“I’m not carrying you,” Ksenia warned, most of her attention on the field kit she placed on the bed beside Lore. “And you, Nathaniel, are in need of a checkup as well.”
Nathaniel sighed before standing and offering his hand to Caris. She took it and stood, stepping closer so he could wrap her up in his arms. Caris closed her eyes and leaned into his embrace, listening to the song from the clarion crystals that powered his clockwork metal heart. The tone and rhythm hadn’t changed, still a distant, comforting set of notes at the very edge of her awareness.
“Nathaniel’s heart sounds like it always has,” Caris said, opening her eyes.
Ksenia shot her an unimpressed look. “You know the protocols we have in place to guard againstrionetkas. You signed off on them.”
“With my full agreement,” Nathaniel murmured in Caris’ ear.
“I’ll stay and bring Lore over once Ksenia has finished examining her. You two should get going,” Honovi said, nodding at Caris and Blaine.
Caris reluctantly pulled away. She gave Lore one last hug before leaving with Blaine by her side. The Royal Guard waited for them outside, coming to attention at her arrival. She and Blaine settled into the back seat of a motor carriage whose engine was still running, and their driver pulled into the cobblestone street. Caris stared out the window at the damage done to some of the buildings they passed from bombs dropped by both sides in the fight over the town.
Legion sentinel-class automatons stood guard within and without the outer wall, their massive forms impossible to miss. One was positioned at the building command had chosen to work out of. Its Zip gun was held at a forty-five-degree angle, the legionnaire at the controls in its torso keeping an eye on the near horizon for any threats. The automatons were directed by their pilots, and Caris never ceased to be fascinated by the possibility of the design when used for civilian needs. But her desire to pursue that would have to wait until the war was over.
They were ushered inside the command building by a warden and directed to a room that had originally been several different offices before an engineer tore down the interior walls for more space. Everyone gathered around the table stood at her arrival. Caris nodded gravely at the salutes given to her by her own officers and those from foreign countries.
“I understand there’s a plan of attack for Amari being discussed?” Caris said as Blaine pulled out one of the last few empty chairs for her.
“Our forces are in position for the push to break through the Daijalan line, but it’s going to take time. High General Kote has reconfigured much of his forces that remain in Ashion around Amari and in the trenches there. Revenants will be a problem as well. Our spies have confirmed a death-defying machine is in use. We’ve requested more wardens from the governor,” Imperial General Chu Hua, of no House, said. Beside her sat General Yiannis Diomandis, a familiar face from Cosian.
“Warden ranks are running thin,” General Clarence Votil said from down the table.
“They are still worth an entire squad of legionnaires when it comes to traversing the poison fields and dispatching revenants.”
Caris listened as the officers went over the strategy to retake Amari, a battle which would see the Ashion army and Solarian Legion pressing forward with weapons and war machines into the Daijalan defensive line while E’ridian war airships ran bombing runs over the enemy. They would target the capital’s outer wall if they could get close enough amidst the staggering number of anti-airship guns in Daijal’s use.
Caris wanted to protest that action but held her tongue. Somewhere in Amari were her parents, though she didn’t know if they were alive or dead. There’d been no news since the last broadsheet weeks and weeks ago about their transfer to Amari for a trial. If there had been a trial, it hadn’t been reported on. She held out hope they were still alive, that they could be saved. If her parents had been executed, Caris knew Eimarille wouldn’t pass up announcing such news.
“What it sounds like is the fighting both on the ground and in the air is going to be something no one can pass through until one side wins,” Blaine said after an hour of discussion that sometimes segued into arguing. “My goal is to get Caris inside the capital to claim the starfire throne. The E’ridian air force can’t be bombing the city when we’re inside it.”
“And how do you suggest we get you past the fighting? An aerial drop? You’d be lucky if you weren’t shot out of the sky,” Admiral Eirik said.
“The Clockwork Brigade moved in and out of Amari through the catacombs that exist beneath the capital. There are entrances that open up in the plains well beyond the city walls. If we can access one, we could bring Caris into the city.”
“The Duchess Auclair informed me of the catacombs’ existence before I left Cosian. She provided a map to traverse the few safe routes, all of which we must assume have been compromised and are in Daijalan control. Too many cogs were turned intorionetkas, and too many chains were broken because of it,” General Votil said.
Caris leaned forward, an idea unfurling in her mind, one she knew Blaine wouldn’t like. “Eimarille activated everyrionetkain the field recently. All our countries have been dealing with assassination attempts of high-ranking officials, despite our best efforts to check for the hidden threat. Nathaniel never succumbed to theKlovod’s control this time around, and his order has always been to kill me.”
“Caris,” Blaine said, sounding pained. “He still can’t be trusted.”
“By the Tovanians’ own report, Nathaniel never succumbed to the orders to destroy the ship-city. He went to find theUri’kaand warn her.”
“Our spies presently place theKlovodin Amari, along with Eimarille. Can you be certain that by putting Nathaniel in such close proximity, he won’t be activated again?” Imperial General Chu Hua asked.
Caris swallowed back the answer her heart wanted to give, knowing it wouldn’t be appreciated and only mark her as incredibly naïve. “No, but I trust the work the wardens have done to give him back his mind and free will. Nathaniel carries the vivisection scars of arionetkaon his chest. If there are any Daijalans controlling the catacomb tunnels, Nathaniel can pass for what they think him to be, and if his orders were to bring me to Eimarille, who are they to deny him?”
Blaine stiffened beside her. The fact none of the officers at the table immediately denied her idea just proved it could be a way into Amari that wouldn’t sacrifice more lives than they were already anticipating losing.
“You would be putting yourself in grave danger, and I don’t know if I could condone such an endeavor,” General Votil reluctantly said.
“I’m in danger no matter where I stand. I need to get inside Amari, and this is the best way.”
“If we could identify one of the outside catacomb entrances and determine whether or not it is within our control or the other side’s, we could access it with a small team of fighters,” Imperial General Chu Hua finally said, sounding thoughtful.
“If it’s on the Daijalan side, we’d need to send people in under cover of night, which would put them more at risk of revenants and an attack once they were spotted,” Admiral Eirik pointed out. “If we coordinate a bombing run at that time, we could perhaps carve out a period where it would be safer. I would recommend a warden or two assist in leading your chosen group to the entrance.”
“So we do the same thing we did with New Haven and create a distraction by increasing the attack on a different side of the city. Get them to focus elsewhere.” The Imperial general looked at Caris. “I assume Nathaniel is accepting of the risk?”
