The Ivory Rite

Chapter 16

I wake up gasping for breath. A blinding light shoots razor blades into my skull. I blink, frantic, trying to bring the room into focus. My limbs are heavy and my hands feel raw. My head is pounding.

Landon is the first person I see.

"Try not to move right away," he says. "How do you feel?" His face hovers over mine. He looks anxious.

"Adair," I choke out, my voice sounding strangled. Something strange passes over Landon's face, and in that moment I'm sure he must be dead.

Adair is dead.

The panic I feel accosts every one of my senses, effectually paralyzing me. Landon opens his mouth to say something, only to close it again. The seconds in which I choose not to take a breath tick by, one after another.

"He's alright," Landon says, after those seconds have stretched into a minute. I struggle to process his words.

"He's alright?" I repeat. Landon nods. "Alright," I whisper, air sweeping back into my lungs. I swipe a bandaged hand across my eyes.

As my breathing settles, I realize the blinding light I awoke to is nothing more than daylight, shining through the lone window of my bedroom. Now that my eyes have adjusted, I can see the room is quite dim in actuality.

I look down at my bandaged hands, the events of the Formal coming back to me in pieces. "Was anyone hurt last night?" I ask. Landon takes another moment to respond.

"The attack was almost three days ago now." He hands me a glass of water. "Try to drink this. You're very dehydrated." My mind spins as I struggle to hold the glass.

"Three days ago?"

"We gave you a remedy to keep you asleep. You hit your head. The physician was afraid of swelling in your brain." I must look alarmed, because he tries to assure me with, "You're awake, and you're coherent. That's a good sign."

"What happened to everyone else?" I try to sit up and he gently presses me back against my pillows.

"Don't move around too much just yet."

"Was anyone else hurt?"

"Some Elite died in the attack." He's avoiding my eyes now, and it's making me nervous.

"What about the White Watch? The staff?"

"You'll be briefed by Tricouncil when you're feeling up to it. You should try to rest until then."

"Landon, how many people were killed?" I can hear the fear in my own voice.

His eyes flit around the room, finally coming to rest on mine. "Over a hundred." He sighs, sounding exhausted. "One hundred and nine, to be exact."

I feel frozen.

"One hundred and nine people died three days ago," Landon repeats, as though I haven't heard him.

One hundred and ten.

"One hundred and ten," I correct him. He looks surprised. "Heath Angler," I say, by way of explanation. "One hundred and ten."

He nods once.

"There's something you need to know, Diem." Now he can't seem to look away from me. He's looking at me like I might break, as though I might shatter just like all the glass in the ballroom.

"Has Margret found who's responsible?" I ask, ignoring his last statement. Now I'm the one avoiding his gaze. I wrap my arms around myself, as though it could protect me from whatever he's about to say.

"They have a little over a dozen men in custody. Tricouncil will take them to Trial." He places a hand on my shoulder. "Diem, I have to tell you something." My eyes snap over to him without my permission.

"Go on." I barely say the words out loud.

"Tricouncil has already voted to install you as the acting ruler. Because you come of age in less than a year, it would be useless to appoint another regent."

"Another regent?" I sit perfectly still, Landon's hand weighing on my shoulder. My throat feels like it's closing.

"One of the beams from the ceiling almost landed on you." His voice catches. "If Adair hadn't gotten you underneath the table when he did, you'd be dead too." He pauses, drawing in a ragged breath. "Both of you would be." He shakes his head, as if to dismiss the thought.

I know where this is going, but for some reason I can't quite get there. Adair's words from my dream are ringing in my ears. That's yours now, he told me, when I asked about Margret's cloak. The white and gold cloak of the ruler.

"I need you to say it, Landon," I choke out. I feel like I can't breathe.

"She's dead." He takes his hand away. "Margret is dead."