Chapter 57: Bound and Costs

The morning sun, in streaks, streamed in between the curtains onto the cool marble floor of Reika's chambers. But there was not a speck of warmth in the brightness. Before her vanity, Reika sat brushing mechanically at her hair as the pale, slightly emaciated reflection stared listlessly back. The time lately spent had taken its effect: Daisy still critical, the Moon Goddess's prophecies haunted her brain, and Riftan weighed guiltily upon her conscience. A knock at the door startled her. "Come in," she called, her voice hollow. Lyra entered, pale-faced with wide eyes. "My queen, something disturbing was found by the guards this morning in the forest. You need to see it." Reika frowned, setting the brush down. "What is it?" "I cannot explain," Lyra whispered, shaking. "You must come." --- Reika followed Lyra and a contingent of guards deep into the woods just beyond the palace walls. The morning air was cool, yet a certain weightiness seemed to cling to the forest. At the center of the clearing, Reika stopped cold. In the middle of this clearing stood an altar, with a spattering of blood across it and ancient runes scratched into its surface. A circle of flowers ringed it, which had gone brown and blackened as if they had been scorched by some inner fire. What really caused Reika's stomach to twist was what lay on top of that altar: a crude straw-and-cloth doll impaled with a pin. One of the guards forwarded a half step, his voice shaking. "It is a death curse, my queen." Reika's chest constricted with tightened skin. "Who dares do such a brazen thing in the royal woods?" Lyra shivered. "That isn't all." Her head gestured quickly to the tree next to it. Across the bark, scratchy strokes almost wild chiseled three words: The sacrifice wasn't yours to make. Reika recoiled, her vision swimming. It was all connected: the warning from the Moon Goddess, the cryptic appearance of the old woman in the garden, the illness afflicting Daisy. "Destroy it," she ordered, her voice far sharper than she had meant. The guards hesitated. "My queen, to destroy such a curse may have repercussions-" "Do it!" Reika snapped. Uneasy to say the least, but following orders, the guards oiled the altar and put it to flame. At a loud roar of the growing fire, a blood-curdling howl echoed high in the forest, shivering the spines of each listener. --- Back in her rooms, pacing, Reika's mind moved like a runaway stallion. Whose hand was behind this curse? Riftan was dead-she had seen to that herself. The work of his accomplices? Or a foe of the crown, bent on taking advantage of her weakness? A knock on the door cut into these reflections. This time it was Ileus. "Reika, we must speak," he said without inflection. She straightened, forcing a calm expression. "Of course." Ileus stepped inside. His presence filled the room; his piercing gaze locked onto hers, and she felt he saw right through her. "I heard about the altar in the forest," he said. Reika nodded. "It's being dealt with." "That's not what concerns me," Ileus said, crossing his arms. "What concerns me is that you're keeping things from me." Reika bristled. "I don't what you are talking about" "Don't try to deceive me, Reika," he said, his voice rising. "First Riftan's sudden death, now this curse.Tell me the truth." Reika's mind was racing. She couldn't tell Ileus the whole truth-he would never forgive her if he knew she had orchestrated Riftan's death. Yet, she couldn't lie outright either. "I've had a lot on my plate," she said finally. "Riftan dying, Daisy getting sick, the warnings from the Moon Goddess-all that's weighed on me." Ileus's features relaxed, but his eyes lingered in suspicion. "If anything haunts you, you need to tell me. We're in this together, Reika." She mustered up a smile. "Appreciate it, Ileus, but really, I got this. He watched her a moment, nodded. "Very well. But should I discover that you hide something from me…." He left the threat hanging, turning to leave the room. --- That night Reika sat in her private study before the fire - its dancing flames casting flickering shadows about the walls. She could not rid herself of the feeling that this curse was more than a threat but a warning. A figure stepped out of the shadows as she stared into the fire. "You look troubled, my queen," said the Moon Goddess, who appeared in shimmering brightness in the dimness of the place. Reika rose to her feet and heard her heart pound in her ears. "Why are you here?" "I warned you," the Moon Goddess said calmly, with an edge of sharpness in her voice. "It wasn't enough, what you sacrificed." "I gave you what you wanted!" Reika snapped. "Riftan is dead!" The Moon Goddess cocked her head to one side, a gentle smile pulling at her lips. "And yet, Daisy sticks close to death. Do you not wonder why this is?" Reika clenched her fists. "Tell me what I should do. The Moon Goddess stepped closer, overwhelming with her presence. "The curse that was placed in your forest was no ordinary spell. It is a message from those who want to see you fall. They know your secret, Reika." Reika's blood ran cold. "Who?" The eyes of the Moon Goddess shone with an otherworldly light. "You will find out in time. But beware-your enemies are closer than you think. By the time she'd opened her mouth to say anything, the moon was gone, leaving Reika only to her racing thoughts. --- Next morning, Reika called Lyra inside. "Double the guard patrols around the palace," she ordered. "And send spies into the city. I want to know if anyone speaks of the curse or Riftan's death." Lyra hesitated. "You don't think someone in the palace is involved, do you?" Reika's jaw worked. "I don't trust anyone." Lyra nodded and moved to obey her orders.   ---   Night, later, as Reika was preparing for bed, her door knocked again. She opened it to reveal a servant with a little box. "This was left at the gate for you, my queen," he said, bowing. She took the box, her heart racing, and dismissed the servant to lay the box on her desk, studying it. There were no marks on it that she could see, not even a seal, but only a simple string that tied it. With trembling hands, she opened it: one black feather was inside and a note, scrawled in a hand she did not recognize. "The blood on your hands will stain your throne." Reika's breath caught. The black feather-a sign of betrayal-just wasn't a very good omen she could let go. Her enemies were closing in. And she had no idea who to trust.