“Any punishment will be doled out by me in private,” the Envadi says.
My stomach cramps. This is why he's sticking up for me. Mother was right. It's a trap. He'll see how far I'm willing to take my mistakes so he can punish me more. I'm only saved from losing my breakfast by the detachment that's plagued me.
Father growls and, instead of hitting me, yanks me to him. “Come. You're about to be sacrificed.”
What?
My feet move without my telling them to as my heart pounds. What did he mean by sacrificed? Phyllis opens a door and Father moves through it, dragging me along.
The chattering in the room silences. All faces stare at me, but I don't know what their expressions are like. One thing has captured my attention. A sacrificial altar. Just like at the tournament, but resting on a floor of stone instead of grass.
Who are they going to kill at my engagement ceremony? Whose life will be on my hands? It was hard enough so far away at the tournament, but now I'm a few feet from it. I'd run if I could.
Father lets go and I sway. He waves his hand. A blue thread of light travels to me and bursts under my feet. I'm flung in the air. I try to scream, but my body doesn't respond as I soar upward. Air rushes past me. The ceiling grows closer. The crowd more distant. Just before I hit the ceiling, the ascent stops.
If it wasn't for the tea, I would be screaming in terror, disregarding Katherine's warning from when she dropped off the dress. The crowd watches me from fifty feet below as my dress flaps in the breeze. The extra length is even more appreciated now.
The watching crowd unnerves me as I float there. I gaze upward. The arched ceiling is ten feet above me. I focus on it and try to ignore the feeling of air brushing the skin of my feet.
Abruptly, I'm yanked downward. The ceiling grows farther and farther away from me. My hair streams above me. Those gathered come back into view. I'm going to smash against the rock floor. The fear while falling is worse than soaring upward. My heart pounds.
My body won't move in any way to help protect me from the fall. The Envadi's face flashes by. I stop. It takes a moment to realize I didn't crash. A faint spell flows from Chancellor Zade, cushioning me to the ground.
His face is taut, void of expression except his eyes. They burn with barely controlled rage. I try to bow my head so I can't see how furious I've made him, but my head won't move.
From the side of me, Father grabs my wrist and thrusts it toward the Chancellor. “She's yours.”
Chancellor Zade grabs my wrist and with his free hand, unties my hair ribbon. The bit of red floats to the floor as my dark locks fall to my waist. He scoops me into his arms.
The ceremony is over. He's going to carry me to the carriage and I'll be able to go to the house. Find Cynthia. Figure out how to get rid of this fog clouding my attempts to do anything.
When he places me on the cool stone, I know being finished was too hopeful a thought. My body shivers. It comes to me.
There's no tarnished coming today.
I am the sacrifice.
“Don't move. Don't speak,” the Envadi whispers.
His words mean nothing to me. I want to run screaming away from the altar I lay on. But I can't. I can't do anything on my own. Just his exact words. Don't move. Not even a twitch. Despair engulfs me.
The Envadi moves my arms above my head and shackles them. His hand encircles my ankles and places them in shackles on the other side of the altar. As if I could move anyway. If I could, I would fight with everything I have.
He can't kill me though. If wives were killed before marriage, none of us would be here. The thought should comfort me, except he's clearly going to do something. But what? I watch his every move.
He stands at my side facing the crowd. His hands hover over me as if he's about to cast a spell. Nothing. The longer I stare at those hands, the more I need this tea to wear off so I can move. I have to get out of here.
“Happiness.” His voice booms through the room.
Sunny light burst through his hands. As soon as it hits me, I'm laughing, so full of joy to be laying on this altar for him.
“Sadness.”
A deep blue is cast on me this time. I sob, tears stream down my face, wetting my hair and the stone beneath me.
“Hunger.”
The straw-colored light hits me and my stomach spasms. I'm hungrier then when I had to go a week without food. A moan escapes me.
“Satiated.”
The spell fills me and the pain stops.
“Health.
My body brims with strength. If I could rise, I would break through the shackles.
“Sickness.”
Olive green slams into me. Aches and chills. I dry heave.
“Pain.”
A scream bursts from me. My back arches off the table.
“Contentment.”
I fall back to the table, but it feels as if I'm on a feather bed. I sigh.
The feeling leaves. I'm sweating. I want to cry. Or rage. Or scream again. But I can do nothing. My body doesn't respond to anything I try.