“Good warden, is this true?” another senator asked.
“It’s true,” Soren said after a heavy pause. “I don’t know how the Daijalan forces were pushed back, but I know E’ridia sent airships to give aid. The wounded were taken to Glencoe, and the wardens’ governor went with them. She ordered all wardens to leave Daijal. We will not guard that country’s borders. Your Houses’ transgressions pale in what the Daijal queen has perpetuated. While that does not absolve you, wardens will still guard Solaria’s borders.”
The senator recoiled at his words, reaching back to grab hold of his chair for support. “What madness has possessed Queen Eimarille to order such an atrocity that risks her country’s safety from the dead?”
“What madness indeed,” Vanya drawled, his gaze sweeping the mezzanine until he found the House of Aetos, Vesper sitting straight-backed in her seat, their House whole. “Perhaps you would do well to enlighten us, Lady Vesper. You did make a show of leaving the Conclave early with the House of Kimathi heir before the attack, espousing your loyalty to them. Indeed, they are not here now.”
“I do not speak for a House that is not mine,” Vesper said, her voice ringing clearly through the chambers.
“Yet you and others threw support behind the House of Kimathi, a House who has turned their back on Solaria.”
“A fine thing for you to say when they aren’t here to defend themselves.”
“Artyom never left the palace, did he?” Vesper’s silence was as much an admission of truth as words would be. “He stayed and made his way to the family wing the night the crypt was opened.”
“I know not what you speak of.”
“Of course you don’t. You weren’t there when Artyom stood with Daijalan Blades and threatened the life of my daughter. You weren’t there when I discovered the betrayal in my household. My majordomo stood with the House of Kimathi, the same House who sold our country out to Daijal.”
The uproar was immediate, voices yelling over each other to be heard in the wake of Vanya’s accusations. He kept his eyes on Vesper, watching as an older member of her House leaned in close to speak to her.
Vanya stood from the throne, drawing everyone’s attention. The shouting eased as he stepped off the dais, standing in the space before the senators’ desks. He pulled from his pocket the necklace Soren had ripped from someone’s throat and set it on the desk belonging to themagisterof the Senate, its most senior senator.
“The warden had his duty to guard the border that was the crypt. He discovered my majordomo colluding with Daijal Blades on orders from the House of Kimathi. Alida confessed as much to the warden and later to me when she stood with Artyom, threatening my daughter,” Vanya said.
Themagisterpicked up the necklace, studying the inlaid crest that had belonged to the House of Kimathi since its inception. She frowned, gaze flicking up to Vanya’s face. “This belongs to the House of Kimathi.”
“It was taken from a traitor’s throat.”
“There are Houses who will question this evidence.”
Several of the surrounding senators murmured agreement with that observation. The senator for the House of Kimathi’svasilyetstood, gesturing furiously with one hand. “Such an accusation against the House of Kimathi is without merit. I will not stand here and listen as they are slandered.”
“It’s no slander if it’s the truth,” Cybele called out from the mezzanine. Vanya’s attention snapped to thevezirof the House of Balaskas, watching as she stood, heads turning her way to see who had spoken. “I stayed with the emperor through our fight in the palace. His command of starfire ensured eradication of any revenants we came across. He ensured we survived while he searched for his daughter. I was there by his side when he confronted Artyom. I stand here as witness to the despicable actions of the House of Kimathi.”
“Your House gave your loyalty to the House of Sa’Liandel. It is unsurprising you’d lie as such,” Vesper shot back.
“As our emperor pointed out, you and your House left before the attack, along with others who gave allegiance to the House of Kimathi. You all would have gained much if our Houses were decimated worse than they were. One must wonder if your House had any dealings with Daijal. A forewarning at the very least, perhaps, to see you all safe beyond the palace gates when the revenants came.”
Pointed looks and fierce mutterings grew in the wake of Cybele’s sharp retort. Vesper didn’t immediately reply, head bent toward her advisor. Vanya studied the expressions he could see, gauging the support the House of Kimathi might still have. The other Houses who had thrown their lot in with the House of Kimathi during the Conclave huddled together as well, cognizant of the growing displeasure from their peers.
Vanya stepped away from themagister’s desk and paced over to where the senator representing the House of Kimathi’svasilyetfuriously argued with his neighbors. At his approach, the senator broke off midsentence to face him, mouth open to speak, but Vanya cut him off.
“VezirJoelle is not fit for the title granted her, not fit to rule hervasilyet, and certainly not fit to claim a House when her loyalty stands with the queen of Daijal and not Solaria.Rionetkasattacked my daughter and I in Oeiras. They were sent after her and the warden I tasked with getting her to safety in Karnak. They’ve infiltrated our government and Houses, but none have ever been found in the House of Kimathi’svasilyet.”
“We have suffered from more revenants than any othervasilyetin the last few years,” the senator snapped.
“Because Joelle allowed Daijal to build a death-defying machine in hervasilyetand refused wardens access to her borders. The high count of revenants was perpetuated by her House. Joelle made agreements she and her House had no right to make. She does not sit on the Imperial throne. I do, and I say she is a traitor to Solaria, and traitors have no place in our country.”
The senator reared back at his words, face going white, then red with anger. Before he could sputter out a protest, Vanya pitched his voice to carry through the chamber. “I call for a blood feud with the House of Kimathi on behalf of Solaria and the Houses she attempted to destroy. I call for retribution for a House that has allied itself with Daijal over their own people. The House of Kimathi has no right to be part of a government they’ve betrayed. What say the Conclave?”
Vanya had spent so long trying to keep Raiah safe. Joelle had not ever issued a blood feud in hopes she could gain the Imperial throne through his daughter. Despite all the deceit she’d cultivated since Nicca’s death, he’d stayed his hand on issuing such a proclamation. But the Conclave had ended with his House holding the majority of support, and Joelle had reacted in a way that could not go unpunished.
His mother had eradicated a House once before and destroyed a city, breaking up avasilyet. It seemed Vanya was set to do the same.
“The House of Balaskas stands with the House of Sa’Liandel,” Cybele said before sitting down.
“The House of Vikandir stands with the House of Sa’Liandel,” Malia called out, acting in the stead of her husband. The bite to her tone came from a banked fury and grief Vanya knew all too well.
