Chapter 13

Fire filled my field of vision, consuming everything around me. All of it burned, the furniture and Manod and Cyrus and the stone walls themselves. It disintegrated into flame and ash, until the only thing left was the inferno. I sat at the center, clenching my jaw as I endured the pain of the heat.

I didn't make a sound. I could not show weakness in this place, no matter what tortures were to come, I was certain of that. After what felt like an eternity, the conflagration died down. I floated alone in a black void.

Then it came. It did not appear. There was no moment of arrival. It was simply there, as if it had always been so, a titan, a creature of molten rock, the magma flowing and swirling on the surface of his body.

You have betrayed your oath.

What could I say to that? It was true. Not intentionally, perhaps, but through misplaced trust and naiveté, I had broken my vows to Cyrus.

"Yes. I didn't intend to, but I did."

A handlike appendage emerged from the thing, glowing and throwing off an unbearable heat. It touched my cheek, and a burning agony spread throughout my body, as if my very bones were on fire. I fought to stay on my feet.

If you wear the crown, all people who worship me will become yours to steward.

"What do you mean?"

Look .

With that we were flying high above the plains of Fyr at a dizzying speed. The dry cracked lands passed quickly underneath us as we went, hills becoming tiny bumps and valleys becoming divots as we observed from that great height.

We slowed as we floated over towns and villages. People toiled in the fields in vain, doing their best to coax sprouts out of dust and clay. Elsewhere, we passed ponds and rivers with the barest trace of water left in them. Desperate communities fighting each other over land and food. On the seashore to the east, fishermen returned to their starving families with their nets empty. Finally, we arrived at the foothills. The gates of Greatfalls.

All are your responsibility. If you bear the crown, you also bear that burden. Any that walk on the surface of Fyr must be safeguarded and under your care.

The enormity of it hit me. Is this what Cyrus carried with him? The responsibility to caretake an entire nation? Not only the weight of his birthright, but the weight of a god's expectations.

"I…"

I couldn't say no. The lives of both my new husband and myself depended on it. But I desperately wanted for there to be another way.

Why do you not want to lead?

The god's voice echoed in my mind. I breathed in the possibilities, imagining myself as Lord of Ashfuror. Having a nation that relied on me. Having to sacrifice my own integrity for the sake of my subjects.

"I will not play the game of lies. I will not taint my every human interaction with dishonesty. When leading a city, or a nation, there's always an angle or a deceit. It's one thing to withhold information. Effective rulers go beyond that. They manipulate every situation to the benefit of their people. Even now, the lies of the past reverberate and shape this meeting. The goal may be noble, but I will not lose my soul to it."

The god did not answer. I continued.

"Even you encouraged them to lie to me, to mislead me, to leave out important truths. If I had known it would kill Cyrus, I wouldn't have severed his link to the crown. But you wanted to observe me, like an alchemist putting the heat to his newest experiment, waiting to see the result. Even if the materials burned up in the process."

The creature of fire and ash shifted and transformed, a living inferno, its every movement giving off wisps of smoke. Was there a trace of regret there?

You are not one of mine. Your motivations were hidden from me, and perhaps I chose…unwisely. But the crown will not force a change in you. It gives you the power to act as you see fit, and complements your own abilities. You may forge a path of your own, if you wish, leaving behind deception.

I stared at the creature. Was that even possible? Grandmother worked hard to get people to do what she wanted them to do. She wore a mask, and when she removed it, another was revealed. I hated it.

But maybe Grandmother wasn't the person I should take as my model of leadership.

"I do not want to lie."

Then do not.

The words of the god reverberated in my mind as we hovered over the green forests of Greatfalls, then over the reservoir, then over the mountain itself.

You cannot place these over the others. All must flourish.

"I know." And I did. I would not abandon my people, but I would not privilege them.

Once again, everything changed. The earth below faded away. It was replaced with an intricate network of amber strands and nodes. At each node there was a faint movement, like a baby bird straining against its egg.

"What are these?"

This is the web of possibility. The future is not set, but some events are more likely to occur than others.

The god gestured to one of the larger nodes, and moving images flickered on its surface.

There was Cyrus, pale and still, unmoving in his bed. My stomach churned, and I gasped at the grief that sprang up in me. Was he dead? Was I unable to save him?

His body shifted and changed into a different person, a man with blonde hair instead of brown and a permanent sneer affixed to his face. My brother Athard. Also still, also unmoving.

Then, before I could take in what I was seeing, it changed once more, and the body became my grandmother's. She too did not stir. Was it slumber? Or death?

"All of them? Do all of them die?"

And what if they do? Will you still take the crown? Will you still pay the debt you owe to Cyrus and to me?

If they were all gone, what then? If my family and my husband were dead, what remained? I would be left with my duty to the people of Fyr, and the knowledge that I did everything I could to right the wrong I had perpetrated. That would have to be enough.

"If I bind myself to the crown, I will become a ruler? A Dark Lord?"

You will.

A fiery appendage gestured to another node. Inside was the image of a large chamber of dark stone with a huge round table at the center. A map of Fyr was on the table, with wooden figurines placed at various points throughout. A figure stood over it, cloaked in black, wearing a glowing orange crown.

It was me.

Manod was by my side, appearing even older and wearier, his beard unkempt and his eyes bloodshot. Other people were around us, but I did not know them. Advisors? Military commanders? But they all waited. They were waiting on my decision.

Then a flurry of images. Me standing with members of the aristocracy, dancing, talking, laughing. Me speaking with unhappy citizens. Me meeting with dangerous criminals.

Eventually, everything faded, the amber strands disintegrating around us, until it was just the god and I alone in the void. Although it said nothing, I could tell that it was waiting for my final agreement.

There was no question. I would rule over Ashfuror, over all of Fyr. I would save Cyrus and atone for my betrayal. If the lordship changed me, it would be no one's fault but myself. If I wanted to keep my integrity, I'd need to have the will to do so.

There was only one way forward.

"I accept the crown."