The production facilities for ammunition and automatons used for war had been running continuously since last summer. They had a glut of supplies, even with giving up one facility to the Tovanians’ needs. The logistics of moving a large number of people and weapons acrossvasilyetswas something the Legion practiced on a yearly basis as part of their training.
“The debt my House owes will be paid for the sake of Solaria’s future,” Vanya said.
Chu Hua squared her shoulders before dipping into a deep bow. “By your will, Your Imperial Majesty.”
The Houses would not like it, nor would the Senate, but Vanya alone had the power to declare war. If his road had crossed Soren’s for anything, he knew it was for this—to keep Solaria a sovereign nation, no matter what Eimarille would prefer.
Twelve
SOREN
Senate sessions were never Soren’s favorite things to sit through. The minutiae of politics was dry and cutting, the veiled threats and promises hidden between words and behind smiles enough to give a person a headache. Lore seemed to thrive in it, despite not knowing the language spoken all around them, but she was savvy enough to leave the discussions up to Dariush when their opinion was needed.
The Ashionen delegation had claimed the ambassador table on the Senate floor that day. Soren sat with them when he would have preferred the seat beside Taisiya up on the mezzanine where the Houses watched the proceedings unfold. His concession was to wear the uniform of a warden and not any of the finery the Ashionens had dressed in for their day in the political spotlight.
“Far more cutthroat than Ashion,” Lore murmured in the trade tongue, quiet enough that only Soren heard her.
“The Houses play their games, the Senate writes the laws, and the emperor rules over them all,” Soren replied.
It was a generalized explanation for the intricate culture—both socially and politically—that ran Solaria’s government. Lore made a soft, wordless sound before leaning toward Dariush, who sat on her other side, speaking quietly in rapid Ashionen. Soren tuned them out and focused on the proceedings that provided a cacophony of voices echoing through the Senate chambers. Amidst it all, Vanya was a calm center, flanked by his Legion generals, who, despite their earlier reservations, were aligned with his desires.
“It is not our House that owes the Ashionens. Solaria as a whole should not have to pay for your mistakes,” Lady Vesper Aetos, of the House of Aetos, said imperiously from the mezzanine at one point.
“It is your House that attempted to murder me in Oeiras just the other day,” Vanya replied in a bored voice, which effectively made Vesper snap her teeth together.
“My House takes offense to your slanderous accusation.”
“The proof sits in a jail cell back in Oeiras, one that married into your House as of three years ago. Your noted alliance with the House of Kimathi and now an attempted assassination makes me wonder how much of your House is against Solaria’s sovereignty.”
The ensuing argument that resulted from Vanya’s biting words lasted almost an hour, dragging other Houses into the verbal fray. Soren wisely stayed out of it, and Dariush did the same, even when Lore wondered if they should perhaps engage more than they were.
“No,” Soren told her firmly. “The Houses need to be brought to a consensus.”
“I thought you said the emperor had the sole power to declare war?” she asked.
“He does, but he’ll want the Houses supporting that decision, or they’ll try to murder him again. If that happens, the debt he owes dies with him, and Ashion will not get the Legion.”
Lore seemed a bit taken aback by that but dutifully stayed quiet and stopped pestering Dariush about politics that weren’t hers.
The midday meal was eaten in the Senate chambers, with grilled meat wraps delivered to everyone present, along with sweet red wine that some senators drank more of than was probably polite. The heat of the spices used to flavor the meat made Lore gulp down more water than anyone else at their table. Soren enjoyed the taste of it, having missed the flavors he’d grown to love while at the Warden’s Island and in Ashion. The food was eaten, and the arguing continued, every conceivable side pressing their point and hoping for neutrality in the face of the vow, only to be waylaid by Vanya’s grim determination to see a debt paid and a war won.
Soren wasn’t surprised when the Houses attempted to cast him in a negative light. He didn’t defend himself beyond his stated remarks that he’d chosen to become Caris’ heir in order to save Maricol because that was the only way the wardens would survive.
“You regret the sanctions owed by your major Houses and the tithes Solaria will have to pay, but tell me,” Soren said when pressed. “How will you keep your cities safe when the influx of revenants is clawing at your walls? Will you be the ones to go into the poison fields and fight the walking dead? I did my duty for the wardens and for Maricol. Solaria allying itself with Ashion is how we ensure Maricol survives. We had an Age of Separation for areason.”
It was a prudent point that Vanya ran with and which his generals emphasized. The politicking went on well into the evening, long past when the sun had set. In the end, Vanya signed off on the declaration of war with the backing of two-thirds of the Senators, which meant as many Houses were in agreement as well.
It wasn’t a unanimous agreement, but it was more than enough for Vanya to count it as a win. When the session finally ended, Vanya made his way to the ambassador table, accepting Dariush’s respectful bow with a regal nod. Chu Hua stood at his left and offered a shallow bow as well to the ambassador.
“The broadsheets will announce the declaration of war in the morning. My generals will need to be in contact with your commanders who handle Ashion’s war effort,” Vanya said.
“I will go with the generals tonight in order to provide the requested information. I can’t begin to thank you enough on behalf of my queen for your support, Your Imperial Majesty,” Dariush replied.
“I’m not doing it for her.”
Soren’s name went unspoken, but Dariush’s gaze flicked briefly toward him. “Be that as it may, Your Imperial Majesty. Ashion is in your debt.”
“I know.” Vanya nodded at Soren. “Let us depart.”
