Chapter 16 #2
I knew my sacrifice would bring peace to my people, but for me, the battle was far from over. I had been born with the respect of my own people, but soon, I would have to earn it as future empress of a culture I knew virtually nothing about.
The true battle, though, would be with the emperor himself. I was under no delusions that he would automatically see me as a royal on the same level he was. For the good of my own people, I would have to fight to rule as his equal.
That was assuming I could bring myself to marry him in the first place.
For the first time since we arrived in Queen Jazela’s camp, people seemed happy. At the feast, they talked animatedly, their faces simultaneously joyful and relaxed. The dark cloud of war had been lifted with the announcement of the peace treaty…and settled over me instead.
Commander Talon and the other Eagle Riders had remained on the outskirts of our camp, and none of them had shown at the feast, which was a relief. I would rather not watch them force themselves to participate in our revelry.
Mariyah was sitting silently beside me on a rough-hewn bench, her usually cheerful face withdrawn.
We picked at our plates of food half-heartedly, and it was bizarrely comforting that we knew each other well enough not to have to discuss how upset we both were. Besides, there’d be time enough for that tonight.
Suddenly, a quiet fell over the crowd of people around us, and Mariyah and I looked toward its source.
It was Commander Talon and his eagle, its wings tucked close to its sides as they both walked to the outskirts of the camp center where the feast took place. Nearby horses tossed their heads and cantered away, still unwilling to be near a known predator.
“I can’t believe he showed up,” Mariyah said, folding her arms across her chest.
“I didn’t think he would.” I imagined if our situations were reversed, and I was the one entering a camp full of his people. A suffocating weight pressed down on me when I realized that very soon, I would be doing just that.
“Does he have any other expressions besides that ice-cold look?” Mariyah demanded. “We may have a peace treaty, but as far as I’m concerned, he’s still the enemy. He’s commander of an army that killed our people and let their eagles feast on our horses.”
When she put it that way, it was hard to imagine him standing here amongst us so casually.
Maybe I was getting used to looking at his expressions after spending a highly emotionally charged period with him in the pavilion, but it seemed he was looking around with interest. His gaze was moving, at least, and his eyebrows were ever so slightly lifted.
No one approached him, though, or showed him the way to the food, and I didn’t stir from my seat beside Mariyah.
This was my last night with my people, and I didn’t have room for pitying someone I would probably be forced to see too much of in the coming days.
Anyway, he had managed to survive being blown out of the sky by my wind power, so I figured he could take care of himself.
The eagle stood calmly by his side, towering over us all, its golden eyes moving constantly.
The eagle wore a large, flat saddle on its back, secured by a leather harness that stretched across its breast and under its wings.
As we always rode bareback, I looked at this apparatus with a sneer, until I remembered that Shazeera never flipped over in the air.
I supposed a saddle was necessary when you were upside down.
Commander Talon and the eagle seemed content to just stand there and observe, so I forced myself to direct my attention elsewhere.
Although I soon found I wasn’t entirely successful.
My gaze kept slipping away to look at them, and I told myself it was because it was like keeping an eye on a wolf who stood too close to a flock of sheep.
But we are not sheep, Shazeera said. You’d do well to remember that, Zara. We’re about to go live amongst them, and if you are to be their empress, you cannot think of yourself as a sheep amongst wolves.
I closed my eyes for a moment. Of course, you’re right.
It was you who defeated him, remember? He’s probably terrified to make you angry.
A smile touched my lips. True. But I can’t use that power ever again.
He doesn’t know that.
You’re pretty sly for a horse.
I could feel her amusement from somewhere behind me, where she was grazing.
Mariyah hissed in a breath beside me, and I turned to see Commander Talon walking toward us.
His eagle remained where it was, but everyone made sure to get out of the commander’s way.
Mariyah looked like she wanted to bolt, too, but she was too loyal to abandon me, so instead her hazel eyes flashed with warning at him as he approached.
He nodded a greeting at both of us and then said, “Tomorrow, we will need to leave early. Just after sunrise.”
“Wow, ever heard of small talk?” Mariyah said as an aside to me, but loudly enough for Commander Talon to hear.
