The reaction from the galleries may be mixed, but the jubilant are far more vocal in their celebration than the disapproving are in their doubt. Taru’s smile is thin and subtle, but present.

Lexi finds she’s almost numb. As often as she watched Brio plead before the Council, she never truly understood the pressure, like canyon walls pushing in on you. She also never understood the power that fills ones veins, like lightning striking the ground beside a tree. It is all at once frightening and uplifting.

She also finds she already craves more of it.

“I would add,” Tang continues, raising his voice to be heard above the lingering applause, “that this is provisional. Te-Gen, this Council will not treat you lightly because of your inexperience. In point of fact, we will hold you to the highest of standards when pleading before us. Should you prove unequal to those standards, I will revoke my decision. Is that understood?”

“Of course, Senior Arbiter,” Lexi assures him with a deep bow.

“We will consider this matter closed for the time being, then. You may step down, Te-Gen.”

Lexi offers the entire Council another deep bow as she backs away from the altar. She spies Councilwoman Burr from the corner of her eye, rising and exiting the galleries, her face’s reaction to the events of the last few moments hidden behind those granite features.

When she finally turns, Taru is waiting for her in the aisle, still smiling.

Lexi offers them a sly smile in return, deftly motioning for Taru to return back up the aisle with her.

“That went well,” Taru remarks as they walk side by side.

Lexi’s expression quickly turns serious. “If killing me was meant to silence me, then I want to see to it that I have the loudest voice possible when the time comes.”

“When the time comes to do what, Te-Gen?” Taru asks.

Lexi lowers her voice. Somehow it makes her words sound more powerful.

“Swing the truth at the entire Capitol like a fucking sword,” she says.

THE BONES OF THE WORLD

BELOW THE CREST OF THE hill is where the world ends and nothing begins.

It’s a pitch-black pit that seems to stretch all the way to the horizon, as if a patch of night sky fell to Earth and sank into the ground. The pit possesses the depths of a shadow; there’s no way to discern how deep its belly truly descends. What’s more, the surface appears as tentative and fragile as turtle jelly. It’s utterly impassable and spans miles in either direction.