Chapter 41 The purification ritual
"That's mine," I said. "But I didn't..."
"So you admit it." Elowyn's voice rang with righteous fury. "The pin is yours. It was found at the altar of the sacred flame, on the very night the flame was extinguished. And everyone knows the Queen Consort's feelings about our faith. She called our worship 'gauche.' She said she would never kneel before the sun."
"I never..."
"You brought your Hel customs to our wedding. You desecrated our god. You insisted on your shadow binding in the presence of our god. You have refused to honor our traditions from the moment you arrived." Elowyn turned to the crowd, her arms outstretched. "And now this. The sacred flame, the heart of Aurelia, snuffed out by the woman who was supposed to be our queen."
The whispers rose to a roar. The faes murmured and snarled.
I stood frozen, the weight of a hundred accusing stares pressing down on me. My shadows stirred, but I forced them down. If I lost control now, if I showed them the monster they expected to see, it would only confirm their fears.
"I did not do this," I said, my voice steady. "Someone is trying to frame me. Someone wants you to believe I am the villain. But I had no hand in this."
"Someone?" Elowyn's eyes glittered. "Or you? We all saw what you did at the engagement party. We saw your shadows. We saw your power. We know how strong it is. You are a creature of darkness, Nyx. It was only a matter of time before you turned against the light!"
"I am the Queen Consort of Aurelia. I have done nothing but try to serve this kingdom since I arrived."
"By extinguishing our eternal flame?"
"By trying to save your kingdom." I stepped forward, my voice rising. "Do you want to know what I was doing before I came here? I was in the library, researching the northern borders. I was trying to find out why there is so much conflict over there. Why there are rebels there. Why your villages are burning. Why creatures of shadow are attacking your garrisons while your advisors lie to your king about it."
The whispers shifted. Some of the courtiers looked uncertain now.
Elowyn's expression flickered. "The northern border is not relevant to...."
"It is entirely relevant. Someone in this court has been covering up the truth about what's happening up there. Someone has been hiding reports, falsifying records, keeping the King in the dark. And now the sacred flame goes out, and a Hel artifact is conveniently found at the scene?" I met her eyes. "This isn't an attack on Aurelia. It's an attack on me. Someone wants me gone before I can uncover the truth."
"Ridiculous," Elowyn snapped. "You're trying to deflect..."
"Am I? Then let us investigate. Let's question the temple guards who found the pin. Let's examine the altar for traces of magic. Let's find out who was here last night and what they were really doing." I stepped closer to her. "Unless you're afraid of what we'll find."
The silence was deafening.
Elowyn's face was a mask of fury. But beneath the fury, I saw it again. Fear. She had not expected me to fight back.
"The High Priestess will decide," she said finally. "The extinguishing of the sacred flame is a matter for the Temple, not the throne. Until the sun god speaks, no one is above suspicion." She turned to the crowd. "The Queen Consort will return to the palace and remain there until the High Priestess completes her communion. Let the sun god judge her guilt or innocence."
The crowd murmured in agreement.
I wanted to argue. I wanted to summon my shadows and show them exactly what I thought of their accusations. But that was what Elowyn wanted. She wanted me to prove them right.
So instead, I lifted my chin and said, "Fine. Let the High Priestess investigate. She will find no evidence of my involvement, because there is none."
I turned and walked out of the temple, my head high, my heart pounding, the cold weight of Elowyn's hatred pressing against my back like a blade.
\---
My chambers had become a war room.
"The guards, the servants, the priests," Liriel said, ticking them off on her fingers. "Half of them are loyal to the Princess. The other half are too afraid to speak against her."
"The pin," Thalia added. "It was stolen from your chambers. We didn't notice because you hadn't worn it in weeks. Someone must have taken it while we were out."
"One of Elowyn's people," Sera said. "It had to be. She planned this perfectly, the sacred flame, the artifact, the timing. She's trying to destroy you, Your Majesty."
I stood at the window, staring out at the golden city. The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of amber and rose. It was beautiful. It was also a lie.
