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Chapter 6

Rada had never wanted to rule anything. Even the idea of someday assuming her father’s obligation as head of the Order of Archivists hadn’t been something she’d dreamed about, even though that was her likely fate, and there was no one better suited for the responsibility. She’d been content with her books. Life had been simple. She’d always believed it was better to leave leadership in the hands of those who were inclined for such endeavors, dedicated members of the first caste who had been raised to command.

Oh how naïve she had been.

It turned out those who sought after power were the absolute worst at letting them have any. Rada had not asked for this, but she was going to do her best to fix the excesses of those who’d come before her.

“With these judges as my witness, I swear that if those food supplies aren’t delivered by next week as obligated, I’ll have you branded a scoundrel and publicly flogged as we auction off all your property as restitution for the damages caused by your fraud.”

As expected, the merchant bowed and scraped and made excuses. “I didn’t intend to deceive you, Maharani. It’s just that the latest caravan was delayed and—”

“And nothing.” Rada had already investigated and knew that there was no delay. Because the Capitol’s grand bazaar had been destroyed by demons, this merchant had thought it would be more profitable for his caravans to divert to Karoon first instead. The arbiters this merchant usually bribed to sabotage his competition had been killed by demons; unfortunately for him, the Capitol wasn’t entirely abandoned, and she still had people to feed. “You signed a legally binding contract. The Law did not cease to exist when demons wounded it, and the work of the Capitol Orders must continue. They can’t do that if they’re hungry. I don’t care if you have to walk to Uttara and pick the beans yourself, you will bring the Capitol what you have promised, or else.”

“It will be done, Maharani Radamantha.”

“Good. Go.” She waved her hands at the merchant like she was shooing off an unwanted pest. Warriors took the merchant by the arm and escorted him from the room. “Next.”

“That’s the last item for this morning,” the court scribe informed her.

“Oh, thank goodness. It seems there’s no end to our problems.”

“There are another ten petitions waiting to be heard after lunch, though.”

Rada sighed, because of course there were.

Though she was ostensibly running the government in her husband’s absence, Rada sat behind a humble wooden table in a simple wooden chair, not a throne. Instead of meeting in the legendary Chamber of Argument in the once glorious Capitol, her court in exile was held in a spare room of the Astronomers’ Order in the wilderness north of Mount Metoro. Seated to her right and left were the few remaining judges who’d survived the demon attack and been willing to continue serving.

Yet the work had to go on.

“Thank you for your time, honorable judges. We shall reconvene in a few hours.” Rada rose, eager to escape the stuffy meeting room. She had letters to write, reports from the various Orders to read, and somehow she hoped to find the time to continue studying the select works she’d brought over from the Capitol Library, hoping to find more tidbits of information that might aid Devedas in his preparations against the demons.

Except one of the judges intercepted her before she could get out the door. “May I have a moment of your time, Maharani?”

Chiranjeet Zarger was a dignified old man. Scholarly by nature, he had been a regular patron at the Library during her time there, which inclined Rada to like him. His decision to remain here, maintaining the Law, rather than retreating to the safety of his house like so many other men of his rank and status had done after the fall of the Capitol, made her respect him even more.

“What is it, Judge Chiranjeet?”

“First, I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive when our new Maharaja left a librarian to oversee his entire government while he was away, but I have been pleased by how well you have done. I should not have been surprised, as I respect your father greatly, and he has always struck me as a man of keen intellect and character. He clearly raised you well, as you have governed with meticulous wisdom and a surprising amount of care.”

“I just threatened to have a merchant whipped over beans.”

“The first caste is required to deal with unsavory things at times.” Chiranjeet glanced around the room. “On that note, I’d like to take a moment to discuss Maharaja Devedas’ rather lenient tax policy with you.”

Rada died inside, because nobody sane wanted to listen to discussions about the details of taxation. She’d woken up feeling ill and unrested and didn’t think her nerves could withstand a topic of such profound boredom. “My husband needs the houses’ warriors right now more than he needs their taxes, and it’s not as if we have any extra Protectors to send to collect if they decide not to pay, but I’d be happy to schedule a meeting to discuss the details with you later. I’m really rather busy right now.”

