Martin was still in a state of shock as he sat in his seat in the conference room. It was dinnertime, and he had nowhere to go. Nowhere but this Cathedral. He might have to sleep here. There was a cot in his study. He’d stay there for the night.

Martin stared ahead, his mind still struggling to understand things. Too much was happening too quickly. He couldn’t think straight. Tolomon was on his way, and he needed his mind as sharp as ever if he was going to protect Tolomon from Navir, but he was struggling. He didn’t want to be in the same room with Navir, let alone fight a mental battle with him. There was a darkness around the man, even though Martin himself wasn’t a speaker of the dead.

“Do you ever worry we’re going too far with this?” Martin asked.

Since no one else spoke, they all heard him.

“With Indenuel?” Fadrique asked.

“With everything,” Martin said. “The Warrior project. The concubine law. The wars. Indenuel.” He couldn’t focus. “We can’t keep this kind of hold on any of them much longer.”

“We are going to break Indenuel soon,” Navir said, looking through his notes. “And then everything will be right again. Do not say a word this entire meeting, and it will be over soon.”

Martin rubbed his face, feeling himself start to panic. “Promise me you will not reassign Tolomon. Do not kill the man.”

“I cannot promise any such thing.”

“Then I will not stay quiet,” Martin said.

Navir glared at Martin. “Do I have your word, then, that if I do not reassign him, you will stay quiet during this meeting?”

Martin let out an unsteady breath. He wasn’t in the right mental state to be doing this kind of work. “You have my word,” Martin mumbled, feeling like he was swearing to the devil himself.

Navir smiled. “Perfect. Understand that even though I won’t reassign him, I will still threaten it.”

Martin covered his face in his hands, wishing for this to be all over.

The door opened and Tolomon strode in. There was little emotion on the man’s face as he bowed to the High Elders. “You requested me, sirs?”

“Yes, Tolomon. We wanted a short meeting with you. Your answers will be recorded for further study,” Navir said, nodding toward Dalius who was already writing this all down. “We need to know where your loyalties are.”

“I am a Graduate, sir, and therefore my loyalties always remain with my God and my country,” Tolomon said.

“And the High Elders?” Navir asked.

“You follow God, do you not?” His voice was steady, but the hint of challenge was unmistakable in Tolomon’s tone.

“Of course,” Navir said. Tolomon said nothing, simply smiled before dropping back to his unreadable expression. “However, your recent actions have caused some concern among the High Elders. The biggest being this riot you seemed to help Indenuel create.”

“All his idea, sir,” Tolomon said.

“But you did nothing to stop it. Are you going to try and tell us that Indenuel snuck away from you in order to break into the library to retrieve the book?” Navir asked. Tolomon again said nothing as Dalius finished writing this all down. “Speak, Graduate. I would very much like to hear your answer.”

“Indenuel requested some research. I went down and remained in the reading room while he did what he needed to,” Tolomon said.

“You were in the reading room?” Navir asked.

“I’ve been there before, sirs,” Tolomon answered back.

“But Indenuel was not allowed in the library portion, and yet you let him,” Navir said.

“Indenuel’s already been in there, too. Unless there is something else the High Elders are trying to hide from him, I saw no point in stopping him anymore,” Tolomon said.

“Which is precisely why we believe you need to be reassigned,” Navir said.

Martin held his head in his hands, still not sure whether or not Navir would actually do it.

Tolomon folded his arms, not at all affected by this threat. “There is a rule we learned as Graduates you would be wise to take into consideration yourself. We may study, train, and push our bodies to the point where we may think we’re untouchable, but we must never go out of our way to poke a sleeping bear.”

“And… you are the bear?” Navir asked.

“No, I’m not. Indenuel is. If you saw what I saw, watched as he slaughtered a thousand people in less time than it takes you to eat dinner, you would not provoke him. You would not send me away. You would not treat Inessa unkindly. You would not threaten the people he loves, because you do not want to face him when he’s angry.”

“We must maintain peace and tranquility. My methods may be merciless, but this is what we must do now that we are a world power,” Navir said.

“You are not a world power. I’ve read the treaty. You have no more control over Kiam than Kiam has over us. You respect each other, and do the things needed to keep up a mutual relationship between countries. If you’d like that to continue, I strongly suggest you stop antagonizing the Warrior, and treat him with the same respect you treat Kiam. Keep your distance. Get to know each other. Try to work together. Don’t get him angry.”

