“Is it time for the final trial?” I whisper. Stars, I’m so, so tired.
“Sit up, my Valtia. Sit up now.” She pulls my arms and then apologizes when I let out a strangled moan. Once I’m up, she slides a pair of plain leather slippers onto my feet and takes my face in her hands. “You must be very brave.”
“Kauko said the same,” I mumble. “I’m doing my best. Mim, I’m so sorry for letting you down.”
Her blue eyes shine with tears. “Oh, my love, you could never do that. Get up now.”
“Where are we going?”
Her brow creases with fear and sorrow. “Away, Elli. We’re going away.”
“But the trial—” My words are cut off when she presses her fingers over my lips.
“I overheard the elders speaking in the domed chamber, making preparations.”
I cringe. “I don’t think I want to know.”
“Yes, you do.” She carefully helps me to my feet. “Because in a few hours, they’re going to come get you, and they’re going to take you deep into the catacombs.” Her eyes meet mine. “And then they’re going to cut your throat.”
CHAPTER 7
They’re going to kill me. Kauko must have consented to it. Even he gave up on me in the end. I should be shocked. I should be enraged and hurt. But right now, all I can summon is weary resignation.
“Have they found the new Saadella?” I ask as Mim leads me to the door and peeks into the corridor.
“I don’t think so. But she’s out in the city somewhere, and they’re determined to find her. They think that if they drain your blood, it’ll strip the magic from you and free it to be awakened in the Saadella. They’re desperate to appease the people, and the Kupari cannot be without a Valtia, even if she’s still a child. I think it’s ludicrous, but I bet Aleksi and Leevi are pleased at the chance to mold an impressionable young queen. The last Valtia was too headstrong for their tastes.” She guides me to lean against the wall.
“Sofia,” I whisper, remembering Aleksi’s clenched fists as she refused to bow to his wishes. “Aleksi was trying to get her to act quickly.”
Mim rushes over to a chair and pulls a brown cloak from the cushion. “The acolytes and apprentices are full of information. The elders wanted to get the Valtia to cleanse the thieves’ caverns, but she had refused until she knew more about the situation. The elders were offended that she didn’t trust them. They’re supposed to be her eyes and ears—but she wanted to see for herself.”
“So they’re going to make a little girl the Valtia so they can have their way?” I ask in a choked voice.
Mim doesn’t seem to hear me as she shakes out the cloak and returns to my side. “I don’t agree with the elders’ methods, but imagine what would happen if the other city-states knew we had no Valtia. Or even those bandits in the caverns. Our Valtia is what keeps them from raiding the town and taking what they want. We must have a queen.” She probably doesn’t realize how every word stabs failure a little deeper into my heart.
“Even with all of that, my first priority is you,” she adds. “Elli. You will always be my queen.”
But not your Valtia, my mind whispers as she wraps the cloak around my shoulders, tying it loosely so as not to aggravate my wounds. I look like a maid now, a common, ordinary girl. And maybe that’s what I’ve been all along. Maybe all this time, I’ve been a pretender, and now I’m wearing the garments that were always meant for me. “Mim, why do you think this is happening to me?”
Her eyes are shadowed with sorrow. “I don’t know, Elli. And it’s not my place to know.” As I watch, her sadness seems to crystallize, glittering in the darkness. “But there is one thing of which I’m certain—you’ve done nothing wrong. Let the elders use their magic to give us winter warmth and save us from our enemies. It’s about time they did some of the work.”
Mim leads me into the corridor, to the right, away from the domed chamber. Not a single torch lights our way, but Mim appears to know exactly where she’s going, and her confidence seems to grow with every step. “Where are the acolytes who stand guard at night?” I whisper.
“Some are helping clean the Valtia’s chamber. It was nearly destroyed when she died, and they’re working at all hours to fix it. And then I bribed another.” She smiles when she sees my wide eyes. “Elli, if you think for a moment I would hand you over to be slaughtered by the elders, you don’t know me at all.”
I lean on her gratefully as she takes me to the servants’ stairs and helps me descend. “I love you, Mim,” I mumble against her ear. “I always have.”
She giggles. “You’re delirious.”