He looked unperturbed. “I didn’t want to take up any of your time, so I jumped right to the point.”
Mariyah shook her head, but I was slightly more sympathetic. “I can be ready to leave early,” I told him.
“Good.” He fell silent, watching the bonfire and the people talking and laughing as they ate.
The smoky smell of burning wood was in the air, joined by all the spices we used in the many dishes that filled a long table for the feast, and I breathed in deeply, trying to forget my enemy standing right next to us.
My people talked joyously and loudly, their faces lit up by the flames.
I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen everyone look this relaxed.
Even General Isa wore a huge smile on her face as she ate and drank with Naomi.
Warmth spread through my chest knowing I had done that for them.
At the same time, though, I fought tears at the thought of leaving all of this.
Of traveling to enemy territory and marrying an emperor I had never seen, much less met.
What were Zephyrian feasts like? Did they eat the same foods we did?
I glanced down at my earthenware plate now, sitting mostly untouched.
I had filled it to the brim with all my favorite foods—spiced honey squash, seasoned grains, creamy cheese, and soft bread.
But all I could do was sip my fermented kir, enjoying the burn of the alcohol on its way down.
I had done such a good job of ignoring Commander Talon beside me that I startled when he spoke. “Whatever you have on your plate smells good,” he said.
Mariyah gave me her look that meant, What’s with this guy?
“Are you hungry?” I asked after a moment’s hesitation. “I’m not sure what you’re used to eating, but we have plenty.”
“We generally have meat and vegetables with bread. Wine.”
Mariyah and I shared a look of disgust. A meat eater.
I shouldn’t have been surprised, but the thought of tearing into flesh that once had a beating heart made my soul quake with horror.
“Well, we don’t eat innocent creatures, so you’ll have to settle for things that can’t fight back, like vegetables, grains, and bread. ”
“Pity,” he deadpanned. “It sounds like a boring meal without slabs of bloody meat to feast on.”
“Ugh,” Mariyah said, turning away dismissively.
I had the sense that he was joking, though. “Sorry to disappoint—no carcasses on the menu tonight.”
Something flickered across his face then—just the barest twitch at the corner of his mouth. Not quite a smile, but close.
“Will you show me?” he asked. When Mariyah and I looked at him with surprise, he added, “So I will know what I’m eating?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to refuse him—I wanted to go back to letting the alcohol burn in my belly and not think about this man or the enemy land I was about to venture to tomorrow, but then I noticed everyone stealing glances at Commander Talon.
Everyone wore various expressions of hostility.
I imagined what it would feel like to go to the table alone and serve himself food while everyone watched with barely concealed hate.
I stood, slow and reluctant. “Very well.”
“This is so strange,” Mariyah interrupted. “Am I the only one who thinks this is awkward? I mean, didn’t you try to kill each other last time you met? And now Zara’s willing to help you fix a plate?”
I elbowed her and shot her a warning look.
Obviously I felt the same way, but I didn’t want to spend my last night here fighting with the man who was supposed to deliver me safely to the emperor tomorrow.
The faster I helped him fill a plate, the faster he would hopefully eat and leave.
And then we could all finally enjoy the feast.
“My orders were to bring her in alive, so actually, First Daughter Zara was the one trying to kill me.”
Mariyah shot me a surprised look. “You weren’t trying to kill her?”
He grinned. “If I were trying to kill her, she’d be dead.”
I laughed. “Is that so? And who was it that got knocked out of the sky?”
“Maybe I let you,” he said, and I rolled my eyes. “No, the truth is, you defeated me, but I survived. I consider the matter settled.” He glanced over at his eagle. “We’d have to ask Neo how he feels, though. He has only just now healed from a broken wing.”
We glanced at the eagle, who looked back at us with the reflection of flames flickering in his enormous eyes.
“Hmm, and what about you, Zara?” Mariyah asked. “How do you feel about calmly talking with the rider who tried to hunt you down?”
A flash of that moment, where I realized he was far more skilled than me, when I feared Shazeera really might be killed, went through my mind.
How did I feel about it? Everything had happened so fast with their arrival and the treaty that I hadn’t had the chance to really think about it.
An echo of that fear slammed through me now, its reverberations making my blood run cold.
And yet…