Divergence
936 A.O.P.
One
VANYA
Some roads would always be lonelier than others, but they all had to be walked beneath the stars.
Emperor Vanya Sa’Liandel, of the House of Sa’Liandel, holder of the Imperial throne and ruler of Solaria, arrived back in the capital city of Calhames in the early hours before dawn three days after therionetkaattack in Oeiras. The trade talks with the Tovan Isles ambassador had been hastily concluded, and he’d returned by way of airship to a city he couldn’t assume was safe and a palace that didn’t feel like home—not without Raiah and Soren by his side.
Stalking through the low-lit corridors of the Imperial palace, Vanya made his way toward his private office in the family wing. Thepraetorialegionnaires guarding the antechamber to it made Vanya want to flinch, but an emperor never took a step back. Besides, the ones guardinghimwere at least trustworthy.
Captain Javier Molina, in charge of thepraetorialegionnaires who’d escorted Vanya to Oeiras, planted his feet before the antechamber doors, fists on his hips. “Step forward.”
Thepraetorialegionnaires standing at attention on either side of the entrance obeyed immediately, saluting the captain before bowing to the Imperial degree at Vanya’s presence. The ones surrounding Vanya kept their hands on their pistols, eyeing their fellow soldiers. If the pair on guard duty were uneasy at the distrust being shown them, they didn’t acknowledge it.
“Strip off your shirts and jackets,” Javier ordered.
One of thepraetorialegionnaires seemed taken aback by the order. She hesitated a couple of seconds before obeying. In that time, Vanya noticed the way thepraetorialegionnaires around him tightened their grips on their pistols. No weapon was unholstered, but the sentiment of being willing to shoot was there.
The pair stripped, baring their chests to Javier’s critical eye. Their skin was unmarked, carrying no vivisection scars, and thepraetorialegionnaires around Vanya relaxed ever so slightly at the proof they weren’t facing off againstrionetkas.
Javier nodded sharply. “You may dress.”
While the two hastily redonned their uniforms, Vanya swept past everyone into the antechamber and headed for his private office. “Work with Alida to clear my household, thepraetorialegionnaires on duty, and the staff.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.”
Such an undertaking could not be done quietly. Whatever spies from other Houses might be in the palace would be put on notice, but it couldn’t be helped. Everyone who stayed within the palace walls would be required to prove they weren’t arionetkabefore sunrise. All the rest would arrive at a security check Javier would oversee until the higher-rankingpraetorialegionnaire officers could be cleared.
If anyrionetkaswere within the palace’s employ, Vanya hoped to ensnare them. It was why he hadn’t formally announced his return to Calhames. The flag indicating he was in residence would not be flown over the palace until after the sun broke the horizon.
Vanya turned on the gas lamps once he entered his office, illuminating the space. The windows overlooking a narrow arcade and private inner courtyard were closed against the heat the flagstones hadn’t yet given up during the night. Vanya went to crank them open, the panes folding outward to settle flat against the exterior wall.
He drew in a breath, smelling the blooming flowers spilling over the edges of the pots scattered across the tiled floor outside in the courtyard. The riot of plants had been picked out by his mother, Empress Zakariya Sa’Liandel, and Vanya’s staff carefully tended the flowers she no longer got to enjoy. Oeiras had smelled of the sea, but here, in the private wing of the Imperial palace, it smelled like home.
The sound of raised voices in the antechamber caught his attention. Vanya stepped away from the window, moving to seat himself behind his wide wooden desk. Everything was exactly how he’d left it before departing for Oeiras weeks ago. His records of the newly signed treaty with the Tovan Isles would be presented to the Senate at some point, but for now, it would be delivered to the care of his chief minister.
Vanya reached for the framed tintype photograph of Raiah, her laughing face smiling up at him. He wondered where she was, if she and Soren had made it safely to Karnak yet. His televox hadn’t rung since Soren had driven out of Oeiras with Raiah in his care. The worry had not and would not leave him, not until he held his daughter in his arms again and Soren was back by his side.
“I find it insulting to strip in public when not in a bathhouse, Your Imperial Majesty,” Imperial General Chu Hua said irritably as she appeared in the doorway to his office.
Vanya set the tintype photograph aside. “There is a reason for that precaution.”
Chu Hua bowed to the Imperial degree, her uniform back in place after being required to prove she wasn’t arionetkabefore allowed into his presence. Vanya eyed her, wondering about her loyalty after all that had happened in the last few days.
The crimson and whiteeffiyehshe wore was edged in three gold lines, the mark of her high rank as the Imperial general. She’d spent the majority of her career rising through the ranks of thepraetoria, the personal guard of the Imperial throne. She held no allegiance to any major or minor House. Her loyalty was to the Imperial throne and whoever sat upon it. The issue of therionetkaswas one she would find most distressing.
“You did not announce your return,” Chu Hua said as she straightened up.
Vanya waved her inside. “For good reason. The assassination attempt while I was in Oeiras wasn’t typical.”
Chu Hua raised an eyebrow, the faint wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepening a little. Her hair was still nearly all black, but her age could be seen in the weathered lines gracing her face and the scattered strands of silver in her hair. “I heard they breached your sleeping chambers.”
“They would have killed me if Soren was not with me at the time.”
Chu Hua made a soft, considering sound as she closed the door behind her before sitting. She was armed, with both a pistol and a wand, and while she was a magician, her skill with the aether did not lend itself to magic other than shielding. Vanya’s attention lingered on the weapons for a second before he pushed aside his unease. If she’d had vivisection scars, thepraetorialegionnaires would not have let her pass.