“We have no further use of him now that the war is over,” Navir said.

Tolomon’s unreadable face change to one of concern. But it wasn’t concern for himself. “Indenuel has seen the horrors of war, just as me and countless others have. You may claim the war is over, but it will never be over in our minds. And many of us can’t help but notice how cruelly you’ve been treating him.” Tolomon’s voice rose in anger.

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“There is no other way to treat such a dangerous individual,” Fadrique said.

“He’s not marked anymore. You all saw it today. His chest is clear, which is alone a miracle. He was pushed far more than any other human should, and now he’s developed a habit to push back first instead of discussing and coming to a peaceful conclusion. But what I don’t understand is why you High Elders are pushing back harder.”

“You will never understand what we had to do. I don’t expect you to. You are just a commoner,” Navir said.

Tolomon’s face shifted. His brows furrowed; his shoulders stiffened. “I didn’t expect a High Elder to act like a child who had their favorite blanket taken away. You and Indenuel both are trying to throw the biggest tantrum in Santollia, and it must stop.”

Navir stood, calm and collected as always. “Indenuel needed to fulfill the prophecy. We gave him the opportunity to do so.”

“All of you looked the other way while he did your dirty deeds for you!” His emotions got ahold of him. Martin’s heart dropped, realizing exactly what Navir was trying to do. Tolomon was stumbling into the trap. “It’s what you’ve always done. You only have your power and positions because of the blood commoners have spilt for you!”

Martin stood, panicking. “Tolomon, please. Don’t. Don’t get angry.”

Tolomon didn’t hear, or at least he pretended not to. There was too much trauma on the man’s shoulders, and he had been carrying it for far too long.

Navir shook his head. “I will not allow Indenuel to tarnish our reputation to pacify his-”

“It already is tarnished, you repugnant son of a bitch!” Tolomon shouted.

Dalius gasped, the quill pen slipping from his hands and scraping against the book. Fadrique covered his mouth, his eyes wide. Martin’s heart sank as Navir smiled, slow and triumphant. Tolomon kept Navir’s gaze for a few more moments before he forced himself to look away, swearing under his breath. His face hardened, ready for any punishment Navir was about to dish out.

“I always assumed you’ve gotten too comfortable in your titles. You cannot talk to a High Elder that way,” Navir said, his voice sharp despite the wide smile on his face.

Martin’s breath was not steady. “Navir.”

“His insult was aimed at me, and I refuse to forgive him.”

Martin’s alarm grew as Tolomon faced Navir again. Martin trembled, grasping at anything that could save Tolomon. “Please. Please show him mercy.” He had tears brimming in his eyes. He had a suspicion he knew what Navir would do. Navir would not actually forgive Tolomon or Nathaniel for their part to play in trying to save Indenuel and Inessa during their adultery trial. Not until they were properly punished, and Tolomon gave him the opportunity.

“Mercy doesn’t win wars, Martin.”

“But it ends them! End this, please!”

“Are you ready, Dalius?” Navir asked, ignoring Martin and still staring Tolomon down.

Dalius got over his shock, finishing writing up the conversation. “Ready.”

“Tolomon, being a Graduate of the common class, will receive twenty-five lashes tomorrow morning for what he said, and he will be stripped of his titles as Graduate. You will then be sent to Reynaldo, leader of the Graduate program, and he will decide if someone with a rebellious spirit such as yourself should live.”

“Navir!” Martin said.

“As your insult was directed to me specifically, I will add another twenty-five lashes to your sentence. You may not even need Reynaldo to decide if you will live.”

Martin didn’t remember how he got to Tolomon’s side; he was simply there. “Navir, I am begging you to reconsider.”

“Don’t do it, sir. Indenuel needs you. You cannot take twenty-five lashings and live,” Tolomon said.

“Guards!” Navir said.

Martin had tears in his eyes, looking at Tolomon. Guards entered, and Dalius gave them the verdict. Martin knew it wouldn’t be him taking half Tolomon’s punishment. It would be his son. “You want me to simply watch as they whip the both of you tomorrow morning?”

Tolomon said nothing. Guards grabbed him, placing him in irons before taking him quickly out of the room. Martin spun, facing Navir who was calmly organizing things before standing up.

“Don’t, Navir. Please.”

