Ontari, Raven, Clarke, and Lexa were seated when the first guests arrived. The hall on the ground floor looked much as it did on the night of Ontari's Ascension and quickly filled with the leaders and their entourages. Murphy arrived with Roan. Abby and Marcus arrived and were seated at Roan's table. The Natblida lined the wall behind the head table while other guards took their places along walls and beside doors.
Conversation buzzed as food and drinks were served and consumed. When Ontari was ready, she signaled for quiet. She stayed seated. "Many things have happened in the short time since I became heda. Tonight, I wish for you to know why I became heda, and all that has occurred since. It is a long story and I ask your patience while it is told. I know you have questions, and they will be answered after.
"As you know, Skaikru defied Heda Lexa. They slaughtered gona sent to protect them, then refused to surrender those responsible. Skaiheda was in Polis when the blockade was announced."
Ontari nodded at Clarke, and Clarke nodded back. She took a moment to take a deep breath, thankful for the warmth of Lexa's hand on her back. "I went to my quarters to gather what I needed to travel. When I got there, Murphy kom Skaikru was tied to a chair. Titus stepped out of the shadows. He had one of our pistols, a fayogun, and said his plan was to kill me and blame Murphy. "He thought using one of our weapons would be enough to cover his lie. 'Skaikru weapon, Skaikru thief.'" She paused and sipped water.
"Titus was not skilled with that weapon. His shots were wild. He was undisciplined. Heda came to see who was firing a gun in the Tower. She opened the door, and the table I threw hit his hand, and his next bullet hit Lexa here." Clarke pointed to the place on her chest that Titus' bullet pierced Lexa's.
"I could not save her. I tried, but Heda bled to death. It took a few minutes. She had time to talk to Titus, time for us to say goodbye." Clarke looked at the table, lost in that memory again.
Lexa found Clarke's hand and settled into a tight hold before she spoke. "Wanheda speaks true. Titus feared her, her power, her influence, her way of thinking. He wanted her away from me. I did not realize how much. As you all know, guns are forbidden, especially in the Tower.
"When I opened the door, I was knocked back. Titus panicked. He put me on the bed and Clarke tried to keep me alive. I knew she could not. There was too much blood." Lexa glanced at Clarke, squeezing her hand to try to bring her back to the present. "Titus swore an oath to me that he would keep Wanheda safe, knowing as he spoke the words that he had no intention of doing so. He stood over Clarke as she and I said goodbye." Quietly, to Clarke, she added, "You were all I saw, all I wanted to see."
When Clarke bowed her head, Murphy stood. Dressed in black accented with Azgeda and Skaikru blues, he looked much different than he did that day. His hair was longer, the perpetual smirk gone, the aggrieved tone no longer in his voice. "I went to the City of Light with Skaikru's former chancellor. It is a real, physical place, and it's someplace else, too, but I never went there. Jaha kept me prisoner for months while he plotted with a machine to end the world again. After I escaped, I was brought to Titus after guards caught me trying to rob traders on the road. I had something that he felt I shouldn't, and tried to beat a story out of me after I told him the truth. He planned to kill Wanheda because he thought she was a danger to him and a bad influence on Heda. I was the means to that end.
"Like Wanheda said, he was a terrible shot. He was aiming for Wanheda but hit Heda. Wanheda did everything in her power to keep Heda alive, but the damage from the bullet was too great. She was gone in a few minutes. After Heda died, Titus left with her body. A few hours later, guards took us down to the cells and locked us in there." He sat down and picked up his drink. Murphy looked at Clarke. Even with Lexa beside her, she looked like she did that night.
"Before Lexa and I fought," Roan began, "we talked about the future we wanted for our people, all of our people. In return for killing my mother, she asked me to take care of Wanheda should anything happen to her. When I heard she was dead, I was on my way back to Azgeda with Ontari." Roan bowed his head to her. "We returned, and I found Wanheda locked up in the dark. Wanheda agreed to be my ambassador to Polis and I removed her and Murfee from their cells.
"The next day, we watched the Conclave and after, watched Heda receive her marks. The day after was Heda's Ascension Day. Wanheda swore allegiance on behalf of herself, Skaikru, and Azgeda. That night, she and Murfee left for Arkadia."
Ontari took the story back. "With my permission, Wanheda got a message to those in Arkadia who were not loyal to the traitors. She got them out the night before the battle, and they were kept behind our lines under guard.
