Sapient Salvation 1: The Selection (Sapient Salvation Series) (18 page)

“I don’t think so,” I said. I leaned back and sighed deeply, interlacing my fingers at the back of my head. “I think at least one other outperformed Kalindi.”

I flipped a glance at High Priestess Lunaria, who sat straight and still on a high-backed chair and wore her usual impassive expression.

Akantha tapped her pursed lips with the maroon-polished nail of her index finger. “Yes. I believe Maya far exceeded Kalindi in this challenge.”

“I agree,” I said, nodding my acquiescence as my heart soared. “Then so it is.”

I started to turn to the Priestess to confirm her approval, when Akantha sat up. “But what about Britta? She attempted to help others. She helped to save Maya’s life toward the end,” she said.

“Yes, but Maya equally saved Britta’s by leading her to a better place to take cover,” I shot back. “And before that, Maya warned all the others including Britta to run when the tredaks were coming to attack. She could have simply allowed the attack to happen, which would have culled more of her competition. It would have been a massacre if she hadn’t shouted a warning.”

Akantha grunted and waved her hand, but when she came back with no argument I felt a flash of triumph.

We briefly reviewed some of the actions of the other women, but hit no significant differences of opinion over their performances.

“I propose for this challenge the following order of rank,” I said. “Maya, Britta, Kalindi, Meribel, Riki, Cheytan.” The names of the dead women were left off the list.

Akantha nodded her agreement, and we both turned to the Priestess. She closed her eyes for several seconds.

“I find these ranks of favor in harmony with the sacred texts,” she said.

I did the mental calculation and bit the inside of my cheek to suppress a grin. This wouldn’t bump Maya into first place overall—Kalindi’s points from the introduction still kept her in first place—but now Maya would be in second, just a point behind Kalindi.

As before, the men were easier to rank. Orion earned the top spot for this challenge, which moved him to the top overall by one point over Amet. I’d watched Orion and Maya work together in the forest, and it made me approve of the muscular young man even more. Amet was by far the more polished, but Orion possessed a simple sincerity that I liked. He reminded me of Victor in that way.

When our deliberations were complete, the two women left my chambers. I knew I should get to bed. It was dawn, and I was bone-weary from the late night and drained from the tension of the competition. I would need to rise in just a few hours for the daily session with the Council, followed by the announcement of the ranks of favor and then the celebration that traditionally came after the first challenge. But I paused at the small balcony that faced the sunrise, drawing a deep breath into my lungs and drinking in the warming colors of the sky.

Despite my fatigue, I felt enlivened. My entire body buzzed as if charged by some strange new infusion of energy.

“My Lord, do you require company when you retire?” Victor’s voice came at my back.

I turned and considered for a moment, running through the faces of the harem women. “Darafina again.”

He bowed his head, backed away three steps, and then left.

I stood under a hot shower for several minutes, allowing the heat to soak into my body. After drying myself, I walked naked into my sleeping chamber.

When I saw who was in my bed I stopped short, the muscles of my jaw flexing in irritation. “I did not call for you, Sytoria.”

She lay on her side with the covers thrown back, one knee up. One hand gripped a set of bondage cuffs, and the other trailed slowly from her knee to her inner thigh.

Her eyes traveled partway down my body to my growing arousal, and her lips twitched into a knowing smile. “Perhaps you didn’t, but I can see that you want me here all the same.”

I lifted my chest and looked down at her coldly. “I command you to get out of my bed and leave my chambers.”

Uncertainty flashed in her eyes. “My Lord, surely you don’t mean—”

“Now,” I cut her off.

She lay there for a moment, clearly shocked, and then slowly sat up, moved to the edge of the bed, and stood.

She straightened and squared her shoulders. “I know you, my Lord,” she whispered. “And I know that it is only a matter of time before you will be calling for what only I can give you.”

When I didn’t reply, she finally turned and tossed the cuffs on the bed and stalked from the bed chamber, not even bothering to don her robe.

I locked the bedroom door behind her. I was in no mood for company now.

