A separate world existed within the late night streets of Theolos. It was one that thrived in the darkest parts of the Empire and blinded its spectators with the untamed nature of incivility.
Lights and clamor from rowdy taverns, dirty words and lecherous moans echoing from brothels, bodies of drunken men slamming into her shoulder as they walked past with lewd words — Jovine writhed in discomfort as she closely followed behind Elias.
Disguised as a lowly boy, she fidgeted in the itchy clothes he had loaned her. She had always been slightly taller than her brother, who unusually stopped growing at the age of 13, but his muscled form had filled out enough to drown her slight frame. Her hair was tucked into an oversized, loopy hat and a wide tunic was stuffed into his scratchy, tweed jacket.
Every single aspect of their venture was tainted in unpleasant infliction.
The force of her ignorance was clearer than it had ever been. As an Empress, her understanding of the Empire should have been unclouded, yet the tarnished state of these streets were distressing. Broken glass and debris littered the roads. Violent fights raged in every corner. Frail bodies hungered in dark alleyways. Lust and intoxicated danger permeated the air.
Just how far had she neglected her own Empire?
Jovine swept her eyes to Elias, expecting to find him just as concerned, but his demeanor looked almost…free. In the darkness of the chapel and throughout their journey down a hidden path she was still baffled to know existed, he was distant and obscure. Yet, on the wild streets of Theolos, he seemed pleased.
Instead of shrouding his scar with the strands of his hair, he boasted it proudly, leaving his golden locks tied at his nape. His posture lightened, his steps eased, and his eyes glinted in mischief.It made her wonder about his life after he had left the family.
Jovine hesitantly reached out to grab his arm when a sultry woman with smudged lips and spilling cleavage slammed into his body, taking his face into her hands and sticking her tongue down his throat. Her mouth dropping open, Jovine looked away with a harsh blush.
“Not tonight, Lettie,” Elias chuckled, swatting her rear with a wink. “I’ve got a guest with me.” He looked back at Jovine with a delinquent smile.
The woman whined her regret but quickly moved onto another man by the lamppost, eager to lure him into the nearest pleasure house. Biting her inner cheeks, Jovine looked high up into the sky, unwilling to relate any vulgar thoughts to her brother.
Elias swung his arm around her neck and tugged her into his side as he continued walking. He pinched her nose playfully until they scrunched up in irritation. “Your face looks like a tomato, Vinnie.”
“Shut it,” she grumbled, refusing to keep contact with his amused eyes.
He sniffed into the air and started whistling a tune, throwing dirty looks every now and again at the drunkards who brushed against their bodies. To relieve the awkward air and the pit of trepidation simmering in her gut, Jovine turned her attention to the carts wheeled onto the streets.
Many sold small trinkets and vials of what smelled like alcohol and potent tonics, but an old woman behind a wooden wagon laid out gems and bottles of what she called out to be “Amulets and Love Potions!”
Jovine pulled on Elias’s sleeve. “Lias,” she whispered, finally looking up at him. “Tell me what you know about magic.”
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The twitch of his brows was the only indication of his stagger. “I know as much as you do.”
To her great disappointment, that was all he said.
“It’s back in the Empire,” she baited, scrutinizing every inch of his face. He didn’t loose a single reaction.
“Lias —”
A hard body slammed into her side, and when she looked around in alarm, a hooded man shoved a cold object into the palm of her hands. With that, the figure disappeared into the crowd. Jovine snapped her head back to her brother, opening her mouth to sputter her agitation, but he shot a warning glance at her.
“We’re here,” Elias muttered under his breath, leading her towards the entrance of a dimly lit tavern. “Don’t say another word.”
Opening the chiming door, he released his hold over her shoulders and walked into the quiet space. Jovine kept her head down, drowning in the painful thuds of her racing heart as she clutched her hands over what seemed to be a metal coin.
In contrast to the boisterous crowd in the other pubs, small groups of people were softly chattering as they threw back drinks and munched on bowls of peeled nuts. The tavern was quaint and sparsely decorated with wooden tables and a bar at the front where a burly man with a tattooed face wiped down the countertop.
Elias held up two fingers to the man, and gestured for her to sit at a table in the furthest corner. She seated herself without a thought and stayed, frozen, waiting until Elias returned with two glasses of frothing liquid. As soon as he was back in front of her, Jovine threw a scathing glare a her brother, fed up with his secrecy.
“You better start talking now, Elias Rainer.”
He raised a brow, sipping his drink in leisure. Smacking his lips loudly, he opened his palm for her. Sitting on it was a small, silver coin with a serpent engraved into the head. “Open your palm.”
Jovine relaxed her fist and released a similar coin on the table before them. This one was gold with a familiar flower engraved into the center. Her brows folded. “I don’t understand,” she murmured.
Elias leaned across the table, his green eyes piercing into her skull. “Where did I say we’d be going?” he asked.
“To be rebels.”
“Yes. And did you see them?”
Was he referring to the strange man who had put the coin into her hand? She was far from understanding his cryptic words. “Did I?” she asked with narrowed eyes, on the verge of throwing her drink in his smug little face.
“You did,” he smirked. “Look around you, Vinnie. What do you see?”
She glanced around at the abnormal serenity and the absolute nothingness that existed in the unremarkable tavern. “There’s nothing amiss.”
“Yes. Because the rebellion is everywhere. The rebels are everywhere. They exist in the dark, out in the open where everyone, yet no one, can find them. They’re unseen and perfectly blended into every corner.” Elias deftly balanced the two coins on his fingers. “In utmost secrecy, they wager and gamble at the fate of the Empire.” He flicked them up into the air and caught them as they fell. “Two houses. Two powerful men. Politics is simply a house of cards.”
Elias slammed the coins onto the table and pointed at the engravings. “You recognize these seals?”
When she swiveled her eyes to each familiar mark, clarity punched into her chest. “Lord Ballio,” she muttered, looking at the serpent. “And Grand Duke Vel Feyras,” she whispered in disbelief, recognizing the distinct Columbine Flower. “Two men, waging for the throne?”
“It’s a game, Vinnie.”
Jovine looked up at him with wide eyes.
“Your very own people treat the lives of Royals as pawns. Underground, they place bets on the winning House and support their desired contender,” Elias said in a vacant voice.
She swallowed, looking around at the people who practically blended into the walls. Rebels were everywhere. Elias couldn’t find everywhere. She wouldn’t find everywhere. Unless…
“It’s a game, Vinnie,” he repeated. “You’re either a player or a piece. So what will it be? Will you play? Or be played?”
Jovine stared into her brother’s eyes, wishing he would just give her a clear answer, but she knew it wasn’t as simple as that. The Empire was in shambles. That much was clear. Her people now played a match of politics.
What was her answer?
Play? Or be played?
As her head spiraled in a fragmented mess, her eyes were drawn to the sound of the chiming bell. She watched as an elderly, hooded man with dark eyes and a long, graying beard entered the tavern. As soon as their eyes met, the man froze in terror, his eyes widening. Slamming the door, he bolted out in a rush before Jovine could comprehend the act.
Then the startling realization punctured her haze.
“Elias,” she trembled out, panicked and afraid.
Her brother saw the fright in her eyes.
“I’ve been recognized.”