“Because she refuses to accept the possibility that Trap might be innocent,” Lumi interjected, looking at me. “Tae, I must admit, the girls have every right to be suspicious. You can’t prove her good intentions past what we’ve all just seen, and that isn’t enough to convince at least three of our crew members here that Medina can truly be trusted. Our three crew members here,” she added, pointing at Herakles, Riza, and Eira, “however, can’t prove she’s untrustworthy, either, for the same reason. Our best move forward is to take advantage of tonight’s dinner and drill her in front of the emperor. If she slips, we’ll know. If she refuses to answer certain questions, we’ll know. But if she’s as cooperative in those circumstances as she was earlier, I think we’ll all be able to agree that Medina is, in fact, doing her best to help us.”
“Letting this rest until dinner sounds good,” Amelia suggested. “We’re under a lot of pressure now, and we’ve been repeatedly hounded and betrayed. While suspicion is good to have on us at all times, it might hurt us if we use it against everyone we meet.”
“What do you mean?” Raphael asked.
“Lumi said it clearly. We’re designed to not trust people easily, and Medina’s on the fence right now. We need more information before we can, say, reject her or investigate her. If she’s innocent, and we continue to suspect her of wrongdoing, we might lose her as an ally, and she’s the one who can get us into the ancient sites on Cerix.”
Amelia had a point, and we all seemed to agree on it. I could easily address the issues of Trap Mellon and Skit during dinner with Emperor Tulla, like I’d said. Until then, I just wanted the rest of the day to flow smoothly. I hated being in this palace for too long. Every moment now, I could almost hear Shills hissing and roaring through the hallways, looking for us. The paranoia and the fear had definitely set in, but I couldn’t let such emotions jeopardize our mission.
After all, we’d come through the pink water and we’d slipped through undetected, so far. Chances were that the Hermessi didn’t even know we were here—not yet, anyway. Otherwise, they would’ve torn the palace down, brick by brick, until they got to us. The current situation was far more convenient, despite its slow development. I didn’t like having to wait until morning to check those ancient sites, but Medina had been specific about it.
We were better off doing things her way. It left me with some spare time tonight, and, since I’d discussed this with Eira already, I decided I’d use it to investigate Trap’s whereabouts. I also had to trust my friends, even if I disagreed with them. If Herakles, Riza, and Eira didn’t like Medina, it was my duty to find the truth, whether I liked it or not.
I just didn’t want another potential traitor in our midst. We’d been through enough already. We needed one damn lucky break, at least, and this whole search scenario felt like it could be it. I didn’t want to be disappointed, because, at this stage in the game, disappointment could easily and irreversibly lead to premature death—not just for me, but for my friends and loved ones, too.
“We’ll talk to the emperor tonight, then,” I concluded, eager to get back to the map to discuss potential locations for Eirexis. Riza, Herakles, and Eva joined us around the table once more as we continued to prepare for the next day.
“Say what you will,” Raphael said, stifling a chuckle, “but at least Medina’s more useful than her predecessor.”
That much was true. Dellon Figgen had been a fraud and a monster, wholly undeserving of his rank and position in the Cerixian Empire. No creature looking to exploit Hermessi children could ever be allowed to be free—and the same could be said for Brendel, too. Even though she was a Hermessi, she’d been using the Hermessi children against us, against innocent people. My heart swelled at the thought of finding the pieces of Thieron and ending her stupid ritual, once and for all.
As for Medina, we could easily resolve this at dinner. I looked forward to asking Emperor Tulla about Trap Mellon, in particular. Regardless of where this would lead, I had to admit… We needed the truth, now more than ever, from anyone who crossed our path.
Taeral
The dinner itself started off nicely, as we were warmly greeted by the emperor himself, joined at the table by Medina. He made sure he shook all our hands, after which he gave Eira a brief hug and entertained Acantha and Nethissis in conversation. He seemed particularly thrilled to meet Lumi’s apprentices.
As we sat down for the food and blood to be served, Emperor Tulla bombarded us with questions about our mission—how we’d been, how we’d come across Death and Reapers, what progress we’d made against the Hermessi, and so on. He knew most of the answers already, but he wanted to listen to our “cosmic war stories,” as he called them, and we didn’t mind.
The one thing we didn’t do was jump right into questioning Medina. Eira had advised us against it, suggesting that we were better off luring her out of the room before we could ask the emperor about her. It made sense, since this was the wrong place and the wrong time to stir some kind of diplomatic skirmish. All eyes were on us, and we couldn’t risk pissing anyone off, especially in a land where most of the Hermessi were itching to kill us.
“Your Majesty, we heard about Trap Mellon,” I said, shortly after the second course was served, long past the initial tales of our Hermessi adventures. “I must admit, we were all shocked.”
It earned me a frown from Medina, while the emperor sighed deeply, his expression darkened by sadness. Eira gave me an approving nod. We’d agreed to mention Trap with Medina present, just to observe the reactions. The emperor didn’t even look at Medina, setting his gaze on me, instead.
“I still can’t believe it, if I’m honest,” he said.
Varga looked at me, blinking once. He was reading the emperor’s emotional aura, and we’d devised a quick and easy communication system—he’d blink once for truth and twice for misleading statements. He’d been reading Medina and the emperor throughout the evening, and so far, he hadn’t found anything troubling. Then again, the night was still young, and we’d yet to ask the hard questions.
“Has there been any news regarding his whereabouts?” I replied.
“Not that I know of. Perhaps the prime minister knows more,” Emperor Tulla said, glancing at her. Medina shook her head.
