She stood, forehead creased, trying to work out why she had been brought here, alone. The magisterium training summons came for groups, not individuals.

Earlier in the day, she'd been excluded from such an invitation, and whiled away her time reading in the back corner of the garden, inhaling the perfume of the jasmine vine, enjoying the lawn beneath her, and the memories of lying there with Fin. Then an unexpected servant arrived and escorted her to the magister level. But not to a clinic, or a planting field or training centre.

The edge of the plateau was a line of green on blue. Rina made her way to it and stared down. The city sprawled out in concentric circles carved from the mountain rock, and beyond them was the sapphire water of the Bay of Nebia. Craning her neck, she searched for the Crystal Queen, knowing the ship had long sailed, and Fin with it. She grimaced, her throat tight, as she remembered it also took prisoners to the mines of Hypat in the Devastation—Old Denea as it was more rightly named, and as far as she knew, no Denese had ever returned.

No Denese had returned from Nebia, either—though, with the beauty around her, she imagined that was by choice.

A sticky glob of bird-pecked fruit clung to the sole of her shoe from the orchard behind her. She wiped it on the ground, and eventually gave up, bending down to pick up a rock to scrape the fruit off.

Tongue out, she balanced on one leg, squatting and resting her ankle on her knee, and started the wipe the pulp away. The glare of the lowering sun burned her eyes. She pivoted, squinting, and began to wobble.

"Bugger—"

A pair of hands took hold of her shoulders and held her up.

"Careful there, my dear."

The stone slipped from her hand as she righted herself, breathing in the scent of roses. Mumbling an apology, she faced the stranger.

The bluest eyes she had ever seen gazed into hers, crinkling at the corners. Her mouth dropped open.

The man stepped back, smiling. "A pleasure, my dear." He wore a black robe, the hood pulled back to reveal black ringlets, and about his brow sat a crown of golden briars, a flawless Carnelian Crystal at its centre.

"Your Ma—Your Magnificence! I'm so sorry." Rina fell to her knees painfully, arms stretching out. She tried to concentrate on the blades of grass, the fertile soil, and a trail of ants.

"Shh, Rina," he shushed.

She felt his shadow fall across her, and once again, those hands held her, pulling her to her feet and snaring her with his gaze.

Shit, shit, shit!

"Looking at me won't kill you."

"But..."

His expression softened as his hands squeezed her arms again, and he spoke with a soothing tone. "Why would I hurt you when I've waited so long to greet you in person?"

Rina froze. "Waited?"

He nodded slowly. Shadows yawned behind him. His pale face was radiant in the late-afternoon light, an ethereal cast to the almost translucent skin. "Don't you remember seeing me?"

Her words came in a croak. "Of course—at the dinner."

"Not just then." His eyes moved pointedly to her foot, and up again. "Before, and after, too."

She gulped.

"I'm so delighted to meet a descendent of Arkis and Elia in the flesh after all these years."

The world seemed to tilt on its axis around her. Arkis and Elia's descendant? Impossible. No. Not them. Not them.

"You're mistaken, Your Magnificence."

Something flickered across Mai's face, sending jolts of ice sprinting through her veins. Nobody contradicted Mai. Especially not an—an Arkis-spawned Denese.

Please, please be wrong.

"Don't look like that." He reached out and brushed a tangle of curls behind her ear. His hands were long and elegant, with the fingers of a musician. Everything about him had an almost-fragile air: the skin of his face smooth and delicate as a petal, the faint red-rim about his eyes, and the dark patches under them. He grinned, the perfect white teeth almost yellow against his alabaster complexion, with sharp canines.

Rina shivered.

"I imagine you wonder why you are here."

She nodded.

"Did Media tell you anything?"

She hesitated before saying, "That there was a—a problem with the Carnelian Way, and balance is needed. I don't understand what that has to do with us. We have the Tai—"

Mai's hand stopped her words. "The Taint. I know. Follow me."

The request was gentle, but the compulsion to obey told Rina, in no uncertain terms, that it was not negotiable. Her feet moved with a will of their own, treading through grass, in the deepening shadows of the orchard. They entered the sunlight, and Mai took them along a narrow path toward a cliff face, led her through a cluster of boulders, to a cave behind a screen of flower-speckled vines smelling of honey.

He paused a moment and unfurled his hand. A ball of green-tipped light flared there. He walked again, leading her through the tunnel until they approached a stone door with a circular engraving. Rina thought she heard him mutter some words, and the door moved of its own volition, sliding back noiselessly. They ascended a damp, winding staircase, the steps worn from the slow movement of water. The rustle of wings and odd tweets trickled from stalactites.

After some time, they came to a landing, and Mai opened another door.

Rina shielded her eyes as they emerged under the sunset sky. The clouds were pink streaks of sugared lace, and the sky an intense blue.

Sea birds circled above, and a garden stretched before them, rows of roses, tulips, and flowers she couldn't name bursting in an explosion of colour. An enormous wisteria tree, with long strands of purple blossoms, stood in the centre. Mai walked toward it, ruby flecks in his black robe eating the light of the failing sun—no, not black, but the deepest claret.

Just before they reached the tree, he turned and gave her a crooked smile—a question dancing in his eyes.

