Golden Age (The Shifting Tides Book 1) (16 page)

Chloe stayed by her pallet as she’d been told, but there wasn’t much to do in the women’s quarters. If she was to escape she needed information. She needed allies.

Deciding that she wasn’t just going to stay in the one place forever, she ventured past the empty pallets and rounded the latticed screens, checking each corner, looking for someone whose plight resembled her own.

Yet this section of the women’s quarters was empty. She wandered, about to give up hope, when she finally passed another screen and found the sole other occupant. She was a young girl, perhaps fourteen, struggling to get out of an elaborate silk robe.

‘Here, let me help,’ Chloe said.

The girl looked at her strangely but allowed her to assist. Like the women Chloe had seen in the streets she had black hair, but darker skin and high cheekbones gave her a more fragile beauty. Kohl lined her eyes and she had a circle of blue powder the size of a coin on each of her cheeks.

As Chloe disentangled the girl from her garment a sturdy woman in a brown tunic appeared and put a hand to her mouth. She sank to her knees and bowed her head to the floor, slinking along the ground until just two paces away. ‘I am sorry, Princess,’ the woman said. ‘Your slave has done you disservice.’

‘Be gone,’ the girl suddenly snapped. ‘Stand on the tips of your toes with your nose touching the wall until I come and fetch you. If you are not on your toes when I come, I will have the eunuchs whip you.’

Still prostrate on the floor, the slave turned herself around and didn’t rise even as she slithered out of view.

‘Who are you?’ the girl asked as Chloe finished taking off the garment. She asked the question in a peremptory fashion, imperious but not rude. This was a girl accustomed to being obeyed.

Even so, her manner struck a nerve with Chloe. ‘I am Chloe, daughter of Aristocles, First Consul of Phalesia,’ she said, lifting her chin. ‘And who are you?’

‘I am Princess Yasmina of Shadria.’

‘Why are you here?’ Chloe asked. ‘Are you visiting?’

‘I am a hostage. Is that not that why you are here?’

Chloe bit her lip. ‘I don’t know why I’m here.’

‘Then you are a hostage also.’

‘The slave woman,’ Chloe said. ‘Why did she act like that?’

‘Because I am royalty and it is the custom.’

Chloe wondered how she would steer the conversation to gain information. ‘Do people treat you the same way in the city?’

‘The city?’ Princess Yasmina frowned. ‘Since my arrival two years ago, I have never left this section of the palace.’

Chloe fought to contain her horror. She couldn’t stay in the women’s quarters all day, every day. Not if she wanted to have any chance of eventually escaping.

She would have to take some risks.

Lowering her voice, she asked the princess, ‘Have you thought about escape?’

‘Escape? How would I survive? And if I escaped, the sun king would avenge himself on my people. My presence here keeps my people safe.’

‘I worry that by being here I’ll prevent my people from being strong and standing up to the sun king,’ Chloe said. ‘I plan to escape.’

She heard a man clearing his throat. Turning, she saw the tall eunuch, watching her with Princess Yasmina. He was far enough away that she was sure he hadn’t heard.

‘Leave me out of your plans, please,’ the princess murmured. She raised her voice. ‘I thank you for your help, Chloe of Phalesia, and I bid you good night.’

25

Chloe spent the next days in the women’s quarters. She tried to engage Yasmina in conversation but there was little common ground between them, and even when she persisted the imperious princess didn’t warm to her advances. The once spacious apartments began to feel cramped and staid. As she paced restlessly, the passing slaves stared at her, puzzled by her inability to settle and calmly accept her fate.

The eunuchs brought food three times a day and there was a constant supply of fresh water. The exterior garden provided somewhere to get some fresh air but she was always accompanied. Chloe was well rested and had fully recovered from the journey.

She replayed her last encounter with Kargan and the sun king over and over in her mind. He had asked about gold, and when she had said Phalesia possessed just a few items of jewelry, he had become angry.

She had to protect the secrets of her home, but the Ark of Revelation was no secret. And evidently the sun king wanted it.

Just after midday on the third day, the summons came once m
ore.

This time she didn’t have to sit in the waiting room; the palace guard led her directly to the throne room. Kargan wore a different robe – a crimson garment belted with golden cord – but he stood in the same place as before. Guards still protected the golden throne. Archways behind revealed a sunny terrace with a stone rail.

There were differences, however. Courtiers stood on both sides of the throne: six swarthy men with groomed beards and flowing robes in a variety of materials and colors, apparently arranged around Solon in order of precedence. The breeze from the harbor was close to non-existent, and the day was hot and humid. Sweat beaded on Kargan’s brow and Chloe’s palms felt sticky.

Solon wore a robe of golden silk and a delicate crown of gold spikes on his head. His long dark hair was sleek as the pelt of a cat and his pointed beard was now curled in front of his chin. Chloe walked up to stand beside Kargan, before kneeling and touching her forehead to the ground.

‘Rise,’ Solon said.

