Martin eased Inessa out of the carriage, keeping a hold of her elbow. Her face was finally healed of the bruises and cleaned of the blood, but she still had the dead expression. He helped her into the house, Derio giving both of them a low bow as he entered.

“How did it-” Adosina stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Inessa. The concern went deep in her face. “Api, what happened?”

“Never mind,” Martin said, letting go of her elbow, expecting her to walk to her room but she simply stayed where she was led, staring at nothing. “She had a bit of a shock. She just needs some rest.”

Adosina frowned. “Api?”

“No questions, please. Just… take her to her room,” Martin said.

Ana and Rosa appeared at the entryway. Ana covered her mouth, her eyes wide as Adosina helped Inessa up the stairs and to her room.

“Could you have Sara come to my study,” Martin told Derio.

Derio nodded as Martin walked down the hall and disappeared in his study. When Sara appeared, Martin asked her to keep yet another secret before explaining what Inessa had done with the poppy root. Sara looked shocked to her core. Martin didn’t tell her about the High Elders checking for a mark, but he did explain that he needed to sleep with her every night until she was with child.

Sara’s face grew hard. “No.”

Martin gave a pained expression. “Sara-”

“No.”

“The High Elders-”

“I don’t care what the High Elders are asking you to do. I don’t even care that she is a young, beautiful woman and I am an old, ugly one.”

“Sara-” Martin mumbled.

“I care about Inessa,” Sara said, pointing at the door. “She’s not allowed to say no to you like I can. She isn’t allowed to say she isn’t in the mood. She literally has no rights. She is just there for the High Elders to tell her what she can and cannot do. I saw her and Adosina in her room just now, and I’ve never seen such a state of shock. You cannot sleep with her. You need to leave her alone.”

Martin blinked, staring at Sara. This was the first time Sara talked about Inessa like she was part of their family. “I’m sorry, Sara, but this must happen.”

“Just do nothing!” Sara snapped. “How hard is that to understand?”

“I have my orders,” Martin said.

“And your orders are stupid!” Sara said.

Derio knocked on the study door. “High Elder Navir here to see you, Martin.”

Sara glared at him as he rubbed is forehead. “Come in, Navir.”

Navir opened the door, holding a small bag of powder. Navir bowed to Sara. In an act of defiance, she did not curtsey to him, instead leaving the room, slamming the door a lot harder than usual.

Navir winced in sympathy. “My wife was the same way.” Martin said nothing as Navir placed the bag on his desk. “Give that to her at dinner in some wine. A healthy scoop or two. Make sure she drinks the entire thing. That will give you enough time before tonight.”

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Martin tapped his desk, staring at the door Sara had slammed. It wouldn’t matter. Inessa wasn’t fertile. Wouldn’t be for a few more weeks at least, but there was no point trying to convince Navir of this. “Thank you, Navir.”

“I came across a passage in some research at the library,” Navir said, his voice dropping. “It is as I feared.” He glanced around the office to make sure they were alone. “Indenuel had all four powers, and you had one. You and he were equally matched in the one, but somehow the devil got to you, and was able to pull your powers out of you.”

Martin nodded, remembering all too well the conversation he had with Indenuel about hell. “Is there a way to bring my power back?”

Navir gave a hard smile. “It’s back to an infantile state. It shouldn’t take you fifty years, but still at least a decade. If you fight the same corrupted individual again, you could get your powers back through conquest, both physically and mentally.”

Martin shook his head. “No. I’m not going to fight Indenuel.” Even as he said it, he remembered Cristoval’s prophecy. If he were to fight Indenuel and win, that would mean the boy might die. A shudder went through him. “He needs to be cleansed of the mark, and I’d rather that happen then get my powers back.”

Navir nodded. “I thought you might say that.”

Martin stared at the bag on the desk, thinking about what his decision meant. He couldn’t hide this from the people for a decade, but he wasn’t going to fight Indenuel. “What does this mean for my status as High Elder?”

Navir shrugged. “You and Theo will be working closely for however long it takes. But we cannot remove your rank or titles. Only you can decide whether to step down.” Martin nodded again, not looking at him. There was a beat of silence as though Navir waited for Martin to say he was going to step down, but Martin refused. He was not going to put Theo through the same horrors he had. Navir rapped his knuckle against the desk. “Let us know when Inessa becomes with child.”

Martin said nothing as Navir turned and left. He sighed, staring at the remaining letters from the beseeching. He took a deep breath before diving into some work. He tried to focus on that instead of what was to come. Tried not to think about the war, tried not to think what would happen to him if Kiam won. Tried not to think about what it would mean for Nathaniel.

Martin wasn’t sure how long he’d been working on the letters when there was another knock on the door.

“Come in,” Martin said.

Ana walked in, giving a hasty curtsey. “Martin.”

“Ana, hello. How can I help you?” he asked.

“Have you tried healing her?”

“Inessa?”

“Yes. I’ve never seen such a state of shock before,” Ana said, almost out of breath.

Martin focused on putting another letter in the stack that needed to go out. “She is… yes, quite the state of shock. There is… there is little I could do.”

Ana let out another breath. “Then let me clarify, Martin. There are demons in her. They are not doing anything, just waiting.”

Martin felt a spike of alarm. “Can’t you get them out?”

“They’re not tempting her; they’re not tormenting her. They are just waiting. Even as I tried to push them away, they returned in abundance. They…” Ana looked down, the terror still in her eyes. “There is nothing my power can do to change her mind. She’s already planning to do it, and it’s drawing every demon in the city to her. They want to feel what it’s like to die. If we don’t do something now, we’re going to discover her dead body tomorrow morning, I guarantee it.”

His mind scrambled to think of something. “I always want two female servants at her side, one healer, one tree talker, even when she’s asleep. Tell the tree talker to alert Derio if anything seems suspicious, and for Derio to alert me. She hasn’t had any lunch, so tell Sara to force something inside her, and to ignore all of Inessa’s excuses. Tell Sara to make sure Inessa does not put anything in her food or drink. Get her outside and walking. Alert Derio I need to speak with him immediately.”

Ana nodded, tears in her eyes as she walked out of the study. Martin pulled out a fresh piece of paper and wrote a hasty note.

She is suicidal. I am not sleeping with her tonight.

“You called for me, Martin?” Derio asked.

“You have been my servant for a few decades now, haven’t you?”

“Yes, Martin. It has been an honor.”

“And now more than ever I need you to keep this matter private,” Martin said, handing him the paper. “Send this to Navir. He should be home now.”

Derio nodded, taking the paper and heading to the open window. He held a branch, closing his eyes, searching. Martin tapped the quill against his finger, waiting.

Derio frowned, opening his eyes. “He’s not at home.”

“What about the Cathedral?” Martin asked.

Derio shook his head. “He’s not there either. He must still be in his carriage. I cannot sense him.”

Martin rubbed his head. “Alright. We’ll try again later. We need to help Inessa.”

Derio bowed. “It will be done.”

He could have sworn enough time had passed that Navir had gotten back home. Where was he?