I fell into bed, and for once it felt good to be there alone. It felt deeply satisfying to have bested my desires. Even a few days ago, I probably would have succumbed to Sytoria’s tricks and manipulation. But recently I’d begun to catch moments of peace like I hadn’t experienced since I was a child, before I was kidnapped.

I fell asleep anticipating the next time I would see the dark angel.

13

Maya

AS I WAITED to enter the throne room with the other Obligates, I touched the bouncy waves at the back of my hair lightly with my fingertips. After Iris had helped me get into my dress—a lavish gown with a high-low hem that revealed my legs up to the tops of my knees in front and trailed along the ground behind my heels in back—a servant had come to fix my hair and makeup.

It was surreal to sit at a vanity and get done up like a princess only hours after fighting for my life and witnessing some of my fellow Obligates lose theirs. I’d watched in the mirror as the servant pulled the sides of my hair back in graceful twists and then created a flattering cascade of curls around my shoulders with her various styling tools, feeling distant from what was happening to me and around me.

I’d never looked like this in my life. With a pang of homesickness, I wished Mother could see me. My homesickness deepened tenfold when I thought of my sister. I longed to stay up late, whispering to Lana about Lord Toric, the other competitors, Akantha, Iris, and what it was like to be on Calisto. It was a physical ache, like ravishing hunger or the heartache of grief. I drew a deep breath and tried to pull myself into the moment.

Iris had told me that occasionally we would get to dress up like this, that it was an opportunity for Lord Toric to observe us in formal dress and social situations.

Akantha had made it clear that Obligates weren’t allowed to chat with each other without permission, but I looked around for Orion and gave him a little wave. He and the other men were dressed in pressed black pants and shirts with collars. Just as the women’s dresses were in different styles and colors to flatter each of us, the men’s shirts were tailored to the wearer.

Orion nodded at me and winked. I nearly smiled back, for a moment imagining that we were on our way to a dance or fete back home.

Akantha’s glare reminded me that this was no dance, and I was so far from home that it might as well not exist.

I tried to imitate the way Kalindi stood and moved in her high-heeled shoes. I’d worn Mother’s only pair of high heels once, to my last school dance before I graduated, but they weren’t nearly as high as the satin ones I wore now.

I couldn’t understand how anyone could wear these shoes for more than a few minutes. I already felt pressure spots where blisters were sure to form before the day was done. Iris said that with practice I would become accustomed to the shoes, but I wasn’t sure I cared to do that. Not that I really had a choice in such matters.

When I saw the line begin to move, I shifted my weight toward my toes and pulled my stomach muscles firm as Iris had coached me—she said it would help with my balance as I walked in the heels.

I had to focus on keeping my ankles from wobbling and not catching a heel on my dress as I walked, so it wasn’t until I stopped in the middle of the throne room with the other Obligates that I was able to look up at Lord Toric.

He looked truly regal, wearing navy trousers and a shirt of the same silky fabric that crossed over in the front, revealing a V of bare skin at his upper chest. A simple cream-colored braided rope belt was wrapped a few times around his waist. The fabric of his clothes caught the light in a subtle, rich shimmer when he shifted.

As he surveyed us, his eyes moving slowly down the line of Obligates, my stomach dipped nervously. He looked very much a king, his jaw set and his eyes serious. When his gaze paused on me for a split second, my heart bumped. And when his eyes seemed to soften and warm a bit, my pulse flew away at a gallop.

I resisted the urge to press my hands against my stomach to try to still the fluttering there. Was it my imagination? It felt as if he’d acknowledged me in a different way than the others, but I didn’t trust that I’d read his look correctly.

Akantha said a few words to welcome the audience to the next phase of the Tournament, and then she turned with a flourish of one hand up at the wall.

When the tile with my face and name appeared at the top of the women’s rankings for the forest challenge, I sucked in a shocked breath.

I’d received the highest rank of favor for the culling challenge.

I glanced at the men’s board and saw that Orion had been ranked first as well, and a swell of pride warmed me.

Then the tiles flashed and began to rearrange themselves. Mine slid down to second place behind Kalindi’s, indicating that she was still the overall leader. But I’d moved up two places in the overall ranks of favor. I could only stare at the tiles as Akantha made a few more general remarks to the audience.