"The day after the battle, Heda Lexa was placed on her pyre. I was there. Wanheda was there. Trikru and Skaikru were there. When the fire was out, I sent Wanheda back to Polis." Ontari took a deep breath. "I heard Heda Lexa when Wanheda was near. I spoke for her. I fought against it. Wanheda fought against it, yet Heda Lexa insisted that she and Wanheda would be together again."
Ontari looked at Clarke and ignored the murmurs of stifled conversation around them.
"It took time for us to figure out what was happening," Clarke said. "I heard Lexa and saw her in Heda. I felt a little better when others saw the same thing. While we were figuring that out, we were also trying to find Jaha and his followers. Each of them, including Raven kom Skaikru, had swallowed a computer chip." Clarke produced one from a fold in her dress and held it up. "They believed it took them to the City of Light. What it actually did was connect them to a machine that contained an artificial intelligence. The machine thought it was a person, except that it had no emotions. Logic made it end the world. That same logic made it want to finish the job, except that it needed a way to have a limited number of humans to repopulate the planet."
Clarke looked at Lexa. They hadn't discussed how much to share. Clarke remained adamant that she would not be the one to explain the tie to the Flame. Lexa squeezed Clarke's hand and nodded slightly.
"The woman who created the machine wanted to atone," Lexa said. "She came to Earth as Skaikru did, in a ship from the sky. I have read her journal. Heda read it. She shared it with Clarke, Murphy, and Raven.
"Bekka Pramheda created natblida to save humanity, to make us stronger. Natblid gives many advantages. We are stronger, faster, and smarter than most people. We heal quickly. When we hold the Flame, we have direct access to our predecessors, regardless of whether we seek their counsel. When Heda ascended, she received that access and I took advantage of it to guide her toward Skaikru. I used Heda to reach Klark, to get her to see that we needed to continue on the path we chose. Heda chose to follow, too, but because Nia did not send her to Polis to be trained, she was not ready." Lexa dipped her head toward Ontari. "I am sorry for that, Heda."
"Your apology is not necessary," Ontari answered.
"What did you do?" someone called from the back of the room.
"We're getting there," Murphy answered to give the others a break. "Somebody left a computer chip in Wanheda's room, and that led us to Skaikru. We found some here with us who had accepted one, who thought they were in the City of Light. Wanheda and her nomon, Fisa Abby," Murphy paused to point her out, "figured out how to remove the chips. While that was going on, Azgedagona caught the rest of Skaikru. Clarke went to them and removed their chips so they could come to Polis with the rest of us. Heda allowed Skaikru to put Jaha on trial for his crimes against us and punish him as we saw fit. He is dead," he said with a small smile.
"While that was going on, two Skaikru stumbled on Raven in a bar one evening. The machine sent her here to spy, to find information about something it needed. Once her chip was removed, Heda set Raven up in her workshop. After Wanheda read Bekka's journal, she told Heda she needed Raven's help, so Raven read it."
The uncertainty in the room's undertones turned toward hostility. It was one thing for Wanheda to read a sacred text, and another entirely for another Skaikru, one they didn't know, to have access to it.
"I needed Raven's help," Clarke said loudly, "because she understands machines. She knows how they work, how to build them and keep them running."
She looked pointedly at Raven, who sighed mentally. "Plus, I'd been to the City of Light. Not the one Murphy went to, the other one. I knew what it was like there, and I knew it had to have a physical source. So I read until I understood what she'd done and how. Once Heda and Wanheda explained what they needed me to do, I read some more, and I kept reading until I understood all of it, how it all worked together. Then we planned how to bring the Commander back."
Raven's words shocked the crowd back to silence so Clarke took over. "Murphy found us a boat. Floudonkru made sure it worked properly and was safe." Clarke paused a moment, seeking someone specific. She nodded to her while saying, "Mochof, Luna. Your people were a great help."
Luna nodded back, but didn't say anything. She was taking in all the details of their strange tale, knowing it was true from the physical reactions of the speakers, especially how Lexa and Clarke didn't care how it looked as they took comfort from each other.
"The City of Light is real," Clarke continued with a pointed look at the Sankru ambassador. "It is some distance north of here. It took several days on the boat and would have taken longer on foot. When we arrived, the machine was there. It showed itself as a woman and followed us around."
