Chapter 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 down absolute 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 too many 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 an order, 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’t see 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 to be still for skies’ sake!
It was the female warrior who escorted me back to the throne room, the one who looked at me with unbridled hatred on her expressive face.
It was almost painful to look at. What would that be like, to have your every little thought and emotion displayed on your face for the world to see?
And if this was how the warrior appeared, then how much worse would it be for the First Daughter?
I followed the warrior, never letting my guard down.
The moment I saw the First Daughter, though, I knew what decision they’d come to.
Relief made my chest lighten considerably.
I would avoid a difficult extraction, then, and this whole process would go easier.
It would still be a challenge for her, but at least she wouldn’t have to watch me kill people she loved to remove her by force.
Surprisingly, her face didn’t have the absolute devastation I expected. Her jaw was set with determination and, yes, an undercurrent of fear. She was trying to mask it, but judging from everything I’d seen so far, she had no idea how to be anything other than completely transparent.
Her gaze met mine, and for a moment, my own expression almost slipped, but I regained control.
She looked at me like I was the cause of all her pain, and I supposed that was partly true.
I thought of what would happen to her next, leaving everything she’d ever known and flying to the palace…
marrying my cousin. Inevitably facing the creature that hid in the shadows.
I was a soldier, not a diplomat, and I had never wanted to leave a place so badly as I did right then.