Except it appeared that the crafty old judge had simply been stalling until the other courtly types had left, and only Rada and her Garo bodyguards remained. “I honestly don’t care about that at all. I just require privacy to speak with you about something of a more sensitive nature.”

Rada nodded toward her warriors. “These are trustworthy men, handpicked by Devedas. Anything you can say in front of me, you can say in front of them.”

“Very well. It concerns Historian Vikram Akershan and the artifact of black steel he entrusted you with.”

That piqued Rada’s interest, as she kept the mysterious Asura’s Mirror with her wherever she went, but very few people knew it existed. “What do you know of it?”

“I served on a select council of judges and high-ranking members of the scholarly Orders, including the Historians, the Astronomers who are now our hosts, and your own Order, the Archivists. That is how I became acquainted with your father, who also served on this council. Our purpose was to oversee those Orders’—shall we say—more discreet duties.”

“I’ve never heard of this council.”

“Very few have, and it was kept that way on purpose. It is an obligation rooted in old tradition which has existed since the founding of the Law.”

“Who chaired it?”

“The Chief Judge himself.”

That was odd. If a man of such immense status controlled it, belonging to such a council would bring its members great prestige and notoriety in the Capitol. Surely, Rada—even with her distaste for all things political—would have heard of it growing up, especially if her father was a member.

“All of the various organizations that fell under the Chief Judge’s responsibilities now report to the Maharaja, or they were dissolved.”

The crafty old judge smiled. “We still exist, though we may have neglected to inform the Maharaja of this fact because his rise to power was rather sudden. Even the Grand Inquisitor did not know about us. Despite that secrecy, several of our members still had to flee the Capitol during Omand’s purge.”

Rada nodded, for her family had been among those, and she still did not know if they’d gotten away or not. “This is unfortunate.”

“Worse, an unlucky few of us died atop the Inquisition’s foul tower. Those of our council who remained felt it was prudent to observe the Maharaja for a time in order to understand his nature first, to see what manner of man he was. Sadly, he did not get to reign for long before the demons interrupted this process.”

“I’ll tell you what manner of man Devedas is: He is the best of you. So, you approach me now instead?”

“We debated how to proceed. The majority felt it was prudent to speak with you, but only after I assured the others that you were no tyrant who would abuse our knowledge for evil. Please, do not make me a liar.”

Rada didn’t know if she should take offense or not. With so many tumultuous events in such a short period of time, who could blame these men for being cautious? There had been nothing but chaos since their leader had been assassinated on the steps of the chamber. She could not fault them when she herself had spent months hiding from the Inquisition with her Protector turned dear friend, Karno.

At times Rada missed those simple days. “So what are these discreet duties of the scholarly Orders, and what does that have to do with the mirror?”

“The mirror’s former caretaker, Vikram Akershan, is part of our council, Maharani.”

“Last I heard he was running from the Inquisition. Vikram is most likely dead.”

“I assure you he is not. He’s a wily one. He was a noteworthy warrior once, before he was promoted to the first caste due to his intellect. In fact, Vikram has recently returned to his estate, which is not far from here.”

Rada knew it well, for that was one of the many places she’d hidden from Inquisitors and bounty hunters. It was good to hear that old Vikram had survived, even if he had done so by shoving his secret obligation off on her. But to be fair, she’d had reliable Karno by her side to keep her safe and Vikram had not. “I look forward to seeing him, and I hope his family is well.”

“They are, and I assure you he wishes the same for yours. I will send for Vikram. As for the purpose of our council, it is better to show you than to try and explain it. Would you please meet us at the main observatory at midnight tonight?”

Though she’d been a guest in their holdings for weeks, Rada had been far too busy to become acquainted with any of the Astronomers, as they were an odd, secretive bunch. “Are we going to gaze at the stars?”

“There is far more up there than just stars, Maharani. Let me demonstrate to you the true purpose why our Orders were formed to begin with.”


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Framed