Glancing up at him as she returned to her feet, she saw he was more at ease than before. He still gazed at her with strangely hypnotic eyes and he was still so lean that his face was made entirely of sharp angles. But he appeared to be less troubled. She figured it must be the ebb and flow of the pain caused by his illness.

Kargan, by comparison, looked uncomfortable, as if he wished he were anywhere else.

‘Chloe, daughter of Aristocles,’ Solon said in his curt, clipped voice. ‘I have questioned Kargan at length and I believe I have learned all he has to tell. I will now ask you some questions, and I have asked that he remain present.’ He didn’t take his eyes off her. ‘If your answers do not match with his, then we will have a problem. If I believe you are deliberately hiding information, then we will have a problem. If you are too brief, too meandering, too obtuse, or simply too stupid to understand what it is I wish to come to the heart of, then we will have a problem. Do you understand?’

‘Yes, sun king,’ Chloe said.

‘If we have a problem, then blood will flow,’ he said. ‘I ask you again, do you understand?’

‘Yes.’ Chloe nodded, her heart racing and fingernails pressing into her palms. ‘I do.’

With the lords of his court looking on, Solon proceeded to ask Chloe questions about Phalesia. He asked her about the geography, the region’s natural resources, the produce of the workshops, and the system of governance via the consuls of the Assembly.

Chloe answered truthfully and succinctly. Despite the sun king’s threats, she didn’t volunteer more information than he asked of her, which meant she had to think swiftly to send his inquiring mind in directions that would interest him but wouldn’t compromise her city. When he asked her about mining she emphasized Phalesia’s lack of a gold mine rather than highlighting the steady output of the silver mines. As he asked her about the manufacture of weapons she spoke of the proud warrior tradition of Xanthos, remembering Kargan’s interest at her father’s dinner table. He kept her talking, and she kept her posture respectful and her expression earnest, but all the time she avoided answers that made Phalesia appear overly weak or temptingly wealthy.

When he asked her about the city’s layout she spoke at length on her city’s beauty and grandeur, elaborating on the proud temples and expansive agora.

‘Yes, yes,’ he said impatiently. ‘But tell me more of the city’s defenses. A bastion rises up from the shore, does it not?’

‘We have a sloped wall guarding the city,’ Chloe said. ‘Climbing up to the city from the water means ascending one of two narrow stairways.’

‘And the army . . . ? How many soldiers does your father command?’

Chloe knew exactly how many men were under Amos’s command. ‘I . . . I am a woman, sun king. I know nothing of military matters.’

‘Kargan?’ Solon frowned at the overlord of his fleet.

‘It may be as she says, eminence,’ Kargan said. ‘I know that the Assembly consists only of men, and that while women and men share meals together in the home, it’s likely she has little involvement or interest in war.’

Solon nodded curtly. ‘Then, girl, tell me of this ark.’

Chloe had been expecting this. ‘The Ark of Revelation was a gift from the gods. It was not constructed by men.’

‘But it is a chest of solid gold, the size of an ox cart?’

‘Y—Yes, it is gold. But to defile the ark would bring down the wrath of the gods. It must always reside at the Temple of Aldus.’

‘This Aldus is not a god we worship in Ilea,’ said Solon. ‘We share Helios, the sun god, most supreme and mighty of all, and it is in honor of Helios that we build the golden pyramid. I fear Helios, as all men must. But I do not fear your god of justice.’

‘It is sacred,’ Chloe spoke up, knowing she was taking a risk. ‘Inside the ark are the laws that a man is weighed by when Aldus decides whether to grant him entrance to heaven.’

‘Then why not open the ark and discover the laws?’ a lord with a wide golden belt around his girth asked.

‘Because to know the laws is not the intention of the gods. A man must choose his path and develop his own moral code. He must rely on himself and the words of the priests to discover what the laws are.’

Glancing at the six courtiers, Chloe saw they all had puzzled expressions on their faces.

Solon’s voice increased in volume as he addressed the entire room. ‘I am the sun god’s representative in this world and any justice is mine to dispense. Are there any here who disagree with my words?’

When silence was the only reply, the lean king nodded.

‘I will take this ark for the gold it is made of,’ he stated. ‘As my soul prepares for the coming journey, I grow closer to the sun god, who now speaks through me. I decree that we have nothing to fear from the false god Aldus. Our decision is now whether to ransom this girl for the ark or to seize it by force, adding another nation to our dominion in the process.’

Chloe felt a shiver along her spine at the sun king’s words.

‘Kargan,’ Solon addressed the big man, standing impassively with his legs apart. ‘You advise attacking Phalesia with speed, before alliances can be made and defenses strengthened.’ The king’s dark eyes swept over the group of lords. ‘Others among you advise leaving the far side of the Maltherean Sea to pursue its own destiny while we expand and consolidate our empire here on the Salesian continent. There is only one other option.’ Solon turned to Chloe. ‘Girl, would your people trade you for the ark?’