"It took almost two weeks for me to finish figuring everything out," Raven said. "And then I had to go back to the City of Light, the one in my head, not the one we were in. I got what I needed and I went to work. Clarke went to work. Dr. Griffin went to work. We used the machine's plans against it. While Dr. Griffin kept an eye on things, I worked on taking down the machine. I was able to shut it off for good. It can't recruit anyone else. It can't control anyone else." Raven finished, clenched her jaw, looked defiantly for another reaction and was relieved when she didn't get one. Ontari nodded at her, showing a small, pleased smile when Raven looked at her.
Lexa finally stood. All eyes were on here. "Wanheda and Skaikru brought me back. I promised Heda I would be her Fleimkepa. That is what I am doing, advising Heda and training the Natblida. I am training a successor, something Titus neglected to do. I will continue to work with Heda for the safety and prosperity of everyone in the Coalition."
Although Lexa remained standing, her hip brushing Clarke's arm, Ontari kept her seat. "When Lexa returned," Ontari said after a few seconds, "we brought Titus to a meeting of all ambassadors. We gave him the chance to speak true, but he refused. When Lexa showed her face, Titus knew all was lost to him. Still, he went to his death defiant. It did him no good." She looked around the room. "Titus is dead. Lexa lives. The Coalition thrives. If you have something to say, now is the time."
The Rock Line leader stood. He stared silently at Lexa for half a minute. She sighed mentally. Lander was always difficult, but she thought she had him settled after three hours of talk.
"Issue the challenge," he demanded.
"There will be no challenge," Lexa answered.
"Rock Line requires it."
Clarke stood beside Lexa. "How dare you?" she snarled.
Lander looked at Clarke dismissively and returned his attention to Lexa. "You will issue the challenge."
Clarke was away before Lexa realized what she was going to do. She stormed toward Lander. "How dare you?!" she growled, leaning across the table to get in his face. "You disrespect Heda. You disrespect Heda's Flamekeeper. You disrespect me," she finished, her rage making the words sound like ice. "You will apologize."
He should have realized his mistake when Ontari said nothing to rein in Clarke, but Lander looked at her skeptically. That look sent Clarke across the table, her hand gripping his throat. When the advisors seated on either side of him moved to interfere, Ontari raised her hand and guards moved from the walls to keep them in their seats. Clarke kept a firm grip on Lander's throat. He was uncomfortable but in no immediate danger. "Now," Clarke ordered, her fingers digging a bit deeper into his skin.
He looked at her resentfully before murmuring, "My apologies, Wanheda."
"You forget yourself." Clarke released her fingers and shoved him, then gracefully got off the table and returned to her seat.
While she crossed the room, Lander made his apologies to Ontari and Lexa. "I was...inappropriate."
"See that it does not happen again," Ontari answered. After a few moments of awkward silence, she asked. "Are we finished with this matter or does anyone else have something to say? Anyone? No? Then toast to the health of my Fleimkepa."
After the toast, the feast began again. As drinks were imbibed, the room's volume increased.
"What the hell, Clarke?" Raven asked quietly.
"No one is going to threaten what we worked so hard for," she answered, just as quietly.
"Klark," Lexa reproved.
"Let him worry," Clarke replied. "I won't kill him but he doesn't know that." She looked toward Roan's table, where he and Murphy wore identical smirks while Abby glared. Marcus' face was neutral, years of practice helping him keep his opinion to himself. Clarke picked up her drink and raised it toward them.
The rest of the room began to mingle, moving from table to table, except for Lander, who alternately sulked and threw dirty looks in Clarke's direction. She paid no attention to him. She and Lexa were busy talking with other guests. Roan kept his distance; all of his questions had been answered when he arrived. Raven was pulled into their early conversations and stayed involved. Ontari watched and listened.
It was late when people began drifting away. Eventually, everyone was gone except the head table, Azgeda table, and guards. Lexa sent the Natblida to bed. When she turned to ask Clarke if she was ready, she saw her bent over beside her mother. Abby wasn't scowling any longer, but she didn't look happy.
Lexa caught a few words as she approached and could tell that Abby was trying to push Clarke's buttons again, despite Marcus' attempts to stop her. She put her hand on Clarke's back to let her know she was there.
Clarke waited her out this time, and asked, "Are you done?" when Abby was quiet for more than a few seconds.
"For now."
"Good. I'm going to bed. Good night, Marcus." Clarke bent lower and kissed Abby's cheek. "Night, Mom." She nodded to Roan and Murphy.
"Good night," Lexa echoed before they walked away from the table.
They stopped to say good night to Raven and Ontari, who got up from the table and walked to the elevator with them.