Mermaid Tear (The Fated #2)

21 | The Wager

Outside his office, Zuher paused to regard the lingering guards. His eyes fell on the two that accompanied Aria, and he smiled. "You two, go fetch our other guest."

Aria turned to the guards and flashed her hands through several foreign motions. They saluted her in turn, before disappearing down the hall. Iliana filed the exchange away in her mind for later consideration.

When Aria had said they couldn't hear her, she had meant it literally. If Iliana wanted to pull them to her side, she'd have to learn the hand signs.

Without warning, Zuher started walking again. He dragged her to a large, stone courtyard. Carefully maintained gardens decorated the base of the surrounding buildings, but beyond a single, elegant throne, the rest of the courtyard was bare. The most particular thing about the space was that the outer part of the courtyard ground was a soft, natural shade of gray, before being broken up by a large black circle. The longer Iliana stared at the black stones, the more gold they felt in her senses.

Were they magicked?

The sensation was odd.

The longer Iliana focused on it, the stronger the sensation seemed to become. It drew awareness into her being as the demonic black of the emperor played at the edges of her senses. The feeling was akin to breathing--until she'd focused on it, she hadn't noticed the twisting colors.

It reminded her of being in Nokos, and studying Lykos' neck until she saw his scars. Back then, she hadn't realized what she was doing. It'd been too fuzzy, too weak a sensation. Now, though, it occurred to her that she'd seen past Eumelia's golden magic to the skin that laid beneath.

Once again, something had changed.

When she had first walked into the palace, only the demons emanated that shadowy-black feeling. Now, it seemed to seep from the very walls of the palace. Gold flowed from the black stones, and from various items on the guards' persons. And as she focused on sensing it--on trying to find the different auras in the air--Iliana realized it even flowed, if only faintly, from the tattoo on her shoulder.

Something about Reotak had slowly increased her senses.

The isolation had kept her from that realization, and she wasn't sure how to feel about it. Each time she seemed to find her footing with her new body, something new occurred. Were these experiences she was supposed to be having, or was it something else the gods' had interfered with?

Iliana's very being felt entrenched in slipping sand.

The emperor sat on his throne, then gestured for Iliana to join him. As his was the only seat, she hesitated, before slowly stepping up next to it. He frowned, but seemed to decide her position was good enough for now. Which was unsettling.

What did he have planned that her near-insubordination wasn't worth dealing with?

As the minutes passed in silence, an audience gathered around the courtyard. Lacking anything else to do, Iliana focused on her senses. Instead of the usual, dull colors that floated through her mind, vivid aura registered within the surrounding world. Not everyone standing to watch were demons.

A few lacked a single color--they were human, she guessed. A piece of each of the gods carefully crafted to contain a soul. Others felt like a dark, unsettling midnight blue. It sent a chill down her spine and urged her to avert her eyes. So, she looked away from the crowd and to the courtyard itself.

The violet of Aion flashed among the flowers--faeries just out of sight. Were they here by choice? Or were they like her? It stirred hope in the depths of her heart. If they were members of the menagerie, then would she, too, eventually be allowed to roam without watch?