‘No,’ Chloe said, refusing to let them make the attempt. ‘They would not.’

‘So we should attack your homeland? Kargan tells me the ark alone will make the effort worthwhile.’

‘I do not want you to attack my homeland.’ Chloe hung her head as she said it.

Solon tugged on his pointed beard. ‘I will think on the best course of action. The pyramid is near completion. We will soon have gold foil covering three quarters of its surface. Phalesia is far, but the prize is assured.’

‘King of kings . . .’ Chloe said, looking up to meet his gaze. ‘What is to become of me?’

As he framed a response, she waited for the words that would decide her fate.

‘You have pleased me,’ Solon finally said. ‘And any son you bear may be useful if we expand across the sea. You are of noble birth. Are you not being treated in the manner to which you are accustomed?’

‘I have no desire to be secluded.’

‘You would rather risk your life and honor in the world of men?’

‘Yes.’

‘Why?’ Solon frowned.

‘I have many skills,’ Chloe said. ‘I gain fulfillment from employing them.’

‘Skills? What skills do you have?’

She chose her words carefully. This was her one chance to gain some freedom of movement. ‘Writing,’ she said. ‘Music. Crafts. I am a skilled weaver. I can shape metal into jewelry. I assist with ceremonies.’

‘You are a priestess?’ a short bald man in an orange robe asked.

‘No,’ Chloe said. ‘I trained at the Temple of Aeris, but I’m not a priestess.’

She could see that all of the men were curious about her life, so different from the lives of women in Ilea.

‘And what did they teach you at the temple?’ the same short man asked.

Chloe had a sudden flash of inspiration. She realized she might have something to offer the sun king, something that would give her the opportunity to go out into the city.

‘I learned the wisdom of healing,’ she said, her eyes on the sun king. ‘I know many medicinal plants and healing techniques.’

Solon leaned back and once more tugged on his beard. ‘Healing?’

‘Yes, king of kings.’

‘My magi tell me I have a cancer. The Oracle at Athos tells me I do not have long for this world. Can you heal me?’

‘I can ease your pain.’

‘The magi say that the pain is my soul gradually slipping through the jagged gates of Ar-Rayan to the next world.’

Once again she chose her words carefully. ‘Your magi are correct,’ she said. ‘But there are potions I can give you to ease your passage.’

‘Lord—’ one of the courtiers protested.

Solon held up a hand. ‘How can I trust you?’ he asked Chloe.

‘You hold my life in your hands. Your power threatens my homeland.’

His brow furrowed. ‘I will seek the guidance of the sun god.’

Chloe clasped her palms together and gave a small bow.

Solon glanced to his left, looking out the open windows at a clouded sky. ‘I must pray now. Leave me. All of you.’

The tall eunuch – Chloe had yet to learn his name – fetched her from the women’s quarters just a few hours later.

‘Dress for the city,’ he said. He nodded toward the clothing chest. ‘Cover yourself in a shawl.’

Throwing the thick material over her shoulders, she followed him to the curtained entrance to the women’s quarters, where he handed her over to two palace guards. Soon she was heading to the palace’s main entrance. Chloe tried to memorize the layout and locations of the guards as she followed her escort, in case she needed to come this way when she made her escape.

Passing through the main gate and heading out into the city, she wondered where the guards were taking her as they traveled with purpose through the narrow alleys and winding streets, passing through wealthy residential districts and following the steps down to the lower city.

She had come through the bazaar when she first arrived, but she now saw that she was heading in the opposite direction. Houses gave way to workshops and then to strangely deserted streets. Then, as they passed through a gate, Chloe saw that they were now in a district of temples.

Priests in yellow robes walked past with stately steps, never the type to hurry, something that was much the same in Lamara as it was in Phalesia. Columned entrances led into the dark interiors of temple after temple. They followed a broad boulevard until she saw a group assembled at the very end, where the ground dropped away in a cliff.

She saw Solon standing beside a priest in ornate white and yellow robes. A dozen soldiers stood a respectful distance away. He was gazing down from the cliff at the land below.

As she drew up to him and saw the object of his attention, Chloe’s eyes widened.

The golden pyramid was on a dusty plain, lower than the ground around it, so that it was even larger than she’d originally thought. Slaves now swarmed over it like flies on a piece of meat, scurrying under the direction of bare-chested overseers with whips. Scaffolding surrounded the stones close to the pyramid’s peak. Although the afternoon wasn’t bright, with gray clouds overhead, the golden slopes of each face nonetheless glistened. Chloe wondered how much gold she was looking at. She’d worked with gold foil before and knew it could be beaten until it was thin as a blade of grass. Regardless of the thickness, in the history of the world it was surely more gold than had ever been assembled in one place.

‘King of kings,’ one of the soldiers in Chloe’s escort said. ‘We have brought her.’

Solon turned as she bowed. He was so lean and tall that he towered over her. Up close, she could see that his eyes were sunken, with gray skin underneath.