“Consider not choosing one,” Theira suggested. “You have an opportunity to make a different way than at the whims of one omnipotent person in charge. Try something else.”
“Just like that.”
“Well, if I don’t like what you decide on, I’ll kill you. Icantake up the Crown Jewel any time I want, after all. So put some thought into it.”
For a woman who’d just been casually threatened by the most powerful sorceress alive, Lysithea looked overcome for quite a different reason.
All the sorceresses exchanged glances.
Cunning, yes, always.
But thoughtful.
And, Varius thought, in some of them, the seed of hopeful.
Theira was rescuing them after all, by giving them the opportunity to save themselves.
But then Lysithea said, “What you’re suggesting will take work that we won’t be able to focus on properly with this threat on our border.”
“Entirely true,” Theira agreed easily, and raised her eyebrows at Varius. “So?”
So?That’s what she had to say to him?
This was ridiculous. Varius popped the top of his golem and heaved himself out, trusting Theira would protect him if it came to that.
“I don’t speak for the Aurelian Empire,” Varius said to the sorceresses with a speaking glance at Theira.
“You are commanding an invincible army and have just deposed the empire’s local leadership rather extravagantly,” Lysithea pointed out somewhat dryly. “Precisely who else would you suggest I address?”
Okay, that was fair. Succession in the empire was usually a matter of extremely corrupt election, but military takeovers weren’t exactly unheard of.
But if he was in charge, Varius knew perfectly well how far he’d get if he tried tokeepthings as a military takeover.
So he said, “You should talk to Fabiana.”
If Fabi didn’t murder him for outing her, anyway. But with his golems’ expansive vision he’d seen her clearly taking charge organizing the cleanup, so he was fairly sure her secret had come out with Sobanus’ attack on the city even before he’d arrived.
All the sorceresses, Theira included, stared at Varius with varying degrees of expectation and incredulity. Well, they wouldn’t have had any occasion to meet Fabiana—though given how much time Theira had apparently spent on the wrong sides of borders undetected, the gods only knew whom she’d met.
Varius squinted, then pointed. “Theira, could you invite that woman to join us please?” He’d have to get back in the golem to do it himself.
The sorceresses stared between them. He could practically feel Lysithea trying to decide what exactly their relationship was, for two former enemies to address each other so casually.
“Gray hair, sending people scurrying one after another?” Theira clarified.
“That’s the one.”
“A moment.”
Theira had one of the nearby golems lumber over to Fabiana, who squared her shoulders and held her ground while people dashed away. The golem kneeled before her and set an open hand on the broken pavement.
Fabiana put her hands on her hips and leaned around the golem. Varius waved at her, hoping that would be sufficient endorsement. Even without sorcerous vision he could feel her scowl, but she stepped onto the golem’s palm and held on as it ran toward their position.
“No teleportation?” Varius asked.
Theira shrugged. “You said ‘invite’.”
So he had.
