Mai found Rina hunched over in Kiera's garden. She'd waded back there through air as thick as molasses, then let her guilt and shame suck her down, down, down to the white-pebbled path. Her ankles ached, and sweat beaded her brow.

A murderer. That was what she was. She'd let her rage at Fin poison her. Now she was unclean. Tainted.

The touch of Mai's hand was like ice. "Rina, my dear?"

She flinched and pulled away. If he touched her, she might spread her taint to him.

Rina? Mai said in her mind. Her chest tugged as the line between them woke. She put her hand there. The crystal burned. She was so hot she thought she would explode. She opened her eyes. Tears and flashes of light blurred the stones below her.

Rina, look at me, my dear.

A soothing cool flowed from his fingers and swept across her body. His fingertips made trails along her back, urging her to turn and face him.

I'm here. Look at me. See me.

She did. She saw him, all light and energy. He was like the sun, his form outlined with light as yellow as the carnelian crystals in his crown, his body luminous as the dawn.

His hand came to her forehead, cooling her body further, and the shaking settled. A wave of calm coursed through her, just as she had experienced at past forsakings, yet she wasn't tired. Just still.

The world was ordinary again, except for the odd sparks that zapped about them. Mai crouched beside her, his black ringlets framing his face. His eyes and skin no longer blazed.

"They were looking for you, my dear. Your friends are worried. Should I be?"

Rina began to shake her head and stopped herself. He didn't deserve her lies. Of all people, he served the truth. She uncurled her hand and offered the sweat-stained note to him. Mai's face was stern as he unfolded it.

His fist clenched on a crackle of paper— a roar of flame, a flash of yellow, the scent of ash. He loosened his fist and let the cinders fall.

"Don't tell me you believe this."

She swallowed but said nothing.

He put his arm around her and pulled her against him, chin resting on the crown of her head. His hand moved in slow circles about her back. "This isn't about you. It's about—"

"It is!" she spat, twisting to face him. His eyes were a vivid blue, and for a moment, she almost lost her words, remembering who he was. But she was Arkis and Elia's heir.

"How can't it be? I killed her. I—"

"Did you push her off that cliff?"

"No, but—"

"Did you tell her to jump?"

"No, I—"

"Did you use your power against her?"

"No! Enough, damn it! I didn't. It wasn't like that, though. It was...She was..." She swallowed again, and her heart burned. Her hand came to her sternum, half expecting to find Fin's crystal and twirl it through her fingers. Instead, she traced the outline of her crystal—Mai's one. Had Pietro and that girl cut them from their bodies? Had they been such heretics? A ball of nausea built in her stomach at the thought.

Mai took her trembling hand. The thread between them hummed.

Tell me how it was, then.

So she did, all the while looking at her nails, remembering the caked blood after they raked down Martha's arms.

"She thought he just flirted with me—shared a kiss or two." Beside her, Mai stiffened, and the thread grew taut. "She was with child, but I told her we lay together."

Mai hissed, the sound scraping down Rina's spine like claws, and his nails dug into her upper arm. She relished the sensation. Deserved it.

"It was just the once, but I made sure she knew—insisted she use her gift to feel I was no longer whole and to feel who had been there." Her nostrils flared. A hot wind whipped about them, bringing dust, dry and earthy on her tongue.

"It was out of spite. I wanted her to hurt as I hurt."

The grip on her shoulder relaxed, and with it, Rina exhaled. The need to confess a compulsion now. If she didn't get the words out, she'd combust.

"I was so angry. They tricked me—and he tricked us both. I was the one wronged, but he ran to her, and I hated her for it." A drop of salt danced upon her tongue. "She was supposed to protect me. She promised to."

Mai held her closer, thumbing away her tears.

"He gave me a pendant so I would have him close to my heart." She paused, waiting for him to say something. Such a gift was heresy. The carnelian crystals under their skin were a reminder of Mai's love and protection. To place another man's crystal there over Mai's had been a betrayal.

Mai didn't say or do a thing, though. Not through that thread, or in spoken words, nor with the slightest movement of his body.

