Vanya stared her down, knowing howeasyit would be to eradicate the threat to Raiah standing before him by using starfire against Joelle. Doing so would gain him nothing but enemies who could not be cajoled or bribed into loyalty. Starfire gave the right to rule in Solaria, but that didn’t mean people were comfortable with such harsh displays of power. The Imperial throne was held by the House with the most power, and that did not always mean magic.
“If you think I have wronged your House, then call for a blood feud. It won’t be the first levied against mine, but I will treat it with all the care as the rest that were settled in our favor over the years.”
“You put Solaria at risk with the leeway you give wardens. I need call no blood feud to accuse you of betrayal to our country,” Joelle shot back. Around them, those who claimed ties to the major Houses nodded faint agreement.
“Betrayal like how you allowed a death-defying machine to function in yourvasilyet? Tell me, Joelle, how many Solarians did you feed it?”
“I know not what you speak of.”
“It seems you know nothing of worth that happens in yourvasilyet. One must wonder at your ability to rule if that is the case.”
Joelle’s eyes flashed with fury. “Do not question how I rule my House.”
“This is the Conclave. That is precisely what we are here for.”
Joelle would cry ignorance of the death-defying machine and therionetkasto the stars, and there would be no prying that lie away from her. Vanya knew the only way to claw support to his side during the Conclave was to prove he spoke the truth—about the death-defying machine, aboutrionetkas, about the betrayal spreading like poison throughout the northwest.
Vanya’s gaze swept over the gathered Houses, meeting eyes that held his own or looked away. “I am your emperor. The House of Sa’Liandel has ruled Solaria for centuries and will continue to rule with the Dawn Star’s blessing. Would you rather the Imperial throne be held by a House who holds no loyalty to Solaria or one that has done everything to keep our country whole?”
“Eradicating a House and walling off a city favors no one,” Joelle said sharply.
“My Lady Mother had her reasons for such actions. Yours, however, leave much to be desired. Betraying your country and every House in existence favors only you, Joelle. Every House wants the Imperial throne, but none of us has ever gone down the road you seem to be walking,” Vanya replied coldly.
He turned his back on her before she could respond, a calculated dismissal in her own House. Vanya offered Taisiya his arm, and she took it with a faint tip of her head. Amir caught his eye and bowed, his stance easy, in no hurry to follow.
“Your Imperial Majesty,” Amir said, opting for Vanya’s title rather than his House to show his allegiance.
Vanya left the Conclave, knowing Amir would act in his place to lure Houses to their side. Vanya’s only goal today was to plant seeds of doubt in the fields of words Joelle had already cultivated. If even one blossomed, it would be a blessing.
Nine
JOELLE
The first thing Joelle did when the Conclave gathering at her estate was over and all the unwanted guests were gone was to take time alone in her office for a private call. She dialed the number to a televox from memory, knowing the risk of communicating over borders but doing so anyway. She pressed the cold metal receiver to her ear as the line rang for some time before finally being answered.
“You know better than to call from your capital,” Eimarille’s Blade said in near-perfect Solarian. Even then, Joelle could hear the faint curl of the woman’s Urovan accent in her words.
“I didn’t call to speak toyou,” Joelle retorted. “I called for your queen.”
“My queen is busy.”
“Not for me.”
Joelle knew it was a risk to initiate a call from the heart of Solaria’s politics. But her majordomo had assured her that all precautions had been taken to secure their communication wires and the telegraph room on the premises. Every machine had been examined after the Conclave gathering had ended, for Joelle knew better than to trust any House who had wandered through her home.
Terilyn hummed in a way that gave no clue as to her opinion but which Joelle considered a sign of disrespect. “Hold.”
The line echoed with the buzz of a connection paused, and Joelle’s lips curled in distaste at the other woman’s rudeness. If anyone in her household or under her rule had been so brusque and dismissive of her in person, she’d have taken them to task.
Joelle leaned back against the plushness of her office chair, glancing at the metal clock hanging from the wall, its hands ticking away the time. She was overdue for a session with her House’s healer, the magician most likely waiting impatiently on a summons, just as she waited impatiently for the Daijal queen to answer her call.
Eventually, the line clicked, the buzz replaced with a smooth voice that held no hint of irritation. Like Joelle, Eimarille Rourke was skilled at the game of politics. “My Blade tells me you are in Calhames. We agreed to no communication while you are in your country’s capital.”
“We agreed if no present need arose,” Joelle replied.
“Ah. Careful,vezirJoelle. You owe enough debts. Are you sure you wish to add another?”
Eimarille’s tone was light and seemingly gentle, but Joelle knew the spine of the woman who had wrestled away one crown and greedily sought another. If Eimarille had been of the Houses, she would have been a dangerous opponent indeed. As it was, Joelle was quite aware of the danger she danced with when she had acquiesced to the Twilight Star’s guidance and was more than willing to land each step perfectly.
