To Shadi Silver Wolf, Matriarch of Yiria
From Dimitrios Vidalatos, heir apparent to Perean
Grand Matriarch,
I write to you not as a crowned man, but as the one whose name will be used, by the design of others, if we allow other men to make a war of this.
The Perean soldiers who crossed into your lands did not move on my order. The commander now in your custody sailed under instructions through my council chambers while I was being kept from my throne. The paper trail exists. It begins with the now-deceased High Chancellor and runs in a straight line to the hand of King Titos Demakis of Soterra.
Upon your request, I can show you muster rolls and correspondence between Titos and Leonidas, all but naming their goal: a move so reckless it would make me look incompetent as king, and force Perean’s rule to another by the will of the people.
In short, they intended to provoke your retaliation, then lay the ruin at my feet.
I have released Eslodel from their previous agreement to my predecessor. If you require further reparations for the breach, name them. If you require hostage or surety to ensure my good faith, name that too. Let us close the jaws of this trap on the men who set it, not our people.
I await your terms with the open hands of friendship,
Dimitrios
The Silver Wolf passageways had gone quiet—the kind of hush that came only when the fires had been banked, the younglings tucked in bed, and the weight of the mountain had settled over its people like a blanket.
Kai stepped into the Hearth Room just as Shadi passed a fold ofparchment to Doli.
Her mothers sat alone at the fire, their silhouettes awash in amber light. The flames gilded both the hard lines and quiet curves of their faces.
A month ago, they’d have moved with ease and lightness.
But, with Tse’s absence, an unbearable weight pressed down on their shoulders. Grief reddened their eyes. They moved as if the air itself pushed against them.
Kai blinked away hot tears and cleared her throat.
Shadi’s spine snapped upright, and she blinked rapidly. “Daughter? Is everything all right?”
“Yes. I wanted to let you know that Steel Arrow has all the supplies stored, and White Spirit will begin dispersing them in the morning. I’ve assigned overnight guards.”
She wouldn’t risk any of Usti’s unnamed loyalists taking advantage of grief.
Kai stepped further into the room. “Is something the matter? Who has written?”
Shadi motioned to the hearth. Its high flame curled smoke through the silver snout of the carved wolf above the mantle.
Once Kai was comfortable, and Doli finished reading, Shadi revealed the contents of Dimitrios Vidalatos’s letter.
“Do you believe him?” Kai asked.
Shadi took back the parchment with a tired sigh. “How can I trust the words of a male I’ve never looked in the eye?”
Doli folded her hands. “And who’s to say what more has transpired since he penned this? For all we know, he has already been overthrown.”
“They’ll have put that murderous princess on the throne,” Shadi muttered.
If that were true, they wouldn’t know for weeks—maybe even months. By then, Perean would know just how fractured Yiria had become.
Shadi’s teeth flashed as she stared into the fire. “As for Titos… He was always a villain. His involvement does not surprise me. And if this heir speaks true, Soterra has invited a war.”
“We need to sail to Perean,” Doli said, though her expression soured at the thought.
“We can’t leave our people like this.” Shadi scrubbed her palms across her face. “Our survival has to take priority.”
