My thoughts raced to find a solution.
“What Her Majesty says is true,” General Isa said. “You have seen the strength and abilities of their warriors. As their empress, they will defend Zara with their lives.”
“They may be strong, but Mariyah has a point about not being able to trust them completely,” I said. “I think there will need to be some sort of fail-safe to make sure they don’t try to double-cross us once I’m at the palace.”
“Yes, exactly,” Mariyah said, and I felt a surge of love for herfor defending me so strongly. “What if the emperor doesn’t marry Zara and, Earth Mother forbid, they kill her instead?”
General Isa turned to me with a shrewd gaze. “What did you have in mind, First Daughter?”
I thought of how quicky the Zephyrians had reacted to my wind power. We had been at war with them off and on for a hundred and fifty years, but suddenly, they feared this power so much they were willing to offer a treaty almost immediately. “We should use the Zephyrians’ ignorance of our people and our magic to our advantage. We can tell them that there are others who have manifested this wind power, and if they don’t uphold the terms of the treaty, then we will retaliate with that power.”
General Isa silently considered what I had said for a moment before nodding. “I think that will work to keep you safe, First Daughter. But of course you must be vigilant when you are in the enemy’s palace. Keep daggers hidden on you at all times.”
I touched the hilt of the one currently strapped to my thigh. “I always do.”
“Then we will make sure Commander Talon understands what will happen if they try to harm you,” Ama said solemnly. “Are you ready to finish this, Daughter?”
I nodded. “I’m ready. You can call him back in now.”
Mariyah turned to me and threw her arms around me. “Are you sure?” she whispered. Her voice was raw with emotion. I knew she’d come to the same conclusion I did. This had to be done to save our people.
“I’m sure,” I said out loud, forcing my voice to sound strong.
I had made my decision and knew it was the right one, but inside, it felt as though a harsh wind was tearing me apart, piece by piece.
15
Talon
The two guards—a man and a woman—fidgeted at my side as I stood motionlessly outside of the Mid-Plains Queen’s pavilion. I kept my body perfectly still, my breathing slow and even, and my face neutral so that I would give away none of my thoughts. In contrast, the guards were in constant motion. Grimacing, gazes darting about, muscles twitching. They were like the horses they loved so much.
The events inside the pavilion had been enlightening. It seemed that the Southern Queen, who had contacted us through a messenger, had done so without the knowledge of the Queen of All Queens, threatening us with her own cousin—not that we didn’t already know about her power. I resisted the urge to touch the back of my head where it was still tender from my first encounter with her. Beside me, the guards continued to twitch and shoot me looks from the corners of their eyes. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing me move.
My mind turned to the First Daughter as I struggled to reconcile that image of a girl with stunning beauty raining downabsolute hell upon me, to the same girl with wide eyes looking pale but determined. Before, she had seemed like a goddess of death wielding the elements against me when she nearly killed Neo and me. She had been responsible for the demise of Captain Suna and an entire battalion of Eagle Riders. But now, reeling from the news I brought her, she seemed vulnerable. I didn’t want it to, but the situation humanized her.
She was full of contradictions. A Daughter of Earth, but seemingly without any of the earth magic abilities we had documented. She was fierce and terrible in her power, and yet young and—if her accuracy with the bow was any indication—inexperienced in battle. We knew they could split open the earth like an egg, launch a storm of rocks at us, and even cause crippling pain by turning our own bodies against us. But in all our intelligence reports, there was no mention of wind manipulation. Had they succeeded in keeping this secret from us? Only to be betrayed by one of their own—the Southern Queen?
The Southern Queen may have sold out one of her own, but she had the sense at least to do what it took to end this war. I could only commend her for it.
I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be told that you not only have to give up everything you’ve ever known, but also have to marry your enemy…I needed only to look around at the campsite here to know that I couldn’t do it. I could never leave the mountains with the cool, crisp air and live either exposed and unprotected on the grasslands or hiding like an animal in a canyon cave.
But I also knew, without a doubt, that as unprepared as the Queen of All Queens was for Queen Samira’s betrayal, she would sign the treaty. She had sought peace for so long and suffered toomany losses to refuse. Even at the price of her own daughter. Honestly, she should have thought of the idea herself. She clearly was too soft, which was why they were losing this war in the first place. The question was, would the First Daughter come willingly?
There was a contingency plan to this whole treaty, one that was considerably more dangerous. If the First Daughter didn’t agree to sign the contract, then I was to take her forcibly. With the sorcerer lurking behind Emperor Altair, my cousin had told me that I must return with the First Daughter—no matter the consequences.
That will be a difficult extraction,I had warned Altair when we discussed the plan.The limits of her power are unknown, and she will be surrounded by royals with earth magic abilities.
Behind him the sorcerer shifted, and Altair had tilted his head, listening to something I couldn’t hear. A chill breeze whispered along the back of my neck, tensing my muscles.Do whatever it takes to bring her here,Altair had said, his eyes devoid of emotion.
More than any of his advisers, this sorcerer clearly wielded enormous influence over the emperor. I suspected that it was not completely in Altair’s control, but so far, Altair had rebuffed any attempt to talk about it—and that was before I had wasted all that time healing in a hospital bed.
Altair,I had tried to reason,she defeated me on her own, and she will have others with power to immediately come to her defense.
His eyes had flashed.That’s anorder,Commander.
I had no other choice but to obey, though instinct told me not to trust any directive coming from that creature. Altair had convinced himself that he and the sorcerer were allies, but I didn’tsee their arrangement the same way. The creature had its own agenda. So long as its goals aligned with Altair’s, they were allies. But I worried about the day when their objectives deviated. Would the sorcerer’s goals serve the Zephyrian Empire then?
It was twenty minutes before someone came for me. By that time, each of the guards outside the pavilion had shifted from foot to foot nearly one hundred times each, and my own eye was twitching from having to restrain myself from shouting at them tobe still for skies’ sake!
