34. The Vorkyrda's Mercy (Vaye)¶
Vaye awoke in a new world, one in which she was loved.
She lingered in bed, engraving the memories of the night before in her mind. The evening had outpaced her most far-flung fantasies. She could barely believe it had happened.
She’d originally planned to spend the evening of Dunvirmak catching up on her sleep, having for once been excused from her kitchen duties. Staying up instead had definitely been worth it, but when she finally roused herself to go to class, she was even more exhausted than usual, barely managing to arrive in time. Gadarien was nowhere to be seen, and Adranaya was seated on the far side of the room, looking over her notes. Ordinarily, Vaye would have found a spot next to her, but after what they’d done, it felt prudent to sit apart.
Adranaya tucked her hair behind her ear and looked up, giving Vaye a shy smile. If she hadn’t known better, Vaye might have believed the Sarmalan to be an innocent waif. Her face grew warm thinking about just how far from innocent Adranaya had proven to be.
The lecture commenced. Despite her best efforts, Vaye started to nod off. And thus she was only half awake when the Sihiri arrived to tear her life apart.
The commander was a tall, hawk-faced woman with a scar sprawled across her brow. Preceptor Yobaza entered behind her, looking smug. The novitiates whispered to each other excitedly as more soldiers filed in.
“Silence!” Yobaza said, her voice like a whip. “Yesterday, a captured separatist indicated that there is a Cantereian agent in this School. This morning, we conducted a search of the novitiate quarters.” She held up a roll of parchment, small and horribly familiar. “We found this in one of your cells. A forbidden magical text, stolen from my own office.”
Murmurs rose like bubbles in a simmering pot. Dread washed through Vaye’s body, the blood draining out of her head and limbs, her skin prickling with cold sweat. The Sihiri captain rapped sharply on the floor with the butt of her spear, silencing the room.
“I am Captain Havja of the Sihiri,” the captain said. “Which of you is Adranaya Parsevgi?”
Everyone turned to look at Adranaya. She lifted a hand, looking around in confusion. “That’s me. But I—”
“Is this her, soldier?” Havja interrupted, turning to another one of the Sihiri.
“Yes, Captain,” said the soldier. He wasn’t a large man, but his entire body was tense, his sliver of a mustache trembling with haughty outrage. “I attest that this girl displayed sympathy for the separatist movement, as well as open disrespect for the Sihiri, in my presence.” Adranaya’s expression slid from shock to dismay. She clearly recognized the man.
“Novitiate Parsevgi, you are accused of stealing a dangerous artifact in service of the Cantereian insurrection,” said Captain Havja. She produced a length of rope as several Sihiri moved to surround Adranaya. “You will come with us.”
“What?” Adranaya stammered, her skin gone white. “I’ve never seen that before.” Vaye couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, her vision starting to darken at the edges. She caught a glimpse of Hainzu snickering with his friends, but couldn’t spare the energy to think about him. The lecture hall was a cacophony of surprise and disbelief.
“Silence!” Havja said, smashing the butt of her spear on the floor. The Sihiri encircled Adranaya, leveling their spears at her. “Come with us now,” the commander said grimly. “I won’t ask again.” Vaye remained paralyzed, glued to her chair as she attempted to force herself to move, to speak, to do anything at all.
Shaking, Adranaya stood. Havja seized her wrists and tied them together deftly. Yobaza smiled, her hands on her hips. “The Cantereian agent has managed to evade us so far. But we’ll find him and bring him to justice. Him and anyone else involved in this conspiracy.”
The Preceptor turned her gaze on Vaye, pinning her in place like a frog to be dissected. It was just like Edeweri. Someone she loved was going to pay the price for what she had done. As terrified as she was, the thought of Adranaya suffering in her stead terrified her even more. She had to stop this.
Somehow, Vaye forced herself to rise. “Wait,” she said. “No, wait!” But her voice was drowned out by the clamor of the rest of the novitiates, who were crowding around the Sihiri, craning to get a look. Adranaya looked around in confusion and despair, briefly catching Vaye’s eye just before the Sihiri captain dragged her from the room.
Vaye shoved her way through the crowd. Unthinking, she grabbed the shoulder of one of the Sihiri. Another soldier instantly smashed the butt of his spear into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her and dropping her to her knees.
Struggling to breathe, she raised her head, only to meet Yobaza’s cruel smile. “Something to add, Vaye?”
Vaye wheezed, willing her lungs to fill. “Not... her. Me,” she managed.
The Preceptor’s smile turned to disgust. “I’m afraid that would make a poor trade.”
“She didn’t do it,” Vaye said, forcing the words out. She started to get up, but a soldier leveled his spear at her face. “Please, let me explain—”
“I myself was surprised that one of our own could be so corrupted,” Yobaza drawled. The Sihiri were gone, only a pair of them staying behind to maintain order. “But the scroll was found in Adranaya’s quarters by Captain Havja herself. Are you calling the Captain a liar?”
“No, but—”
“She was also overheard expressing sympathy for the Cantereian separatists, both at the Raising and during a training exercise. Do you deny this?”
Vaye looked around, hoping someone might come to her aid. But her cohort merely stared at her, the chasm between their cultures suddenly yawning wide. Hainzu and his friends smirked, whispering jokes to each other. “Yes, but—”
“Enough,” Yobaza snapped. “I’ll not fall prey to your Anashi tricks, as your friend did.” She turned to the soldier. “If this one speaks another word, put that spear through her mouth.”
The Preceptor raked her gaze across the novitiates. “The Vorkyrda, in her mercy, has decided to preserve the honor of the Parsevgi family by allowing Adranaya to join the Orumir rather than face death by cynosure.” She showed her teeth, her eyes like underwater caves as she looked down at Vaye once more. “But don’t worry. Your turn will come.”
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