7 To Break a Promise

Year 912YC, eleven years earlier

IN THE SHADOW of Icarthya’s Adalcis Gate, in the Pleth Quarter, Threadfin watched the men toss the bodies onto a wagon bed. They hadn’t bothered to cover the emaciated forms and his gaze fell upon the empty eyes of a child. The outbreak within the tenements close to the capital’s port had claimed fifty-three lives. Considering the death toll of the last plagues, it didn’t deserve the name. The streets beyond were devoid of life, folks fearful of what might be a return of the dreaded pestilence.

Weeping sores covered the girl’s skin. ‘Perhaps she died in her sleep without any suffering,’ he said. He didn’t believe that, but he thought the lie might comfort his sister who stood close to him. ‘What is this about? Why have you brought me here? Father will be apoplectic if he learns of this.’

Both wore long deep cloaks called dalbas, which covered them entirely including their faces. His was a red-violet, hers dark grey. The daylight had begun to wane, a cold white fog creeping from the imperial port, curling about their feet.

‘I wanted to see them,’ she whispered, seeming unaware of the furtive looks from the gravediggers. The men couldn’t see their faces, but only the Imperial Family wore the traditional garb beyond the Imperial Quarter. That they had no palace guards with them was what would seem odd, even suspicious. ‘I wanted you to see them. Our father has many reasons to be angry with you, but it isn’t him you need fear.’

Threadfin felt an icy clutch on his half soul. ‘What have you discovered?’ He kept an eye on the breathers through the gauze fabric of his cloak’s veil. So far, the men who were twelve feet away showed no sign they could hear.

‘There have been several others, two reported in Byrsa. You understand, don’t you? The rumours say virals are responsible. This time the tales have taken root. Exemplars are rounding up any they find. I doubt there are enough left in the entire world for a single clot. Still, they find people and behead them, and then burn the bodies. Just having a runny nose or a pasty complexion is a death sentence. These outbreaks are dangerous ... to you. You must not remain in Icarthya, Fin, perhaps not even within the imperium.’

‘I know you care if these people live or die,’ he said. ‘You snuck out to give alms to Muckers even after father forbade you. You’ve always thought of others, but who will watch your back if I’m not here?’

She sighed irritably. ‘We are not children any longer. Things change.’

Threadfin gave a low laugh, devoid of humour. ‘Not everything. I know your heart better than you. You won’t send me away. You wouldn’t do that.’

‘Avitus suspects.’

‘And?’ He fought back a pang of fear. ‘Let her. She wouldn’t dare voice her suspicions, not while father lives.’ Anyone with sense in their heads knew Liviana sought power. His sister needed him.

‘That’s just it,’ said Aiyana. ‘Father can’t see her for what she is. Ever since she returned, she flaunts herself at him. That trollop takes more of his time every day, always managing to keep me out of the way.’

‘Huh,’ he grunted. ‘He’s entitled to enjoy himself you know. He is the imperator. She wouldn’t be my taste. I like them bonier. You know, rotten on the inside, a little stiff, cold, missing a limb or two, eye dangling from a socket. Almost gets my heart thumping thinking about it.’

‘This isn’t a joke, Fin. I believe Liviana is behind those rumours. The situation has become far too dangerous. I don’t want you here any longer. I do not need you to protect me.’ Those words cut deep, as he supposed she’d meant them to, but he didn’t believe her. She had a blade for a tongue at times. ‘Father expects me to be tough,’ she continued, ‘to be without weakness, but I cannot sit back and wait for trouble. In fact, I won’t.’

‘What is that supposed to mean?’

She stared ahead, refusing to meet his eyes. The fog rolling in from the Adalcis Ocean thickened as dusk fell, cold seeping into the bones of the capital.

‘Avitus is not the first to think that way,’ he said, voice shaky. ‘I am an Icarthian prince, and she’ll need more than suspicions.’ He sighed, watching a befouled grolg stamp and snort before it hauled the wagon away. Killing Avitus wasn’t a viable option. She was too close to their father for that, and he thought Aiyana might be overreacting. ‘No matter what the future holds, I will keep you safe. That was my promise to you. You promised me that we would always be together and that nothing would separate us. I hold you to that.’

‘You are impossible.’ She gave a dramatic sigh before gripping his hand and turning to face him. They were alone now. For an instant, her face looked different behind her veil, eyes sunken and skin greyer. No doubt, it was his imagination. ‘All things end, little brother, and soon you must leave. I will do whatever I have to, to see you safe ... even if it means breaking a promise I once made in good faith.’ Turning away, she re-entered the city through the arched stone gate.

As Threadfin turned to go too, he glimpsed a spy. Whoever it was, detached from the doorway of a tenement and was lost to shadow. Likely, it was his sister’s Darken, or perhaps a spy of their father’s. He didn’t care. He knew his sister.

She wouldn’t break her promise.