Something warmed inside Rina. She inclined her head, thinking, Yes, it's beautiful here.

Somehow, in her mind, she heard his response. I hoped you would think so.

A slight green glow grew about the crystal on Mai's diadem, and invisible hands parted the purple curtain. Mai lifted an arm in an invitation, and she stepped inside.

The knarled treetrunk was a snared snake. It forked into two thick and twisted limbs, from which sprung other branches and twigs that reached to the sky and plummeted to the earth in a lilac shower. Rina frowned. The growth from one limb showed signs of disease. The blooms were small and shrivelled, the leaves curling and brown. There must be a battle for the nutrients, and one side was winning.

Mai motioned for her to sit on a wrought iron bench before the trunk, then folded into the seat beside her, his hands clasped across his lap, studying her with a half-smile upon his lips.

"You see it, don't you?"

Rina furrowed her brow. "See what?"

He indicated their surroundings with a sweep of his eyes.

The words came reluctantly from her mouth—but they came, if cracked. "The tree, it's dying."

He shook his head. "Not yet—but it could. Can you see the imbalance?"

She nodded. "What caused it?"

Mai tilted and peered behind him. He plucked a floral sprig, tracing the length of the sprout in a way that reminded her of how Fin had run his fingers along her neck. "A variety of things could cause this. Illness from within, like the Taint. A change in weather conditions. Generally, it comes down to supply and demand."

Rina blinked, confused.

As if reading her mind, he answered her question. "In your time working the fields, did you ever use irrigation?"

"A little—there was usually enough rain. If anything, the problem was too much of it."

Mai's lips curled. "Where I was born, the land was sand and stone. The people shaped it to their needs. Despite what history would tell you, much of our livelihood was due to irrigation, not magic—though, the magic assisted plenty, " he added. He bit his lip and fiddled with his hands like it was hard for him to talk of his homeland.

Rina felt a tug at her heart. He'd lost his country and his people—all those souls, Denese and Euran both. Regardless of the time that had passed or the fact that his father's people had rejected him, it still must be a great sadness. She saw him as a man then, an ageless man trapped in a young body with all that regret.

"When the irrigation systems malfunctioned, certain areas flooded, and others dried up. The whole land suffered, though. Plants died of rot and thirst alike, and this impacted food and trade. Any imbalance—too little, or too much water—could lead to the death of all. Do you see?"

She didn't know that she did. The metaphor was abstract and vague. An emperor could explain things better.

He sighed. "The Magisterium and the Denese, we take our gifts from the same source. I fear, that by taking..."

She gasped, her focus hooked by three words, the rest fading away. The same source? So what Sara suggested was true—they did have the Carnelian Way. It wasn't the Taint. Unless their very nature warped it into the Taint, like the buckled trunk of the tree? Unconsciously, her fingers moved to her chest, pushing away Fin's pendant and moving to the crystal below her skin. It was sore to the touch. Had that girl cut the crystal from her body?

"Are you alright, my dear?"

She cursed mentally. "I'm sorry, please—"

He waved away her words. "Where did I lose you?"

With a grimace, she admitted, "At the same source."

A crease formed between his brows. "You never suspected this?"

She wet her lips. "I—I heard a rumour we had it."

"And?"

"You're—" She swallowed. "You're Mai. I'd never think you'd keep something like us from us."

Mai started to laugh. A deep belly laugh.

She stiffened. This man was god-like, magnificent, and yet he was laughing at her.

"Forgive me. I seem to have offended you. I understood you were devoted—but I didn't think a descendent of Arkis and Elia would be to such an extent."

"I'm not their descendent."

All humour left his countenance. His hand shot out and grabbed her chin, the fingertips digging in at the edge of pain. He turned her face side to side, his own mirroring the movements, then he leaned closer and his features blurred. When he spoke, his breath was warm, fresh from chewed fennel seeds and mint.

"Oh, my dear innocent girl, eyes like yours could not come from anyone, but Arkis's descendent."

He took a lock of her dark hair in his hand and idly played with it. "And your hair is just like that of my misguided half-sister." His other hand darted to her mouth. Rina tried to pull away, but he held her firm. Her pulse spiked, but she was frozen. A thumb and forefinger moved between her lips, prying her teeth apart. His thumb began to circle one canine, and he pressed the pad against the point

The copper taste of his blood filled her mouth. Her stomach hollowed. She wanted to grab his finger and devour it. She wanted to vomit. She couldn't move. Flashes of light darted across her vision, and her eyes watered.

Mai nodded once, withdrew his finger, and Rina almost fell on him as the ability to move returned to her body.

"You have the teeth and appetite of Elia, too." He lifted his forefinger with half-lidded eyes and licked it. Again, she thought she saw a green flash, though it came so fast she might have dreamed it. Unbroken skin remained where his tongue had been.

She shuffled back to the far side of the seat, glaring at him. "Even if I am who you say I am, why does it matter?"

"Why?" His face lit. "Because you and I, my dear, are where the healing begins. Are you ready?"

★☾●☽★

Thank you again for reading. I'd love to hear what you thought of Mai. If you enjoyed it, or want to mark your spot, consider hitting that ⭐️