Elantris - Brandon Sanderson [181]
“No,” Lukel said. “Not that—I meant about the king. Is it true that you yelled him into submission?”
Sarene grew sick. “That got out?”
Lukel laughed. “They say your voice carried all the way to the main hall. Iadon still hasn’t left his study.”
“I might have gotten a little carried away,” Sarene said.
“You did the right thing, dear,” Daora assured her. “Iadon is far too accustomed to having the court jump when he so much as sneezes. He probably didn’t know what to do when someone actually stood up to him.”
“It wasn’t that hard,” Sarene said with a shake of her head. “Beneath all the bluster he’s very insecure.”
“Most men are, dear,” Daora said.
Lukel chuckled. “Cousin, what did we ever do without you? Life was so boring before you decided to sail over and mess it all up for us.”
“I would rather it stayed a little less messed up,” Sarene mumbled. “Iadon isn’t going to react too well when he recovers.”
“If he gets out of line, you can always just yell at him again,” Lukel said.
“No,” Kiin said, his gruff voice solemn. “She’s right. Monarchs can’t afford to be reprimanded in public. We might have a much harder time of things when this is all through.”
“Either that or he’ll just give up and abdicate in favor of Sarene,” Lukel said with a laugh.
“Just as your father feared,” Ashe’s deep voice noted as he floated in the window. “He always worried that Arelon wouldn’t be able to deal with you, my lady.”
Sarene smiled feebly. “Did they go back?”
“They did,” the Seon said. She had sent him to follow Iadon’s guards, in case they decided to ignore their orders. “The captain immediately went to see the king. He left when His Majesty refused to open his doors.”
“It wouldn’t do for a soldier to see his king bawling like a child,” Lukel noted.
“Anyway,” the Seon continued, “I—”
He was interrupted by an insistent knock at the door. Kiin disappeared, then returned with an eager Lord Shuden.
“My lady,” he said bowing slightly to Sarene. Then he turned to Lukel. “I just heard some very interesting news.”
“It’s all true,” Lukel said. “We asked Sarene.”
Shuden shook his head. “It isn’t about that.”
Sarene looked up with concern. “What else could possibly happen today?”
Shuden’s eyes twinkled. “You’ll never guess who the Shaod took last night.”
CHAPTER 30
Hrathen didn’t try to hide his transformation. He walked solemnly from his chambers, exposing his damnation to the entire chapel. Dilaf was in the middle of morning services. It was worth the loss of hair and skin color to see the short Arelish priest stumble backward in horrified shock.
The Korathi priests came for Hrathen a short time later. They gave him a large, enveloping white robe to hide his disfiguration, then led him from the now empty chapel. Hrathen smiled to himself as he saw the confused Dilaf watching from his alcove, his eyes openly hating Hrathen for the first time.
The Korathi priests took him to their chapel, stripped him, and washed his now black-spotted body with water from the Aredel river. Then they wrapped him in a white robe constructed of thick, raglike strips of cloth. After washing and clothing him, the priests stepped back and allowed Omin to approach. The short, balding leader of Arelish Korathi blessed Hrathen quietly, tracing the symbol of Aon Omi on his chest. The Arelish man’s eyes betrayed just a hint of satisfaction.
After that, they led Hrathen through the city streets, chanting. However, at the city itself they found a large squadron of troops wearing Iadon’s colors blocking their path. The soldiers stood with hands on weapons, speaking in hushed tones. Hrathen regarded them with surprise; he recognized men preparing for battle. Omin argued with the captain of the Elantris City Guard for a time while the other priests pulled Hrathen into a squat building beside the guardhouse—a holding place, carved with Aon Omi.
Hrathen watched through the room’s small window as two winded guards galloped up and presented Iadon’s soldiers with a