“ Orinthal.” It sat on his tongue like a foreign fruit, full of mystery and promise. His great-grandmother had come from there, bringing wealth to his great-grandfather’s meager estate—and adding a little dark coffee to their skin tone. He recalled the heavily wrought gold chain nestling against his mother’s collarbone as she told him bedtime stories that, to his childish imagination, had smelled of spices.
“Never heard of it.” Sorcha eased herself off the rug. “Damn it, I think my bones are getting older.”
Merrick refrained from making any jokes about his partnr’s not so really advanced years. She had a good ten on him but was still a handsome woman.
“The capital of Chioma. I will need to do some research, but I am sure that is what you saw.”
Sorcha leaned across to touch Merrick’s shoulder. “I know this sounds ridiculous . . . I admit we didn’t know Raed long, but—”
“I share the Bond with both of you,” he reminded her somewhat awkwardly. “I don’t want him to die either.”
“We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen,” Sorcha said, stretching her back.
“To Orinthal, then,” he replied, and despite everything, he felt his own excitement rise.
Up there on the dais everything probably looked very simple. Sorcha, standing below on the mosaic floor of the Chapter House, tilted her head skyward and tried not to feel intimidated. She also tried not to glance to her right and see Kolya. Much as she’d hoped that her soon to be former husband would not be present at this hearing, he had found out. It was easy to guess who had given the game away.
Arch Abbot Rictun, wrapped in his cloak that was both blue and emerald green, sat on his newly carved chair and smiled down at her. Two chairs on his left and two chairs on his right held the rest of the Presbyterial Council. The only one Sorcha did not know well was Thorine Bolzak, the new Presbyter of the Actives. She was young and had been chosen by Rictun from one of the outlying Abbeys. When Zathra Trelaine had been promoted to Presbyter Secondo, Bolzak had been brought in to take his place. She was remarkably quiet for an Active, but maybe that was merely the shock of such a sudden elevation to power. And now she was one of the five people who held Sorcha’s future in her hands.
Merrick had not been included in this hearing. Having just finished her defense of the decision to stay with the younger Deacon rather than return to Kolya, she was feeling confident. That was until she locked her gaze with Rictun. Multicolored light from the windows gleamed on his golden hair, but there was no reflection in his eyes. With an inclination of his head, he let his words fall on her like little sharp stones. “We have still to decide on this issue, Deacon Faris.”
Kolya shifted beside her. Once, his attention was the only thing she wanted, and she had dreamed of her husband fighting for her. However, he had let those times pass by, and now he couldn’t seem to understand that she no longer cared. Sorcha carefully tucked her hands under her blue cloak, behind her back, and squeezed them so tightly her knuckles cracked. She counted her breathing, one, two, before opening her mouth.
Melisande Troupe spoke before any words could escape Sorcha. The Presbyter of the Young brushed her white gold hair from her eyes and spoke in a gentle tone. “You must not think us unmoved by your plight, Deacon Faris and Deacon Petav.”
Yvril Mournling, the Presbyter of the Sensitives, fixed Sorcha with a hard gray gaze. “We are still looking for precedent for your . . . peculiar situation.” He gestured to the stack of leather-bound books piled by his chair. “The partnership between Active and Sensitive is sacred—even if you think of it a tad more lightly than we do.”
“Thank you, Your Grace,” Kolya broke in, his voice calm and dispassionate. “While our marriage vows may be broken with ease, the Bond we made within the Order should not be so lightly abandoned.”
“The Bond can be broken by death or madness—lack of love should b another reason.” Sorcha cleared her throat. “With respect, while you wait to test our case, neither of us can move on. Do you not think this a waste of our talents?”
Rictun snorted, but when Presbyter Secondo Zathra Trelaine spoke, he was abruptly silent. The old man’s voice was cracked like a piece of sun-dried leather, but it had the weight of authority and wisdom. “She does have a point. Deacon Faris is the most powerful Active we have—having her sit idle goes against good sense.”
Sorcha caught a breeze of a chance. She dipped her head so that the Arch Abbot would not see how much she needed this. “I would like to get out of Vermillion for a while, Presbyters. Just for a time, to let the dust settle and while you decide. Having Deacon Chambers, Petav, and me in the confines of Vermillion has become untenable.”
“I am sorry you find this situation awkward”—Kolya stepped forward into her field of vision—“but this has never happened before—and I think—”
“Having both you and Deacon Petav in the same place is rather disturbing,” Presbyter Troupe broke in. The corners of her beautiful lips lifted. “Especially to my charges.” She directed her brown eyes on their very new Arch Abbot. “At the moment we all need stability. Time to heal.”
Sorcha could swear that her breath was choking her throat. Presbyters were nominated for their skills but elected by all of the Order. The Arch Abbot was chosen by the Presbyterial Council—but people in that position had been unceremoniously removed before. Rictun was still very green and undoubtedly anxious not to be the shortest reigning Arch Abbot in the history of the Order of the Eye and the Fist.
A little muscle in his jaw began to twitch. “Very well, perhaps a small break from this tension will be good for everyone in the Mother Abbey.”
Kolya’s shoulders slumped a little, but he dared not challenge the Arch Abbot—that would have been supremely out of character. He glanced over at Sorcha, his look pleading, but any power he had to move her had been washed away through years of disappointment. She would not show an ounce of sympathy for him; she knew how he turned that always to his advantage.
“I have just the role for Deacons Faris and Chambers.” Yvril Mournling’s eyes fixed Sorcha to the spot. She recalled how he had covered up the wild talent Merrick had used to save Raed. It was still uncertain why exactly he had done that. The Presbyter flicked his cloak aside with his great sinewy hands. “The delegation from Chioma needs two Deacons as escort home.”
Presbyter Bolzak was looking nervously between her colleagues, feeling the tension but not knowing what to do about it. She shifted in her carved wooden chair uncomfortably. “You mean the delegation dealing with the Emperor’s marriage negotiations?”
It was the talk of Vermillion and had been for weeks. The Principality of Chioma was far to the south, a kingdom that had stuck firmly to its traditions. Yet it was also rich with gold, spices and gems. The delegation had come to negotiate for one of its princesses to marry the Emperor.
Rictun’s smile was thin, and Sorcha could almost hear him thinking. Chioma in summer would be hot, dusty and damn uncomfortable. The Arch Abbot nodded. “Indeed—a fine idea, Presbyter Mournling. The journey will give Deacon Faris here time to think and decide if this is what she truly wants.”
“And carry messages to the Hive City,” the Presbyter of the Sensitives agreed.
“The . . . Hive City?” Sorcha dared a question.
Mournling nodded, his eyes drifting to a point somehow past her. “The city of Orinthal is made of the mud of the land, baked hard, like the homes certain insects of that place build.”
Deacon Faris had to swallow hard while the image of a tall earthen building, made of ocher earth, rose against a flawless blue sky. It was the city the spectyr had shown her. Risking a glance at the Presbyter, she caught a flicker of something that might have been the slightest inclination of the head. Mournling was among the greatest Sensitives of his age—and she shouldn’t have been surprised he had gleaned something from her thoughts.