Caris would be herself and hope it was enough in the end.
Two
NATHANIEL
When Nathaniel passed through the doorway that led into the dignitary room of Oeiras, a piercing alarm went off from hidden spell-detectors. Every singlepraetorialegionnaire within the grand room and outside it in the hall unholstered their pistols with deft speed and aimed the weapons at him.
Chief Minister Caelum raised both his hands in a placating manner, appearing unbothered by the greeting. He spoke in the trade tongue, which was a kindness for Nathaniel and the others with him who weren’t quite fluent in Solarian and none of which were fluent in Tovanian. “The Ashionen representatives have been cleared by our magicians and granted leave of the premises by His Imperial Majesty. There is no threat fromrionetkas, for none stand with us.”
Nathaniel froze where he stood just past the doorway, along with the others. As warm as those words made him feel, he didn’t breathe until thepraetorialegionnaires reluctantly holstered their pistols at a wave from the Imperial emperor, though none removed their hands from the grips. Ambassador Dariush Zayed, doing double duty to Solaria and the Tovan Isles as Ashion’s envoy, stepped forward and bowed deeply.
“Your Imperial Majesty,” Dariush said, offering up the greeting in Solarian. That phrase, at least, Nathaniel knew, for he’d been taught it on the flight over.
Nathaniel hastily bowed as well, trying not to feel as if the cravat wrapped around his throat was choking him. It’d felt like that for the past week and a half ever since Caris had given the order that he was to be her personal representative to the Tovanians. Predictably, there’d been arguments, all of which she’d ignored, despite the persistent attempts to change her mind. She’d put her foot down as queen and would not be swayed, sending Nathaniel west on an Ashionen airship, carrying a letter written by her own hand that he was meant to deliver to the Tovanian ambassador.
Dariush had already been in Oeiras since Caris had asked him to continue his diplomatic duties in the wake of the murders that had occurred in their embassy in Calhames. Nathaniel had traveled with a hastily gathered group of diplomatic aides to lend support to Dariush’s mission in Solaria. He hoped what had occurred in Calhames would not be repeated here in Oeiras.
Imperial emperor Vanya Sa’Liandel, of the House of Sa’Liandel, stared at them with piercing dark eyes, his white robes edged in crimson and gold embroidery gleaming in the sunlight pouring through the high open windows of the strange dignitary room. His golden crown glittered like starfire, drawing the eye.
Vanya nodded gravely to them, his gaze lingering like a heavy thing on Nathaniel, who tried not to shift on his feet. He’d come a long way from being the son of a merchant, but he still didn’t feel as if he belonged, either here in this grand Imperial estate or in his own body some days.
“Solaria bids you welcome,” Vanya said, opting to speak in the trade tongue. He turned slightly so that he could gesture at the floating cabana behind him, where the Tovanians stood. “May I presentUri’kaAkeheni, of the ship-cityMatariki.”
Dariush bowed again, and Nathaniel followed his lead. Dariush kept to the trade tongue when he spoke. “We thank you for your hospitality in facilitating these talks, Your Imperial Majesty. Our queen sends her thanks as well to both you andUri’kaAkeheni.”
The Tovanian in question was an imposing figure, standing at the head of her delegation, arms crossed over her chest as she studied them. Caelum ushered them all farther into the room, and when they reached the edge of the pool, Nathaniel was able to make out the tattoos on the ambassador’s face. His curiosity was left by the wayside when the emperor addressed him.
“I understand from Queen Caris that you speak for her, Mr. Clementine?” Vanya said.
“Only in so far as I can give voice to the state I have unwillingly found myself in and to sign on my queen’s behalf, Your Imperial Majesty,” Nathaniel said after a quick glance at Dariush. “The good ambassador is in charge of everything else.”
He knew that Dariush had been making headway with the Tovanians ever since Caris had tasked him with initiating alliance talks. Nathaniel knew nothing about the ways of diplomacy, but if it was anything like a business contract, it would be easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of details, and they did not have much time for that.
“What state do you find yourself in?” Akeheni asked.
Nathaniel hesitated a moment before lifting his chin, meeting her gaze without flinching. “I and the rest of my family were arrested before the riot protesting taxes and debt bondage occurred in Amari. While imprisoned, I was—I became—” He swallowed hard, rallying himself after a moment of silence. “TheKlovodturned me into arionetkaand used me to try to murder my queen. The wardens were able to undo the compulsion but not remove it. I still carry magic in my clockwork metal heart, but at least my mind is my own these days.”
A soft murmur rose from the group of people on the cabana and those few ranged down the table by the side of the pool. Nathaniel easily read the concern and wariness that appeared on people’s faces, but he didn’t offer any comfort.
Akeheni frowned at him, her gaze dropping briefly to his chest and the neatly done-up waistcoat and shirt he wore that hid his vivisection scars. “Your queen trusts you?”
She was the only one who did, it seemed like, though Nathaniel didn’t give voice to that thought. “Yes.”
“A risky choice to make.”
“I love her,” Nathaniel said quietly. “As she loves me. But we both love our country just as much, and some risks must be taken to win this war. I come here as a warning for the ills that Eimarille will do to anyone but also to show how far we’ll go to fight against her.”
Akeheni didn’t reveal how she felt, but Nathaniel was familiar with the unease people felt when they knew what kind of heart beat in his chest. Still, the TovanianUri’kadidn’t immediately request he be removed from the talks, and Nathaniel was allowed to sit at the table set aside for the Ashionen delegation. The emperor, he noted, did not take a seat, conferring quietly with the Chief Minister for a moment before addressing the room at large.
“My ambassador to the Tovan Isles will remain to ensure Solaria is represented for your talks. We hold an alliance with the Tovanians, and any alliance made will affect our own borders,” Vanya said before sweeping out of the room, Caelum following after him.
Dariush cleared his throat from his spot beside Nathaniel before opening up the talks. They didn’t have time for flowery courtesy, not with the front lines of the war now grinding west instead of east one incremental mile at a time. He’d left behind the skies filled with airships and the poison fields trampled by the feet of the Legion and Ashion armies, but all of their efforts would be worth nothing if they failed here, at this table.
Nathaniel was a merchant, and in some ways, diplomacy was about selling yourself to the right buyer. But he was not so nearly skilled in that area as Dariush, and so he rarely spoke up in the days that followed, there as Caris’ proxy in the event the Tovanians agreed to the desperately needed and wanted alliance.
Five days after their arrival in Oeiras, Nathaniel’s breakfast of food not spiced quite as much as it had been the last few times was interrupted by an Ashionen clerk escorting a Tovanian into the embassy’s inner courtyard used for all the meals. Dariush paused in ripping a piece of flatbread in half, everyone seated at the low table eyeing the newcomers. Nathaniel had come to learn that, when in another country, diplomats were summoned, never visited.
Dariush proved to be rather adept at unexpected surprises, dropping the bread and hastily swallowing the bite of food he’d taken. Dariush stood and offered a shallow bow in greeting while everyone else remained seated. “Is something amiss?”
