Garden of Night: Beneath Devouring Eyes #3

Chapter 3 | Part 1

Domi stood on the amphitheater's stage, surrounded by the rest of his Ma's retinue as they waited with the other candidates to hear the election results.

Thousands of eyes bore down on him from the seats above, and he shuddered. The last time he'd faced a crowd this large, he had lit Daedalus's funeral pyre beneath the blood-red sun. Snow, not ash, fell on his shoulders now, yet he could still almost smell the smoke and see the hungry flames flickering in the faces of the angry masses.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the restless crowd. Please, Ma has to win. Lightbearers can't rule again. I can't. Dae can't. Please. His heart contracted painfully within his chest.

A cleared throat to his left made his eyes snap open. "Alumna," Valens said, but his low voice was concerned, not stern.

Well, not too stern at least, even as amber eyes narrowed down at Domi's hands.

Cheeks heating, he released the thread he'd been tugging on his sleeve and clenched his hands behind his back to stop his fidgeting.

On Valens's other side, Daedalus stood as still and calm as always. Only the pallor in his face belied the serenity of his outward appearance as he gazed out at the crowd.

Scattered across the stage, the other candidates for the Throne of Regret and their retinues waited in the same tense silence. Domi wondered if any of them felt the same fear.

His stomach tightened, joining his fists and chest. He licked his lips and tried to draw a deep breath. It's okay. Everything's okay.

PEOPLE OF AQUARIUS, HEAR ME.

Even after experiencing the whispering roar of Bridger's voice many times, the planet's words between his ears made him jump.

He was not the only one. Gasps rippled through the crowd, punctuated by angry shouts from a few non-Blended Pyrrhaei and Promethidae. But the First People fluttering in the sky spread their filaments eagerly, pulsing excited heat waves.

On the opposite side of the dias, Domi watched Felicitas Astralis and her deposed royal family shift uncomfortably and grimace up at the sky. The un-Blended girl would not find Bridger there, for the planet beneath their feet did not shine in the heavens like her sisters but radiated warmth all around in a vast network of living spores. Still, the former Regis Heres glared upward, where one of the Wandering Eyes drifted across the sun, trailing roseate heat waves like gauzy ribbons. Not that Felicitas could see the luminescent spores streaming through the Dark Waters and falling through the atmosphere like rain, mingling with Bridger's own. No un-Blended could. That did not stop the shining spores from pulsing around her, or stop the girl's mind from hearing the planet's words as surely as Domi did.

EACH FACTION AMONG YOU HAS NOW TALLIED ITS VOTES. I HAVE OBSERVED THE FINDINGS OF YOUR VOTE COUNTERS IN EACH PROVINCIA AND WILL SHARE THE WORLDWIDE RESULTS WITH YOU NOW.

Domi held his breath, then jumped as a warm weight settled on his shoulder. He blinked and glanced up at his aedificans as Valens's other hand rested on Daedalus. Valens did not smile, but he offered a reassuring squeeze.

Awareness blossomed in Domi's mind, so like the Caeles that his eyes darted around in search of promenia particles. He'd heard rumors of rogue eidolons giving particles to this or that Promethidae, and for a moment he almost believed the stories of  rebels hiding on the dark-side, ready to reclaim what they thought rightfully belonged to them. Then he shook his head and forced himself to pay attention to the election results as they poured into his mind like water.

The First and Second People had largely joined the Four Sisters in abstaining from this odd human ritual, although a few had voted for Merula.

The Promethidae were divided. Most voted for Felicitas, especially people who were un-Blended. Domi swallowed. No surprise there.