People gawped at them as they entered the court grounds and made their way down a promenade lined with cypress trees and lavender bushes, making their way to the white courthouse.

The sun blazed down, and the trees offered fleeting shade. Rina boiled with the energy she'd consumed, and she longed to pull back her stifling headscarf, but elected for modesty. The people didn't accept her. Not yet. Still, she kept her chin high—acting the part of an empress-to-be.

She wondered why none had come to check on them? Why no guards rushed to their assistants. The trials of the magisters suspected of treason would have begun by now, but surely someone had alerted Mai.

Whispers and murmurs trailed their group. She caught a handful of words. "Mubash", "the Taint" and "Magister Nab." Some eyes were fearful, others cautious, and in others—was that awe?

A red-haired acolyte knelt as Rina approached. "Praise Mai," she said, head lowered to the ground. Rina paused a moment, hyper-aware of the energy that crackled across the girl's skin, before touching her on the shoulder and urging her to stand. More blessings followed. Again and again, she encouraged the people to move on, assuring them any magister would have done what she did. That yes, the Taint was real. Yes, the mubash had been found in two magisters now, and yes, she had saved them.

Avil caught her eyes, his green ones heavy with exhaustion, and nodded. Some believed in her.

Rina's body was afire by the time they reached an enormous fountain marking the end of the walkway, the energy pushing against her skin from the inside out. She needed to release Nab's èlan vital soon.

A cool mist kissed her skin for a few blessed moments. Yet the sickly sweet scent of the mubash gore still clung to her boots, crawling up to her nose and making her nauseous. She glanced at the water, longing to jump in and cleanse herself before seeing Mai.

The image of his bloody body beneath her as they shared each other's power swept through her mind, filling her with that hollow hunger and another very-human need. It wasn't blood itself that was the problem. It was this blood, this tainted energy.

She glimpsed the pulse at Avils neck. Sensed the thump, thump, thump of life coursing through his veins and the sharpening of her incisors pricking her lips. She licked her lips and placed her hand across her stomach, faltering.

"Yer Grace?" said Avil.

Rina blinked and moved her hands, pressing them in different locations the hard skin. The bump had grown—again.

"Is everything alright?" Avil's emerald eyes were intent as they moved from her hands to her face.

Rina swallowed. "Yes. Just nausea."

Her escort had stalled around her, and she was all too aware of their stares.

Avil chuckled, the sound half-hearted, a blatant attempt to cheer her up. "I'm not surprised. Just try not to cough up any of the little devils, will ye?"

"Soldier, that's enough."

Avil waved Josiah away. "Just trying to lighten the mood." He turned to the broad steps before them leading up to the courthouse.

Nine marble figures peered down, the sacred pillars of their society. From the centre, Mai smiled down at her and Rina took courage, ascending the stairs, her boots clicking against the stone.

As they crested the stairs, a young acolyte sprinted from the building, his umber robes streaming behind him. "Get out! Go!" he shouted. Dozens of more figures followed him, dressed in the reds and yellows of Magisterium orders, mixed with the brighter colours of nobles and wealthy merchants.

"The Taint. They're tainted! Move. Get out of here!"

"What the hell?" barked Josiah. He reached out and grabbed a young acolyte woman by the upper arm, yanking her to him as she tried to slip out of his grip. "Girl, what happened?"

The girl, in her late teens, with caramel brown hair and golden skin narrowed her eyes, then stilled. "They were tested for the taint and..." She faltered on her words, shuddering. "Some of them." She swallowed hard. "Black. They were filled with black things."

"The mubash," said Avil.

The girl nodded, then glanced around her. The crowd had fled, racing along the promenade, and the gardens emptied as others followed. "Please, just let me—" She tugged sharply, and almost fell as Josiah released her. One of the guards caught and steadied her. She didn't stop to thank him, lifting her robes and hurrying down the stairs. She wobbled at the bottom, almost falling, but righted herself and chased after the others.

Rina and the guards stared at the dark entrance to the courthouse.

"Perhaps we should go back," suggested one of the guards—a stocky man with a scar that ran from the corner of his mouth to his chin in a white line.

"Are you kidding!" Avil shook his head at the man. "Didn't you see what she did?" he said, indicating to Rina with an arm.

"Suuure." The man said, drawing out the word. "I also saw what the mubash did to my friend."

Rina glanced away, biting her lip. Her hands moved to her stomach.

"Exactly why we need her," said Avil, gesturing to the shadowed entrance.

Josiah slapped at Avil's hands. "I'm in charge here."

"Well, take damned charge," snapped Avil. "Those beasts didn't stand a chance against her, though I can't say the same for the rest of the people in there."

They all flinched as the echo of a scream escaped the gloom.

"What in the hell is happening? We should go!" said the guard with the scar.

"I said I'm in charge," said Josiah.

Clenching her jaw, Rina took a breath and pushed past the bickering guards, striding into the complex.

Her entourage chased after her, Josiah calling for her to wait, Avil telling her to hurry. The temperature dropped the second she passed the thick marble walls. High ceilings stretched above her, squares of coloured glass filtering rainbow light across the black and white floor tiles.

Rina paused, listening to determine the direction of the shouts and screams and quickened her steps toward them. A synchronised stomp of boots on stone announced the arrival of temple guards moving in the same direction. She followed them, the disordered footfalls of her contingent behind her.

