Chapter one
Shi'chen
Thesandsonthetraining ground were burning hot under sandaled feet. Dust swirled up in clouds, stinging the exposed skin of the palace guards as spears met shields in a cacophony of wood against metal. The sound reflected off the walls of the palace courtyard as the guards sparred, the glare from the sunlight on the sands and stone walls nearly blinding.
On the edge of the courtyard, a young goblin man watched, his own shield resting at his feet, spear in hand. Like his troops, Shi’chen had on a helmet with a black layer of sand silk over it to protect his eyes and face from the stinging sand and blinding sun overhead as he observed his Honor Garrison spar with Allegiance Garrison. He could see where the weak points were on some of the newer guards, where they dropped their hands too low, where they left a leg vulnerable, where they got in too close. To get into one of the three branches of the palace guards, not just the usual soldier grunt work, was no easy feat, but there was always room for improvement.
He leaned on his spear, watching a younger Allegiance guard take a much-too-wide swing at one of his Honor guards, who ducked low and drove her shoulder into the young goblin’s gut, knocking him to the ground with a grunt. The Honor member held out her hand to help the younger Allegiance guard up; he brushed sand from his armor with an embarrassed smile before the two continued sparring.
A taller goblin passed by Shi’chen and gave a small smirk that curled his thin lip up with disdain. “Good day, Captain Er-Ha’sen.”
“Good day,” Shi’chen said, barely giving him a glance out of the corner of his eye.
The older man came to a stop on his other side, silently watching the sparring for a moment. “And how is your brother today?” he asked, his voice light and full of innocence.
Shi’chen gritted his teeth, his fingers clenching around the shaft of his spear. “Did you need something, Captain Hin-Ve’ssa?”
“Just making conversation,” the older Captain said.
Shi’chen pulled his helmet and sand silk veil off so he could glare into the man’s hawk-yellow eyes with his own ember-orange ones. “Do not play me for a fool, Hi’jan.”
“Of course not, Your Highness,” Hi’jan said with a small, mock bow. “I know I could never play you.” He was silent for a long moment before he leaned in a bit closer so only the shorter Captain could hear him. “Of course, your brother is much easier.” Shi’chen’s eyes flashed, and Hi’jan laughed softly. “Ah, come now, Your Highness, surely you don’t think the whole palace doesn’t know that your brother will spread his legs for any pretty face. Even yours.”
Shi’chen hissed through his teeth and pushed his shield out of the way with his foot before leveling his spear toward Hi’jan. “You will watch your mouth,Captain.” The title came out as a growl.
Apparently Hi’jan had been expecting this reaction, because he immediately dropped into a fighting stance, pulling his short sword from his belt. “I’d like to see you make me, Captain.” He shifted, and Shi’chen only had a moment to realize that Hi’jan was moving so the sunlight hit him in the eyes before charging at him to try to close the distance. He dodged back, using his spear to keep Hi’jan at bay. The taller man moved quickly, avoiding the tip of the spear as his own blade whistled closer and closer to the smaller goblin with little regard for the places his armor protected. Shi’chen used his spear to block a strike from the short sword, thrusting it at Hi’jan, being careful not to do more than just drive him back with it. Hi’jan seemed to be showing no such caution, circling Shi’chen and darting in with his blade before moving back again when Shi’chen knocked it aside.
Shi’chen registered in the back of his mind that the sounds of others fighting had faded away except for the clash of his own weapon with Hi’jan’s, and the guards had all turned to watch them. Jeers and shouts of encouragement rang out from the assembly as they watched the two Captains dodge and thrust. Damn it all to the gods, why had he let Hi’jan taunt him into attacking him in front of their companies? But it was too late to stop it now.
He knocked Hi’jan’s blade away with his spear again, deftly changing his grip to strike toward his chest, forcing the taller man back a step. Hi’jan suddenly lunged in, grabbing the shaft of the spear with his free hand and yanking. Shi’chen let the momentum carry him, ducking under Hi’jan’s swing at his face to kick his foot out from under him. Hi’jan stumbled and righted himself as Shi’chen regained the spear and leveled it again, to the hoots of laughter from the watching troops.
