Page 88 of The Concubine King
“But why?”Ethyr demanded.“I haven’t done anything to anyone.Why would someone want to hurt me?Wouldn’t it anger the gods?”
Lyrian’s eyebrows rose.“Sometimes that’s exactly why someone wants to hurt you.”
Ethyr swallowed.
“If you’d like, I can talk to Poyut and help her coordinate.It’s too important a task to be left to a novice.”
Ethyr bit his lip.He trusted Poyut, but maybe Lyrian had a point.“O-okay,” he acquiesced.“Just to make sure everything is prepared as best it can be for tomorrow.”
Lyrian dipped his head.“Thank you, Your Divinity.I will see you then.”
The streets were packed with more variety than Ethyr had ever seen in his life.It wasn’t only the wealthy city residents in their chiffons, their well-dressed servants, and the high-class merchants.The city was bursting at the seams with throngs of people and colors and coarse fabrics that looked out of place against the shimmering backdrop of the pristine streets.Wool was beside silk, linen next to exotic furs, pale skin alongside dark, blond hair mixed with black.Children wove in and out of the crowds, chasing each other and laughing, while the small, well-groomed dogs of the city cautiously sniffed or barked at the intruding burly dogs who actually served a purpose.
Guards on the ground moved ahead of the carriage to push the crowd to the sides of the street and make room, but as soon as they passed pedestrians flooded behind the carriage and followed excitedly.The circle of mounted guards around it kept them from getting too close, but many still braved a dart along the sides to try to catch a glimpse inside.
He tore his eyes from the scenes outside and looked to Poyut sitting across from him.“If this is so dangerous, why did Lyrian insist I do it?”
“To have a reason to tell me what to do, probably,” Poyut muttered.
Ethyr tilted his head.“He’s my advisor now, you have to play nice.”
“I know,” she sighed, turning her own gaze out the window.“To tell you the truth, I’d be relieved if that was really his only motivation.”
“What other motivation could he possibly have?”
“It feels like he’s trying to distract everyone.”
“From what?”
“I don’t know,” Poyut said grimly.“That’s what concerns me.”
Ethyr shook his head, slumping against the seat.He’d learned that trying to defend Lyrian got him nowhere.No one listened to him.
The carriage stopped.Poyut leaned forward to see out the window and Ethyr mirrored her.They were at the edge of the city where he’d never been, where the buildings dwindled away and left only what Lyrian had called an amphitheater.Rows and rows of seats, already packed full, inclined down into the earth before flattening out to level ground with the structure of a stage rising from it.Calling it a ‘stage’ seemed silly.It was nothing like the rudimentary platforms traveling entertainers erected in his commune’s market; it was built of the same shining stone as the other buildings, and so tall that it rose several heights above the street, even starting from the recessed ground.
A lack of seats didn’t prevent the crowd from spilling out into the street, and guards were doing their best to corral the waiting spectators to make an open walkway.The arrival of the carriage had made them go from idle chatter to buzzing excitement, and people pushed to get to the front of the crowd to see Ethyr for themselves.
Four guards bearing a palanquin stepped up to the carriage, so that when Poyut opened the door, Ethyr had only to step from one shelter to another.Unlike the sturdy walls of the carriage, the palanquin was covered with opaque golden silk.It swished closed behind Ethyr as he sat on the cushion in the middle of the platform.Then it glided forward.Despite being carried by men down a flight of steps, it was a surprisingly smooth motion from beginning to end.Then the palanquin was carefully lowered to the ground, so he parted the silk curtain and stepped out.
There were more guards at the base of the amphitheater, keeping the crowd from spilling out into the open courtyard that surrounded the tower.Standing at the stairs by the side of the stage were Lyrian and Klara.Lyrian was in his full Guard Master uniform, a short red tunic over white pants, and a gold cape pinned at one shoulder with a bronze hawk.Klara wore what must have been the official High Priest uniform, as it was flashier than anything he had ever seen her wear, and something he had only seen Yorith in once, that day he tore Ethyr from his village.It had the same form of a robe, but was a deep, rich blue, with intricate golden embroidery along every hem and pinned at the neck with the carved gold emblem of a ram.
They bowed in unison and did not straighten until he stood directly before them.
“Your Divinity,” Klara said solemnly.“Are you ready?”
He resisted his instinct to look over his shoulder at Poyut.“Yes, High Priest.”
“Please follow me.”
Lyrian stepped aside, allowing Klara to pass him and start up the stairs.Then he inclined his head to Ethyr, so he followed, Lyrian marching into place behind him.They did not stop at the stage level.Ethyr couldn’t believe the stairs continued even higher.It opened up to a balcony jutting above the stage, which Ethyr had assumed was decoration.Klara stepped right to the railing and turned, gesturing for Ethyr to stand beside her.
He stepped from the shade of the building into the sun.Light caught on the lucent threads of gold embroidery, shimmering against the cream undertunic like a sunrise on dew-covered grain fields.He knew he looked radiant, and the gasps from the crowd vindicated all his fights with Edora about not having a more ‘regal’ outfit.
But they were so far above the ground, higher than the upper seats of the amphitheater, that his heart dropped to his stomach.And the sight of all those people lining the road, so many that they blended together into one mass of colors, dropped his stomach to the floor.
He’d never seen so many people.He’d never had so many eyes on him at once.
Lyrian situated himself to Ethyr’s right, and his large figure in the corner of his eye reminded Ethyr what he was there for.He turned to Klara.She had told him everything that would happen and what he was supposed to do, but all of it fled his mind in that moment.It wasn’t until she made a short gesture with her hand that he remembered and knelt on one knee.
