What could I say to that? I bowed my head. “Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Enough with the titles. We are all soldiers now.” She gripped the hilt of her sword, sweeping a cloth over the blade to clean it. The bow behind her remained untouched. “If you have the magic and the will to call so many to our aid, you can find the strength within to battle whatever it is that ails you.”
I blinked in surprise. “Yes, Lady Sarnai.”
“Good. Go now and work on it.” Her voice hardened, regaining the harsh tone I was used to hearing from her. “You must not fail.”
• • •
Every morning, Keton got up before the other soldiers to exercise his legs, and the next day I followed him. He could walk without his cane now, but not for long, and wielding a sword was difficult for him. Yet when he saw me, a hint of his old grin returned, and for a moment, he was my mischievous youngest brother again, with a gleam in his eye that meant he was up to no good.
“You know, I never thought I’d relish the day the shansen’s right-hand warrior gave me a sword,” said my brother. “Never thought I’d be fighting for his daughter, either.”
“How do the others feel about it?”
“We all have mixed feelings. We didn’t trust Lord Xina at first, but he wouldn’t spend so much time drilling us just to get us all slaughtered in battle.”
“What about Lady Sarnai?”
“Many distrust her, and some even hate her. You can’t blame them. She was just as ruthless as her father during the war, even more brutal on the battlefield than Lord Xina. But we all hate the shansen most, and we know the best person to defeat him is his daughter.” Keton cocked his head. “Will you ask me next what we think about the enchanter?”
I held my breath. “I wasn’t planning to.”
Keton grinned at me. “The enchanter is growing on us. I’m beginning to like him.” His grin widened. “Your friend Ammi’s growing on me, too. I’m guessing more radish soup today?”
“Onion,” I replied.
“Ah, onions.” Keton chuckled and tested the balance of his sword, passing it from one hand to the other. He’d been practicing; I could tell the simple act wasn’t easy for him, even though he made it look so. “Remember how much trouble I used to get into over them?”
I forced a laugh so my brother wouldn’t see that I didn’t remember.
“I’d cut open an onion to help me cry, then take some of Baba’s red dye and pour it over my sleeve to pretend I’d cut myself. What a fit Mama threw, thinking I was injured.”
“And when she found out you weren’t,” I said, slowly piecing it together, “she made you cut onions all day. Until your eyes were so red you couldn’t see straight. And Finlei and Sendo would call you pickle face.”
Keton laughed. “We used to have fun, the four of us. Didn’twe?”
My throat went dry. What memories I had left were like wild birds trapped in a cage. One by one, they flew out, never to return.
“You remember how Sendo and I used to pretend to be Balardan pirates?” Keton sheathed the sword and swung the scabbard at my backside. To his disbelief, I evaded it neatly.
“Where’d you learn that?” he asked.
“On my travels.”
His eyebrow rose. “From the enchanter? Baba asked if he’s made his intentions known to you.”
Hearing that brought a wave of heat over my face again. But it chilled as quickly as it came. All I could say, guardedly, was, “And?”
“He said he has.” Keton’s mouth twisted wryly. “What, no smile? Maybe my advice to you was too good. I think you spent too long pretending to be a man at the palace. Nothing seems to ruffle you anymore.”
“Maybe,” I allowed.Or maybe I know that future will never happen.“What does it matter? Baba doesn’t trust him.”
“Baba wouldn’t trust a monk. It has nothing to do with him being a foreigner; his A’landan is even better than mine. Even if he were the emperor himself, Baba would still have reservations. He doesn’t think anyone is good enough for you.”
“Me?” I twisted my hands, gloved to hide their hideousness. “You have always been Baba’s favorite.”
“I’m the favorite, but you’re the one he sees the most of himself in.” Keton set down his sword and leaned against it; he looked tired from training. “He wants you to be happy. Like he was with Mama.”