"The sacred flame," I said. "How do you even extinguish an eternal fire?"
"Powerful magic," Liriel said. "Very powerful. But it is the kind that leaves traces."
"Traces that the High Priestess will find."
"If she's looking honestly. If she's not already in Elowyn's pocket."
I turned. "Then we need our own investigation. Find out who was in the temple last night. Find out who has access to the kind of magic that could extinguish the flame. Find out everything."
"And if the High Priestess rules against you?"
I thought of Cardan. Of the way he had looked at me in the study, lost, betrayed, grateful for my honesty. Of the way our fingers had intertwined in the darkness.
"Then I'll need my husband to believe me," I said quietly. "If he doesn't... I won't just lose this battle. I'll lose everything."
\-——————————-
Cardan came to my chambers that night.
I was still dressed, still pacing, my shadows restless and agitated. Ash was on the bed, his scales glowing faintly with reflected moonlight. The Nightbloom on the bedside table pulsed softly, a reminder that someone in this palace had once tried to make me feel at home.
The door opened without a knock.
Cardan stood in the doorway. His face was unreadable, the king's mask, carefully in place. He was wearing formal attire, which meant he had come straight from meetings. Meetings about me, probably.
"You have heard," I said.
"The entire court has heard." He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "The sacred flame, Nyx. They're saying you extinguished the sacred flame. There is an uproar about it."
"I didn't."
"I know."
The words were so simple, so certain, that I almost didn't believe them. "You know?"
"Give me some credit. I've spent weeks learning to read you. You're many things, fierce, stubborn, terrifying when provoked, but you're not a saboteur. If you wanted to hurt this kingdom, you'd do it openly. Face-to-face. You wouldn't slink around in the dark." He paused. "Well. You would slink. But you'd do it with style."
A laugh caught in my throat, surprised, slightly hysterical. "You believe me."
"Of course I believe you. This court has been trying to destroy you since you arrived." He stepped closer. "I should have seen it coming. I should have protected you."
"I don't need protection. I need allies."
"Then you have one. Me." He reached out and took my hand. "Whatever happens with the High Priestess, I will not let anything happen to you. I will not let this court destroy you. You are my wife. You are my queen. And I—" He stopped.
"And you what?"
His silver eyes met mine. "And I am not going to let you face this alone."
The words settled into my chest like a warm stone. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to feel.
So I just held his hand and let the silence speak for me.
\-———————————
The High Priestess's verdict came three days later.
I stood in the throne room, Cardan beside me, the entire court watching. Elowyn stood on the other side of the dais, her expression serene. The High Lords were arrayed behind her. The High Priestess, resplendent in her white and gold robes, approached the throne.
"I have communed with the sun god," she announced, her voice echoing through the hall. "I have examined the altar. I have questioned the witnesses. And I have found..." She paused. "No conclusive evidence of the Queen Consort's guilt."
Relief flooded through me.
"However," the High Priestess continued, "the sacred flame remains extinguished. Until it is relit, the Temple considers this a time of judgment. Perhaps this is the sun god's way of protesting against the interference of its temple customs and traditions by introducing shadow magic and customs during the royal wedding. The Queen Consort will undergo a purification ritual immediately. She will kneel before the altar for seven days, confess her innocence, and offer a tribute to the sun god. If the flame relights, she will be absolved. If it does not..."
Cardan said. "How is it supposed to relight?"
"That is for the sun god to decide."
I could feel Elowyn's eyes on me. She had not won, but I had not won either. A purification ritual for seven days meant I wouldn't be allowed to speak or talk to anyone. Not even Cardan, until it was complete. The purification ritual was a test. A trap. A public spectacle designed to humiliate me. Or even worse, this could have been her plan all along. Separate me from Cardan while she continues to sanitise the truth.
But I would face it. I would kneel before their altar, and I would survive whatever came next. Because that was what the Princess of Hel did. She survived.
"I accept," I said. "I will undergo the purification ritual."
The High Priestess nodded. "Then let the sun god judge you, Queen Nyx. And let us hope, for your sake, that he is merciful."