Belythna heard the sound of the Spire Cage creaking in the wind before she caught sight of it. She mounted the final steps to the narrow archway and approached the cage cautiously.
A warm wind greeted her when she stepped out onto the platform beyond the archway. An iron beam, bolted onto the side of the fortress’s Great Spire, stretched above her head. At its extremity, a heavy iron cage hung on a chain. The cage swung gently in the wind.
Belythna craned her neck up, her gaze resting upon the figure who sat hunched in the cage.
“Riadamor,” she called out softly, and despite that the wind whistled this high up, the Spire Cage’s occupant heard her. The young woman raised her head and Belythna saw a pale face and two dark eyes gaze down at her.
“I was wondering when you’d pay me a visit,” Riadamor’s voice was hoarse. She had been in the cage three days now – and although she was given food and water once a day, it was barely enough to sustain her. It had been a deliberate move on Lady Serina’s part; she wanted to weaken Riadamor – to break her spirit, and to punish her for what she had done.
“I wanted to come earlier,” Belythna admitted, finding it difficult to hold Riadamor’s intense stare, “but it was forbidden.”
Riadamor’s mouth curved into a bitter smile at that.
“Yes – you’ve always done what you’re told.”
Belythna did not reply. She merely stared up at Riadamor and waited.
“So why are you here?” Riadamor finally asked. She reached out, her thin fingers curling around the iron bars, and pulled herself forward so that she could see Belythna better.
“I have to know why you did it,” Belythna replied. “You had ambitions. You wanted to serve this order, you wanted to lead it. Why did you ruin everything for yourself?”
Riadamor stared back at her. When she eventually spoke, her voice was flat and emotionless.
“I wanted that once, but not anymore.”
Silence stretched between them for a few moments before Belythna spoke.
“Lady Serina knows about what happened with Lord Chatis.”
“So you told her, did you?”
Belythna shook her head. “Rion sent a raven – it arrived yesterday evening. I will be punished for withholding information.”
Riadamor’s gaze narrowed at that. Belythna tentatively stretched out her talent towards her, gently probing. However, it was like touching a sheet of ice. Riadamor had walled herself in and Belythna could get no sense of her thoughts.
“You don’t belong here,” Riadamor said finally, “any more than I do.”
Belythna stared back at her, not knowing how to respond.
“Set me free,” Riadamor gestured towards the edge of the platform. “Lower me down and come with me.”
Belythna glanced to the left, seeing the winch that was used to lower the cage at meal-times. Then, she looked back at Riadamor and shook her head. They both knew she would do nothing of the kind.
“This is my home – I will not abandon it. I will not betray an order that took me in, clothed and fed me and made me what I am?”
Riadamor’s lip curled. “They’ll turn you spineless and self-important, just like the rest of them. In time you will realise your mistake.”
“There’s no mistake. I belong here.”
“Leave me then,” Riadamor snarled. “If you won’t help me, I have nothing more to say to you.”
“Listen, Riadamor!” Belythna stepped forward, her voice rising in desperation. “Serina will leave you here to rot. Beg her forgiveness and she might let you out one day. If you don’t you will die in this cage!”
Riadamor did not reply. Instead, she turned her back on Belythna, making clear that their conversation was at an end.