The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1)

by James Islington

That I was raised never to pursue something that’s guaranteed to fail. That my mother used to tell me that love is nothing without honesty. And that my father drilled into me, time and time again, that a prince of Suus cannot—cannot—have dalliances.

“It was the Principalis,” he says abruptly. “What?” I have no idea what he’s talking about. “That first day you were here. When you punched me.”

WHAT

To put me on the back foot and ensure my barely born reputation as Catenicus wasn’t allowed too much air within these walls. Not a surprise, I suppose. It’s still troubling.

“Before the Academy. That’s where I was.” Eidhin’s gaze is fixed straight ahead. His voice is flat. “For almost a year.” I gape into the darkness in front of us, flustered. “In a Sapper? I… why?” “Because I killed people. Three Praetorians.”

“It’s on the sea.” Indol beams. “A little island called Suus. Don’t worry. You’ll love it.” He claps my shoulder and wanders back to the Thirds, not noticing the blood draining from my face.

Omfg

Beyond that, though, I’m simply not ready to face those ghosts. I’m not sure I ever will be. The very idea twists something inside my chest, tightens it so that it’s difficult to breathe. I try not to let it, but it haunts my days, distracts me from both study and training.

No way to tell how long they’ve been tailing me, but when they see I’ve marked them, one of them mutters something to his companion. They both have ugly looks on their faces. Anguis.

“Yes.” Scitus’s voice is iron. “You did. And you staked your ranking on it.” He gestures tiredly to us both. “Come on. Let’s get back to the Column. You’re both done for the night.”

Sometimes I feel a little offended that he doesn’t trust me. Then I remember what I’m keeping from him, and decide not to judge.

I DREAMED OF GOING HOME so often, that first year after the Hierarchy came. Sometimes I even thought I was home.

And then there’s Emissa. It still feels strange to be so openly companionable with her around others, but she makes no effort to hide the fact that we’ve been friends for a while.

Despite the new scar on the landscape, everything looks peaceful. I should probably be pleased about that. I’m not sure if I am.

but the palace… it was Suus’s jewel. More than five generations of my family had lived there. Some part of me thought of it as sacrosanct. Too beautiful to touch, even for Caten.

“An honour, sir. Truly.” It feels like something dies inside me at the words.

I can hear the comforting sound of waves through the window, but it’s tainted by the decor: banners and Will-carved furniture, Hierarchy colours everywhere. As if Caten is a plague that has infected everything I love.

Let the tears come. Softly though, in case someone’s just outside. Even my grief has to be stifled.

My people were a people of verve, of passion, of cheer and laughter as they toiled. Now they’re Octavii. Enough energy to work. Not enough to find the joy in it.

For the first time since we got here, I feel just a little bit like I’m home.

“Of course.” I rub my forehead. “Rotting gods. That’s a big thing to tell.” “I guess he must like me.” “I meant, to tell me.” The corners of Emissa’s lips curl upward as she shrugs. “I guess I must like you,” she says softly.

I lick my lips, trying to come to terms with what I’m hearing. There doesn’t seem to be much doubt.

But speaking to Fadrique has changed something in me. Sanded the jagged edges off my pain. This isn’t just the beach where Cari died. This is where I spent years before that, playing with her. Tormenting her. Teaching her. Growing up with her.

“It doesn’t matter how good an actor you are. There’s something about coming home that you can’t hide.”

This time, it’s so much more than that. It’s not running from my home. It’s saying goodbye to it. This time, it feels like Suus is truly lost to me.

It’s not good to be back at the Academy, exactly, but it is good to see my friends again.

Advance to Three, and help Callidus. There may be a way I can do both.

“Swear that this won’t change anything. We compete against each other, and whatever happens, happens. But afterward, there’s still us.”

And no matter which way it goes, Emissa can’t come with me. Won’t. The same way I can’t stay just for her. “Of course,” I say softly. I smile at her. “Of course.” I hate myself, in that moment.

“But my father didn’t.” Bitterness, thick and angry. “He and a number of others betrayed our orders. And then he struck a deal. In exchange for being made a Quintus—and our new leader—everyone else would live. And I would spend a year in a Sapper.”

I almost laugh. Ulciscor will see me in a Sapper if I don’t run the Labyrinth. I’ll either be ceding in Caten or on the run if I don’t win the Iudicium.

“I’m tired,” I eventually say softly, cursing myself for my cowardice. At least it’s true. I’m tired of lying. Tired of fighting. Tired of being afraid.

“What do you think they meant about tomorrow night, back there?”

It’s a tree. Borius just threw a tree at me.

Lol

I’VE LEARNED TO MANAGE FEAR, over the past few years. Accept its lurking presence. Sleep despite its slinking touch. Strangle it down deep when I need to.

Then I turn the corner, and see Belli’s torn body.

About ten feet past the exit. Barely farther from it than I am. I am going to die.

No telling if Iro knew her plan or not, but this was probably why they were heading west. Veridius must have sent her. And now she’s dead. All in pursuit of whatever is back here.

I know he’s just a wild animal, a predator that’s apparently remembered a chance act of kindness from months ago. If he gets hungry enough, I have no doubt he’ll still eat me. Yet I feel a bond with him.

deaths I’m almost certain were caused because Veridius, for some reason, has been sending students into that accursed dome.

There’s nothing. As far as I can tell, whoever or whatever did this is long gone. “It’s the safety teams,” whispers Aequa. She’s right;

The safety teams?!?

“How did you know about that?” “Emissa told me.” I thought he’d already figured that out. “How did she know?” My heart skips a beat as I process the question. “She said you told her.” “She lied.”

I frown around at the forest. There’s something tickling at my mind. Like a sound I can’t quite hear, a movement I can sense but not quite see. Distant.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The stranger sighs. The air warps, and he vanishes from view. A second passes. Two. I stare around wildly. Not sure what to make of it. “Yes you do,” the whisper comes from behind, a cold blade resting against my neck.

“One last piece of advice, young man,” he says quietly. “You should prepare yourself to lose that arm. None of us get out without scars.” He touches his disfigurement lightly.

The pulsing above increases in intensity as I climb. Definitely two sources. I’m still profoundly unsettled by the idea that I can sense people like this, but for now, its utility outstrips my trepidations.

“What is it?” “Nothing.” Her voice is odd. She doesn’t look at me. She carefully replaces the folds of my tunic and then stands. Backs away a few steps.

My ability to sense other people without seeing them, and now this. My skin crawls. Something’s wrong with me. A result of whatever that place past the Labyrinth did to me last night, I assume. It’s the only explanation.

“You’ll tell my father?” “Tell him what?” “Why I was in Seven.” He gives a little sigh. “You don’t have to mention Belli. Better to say you don’t know who it was. But I… I really want him to know.” I don’t tell him that Belli’s dead. I’m not even sure how much it would register.

Today is my eighteenth birthday.

I DON’T KNOW WHAT TIME Callidus dies. He slips first into a rasping unconsciousness, perhaps an hour after we start out. I try to wake him, but it’s to no avail.

Veridius is at the top of the stairs to the Temple of Jovan. He’s addressing the school. Talking about the attack. The tragedy of it. The losses. Emissa’s up there next to him, face drawn, eyes red.