"I gave her the crystal—and then she walked off the cliff. I killed her, and I betrayed you."

Silence followed except for the sway of date palms outside the garden hedge, the many needled fingers of their leaves rustling. The caw of a sea bird. She shifted, waiting for, needing him to say something.

As she opened her mouth to end the silence, the line between them thrummed with his words. The only person responsible for our actions is ourselves. Still, I feel I am to blame.

"No," she assured him out loud, not prepared for the intimacy of speaking across the line. "You weren't."

A rueful smile tugged his lips. "By your logic, I am, my dear—but I don't want to quarrel. I made too many assumptions. That any past attachment was done and that someone of his family, who was so determined to climb the ladder would follow my orders. I was wrong. He may have loved your friend, but he desired the power that would come with fathering a child to you more. I put you in his path."

Rina didn't say anything. She didn't blame Mai, and yet there was truth in his words. They had both been part of that chain of events that led to Martha's death.

Come. Mai rose before her and reached out a hand. This isn't as private as I would like it to be.

A spark greeted her hand when she took his. "Shouldn't I go to the others?"

He pulled her to her feet. No, they've been told you mourn in your own way.

She looked down at the stones in the path, now in disarray, the dirt below them visible, and had the urge to reorder them. This she could do.

He shook his head and guided her over the lawn to the pavilion—the roses like drops of blood amongst the green.

A daybed sat in the centre. Large and made of wicker wood, with curling arms and colourful cushions gathered at the headboard. Patchworks of light patterned the mattress and the grass. Mai climbed the daybed and reclined on his side. He patted the bed.

Rina hesitated.

"I won't ravish you."

She barked a strained laugh and her face heated.

His lip twitched. "Am I that abhorrent?"

"No!"

He chuckled. "My dear, you look like I've sentenced you to death. I won't do anything to harm you—or anything you don't want. Come." He gave one final pat for emphasis.

Swallowing, she pulled her dress to her calves and kicked off her slippers, then mirrored his position, so she faced him.

"There, was it that hard?"

She smiled. "No. I'm an idiot."

He grasped at her hand. "The last thing you are is an idiot."

Rina looked down at her lap and tried to withdraw her hand, but he intertwined their fingers.

"Why do you pull away?"

She looked into his blue gaze. "I'm not used to this. We still don't make sense."

He cupped her face, and her heart lightened. "We make perfect sense." His face grew sad, and he dropped his hand.

Leaning in, she asked, "What? What's wrong?"

They're slipping from me. His words tinkled down the line, bringing his sadness into her.

Who is? she responded in kind.

A flicker of his lips showed his relief that she spoke this way.

They all are. My people, your people.

Rina furrowed her brow. You're Mai the Magnificent. Our emperor. The saviour of both our nations—and you're almost a god.

He shook his head. Don't tell me you haven't seen it. That's the facade. Beneath, it's crumbling. Ro, other magisters, Fin, Martha, your neighbours, your family. They're slipping. His lips pressed together. One of the few hidden blessings of The Devastation was that it forced me to bring The Carnelian Way outside of Denea. Now Eurora depends on it, and I fear what will happen to our people if it all comes undone. I want to rebuild Denea, but first I need to save this land from itself and... His words trailed off, not saying that thing he hid from her. What was the other threat?

She bit her lip, wanting to ask this and more and knowing he wasn't ready to tell his secrets.

I don't understand how I can help.

Taking her hand again, he placed it against his cheek. I have waited centuries for someone who could help undo the Devastation. Of all the people I have met in my long life, you are one of the few who can see into the other spectrum and see how the Carnelian Way moves through our world. To speak with it, and wield it with such precision.

His words rang across her soul. He thought she was special.

I have waited so long for you, Rina, the ancestor of my enemies. Their power echoes in your blood, and within this blood is the power to fix what was broken. Join me. Help me unite our people.

★☾●☽★

A/N: Happy Saturday, everyone. I hope you liked this chapter. Any comments or suggestions would be apprecited—if you can spare the time. This draft is 3/4 done. I can't wait to have it uploaded so I can go back to tying up loose ends. 

Much love—Jas oxox