“We’ve traveled for the celebrations,” Grae said in a smooth tone as he picked up a sprig of rosemary and twirled it in his hands. “A party is the perfect distraction for all manner of misdeeds.”
The merchant wiped a hand over his sweaty brow. “You wouldn’t be the first to try such . . . misdeeds.” He lifted a basket from below the table and offered it out to us. “What makes you think you will succeed?”
I examined the brown paper packets, different flowers sketched on each one. Flicking through the basket to the very back, I found the drawing of nitehock flowers, their petals bursting out like stars.
“How much?” I asked, lifting the packet as the merchant wiped his rag down his face.
“If you say you’re using it for what I think you are, then it’s free,” he muttered. “But you didn’t get it from me.”
I held his pale gaze. “Thank you.”
“I’ll pray to all the Gods you have better luck than the last.”
“It doesn’t seem as bad here as I was expecting.” Grae looked up and down the market stalls. “Why risk this? Why help us?”
“It’s what you don’t see.” The merchant scowled. “Aye, the bricks are flecked in gold, but what good is that for an empty hearth and silent table?” He sat back on his stool, throwing his rag on the table. “That witch turned my eldest two boys into Rooks. When they left, our whole family fell apart.”
“Her enchantments are strong,” I said, trying to sound reassuring.
“Enchantments?” The merchant furrowed his brow.
“Her compulsions,” I replied. “How she convinces them to join her guard.”
The merchant let out a bitter bellow. “The Rooks are not enchanted, ma’am. They volunteered.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, pain stabbing into my ribs. “What?”
“You thought Sawyn enchanted the Rooks to join her army?” He shook his head. “I suppose her poisonous promises are enchantment enough. But she has pulled people to her side without any incantations at all.”
“That can’t be.” I felt the blood drain from my face as my heart pounded in my ears.
Sorcerers could cast all manner of spells, like how Sawyn hypnotized Briar . . . and yet when I remembered the Rooks we encountered on the road, I realized they didn’t have that eerie green glow in their eyes. They didn’t seem vacant and hollow husks. They had shrewd and cunning eyes, vicious but aware. How had I not put that together? How could I have assumed they were under her spell? But I knew why I had made such assumptions: the truth was so much worse. They had willingly followed her. Siding with Sawyn had been their choice.
“Some said Sawyn was our savior. Others said we should kill her.” The merchant crossed his arms and glared at us. “I’ve lost a lot of people I loved, even though they’re still alive.”
“Why didn’t you follow her like your sons?” I tried to steady my breath, dropping the serilberries on the table even though he didn’t ask for payment.
“She shut down the mines, so many people without a job.” He shook his head. “The strongest were conscripted to become Rooks. They could’ve said no, but then there’d be no money to send home, and after Sawyn’s wrath during her search for the Crimson Princess, the towns were left with nothing. Fields lay fallow, people fleeing across the border being chased by their very own family members, so many lives torn apart . . .” He picked up another packet of seeds and flipped it around in his hands. “Our options were three: side with Sawyn, starve, or flee. I could never celebrate such a ruler, but neither shall I dissent. I’m not a Rook, but I’m not against her either, if anyone were to ask. Some people still rely on me to put food on the table. My choices are not only my own.”
I let out a shuddering breath. “I pray one day your choices and the ones that serve your family are no longer at odds.”
He clenched his jaw, releasing a world-weary sigh. “If you’re successful, maybe I will live to see that day.”
I pocketed the nitehock seeds and turned from him without so much as a farewell. The sights and smells of the market soured upon his words. The abundance and life that seemed to thrive in the capital was a hollow facade.
I saw it now on each face I passed—that weariness of people broken by the reign of Sawyn. Their silence was their only vote of confidence for the sorceress, but enough to keep her in power. What good would a mob of humans be against her dark magic, anyway? Some had to support her . . . but some chose to support her, too.
I ducked past the rows of hanging tapestries, twining through the tables, and halted, throwing out my arm to stop Grae from stepping any closer.
A line of Rooks marched down the thoroughfare. People scattered to give them a wide berth. I watched the sea of black parade through the streets like a swarm of ants.
“We may well be able to cut the head off the snake,” I said, clenching the seeds in my pocket. “But it will start a battle, not finish it.” My chest rose and fell, the sounds of the market rising louder. Each one of those Rooks was a member of my kingdom, someone’s family. It would’ve been so much easier if they’d been under a spell. “How many of my people will I have to kill to save the others?”
“Calla?” Grae’s voice was muffled, far away above the roaring in my ears.
I barely felt Grae’s hand touch the small of my back as he led me through the markets. How many people would I have to kill? How many lives would be lost before my righteousness didn’t justify it anymore? We moved down an alleyway, away from the crowds, but heat still burned my cheeks. Grae shouldered open a rickety door and pulled me inside.
My eyes darted around the room, unseeing, as he rested me against the shut door.
“Breathe,” he commanded.
I choked on each breath, gulping, but no air filled my lungs. I stared up at the dusty rafters, feeling the fiery panic scorch my skin.
Would I lose my soul trying to do the right thing? Would darkness claim me just as it had Sawyn? I took a shallow, shuddering breath, noticing the space at last. It appeared to be a grain store, little more than a cupboard, with bags lining the walls and a set of scales sitting on a wood table.
Grae’s cool hand on my cheek made me jump. “Breathe, Calla.” He rested his cool forehead on mine.
My lungs expanded. One breath, then two. The panic slowly ebbed.
“They’re not under her spell,” I whispered.
“I thought they were as well.” Grae held my gaze. “But our plan remains the same. We rescue Maez, we kill Sawyn, and we pay off Damrienn to get Briar.” Grae breathed along with me, his own rhythm slowing mine. “Once your sister is safe, we will come up with a plan to deal with any Rooks still loyal to their fallen queen. Give them some time to realize they’re on the wrong side. You’ll feed the villages and reunite their families . . . they’ll see you’re a better ruler.”
I wrapped my arms around his back, feeling the connection that pulled me back into myself. “It’s a start.”