Katsi had no idea what to do. She’d blown her cover. People knew that the emperor was hosting her at the castle. Did this blow his cover as well? He seemed furious. More so than usual. She tried to pull her hand free, but it may as well have been clamped in iron.
Even more people stared now as he dragged her off. Adrina stood from her chair but made no move to intercede or follow. All she could do was stare.
She ground her teeth, accepting what had happened. Fine. Let them stare. Let the whole empire know that Katsi was a stormcaller—that shamans were housed and trained in the emperor’s castle under his own protection—that the emperor himself was the most powerful shaman on Malahem.
So be it.
Alyssad shoved his way through the same doors Katsi had entered. “Senseless,” he growled as the doors closed behind them.
“Release me,” Katsi demanded, trying to tug her arm free again as they walked by the two guards.
“Years I’ve spent trying to create a safe place for shamans to learn. You’ve jeopardized that with your carelessness.”
“Why not just tell them?” Katsi said, slapping the hand that held hers. She may as well have been an insect.
His dark eyes burned as he looked at her. “In time. They are not ready. If the people knew the truth, they would hate me. There would be riots. Dissension. The unity I have established across the empire would be broken.”
“The empire is already broken. Marems murder innocent shamanfolk every cycle.”
“We need things to remain the way they are until we are ready to destroy the bleeder shamans. Until they are all destroyed, none of us are safe. No village, no city, no castle would provide enough refuge.”
“Then what will it take, Alyssad? How do you stop it? You’ve been at this for over four hundred years. How much longer does this need to last?”
They reached Alyssad’s room, and he all but tossed her in onto one of the plush chairs to the side. The doors slammed shut behind them. Alyssad walked to the wall and tossed the curtains aside, revealing the bookshelf behind.
“That’s where you come in, Katsi. We need a storm.”
“A Maedari?” Katsi got to her feet, prepared to burst through the wall and fly away as fast as she could. Her skin burned with anger. How dare he drag her through the castle like a little child?
“Yes, one more powerful than I’ve ever summoned before.” He ran his hands across the jewelry that filled the lower shelves.
A cold shiver trickled down Katsi’s spine. “You?”
“Yes, Katsi. The Maedaris are my creation.” He unclasped his black cloak and flung it over a chair.
Katsi’s mind took off. She’d spent years hiding in Maedaris, often finding them beautiful. She remembered the magical tingle in the air every time one of them came through. They’d made her feel safe. Protected.
But it wasn’t the same feeling for everyone. Most ringdwellers feared them. Maedaris caused death and destruction liberally, without discrimination. It was the primary cause for Marems hating shamans.
“But how? One shaman responsible for all the Maedaris?”
“It’s not the power of one shaman.” He removed a ring from the shelf and fit it over his finger.
Katsi’s jaw dropped as she realized the implication.
“The Maedaris keep us safe, Katsi. Without them, the remaining bleeder shamans would terrorize the people, as they did at Ubedim. But you saved them.”
“I killed almost half the prisoners.” Katsi’s lips curled back in disgust.
“But if you hadn’t intervened, they would all be dead.”
“No, you could have intervened and saved them all. I saw your level of control over lightning. You would have directed it better.”
“I do have greater control, yes, but even I am not so precise. There would have been casualties either way. It was more important to determine if you were willing to take necessary action. You’ve proven that.”
“You’re a monster for that,” Katsi said, fighting back the pain that swelled in her chest.
Alyssad shook his head. “I have been called much worse than that, but you must also recognize that I mourn for the loss of those villagers who died. I do only what is necessary. It is for the sake of all the ringdwellers that I have prepared you.”
“Prepared me for what?”
Alyssad placed another ring on his hand before turning to face her. “For the final storm. A Maedari more powerful than any before. One that will cover the entire Ring.”
Katsi shook her head, but Alyssad continued.
“Much of my power is stretched thin. New Season isn’t a true season. It’s simply a month where I rest to regain my strength. I have the ability from here within the castle to control the storms across all of Malahem, but the Maedaris have a life of their own. They treat all lives with equal brutality. I am not a true stormcaller, but I’m an earthmelder. I do not have enough strength to perform the final task. I have to release my connection with the Maedaris and focus my energy on sealing up the underground hideouts used by the bleeders. Once exposed, I would need the aid of a powerful stormcaller, such as yourself, to summon the final storm that would eradicate them.”
“You want me to eradicate an entire people?” Her fingers tingled at the idea that such a thing was even possible.
“Yes. It’s the only way to secure our safety. Once eradicated, we can cease the Maedaris altogether.”
“What kind of collateral would there be if I summon this last storm? You were training me to be prepared to sacrifice people for the better of the whole society. Who dies?”
Alyssad sighed, placing another ring on his finger. “I expect you’d be met with similar results from our experiment.”
“But that’s almost half the population.” Katsi shook her head. “And we wouldn’t be able to resuscitate them like we did at Ubedim. That’s absolute madness.”
Alyssad glared at her, voice rumbling. “You have not seen what I have seen, Katsi. The entire world hinges on destruction at any moment. All the seers have felt the same thing. A fog is coming. It’s a veil so thick, it suffocates all visions, providing only brief glimpses of a world ravaged by the waheshi. All we know is that it is born of the bleeder shamans. Destroying every last one of those monsters they’ve created is the only way to secure our safety.”