“What is the meaning of this?” The bark came from a tall goblin woman dressed in the same armor as the Captains but with a scarlet cape over her shoulders. The guards scattered out of her way like sand against the wind. Shi’chen turned his eyes toward Commander Ahea’a, dropping his spear tip in response to her words. That was enough of a distraction for Hi’jan to duck in and swipe his blade’s edge across Shi’chen’s unprotected left forearm, parting the charcoal gray skin under it, followed by a streak of crimson. Shi’chen hissed and dropped his spear, clasping his right hand to the spot as Hi’jan assumed an innocent look, straightening up and holding his gleaming blade out from his side as if he had only just heard their Commander. Several of the guards muttered amongst themselves, having seen what Hi’jan had done, but they immediately went silent when the Commander’s eyes landed on them. “This is training, not a street brawl. Honor Garrison and Allegiance Garrison, laps, now! Captain An-Hila’ra, keep them running until I tell them to stop.”
The guards of Shi’chen’s unit, and the others who had stopped to watch, along with the Captain of Allegiance Garrison, who had been following behind the Commander, scrambled to obey, hurrying across the courtyard to a nearby running path.
Commander Ahea’a turned to the two Captains with fire in her violet eyes. “Captain Hin-Ve’ssa, quarry duty for you and Courage Garrison. Go.”
Hi’jan bowed his head. “Yes, Commander,” he said before turning sharply on his heel and walking away, his back saying everything his mouth would not, his troops who had stopped to watch the fight following after him. Commander Ahea’a’s eyes turned back to Shi’chen. “And you, Captain. Are you injured?”
“It is just a scratch, Commander,” Shi’chen said, moving his hand so she could see the cut that was no longer bleeding.
“You are suspended for the rest of the day, Captain Er-Ha’sen. If I catch you fighting with Captain Hin-Ve’ssa again, it will be a week.”
Shi’chen’s ears flattened shamefully. “Yes, Commander.”
“Go get that cleaned up,” Ahea’a said, pointing away from the barracks and instead toward the stone wall of the palace beyond the gate. “Report to me tomorrow morning.”
Shi’chen bowed his head at her again, then turned and headed for the palace gate with as much dignity as he could muster, his pride stinging more than his arm. At least “the rest of the day” was not very long, as the sun had already started its slow downward descent. When he reached the door, the guard who had been waiting there snapped to attention, then followed him as he stepped inside the cool doorway into one of the many hallways of the Emperor’s palace. “Please tell me you did not hear any of that,” he said to her.
“I heard nothing, Captain,” she said in a voice that told him she had heard every word loud and clear.
“Thanks,” Shi’chen grumbled, heading up one of the wooden staircases toward the wing he shared with his father and brother. “Lieutenant Hin-Re’nna, would you be so good as to find my brother for me?” Though he phrased it as a question, it was not. Anything he asked, as the Regent’s son, was a command, not a request.
“Yes, Captain.” The guard bowed and broke off to head down the hall.
Shi’chen continued up the stairs. His adrenaline was wearing off now, and his arm throbbed painfully. He gritted his teeth as he reached the North Wing of the palace, the area that was specifically designated for the royal family. He turned down a hall that led to his family’s apartments, bypassing his brother’s rooms to the double doors that led to the main living area that the twins shared. He pushed open the doors and strode inside, keeping his ears and head high until the door closed behind him.
Two servants were waiting nearby, a girl and a boy not much younger than himself. They both bowed their head at him, waiting for instructions. Shi’chen sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. He did not spend every night in the palace; he was usually out in the barracks with the other guards, and he always felt awkward when dealing with the servants that seemed only to stand around until they thought he needed assistance. “Water, and then leave me.”