They rounded a corner and came to a high archway. The guards passed through it without hesitation, but Rina slowed, something cold at her nape. The steps behind her slowed, then stopped on a rattle of sheaves clacking against leather. From the periphery of her vision, she saw Avil and Josiah. They stared ahead to the entranceway, where shrieks and cries were interspersed by orders of, "Stay where you are!"

Rina's blood ran cold. People were trapped in there with the mubash. Mai was with them.

Josiah turned to her, Adam's apple bobbing, his freckles stark against his ashen face. "Your Grace, you don't need to enter. No one would hold it against you if you left."

Rina held his gaze a moment. The tick in his jaw was the only clue of how he longed to race in there and fight. She twisted to Avil, finding his face intent, silently begging her to do something. If Olav were here, he'd already be hacking away at the enemy, leaving a trail of red-purple gore in his wake.

She hesitated, her hands instinctively returned to her stomach. Could she risk it? She caught the quirk of Avil's brow as his eyes fell on the small curve, lips pressed together in understanding.

The people in there were her responsibility, too.

She lifted a hand and let the veil between the spectrums disappear. The heat took over. Amber light flowed under her skin, under the skin of Avil beside her, streaking through their veins. Her crystal was hot against her sternum, so hot she could feel it heating her bone. The power needed to go somewhere. And if she needed to kill more of the little bastards than it could handle—the pulse of Avil's blood echoed in her own—she could use the consumption to take more.

She stepped forward, pausing a second before she broke into a jog and entered the courtroom.

It was the same room as Lord Nar had been tried in. Red and white columns supported the star-spangled ceiling. A wall of guards blocked the way down, their leather-clad backs to her. Arms and hands reached between them as people tried to break through, but the men didn't budge a millimetre. Rina noted the yellow-green glow about their forms and understood.

She tried to elbow past the guards, but it was like trying to shatter a brick wall with her body. A desperate eye peaked between two guards. Rina saw the face of a teenage girl. The girl stretched her arm through, and Rina gripped it and pulled. "Please!" the girl begged. Avil and Josiah joined Rina without success.

Rina released the girl and ordered the men to stand back. She placed her hands on the shoulders of two guards and closed her eyes. Sucking in her breath, she used her crystal to pull the energy from within her, then she breathed out, shooting it from her arms.

The guards parted before her, as if she pushed through long stalks of wheat in a field, tipping, falling, taking the rest of the line with them.

A crowd of wide-eyed magisters and acolytes faced her on the other side.

"Thank the gods," one of them gasped. Then they scrambled over the fallen guards, moving about Rina and her men like rapids through boulders.

The courtroom was chaos. Far below, writhing black forms slithered across the orchestra floor. Guards stood back-to-back among them, stomping with their boots and slashing with their swords. The snakes slid away, evading most of the blows, rounding on the men to attack from different angles. Above them, standing on benches or hovering in the air, magisters shot bolts of power from their hands. Mai was at their centre, his cloak a shadow about him. A yellow-green bolt shot from his palm, and his target exploded.

One of the mubash escaped the orchestra and shot up the stairs toward Rina. It didn't make it halfway before Rina sent a burst of power and killed it. She started to race down but halted and turned. The men who had barred their entry had righted themselves and glared at her.

She returned the glare. "They just needed to get out."

One of them, a middle-aged man with greying hair rubbed at his shoulder. "They're suspected of harbouring the taint. They all refused the test."

"What?" Rina asked, her temperature dropping.

"Why do you think we let the others go, girl? Do you think we kept them here to—"

"Yer speaking to Her Grace, officer. " Avil stepped in close to the older man. "His Magnificence's betrothed. I'd listen to her if I were you."

The man went pale and knelt. "Forgive me, Your Grace."

Rina brushed the title away. "Go, find them then. But for the sake of the gods, put them somewhere out of harm's way! They need to be tested."

The guard bowed, and Rina looked down again. A guard had fallen, and another was crying out for help. Gods, it had been their so-called protectors crying out in fear.

She lifted her skirts and bolted down the steps, joining the centre of the fray, sending bolt after bolt of power, the hem of her dress becoming a dark, bloody mess.

"Rina, no!" A blast of power from above killed a mubash she hadn't spotted. A moment later, she felt a tug as a force pulled her up. She resisted the pull. If these men risked their lives to save others, she wouldn't leave them.

She didn't know when Mai joined her on the ground, but she turned to find him beside her, white face shining with perspiration, bright-blue eyes intent on her.

After her power had faded from green-tinged gold to a washed-out yellow, she grew tired, exhaustion draping across her like a water-logged cloak.

Take some, Mai said in her mind, and she gulped the stream of energy he sent to her.

A cold sweat coated Rina when it was over. She stared down at the floor, at the purple-red smears, black skin, scorched rock and slime. Her head spun. The earth dragged her down, and she folded, falling into Mai's arms. His icy fingers brushed the hair from her face, and cold lips kissed her cheek. A hand snaked around to cradle her.

My love, he said down the line. I'll never let anything hurt you or our child, but don't you dare do something like that again.

Tilting her head, Rina met his waiting lips, rough and cold and so familiar. They warmed as she moved against them, wrapping her arms against her neck.

A single cheer rang out, growing into a chant. "The empress. The empress."

She felt Mai's smile against her mouth. I told you they'd love you, he said into her mind and kissed her again. 

★☾●☽★

A/N: Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed it, please consider hitting that star. And if there is anything you think I could improve, or something you loved, please let me know 💚