All my life, I had wanted to be the First Daughter my people could look up to. Someone like Ama, whom everyone came to at the first sign of trouble. When the years crept by, and it became more and more obvious I would never have my mother’s abilities, I began to descend into despair that I would ever be useful. And then my own power manifested, one so destructive it had the potential to break the bond I had with Shazeera. For the briefest moment, I thought I would be the one to save my people from their suffering. But then that, too, had been taken away from me.
And now, here was my enemy, offering me another chance to save everyone from this war, doing something only I could do.
Across the room, General Isa and I locked eyes. Out of everyone in the room, I knew she understood.
“May I see the treaty?” Ama asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
Commander Talon handed it to her. We all waited in silence as she spent several minutes poring over the words. The writing on the scroll was precise, neat lettering, all except for the bottom, where the emperor’s signature was a bold flourish.
“How do I know this is truly his signature?” she asked.
“It also has the emperor’s seal at the bottom, which is illegal to duplicate,” Commander Talon said.
And there, down at the bottom, was a golden wax seal with a crowned eagle, its wings spread wide.
“We will need some time to discuss these terms privately,” Ama said, and I leaned into Mariyah a little more. She squeezed my arm.
“I will wait outside,” Commander Talon said. He stood gracefully despite his tall stature and left the room, flanked on either side by Queen Jazela’s guards.
Queen Jazela whirled on Queen Samira as soon as they were gone. “How could you do this? Why didn’t you speak to us about it first? This is the worst kind of betrayal—Zara is your cousin!”
Queen Samira looked unrepentant. “I knew Rana wouldn’t want to make the sacrifice, so I forced her hand. Before you tear into me, though, you know we need a peace treaty with the Zephyrians. They will wipe us off the face of the continent otherwise.”
“But why wouldn’t you come to us, Samira?” Ama asked, herarms wrapped around herself like her insides hurt. “Why go behind our backs?”
“I actually had intended to arrive here before the Eagle Riders—I didn’t want to make quite so dramatic an entrance,” she added with a little laugh that had me rolling my eyes, “but the crops needed a little extra care before I could leave them.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Queen Jazela said, pacing with balled fists back and forth across the rug. “You let your family be completely blindsided because you wanted to stay home and take care of your plants.”
A wrinkle appeared on Queen Samira’s forehead. “That reminds me—the export tax on crops seems a little high—” Queen Jazela shot her such a nasty look that she had the sense not to continue.
“As this concerns Zara,” Ama said, turning to me, “I think we should hear from her.”
I looked around at all the strong women in this room and tried to still my shaking hands and roiling stomach. I couldn’t even ask Shazeera’s opinion, or how she felt about possibly being shipped off to live in the mountains amongst terrifying eagles and cold, emotionless people. I was First Daughter; I belonged here, with my people. But I thought of the eleven guards and their horses who had been killed, of all the injured and their horses, and all the people and horses still at war, of Eagle Riders with skills superior to ours.
Using this wind power would bring me nothing but pain and suffering…could ultimately even destroy my bond with Shazeera. A choice lay before me. I could refuse and join the battle to the north, use my power even though Ama forbade it. I could wipe out the Eagle Riders—maybe, hopefully, assuming I was even that powerful—and never again communicate withShazeera or even sense her presence in my mind; she’d be as good as dead. Or I could sacrifice everything I’d ever known and loved, go to live with our enemy, and marry a man I neither knew nor loved.
But all my people would be safe and at peace.
And suddenly, I saw the only answer I could possibly give, even if it cost me my soul. I realized what would finally make me a worthy First Daughter, and it was something only I could do.
General Isa watched me, her expression steady and strong. It comforted me. She trusted me to make the right choice. Mariyah gripped my arm, her face twisted in pained sympathy. Ama, though her eyes still shone, watched me with a calm and peaceful expression, as though she knew I would make the right decision.
“I will do it,” I said, my throat thick.
“Oh, Zara, no,” Mariyah said, her eyes spilling the tears mine held back. “There must be another way. How will you survive in that cold place? How will you live amongst those evil people? You saw Commander Talon! He has absolutely no expression on his face, and every rider I’ve ever seen is the same! You don’t deserve this.”
“Mariyah,” Queen Jazela said sharply. “Don’t make your cousin feel bad when she is making an enormous sacrifice on all our behalf.”
Ama’s eyes shone with unshed tears, but her voice was strong when she reached out and touched my cheek. “You told me before that you wanted to prove yourself to be a worthy First Daughter, and you always have been. This is a great sacrifice being asked of you, but it will mean peace for our people at last. No more death and injury and losses of daughters and sons and horses. No more enduring the trauma of eagles preying upon ourhorses before our eyes. There is a reason you’ve been given this power, Zara, and as an empress, you will have greater influence than you even would have as Queen of All Queens.
“You are resilient, and you will survive no matter where you are. You will breathe life into a cold people and change them for the better. And you won’t be without an ally. Shazeera will be there, and you will never again have to test the bond between you.” She squeezed my hand. “There’s more, my daughter. The power you have will draw evil things to you—ancient creatures better left alone in their dark caves—and now that there are many who know you have this ability, you would be safer with an empire as powerful as the Zephyrians.”
I nodded mutely, not trusting my voice.
Mariyah jumped in. “You can’t possibly think she’ll be safer there! With our enemy?”
Mariyah had a point, considering our enemy regularly committed war crimes against us. Why should we believe them when they offered peace? They could bring me back to the palace, far away from any of my family and allies, and then remove the threat by killing me. On the other hand, how could we possibly afford to refuse a treaty at this point?