I felt fifty pounds lighter when Akantha took us back through the door that led to our dressing rooms. When I went inside my room, Iris was already waiting for me on the divan. She stood and held out her arms, and I started to rush to her before I remembered the shoes. I quickly pulled the straps off my heels, kicked off the shoes, and let her fold me into an embrace.

“Well done, Maya.” Her voice was warm and smiling as she gave me a squeeze.

“I can hardly believe it,” I said breathlessly.

She let me go, and I sank to the divan.

“Okay.” I tried to gather myself, knowing I couldn’t afford to get distracted even by a victory. “What’s next, and what can I do to stay near the top?”

“The party is not a formal challenge in the tournament, but make no mistake, you
will
be judged on your conduct, and it will figure in your rank somehow,” Iris said. She sat down next to me, crossed her ankles, and smoothed her dress over her lap. “Lord Toric will keep in mind the impression you make at this event when he chooses the ranks after the next formal challenge.”

I sat up straighter and folded my hands in my lap, trying to imitate Iris’s posture and poise. “What about my conduct will he be evaluating?”

“Your charm. Conversation skills. If you have any talents you might use to entertain the party-goers, this would be the time to bring those out and let them shine.”

I thought about Lana’s singing. If only I had her voice. But I couldn’t sing and there’d never been any money for instrument lessons. I couldn’t help feeling deflated. “I don’t have any special talents to put on display for a crowd. I guess I’ll have to rely on other things.”

“After Lord Toric arrives, be sure to stay where he can see you. You don’t want to be difficult to find. He may not speak to all of the Obligates, but if he does speak to you, it’s a good sign.” Her eyes gleamed and a smile touched her lips. “And I would put money on him seeking you out. He seems . . . intrigued by you. You must use that to your advantage.”

My pulse skipped as I remembered how his gaze had lingered on me just now in the throne room. And before, during the introduction ceremony, when he’d quirked a tiny smile at me. So it wasn’t just my imagination—Iris had noticed, too. “And what should I do or say when he speaks to me?”

“Expressing you desire to serve him is always a safe theme. Beyond that, let him see your best qualities. Remember, he wants gracious, honorable, intelligent, warm women around him—not just beautiful, charming ones, although beauty and charm are important too.”

I was silent for several seconds as I clenched my hands together in my lap. The glow of my victory was quickly fading, and some of the anger and outrage I’d felt after the forest challenge was returning. “But what if I don’t actually feel a desire to serve? What if I think this entire tournament is equally barbaric and ridiculous? I just watched my fellow Earthens die, Iris. And from what you told me, that was the very
purpose
of the challenge in the forest.” I knew I should be practicing composure, that I shouldn’t be airing these frustrations, but I couldn’t hold them in. “The Calistans—Lord Toric—sent us out there with the intention that some would not survive. Why would I want to expend any effort kissing up to the Calistan Lord, pretending to want to serve him? I don’t want to be here!”

I had to stop as my throat tightened and angry tears sprang to my eyes. I bit down hard on my lips to keep from bursting into tears.

“There would be no Earthenfell home, no family, if not for the Calistans, remember?” Iris’s eyes were steely, but her tone was not unkind. “This—you and the other Obligates—is the price they ask for keeping your family and your old home safe under the shield.”

I took a shaking breath. “I know that. Of course I know that. But I’m still angry.”

“This is what it means to make a sacrifice. And Maya,” Iris’s tone turned stern, and she waited until I looked up at her before continuing. “You
must
play the game. Anger against Lord Toric will not help you. You must do whatever it takes to earn favor and to win. Your life depends on it.”

“You mean there are more culling challenges still to come?”

“There may be, that depends on the Mistress of Tournament and her decisions about the challenges, but . . .” Her mouth worked, as if she could not quite decide which words to choose next. When she spoke, her words came haltingly. “It’s not—it’s not just that. There are only—only
winners
in the Tournament. One young man and one young woman. You do not want to be one of the losers.” She spoke the last sentence very slowly.