“I don’t need this from you,” Navir said, heading toward the door.

“You need to hear it from somebody,” Martin said, his voice sharper. “If you’re not going to listen to Tolomon, you better listen to me. Indenuel is in pain, and we need to show him the mercy he craves so he can start healing.”

“There is no room for weakness among the High Elders,” Navir said.

“You keep implying it’s me, but it’s becoming clearer the longer this fight is going on that the weakness is you!” Martin knew he was speaking in anger, but he couldn’t help it. He was shaking in rage as Navir did nothing more than glance at him before walking out of the room. “Reconsider!” Martin shouted after him. He hardly saw Navir disappear through the door before Fadrique pushed past to leave. Martin ran a hand through his hair as Dalius finished placing the open book of notes in Cristoval’s lap and pushed him toward the door.

“Dalius, you cannot agree with this. The punishment given to Tolomon is too harsh. The political ramifications could-”

Dalius pushed past him. “Navir is right. World peace is too big of a prize to risk. We must obtain it at all costs. Generations from now, the people will thank us. It is worth it to sacrifice a Graduate for.”

Martin said nothing as Dalius pushed Cristoval away. “War, war, war. It never ends. Always war. Always near. Pain, carnage, death. Control, or be controlled,” Cristoval mumbled.

Dalius ignored this and continued to push Cristoval out of the room. Martin stood there in the middle of the conference room, on his knees, trying to breathe steadily so he wouldn’t pass out. He was outnumbered. He was going to watch Tolomon and Nathaniel get whipped tomorrow morning, and he could do nothing about it. Not without the threat of the High Elders destroying his character. They would find out his darkest secrets, and they would announce it to the world, and his titles would be nothing more than words. He’d lose everything. Whatever thread of forgiveness he could possibly seek from Sara would break. He would lose his family, and he would certainly never see them in the next life.

He was bound for hell. Of that he was certain.

***

Inessa had tears in her eyes as she ate her dinner. It was so lonely here at the table. It was large, and the only people here were the servants who remained silent and never spoke to her. She couldn’t be sure if that was what a servant was supposed to do, or if it was because the High Elders declared her a slut.

She finished dinner, trying to keep herself busy in a house this large. The servants always bowed out of the way and refused to talk to her, and Inessa was left alone. Pablo had come with a note she couldn’t read. Pablo let her know Tolomon was sentenced to fifty lashes tomorrow morning, and tears sprang to her eyes as she covered her mouth.

“I would strongly suggest you not attend, ma’am,” Pablo said.

“Is he going to be alright?” Inessa said through her fingers.

“Unlikely, ma’am. Fifty lashes is a lot. Adosina is here to see you too.”

Inessa let out a breath as she gathered her skirts to run. Her soul was heavy, but she needed someone to talk to, and though she didn’t realize it, Adosina was exactly the person she wanted to see.

She outpaced Pablo, ignoring etiquette and burst into the sitting room, striding over to Adosina and giving her dear friend a hug.

“Oh, dear Inessa. You are simply trembling. Have you had something to eat?” Adosina asked.

“I have, yes,” Inessa said, aware that Adosina’s hug had caused tears to fall from her eyes. “Tolomon. I… I just heard. Tolomon, he-”

“Nathaniel has a plan. Tolomon’s not going to die.”

Inessa broke away, drying her tears. “Addy, are you… your father…”

The look on Adosina’s face made her pause. “I am not in the state of mind to talk about him right now.”

“Come on, Addy, it’s me. You can tell me anything,” Inessa said.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I have not been able to process my grief at the blatant hypocrisy of the man I once thought so highly of. And I cannot unload that grief on a girl I know is struggling just as much. Believe me, one day I will come, and we will eat all the apple pastries we can stomach as we talk about it, but I am here to visit you,” Adosina said.

Inessa nodded, mainly because she did not know how to get Adosina to talk if she didn’t want to. “I’ll be alright.”

“Inessa, your husband is in the dungeon with his bodyguard who is about to receive an unfair and unnaturally harsh punishment. Not only that, but the entire nobility is also discussing whether or not you have slept with men since the age of eight. I do not believe you,” Adosina said.

Inessa sighed, hugging Adosina again, knowing at least someone was here to talk to. “I think what I need is a huge tray of apple pastries and for us to just not talk about anything of consequence.”

Adosina patted her back. “That sounds like a great idea.”