“I think the most important item on the agenda is our country’s aerial capabilities in the wake of this attack. Where do we stand?” Alrickson asked once everyone had taken a seat around the table. There wasn’t quite enough room, with somejarlsand lower-ranked officers forced to sit behind others at the table.
Kyrre’s grim expression was answer enough. “We’re lucky none of our other bases were targeted, but that isn’t saying much. Those ones are smaller and further inland, not located near waterways. Many of the airships down for repair were destroyed, along with a high percentage of the war airship and aeroplane squadrons assigned to the base. Our air force wasn’t destroyed, but it was crippled in that we lost airships along with many of the next generation of aeronauts and some of our best fliers.”
It was similar to the attack on the Warden’s Island, and Honovi couldn’t help but glance at the warden, who sat stone-faced on the other side of the table. It was sometimes difficult to know a warden’s age, but this one looked to be younger than him.
“What of our forces in other bases?”
“Intact and on alert. Patrols have been stepped up at our borders, but so far, no reports have come back about incursions.”
“We summoned the Urovan ambassador last night, but they purported to know nothing about the attack. We as a whole expelled them from the country,” Anneli said.
They’d done the same last year to the Daijalan ambassador after the attack on the Warden’s Island. Having no avenues of communication open with another country was never advantageous, but after everything that had happened, Honovi couldn’t see anyone believing what the Urovans said.
“Trade will be at issue once again,” someone down the table warned.
“Trade is the least of our worries,” Honovi said before anyone else could argue for or against it. “We all know who is truly behind the attack on our sovereignty, and continuing to ignore that fact sets us up for another attack and the distinct possibility of being invaded. Only next time, if Ashion has fallen, we’ll be squeezed on both sides, with Urovan submersibles in our waves and the Daijal army in our land.”
“The Eastern Spine would stop them,” an officer on the other side of the table protested.
Honovi leaned forward, staring him down, fighting back his fury. “Can you be absolutely certain of that?”
It was telling that no one spoke up.
In the silence, the sound of the warden getting to his feet drew everyone’s attention. He settled back on his heels and took in the room with a sweeping glance before speaking. “It is the governor’s opinion that the attack on your air force base and the attack on Solaria’s city are meant to distract both countries from the war effort in Ashion. We find it suspect that the Imperial emperor agreed to an alliance and sent his Legion to the Ashion queen and then these attacks occurred. While E’ridia has offered no alliance, the preemptive nature of the attacks must be called into question. The governor believes Eimarille is behind what happened yesterday in both countries the same way she was behind the attack on us wardens last year.”
Honovi was glad to see the wardens reinforcing the argument he and Blaine had repeatedly brought before theComhairle nan Cinnidhean, but it didn’t make him feel any better about the situation at hand. He rose to his feet as well, commanding everyone’s attention. “Eimarille has ambitions that will not stop at her border. TheComhairle nan Cinnidheanmust see that now and must act in the best interest of E’ridia.”
“You and your husband have been proponents of war for some time now,” Kele,ceann-cinnidhof Clan Sky, said evenly.
“We have not,” Honovi pushed back. “We have been a proponent of ensuring our sovereignty in the face of an enemy who lies and schemes for power. If our Seneschal being turned into arionetkawas not enough to face the threat, then this attack must be, or what excuse will you give to the clans for why we are doing nothing?”
He had to fight not to raise his voice, but he couldn’t stop himself from the forcefulness of his words. If theComhairle nan Cinnidheandid nothing, Honovi feared their country wouldn’t survive to see a new Age.
Alrickson stood, the sound of his chair scraping across the floor causing Honovi’s head to snap around. “The Age of Separation gave us our countries, and the wardens mapped our borders and guarded them for centuries. E’ridia has never sought war beyond our borders, even if we have fought amongst the clans. But E’ridia does not hold with debt bondage, and we cannot ignore this attack inflicted on our people.
“I admit, I have been reluctant to believe my son’s persistent belief that Daijal was a threat to us. I thought the strife between Daijal and Ashion had no bearing on us, despite the fact we share a border with one of them. We as a people put our faith in the Eastern Spine and the revenants that hunt amongst its valleys and peaks to hold back the rest of the continent. So much so that we never saw the threat from the sea because Daijal made allies with Urova, and we assumed we would not be targeted. We were wrong. My son and son-in-law were not. The Dusk Star delivered Blaine to us when he was a child, and my clan took him in. His road has led him back to Ashion, and my son follows. I think it is time E’ridia follows as well.”
“You wish for us to vote on war?” Aslaung,ceann-cinnidhof Clan Mountain, asked.
“I wish for theComhairle nan Cinnidheanto protect E’ridia. If that means allying ourselves with Ashion and Solaria against Daijal and Urova, then so be it. Queen Eimarille might have sought to cripple our air force, but we still have airships to fight with.” Alrickson looked down the table on both sides, meeting his contemporaries’ gazes. “What say the clans?”
For a moment, the room was silent. In that quiet, Honovi thought his arguments hadn’t been enough. That the terrible isolationist ways would win out. Then everyone at the table pounded their fists against it as if they were beating a drum in prayer and he let out a heavy breath, looking to his father. Alrickson nodded decisively before retaking his seat. “Then let us vote.”
The military officers andjarlshad no say in the votes cast by theComhairle nan Cinnidhean. There was no need for a Seneschal to send a declaration of war up to them, not when the laws of E’ridia gave theComhairle nan Cinnidheanthe right to declare it on their own. This time, when the war drums would sound, it wouldn’t be for a clan-on-clan fight but one that would pitch E’ridia into a fight Ashion was desperately trying to win for them all.
It was the one bright spot in a horrifying aftermath, but it eased something deep within Honovi as E’ridia rallied itself for war. He wanted desperately to relay the news to Blaine but knew the official announcement had to come from theComhairle nan Cinnidheanto Caris.
His father leaned toward him, braid sliding over his shoulder with the motion, the ranking hair adornments there catching the light. “E’ridia has no ambassador for Ashion at this time, but I rather think we’ll need one for this fight. I’ll put your name forth to take up that mantle again after we contact Queen Caris and notify the Imperial emperor of our intentions. I know asking you to stay in Glencoe would be futile.”
Honovi inclined his head. “I will do what my country asks of me.”
And if walking that road led him back to Blaine, so much the better.
Five
BLAINE
Dureau popped his head into Blaine’s cramped office, appearing tired and haggard. “Caris requested to speak with you.”
