Page 121 of Threaded
“You have forgotten your place, once again, Queen Apparent. This is not a lawless country; those who break our laws shall be punished for it, yes, but we do not mete out such judgment or exact our revenge in the streets likeanimals. The way of Onita is one of peace, and as a representative of our gentle mother Goddess in this palace, it is mydutyto make sure our queen does not stray from the path of purity and goodness.” Her last words came out as a hiss, her eyes narrowing even further. “Should you ever perform a stunt like the one you pulled yesterday again, Queen Apparent, I will ensure that you knowexactlywho truly holds the power in this kingdom.”
“And who might that be, High Priestess?” Mariah’s magic was raging like a vicious hurricane at Ksee’s words.Animal, lawless, revenge, purity… everything Ksee said grated against Mariah’s newly awakened instincts. “As much as you and the Royals seem to not want to admit it, I was Chosen by the Goddess. I carry her power in my veins. You may think me wild and like an animal, debasing your pretty little temple with my swords and blades still stained with the blood of those who tried to hurt me, who tried to hurt those closest to me, but I’m here to challenge you, Priestess.” Mariah bared her teeth at the older woman as she stalked closer, gliding up the dais steps until she stood no more than a few inches from Ksee.
The priestess, to her credit, did not cower away, even though fear began to flicker in her flat tarnished eyes.
“Iwillbe the one to hold the power here, Ksee. I admire Ryenne, but I will not be used as a tool and a figurehead for those who were never meant to have the power they seek. I’ve read the earliest histories of this kingdom. I know how wild the early queens were. I know how weak they began to grow, as more Royals rose in station and more priestesses realized the only semblance of power they would ever recapture for themselves would be by controlling queens who never truly understood what they carried. EvenIdon’t understand that power yet, but let me promise you, High Priestess:I am learning. So, get out of my way.”
Ksee’s face paled, the blood draining from her features. She took one step away, slowly, her eyes darting down to Mariah’s right side.
To where Mariah now realized she gripped the dragon-winged hilt of her grandfather’s dagger.
Ksee raised her eyes back to Mariah, and as the priestess dipped her head, Mariah felt something alter forever in the air between them.
“My apologies, Your Highness. Queen Ryenne is in the right antechamber. She is expecting you.”
And as the priestess bowed stiffly and turned on her heel, stepping down from the dais steps and toward a hallway that must lead to the private chambers of the palace priestesses, Mariah couldn’t help but realize the dark gleam she’d seen in Ksee’s eyes meant the palace was now filled with one more enemy than it had been yesterday.
* * *
Mariah found Ryenne in an antechamber down the hallway to the right of the altar, just as Ksee said.
The room was magnificent and beautiful, but very different from the rest of the palace. Instead of the familiar white marble, it was black: dark, light-consuming black marble on the floors, the pillars, the walls. All of it was veined through with fine streaks of gold, a perfect refraction to the rest of the palace, subtle but no less beautiful. Above, just like in the throne room and the library, the roof was made of solid glass. Mariah noticed that the rain had stopped, the weak winter sun from behind the lingering clouds setting a chill in the air.
Mariah had a sudden urge to return to this room on a clear, cloudless night. She had a feeling that’s when it was at its most magnificent.
“This is the Antechamber of Priam. The palace builders designed it specifically to honor him, so that from the moment you walk in, you feel as if you are in his presence, his watchfulness a comfort to whatever plagues you.”
Mariah whipped her head in the direction of Ryenne’s voice. The queen stood in the center of the antechamber beside a raised slab of stone, a body laid carefully atop it. A body now draped in a shroud of shimmering gold.
Cedoric.
Mariah was silent as she dropped her gaze back to the black marble beneath her feet. She was familiar with Priam; all Onitans were. The Consort God, Qhohena’s partner, and the God of the Northern Star.
He was also the Keeper of Souls, the bridge between life and whatever awaited beyond. Ceremonies of mourning were his temples, tears and whispers to lost loved ones his prayers.
With soft, silent steps, Mariah moved from the antechamber entrance to the stone slab in the center, coming to a halt beside the queen. Ryenne’s hair was now more gray than gold and her face bore even more lines of age, the youthful exuberance she’d had when Mariah first stepped into the palace vanished like a whisper on the wind.
It was no mystery that each time Mariah bonded with another of her Armature, she took years off Ryenne’s life. But losing Cedoric … it was as if the spark had left the queen completely.
Mariah stood in silence beside Ryenne, not knowing what to say, and deciding it was better to say nothing at all than to say something that could open still-bleeding wounds.
Thankfully, Ryenne spoke again.
“He was the second of my Armature to take the bond.” Her voice was soft, distant, the emotion hidden behind walls of stone Mariah knew all too well.
“I bonded with Kalen first, of course. I had been drawn to him instantly, as is typical for a true consort. And that first bond … it left me reeling. I had been raised my whole life for the possibility of the throne; the queen before me abdicated her power around the time I was born, and my family was the most prolific Royal family in the kingdom. Three queens hailed from my line, and with the timing of my birth, it seemed obvious to everyone that I would be the fourth queen born to House Shawth.
“So, I spent the first twenty-one years of my life preparing for the Choosing and the steps that would follow it. I knew exactly what the Selection and bondings would entail. I thought I was prepared. But then I bonded with Kalen, and … I had never been so overwhelmed with emotion in my life. I had never felt … never beenallowedto feel … so much. It felt like a sin.” She took a deep inhale. “And because of that, I never wanted to do it again. Even though I knew I had to.
“When it came time to pick my next Armature to make the bond, I panicked. I almost got onto my horse and rode right into the mountains, fully prepared to abandon my throne and my family and everything I’d ever known.” Ryenne chuckled softly at that, lost in her memories.
“But then Cedoric caught me in the stables.”
Mariah loosened an exhale that stung her chest.
“He grabbed me and looked me right in the eyes, and I had never been looked at like that.Ever. He was so calm, so steady, so full of this patient understanding as I broke down, right there in the stables, in front of a man I barely knew. But he took it all with such grace and never once offered me anything other than a steadfast assurance that who I was,whatI was, wasn’t something to fear or run from.
“I bonded with him that same night. And I never broke down that way again, not when I knew he was there to ground me. Kalen is my fire, my heart, but Cedoric …” her voice caught. She cleared it once, wiping away an errant tear streaking down her face. “He was my rock. My anchor. And I feel … lost without him.”