects the Feanir house, make your move and get them on your side. The others will follow as he becomes more and more paranoiac.”

Rina couldn't help frowning. “It'll take some time. Months, perhaps years.”

“You'll manage,” he said with a smile. “I told you everything you needed to know. I'll send you letters, and perhaps you'll be able to write me back if I decide to stay somewhere.”

Still, I won't see you for a long time... And that is if everything goes well... They had agreed that he would take this exile of sorts as an opportunity to gather information about the assassins, and about possible reasons for the gods to call the heroes. Since they could no longer count on Therenus' connections with the Vieran cities now that their relationship with Callir was as bad as it could ever get, Astrael would probably have to travel from place to place, perhaps even across the Middle Sea or the Grey Sea...

“Next time we meet – and I promise you we shall meet again,” he kept on, “you'll officially be Xito's hero, and people will be calling you your holiness instead of young mistress. I trust you'll also be Callir's ruler by then. You'll have enough power to do whatever you want. Hell, you could spit on traditions and make me a bloodsguard even before my twenty-first birthday if you wished so.”

“That reminds me,” she said as she went searching for her jewellery box and opened it. Rina took out necklaces and earrings, rubies and pearls, until she finally found what she was looking for. She then walked back to her brother and passed her hands behind his neck to clasp the ends of the small chain together. “Here,” she said as she let him observe the pendant, a round piece of silver, bramble thorns engraved in it, with a single red droplet of blood in the middle – a small ruby.

“It looks like the ones the bloodsguards wear,” he eventually concluded.

“Except theirs don't have a gem embedded. I had this one made some time ago, and I wanted it to be your gift someday. Might as well give it to you now.”

He hugged her and stroke her hair. “I'm sorry I don't have a present for your consecration. I meant to offer you the whole city or something along those lines, but it seems I failed.”

Rina giggled. “You messed up alright. But it's fine. You didn't win, but you didn't lose either. You did all you could, gave me all the tools, now I have to earn it.” They embraced each other for a moment, speaking no word. All Rina could think about was how she feared the plan wouldn't work, or how she would never see her brother again, and all sorts of worries. She wondered what he was thinking about. He seemed calm – what was happening in this mind of his? How was he truly feeling about this?

I know a part of him is doing this for my sake... And I know a part of him is simply enjoying the game. Yes, deep down, she was aware. Astrael was that sort of marvellous character, a prince in common clothing, someone who would gamble about the fate of the world. Someone like Demnir the kingmaker.

“I'll miss you,” she eventually said in a whisper.

Astrael kissed her hair. “I'll miss you too.”