Chapter 9
The scarlet coach came to a stop in the plaza fronting the Temple of the Twin Gods. I suspected there was a back entrance, but we weren’t using it, as Galtus Celcio’s return was an important public spectacle. As we’d traversed the streets of Parnese, I saw the attention of the crowds turn toward us and a subsequent surge of people hurrying up to the temple.
Did the citizens of Parnese esteem the warder so much, or was it fear that drove them? Two years ago, a heavy sense of oppression had hung over the city. Now, though, scarlet banners were draped from the windows and the cheers sounded genuine.
I understood it, a little. Galtus Celcio had done terrible things, including burning an innocent man to a cinder before my eyes. Yet the warder had charisma enough that it was easy to