“I’m afraid we haven’t found him yet.”
One quick look at Varga, and I knew she was telling the truth. They were still actively searching for Trap, while Eira was willing to stake her life on his character. She would go to her grave vouching for him, and I had no choice but to trust her on this. Eira’s judgment had yet to fail us.
“Weren’t there any signs? Something to conclusively point to him as a cult member?” Amelia asked.
“Wasn’t the cult paraphernalia we found at his house enough?” Medina retorted, her expression firm and cold. She clearly didn’t enjoy this part of the conversation. Such a reaction didn’t exactly work in her favor, not if she expected me to fully trust her. We were well within our rights to question her and anyone else, especially where Trap Mellon was concerned.
“I will not issue an opinion on the matter until Trap is brought back and interrogated,” the emperor declared. “That being said, I wholeheartedly hope it isn’t true, because he’s dedicated his entire life to serving and protecting the empire. Turning against us after all these years isn’t just foolish… it’s downright ridiculous. I simply cannot even conceive such a thought.”
“Rest assured, Your Majesty, that we are working tirelessly to find him and safely bring him back,” Medina replied. “I’m equally baffled by what we discovered, and I’m looking forward to getting the truth out of him.”
“Yet you’ve made up your mind about him,” Eira shot back, her blue eyes narrowed and frosty.
Medina glowered at her, while I remembered a key difference in the way she treated Eira, as opposed to the rest of our crew. We were all asked to call her by her first name, while Eira continued to address her by her title, and Medina never corrected her—as if Eira was somehow beneath her. There was a certain degree of animosity between them, and I’d only noticed it now, as they sat across the table from one another.
“I only follow the evidence,” the prime minister said in a clipped tone. “Unless proof of his innocence is revealed, I am entitled to make this assessment. I will happily change it in the future, if Trap proves me wrong.”
“Now, now, let us not argue about a Cerixian who isn’t here to defend himself,” the emperor cut in. “There are more important things to discuss tonight. Taeral, how is your mission looking for tomorrow morning?”
“It’s all set, Your Majesty,” I replied. “We’ll leave at first light, and we’ve obtained a copy of the most accurate map of Cerix for our travel. We’re looking at three initial locations, along with four more that might be of use.”
The emperor smiled. “Good. I’m glad to hear that. We’re all rooting for you, Fire Star prince.”
“Medina, I was wondering…” Eva said, wearing the most innocent expression she could come up with—which was quite the challenge, given her snake-like eyes; they gave her sharpness and feral beauty, both polar opposites of what she was going for. “Could you join me back in the meeting hall for a moment? I need to check something on that map, as I’ve just thought of a couple more possible locations for Eirexis. I was hoping you might be able to assist me.”
Medina raised an eyebrow, her skepticism unwarranted. Eva’s performance was flawless, even with her snake eyes. “Right now?”
“While the ideas are fresh in my mind,” Eva replied, smiling.
“Very well.” Medina sighed and got up from the table.
As soon as she and Eva left the dining hall, I switched my attention to the emperor, but Riza got ahead of me. “Your Grace, whatever happened to Skit? We haven’t seen him around.”
Good question, I thought. The Emperor shrugged. “Well, he is part of the palace guards. I suppose he’s either on his day off or doing his rounds. I wouldn’t be able to tell you more.”
That was a dead end, for now. There wasn’t much else we could do about Skit, and he certainly wasn’t at the top of our priorities list. He’d been sensed near our room, but he wasn’t one of the four soldiers assigned to our care. Maybe he’d simply passed through—like the Emperor had said, making his rounds. I decided to address a much bigger item on our said list.
“What do you think of Medina’s performance so far?” I asked. “Is she to your liking, as the new prime minister?”
“She’s very good at what she does,” the emperor said. “I vetted her myself. Loyal. Dependable. Ruthless. Resourceful. I appreciate those qualities in a leader.”
“Your Majesty, I must admit, I don’t like how she’s handling Trap’s investigation,” Eira chimed in. “She sounds like she’s already made up her mind about him.”
The emperor gave her a soft smile. “She’s merely following the evidence. If you remember, she also suggested that she’s more than willing to change her mind, should Trap be proven innocent. Now, enough about him. The subject irks me in his absence.” He glanced at me. “What locations have you chosen, so far, for your search tomorrow? Has Medina arranged everything with the local guards?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. She also had someone deliver the monogramed cloaks to our rooms,” I said. “The first three locations are in two different domains. One is the HuaWua Temple, on the northwestern coast of the Samotarcis Domain. The other two are both along the Cell River, close to the southeastern delta. Eira remembered there’s a rosy fish sanctuary near the HuaWua Temple, and that’s important to our search, based on newly revealed information. We’re just waiting for Medina to find out where the other rosy fish sanctuaries are.”
“Based on their locations, we’ll cross-check with what we’ve already learned about Eirexis’s possible whereabouts and, hopefully, come up with one or two more sites,” Lumi added. “We’re looking to be done by the end of tomorrow.”
“Provided the Hermessi don’t get in the way,” Raphael grumbled.
“That’ll be a given. They know we’re coming,” Varga replied. “We’ve been planning ahead, though. It’ll be a secret infiltration and extraction method, once we find Eirexis.”
“I can only wish you the best of luck,” the emperor said. “I would love to be able to help you more, but, alas, I’m but a mere Cerixian.” He paused, his brows pulling into a confused frown. “Wait, why is the prime minister having to search for the rosy fish sanctuaries? She knows where they are.”
