Page 151 of The Stolen Throne
Somehow—after stopping and starting a thousand times, trying to blend in while at the same time not getting drawn in—we make our way through the city. More than one person tries to take me by the hands and pull me into a dance. They stop every time Bene bares his teeth.
I don’t think Cain is too happy about it, either, but since he has to help Tabra, there’s not much he can do.
We eventually come up against a wall at the far side of the city, where the palace itself backs right into the cliffs. We follow that around several corners until we finally get to the gated entrance guarded by what appears to be a battalion of men clad clearly as soldiers and yet in the blacks of the festival, their masks all the same—copper, covering their entire face, including their mouths like they are being silenced. The only decoration etched into the metal is the image of a waterfall pouring out of the mouth hole.
Before we make it to them, a man with a mask covered in eyeballs like the monolith outside the burning lands places himself in my path.
Horus.
I was hoping for Reven. As quickly as that unworthy thought strikes, I shake it off and try a tentative smile. “I’m glad you made it.”
But the expected smile in return doesn’t come.
“We can catch each other up inside.” Taking me by the arm, Horus leads all of us straight to the palace gates.
I frown up at him. “What are we doing here? I assumed we’d hide—”
He lowers his mask so the closest guard can see his face. The guard shoots a brief glance at me, then behind me at Cain. “More?”
Which means what? Did they arrive in small groups or something?
Cain just nods. “The last of us.”
“Don’t forget to leave soon,” we’re ordered.
Leave?
Horus huffs an unamused laugh. “Given the signal, there’s little chance of forgetting.”
The guard shrugs.
Now’s not the time for questions, clearly, so I keep mine to myself.
Once we’re inside, I get my first good look at the Tropikan palace. Like in Aryd, the main structure is surrounded by walls, though here they form a perfect rectangle, half a mile long at least. The walls, the gate house, guard towers on each of the corners, and four smaller buildings also at each of the four corners are made of the same unusual dark green stone marbled with bands of lighter green and gold.
In the center of the structures, where I stand now, is a massive garden courtyard divided into sections, each featuring a different flowering plant. A long reflection pool leads to the main palace structure at the far end. It rises out of the greenery the way I imagine the Obelisk of Nova rises out of the salt flats. The zariphate never got close enough for me to see it to properly compare.
The palace itself is made of rutile quartz. I remember that much from Omma’s teaching, and I want to get closer to inspect it in person. Only found here in Tropikis, the stone is clear with a coppery-gold substance shot through it. The palace is a massive square structure with four tall, skinny spires at the center and a dome at each corner. The domes and spire tips are covered in copper, gleaming brightly in the moonlight.
Horus hurries me not to the palace but to the smaller—and by smaller, I mean not quite as massive—building in the northeastern corner, closer to the gates. The inside is decorated in silken black flowers and skulls with black swaths of material in honor of the Rites.
At the bottom of a set of wide stairs, Cain scoops Tabra up into his arms. Her head drops to his shoulder, both of their masks clinking as they get tangled up.
Horus gestures me up the stairs. “We have been waiting for you.”
65
With Friends
Like These
We follow Cain into what appears to be a sitting area that is part of a suite—a room filled with the rest of the friends I left behind—Vos, Tziah, Pella, and Hakan.
Not Reven, though.
I try not to let the sting of a second disappointment take hold. I’m sure he’ll join us any second. He has to feel me here now, doesn’t he? Not that I can feel him. The stretching sensation in my side has eased, but I’m still cut off.
I didn’t realize until right this second that going off, even with Omma and Tabra, would be as hard as it was. That having the others around to share the burden actually lightens the load.
