Elise was the first down the gangplank, with Soren right behind her and the magician following after. The magician oversaw Lore’s transport down on a stretcher, the legionnaires carrying her going slow so as to not jostle her. Soren made it to the pier and was a little surprised when thepraetorialegionnaire lieutenant saluted him in greeting.
“Welcome home,” the lieutenant said. “We’ve orders from thevalideto take you to the Imperial estate.”
Taisiya, not Vanya, which made Soren wonder where the other man was, if he was all right. Questions tumbled through Soren’s mind, but he wouldn’t get any answers until he got inside Oeiras.
He let thepraetorialegionnaires hustle them down the pier, clearing the way toward the city gates. The lieutenant bypassed the customs and security line, everyone standing aside to let them pass. Motor carriages with the House of Sa’Liandel crest on the doors waited with their engines running on the street beyond. They were loaded inside with care before being driven away.
Soren slumped in the back seat, head tipped back, tired down to his bones, but he kept his eyes open on the drive to the Imperial estate. The lieutenant didn’t speak to him, riding in the front seat with the driver. They passed through several of the inner-city walls before eventually turning down a familiar set of streets.
Soren shoved himself straighter, watching as the Imperial estate came into view behind its high walls and well-guarded gates. A sentinel-class automaton was posted at the gate as well, its Zip gun held at the ready to defend. The motor carriage didn’t stop, the gate already open for them, and it went up the drive. The front entrance to the grand estate came into view, but all Soren saw were the two people standing just outside the open door, waiting for him.
Taisiya and Raiah.
He was moving before the motor carriage even braked to a halt, pitching himself out of the back seat with a lack of grace he didn’t care about. Raiah’s shriek of his name was the best sound he’d heard in weeks, and Soren had to force his chest to expand as he lurched forward to meet her halfway.
“Soren!” Raiah cried out.
Taisiya didn’t bother trying to hold Raiah back, the little girl racing toward him with tears in her eyes and braids flying behind her. Soren swept her up into his arms and held her as tight as he dared as she sobbed and clutched at him with frantic hands.
“Raiah,” Soren managed to get out, her name ragged on his tongue. “Raiah, I’m here.”
“You’re not allowed to go awayever again!” she sobbed. “You have tostay.”
Soren watched as Taisiya stepped down from the porch with the aid of her cane and apraetorialegionnaire’s assistance. Soren kissed the side of Raiah’s head, hiking her up higher in his arms as he met Taisiya’s gaze. “Vanya?”
“Alive,” Taisiya promised. “But not here. The southern front needed him.”
Soren tried to steady the heavy pounding of his heart. “Rixham?”
“Yes. He had to split the Legion between the war in Ashion and the threat of the revenant horde. Vanya’s capabilities with starfire far exceed everyone else’s in the other Houses. He asked for volunteers, but only some heeded the call.”
“Did anyone from the House of Aetos go with him?”
Taisiya shook her head. “No. One of our spies uncovered their ties to the House of Kimathi. Because of their betrayal, the House of Aetos has been branded a traitor and is being dealt with.”
All Soren felt was relief at her words—relief that Vanya wouldn’t be fighting with traitors at his back. “Good.”
“How do you fare?”
“Tired, but well enough. They kept Lore sedated with the threat of poison being injected into her veins to keep me compliant. If I had tried anything, they would have killed her.”
“But you escaped.”
“Yes, because Blades released revenants into the House of Kimathi’s estate, and I had a window of time to free Lore amidst the confusion of the attack. Joelle is dead, most likely on Eimarille’s orders. I wasn’t certain who was attacking Bellingham at the time, which is why I went into the poison fields.”
Behind them, the Legion magician was overseeing the transfer of Lore from the motor carriage to the estate. They bowed deeply to Taisiya and Raiah, who still hadn’t let go of Soren, keeping her face tucked close to his neck and shoulder. She’d stopped crying, but her sniffles were loud in his ears.
“The lady is in need of deep healing,” the magician said.
“Bring her inside. Our House’s personal magician will see to her,” Taisiya said.
The magician nodded and corralled her charge and their escort inside. Soren watched them go, aware of everything that he needed to do now that he’d made it home. “Caris needs to be told we are alive, but I don’t know what’s going on in Ashion with the war.”
“The front in their eastern provinces has been pushed west since Daijal was forced to split their forces.”
Soren dragged his gaze back to Taisiya. “Oh?”
She reached out to pat his arm before turning around. “Come. There is much to discuss. The merchant can help fill you in.”
