Chapter 11 #2
Rolling my aching shoulders, I watched as the Vyrium powered lanterns flickered weakly. Still, the six remaining members of The Alliance were no closer to an agreement.
Matthias had slung his jacket over the back of his chair and rolled up his shirt sleeves.
I’d been slightly distracted by his deft fingers as they loosened his top buttons, looking away from the sliver of exposed collarbone when he slammed his fist onto the desk, scattering paper.
I jumped as Pablo snapped at the fluttering sheets.
‘The empress’s ships are scouting the lay of the land from my kingdom’s coastline.’ His voice remained firm. I wasn’t sure if it was the fading light or if his cheeks were truly tinged with red. ‘You’ve lost sight of the fact that if I fall, we all do.’
‘It isn’t I who’s lost sight of anything, Asmar,’ Romero spat.
I was so tired my eyes refused to work properly in the fading light, but from the way Matthias exhaled, the slur had been directed at me. I still hadn’t spoken – still I waited for my opening.
‘If we could remain on topic, Romero,’ said Sarus, her voice commanding respect. ‘Matthias has a valid point. If we fail to support Asmar’s borders, we’re all at risk. We’ll crumble like the ash cliffs of Vyrus.’
‘But how are we supposed to defend ourselves if we send all our forces to Asmar? If the empress breaks through, I’ll need my guards to keep my own people safe.
’ King Seth of Itoras sat back in his chair, working through mouthfuls of cheese.
He was a painfully pale man. A smattering of yellowing hair spread across his round head.
He spoke through half-chewed mouthfuls of food, and the fact that I hadn’t once shoved my pen down his throat was a testament to my patience.
I grimaced at the sound of his thick pink lips slapping together as he folded a chunk of pale ham and shoved it in.
‘Then what’s the point of this?’ Matthias said, indicating the debating chamber. ‘Why did you bother coming to an Alliance meeting when half of you appear to be unwilling to uphold the values and principles it was created for in the first place?’
‘I suspect, for some, the exquisite food was more motivating than the dire threat our continent faces,’ Sarus said.
I barked out a laugh, dropping my head as everyone looked my way.
The Alliance began shouting over one another again. My hand reached for the wolf who should have been by my side; I gasped as I found nothing but air. My head jerked up, peering about. By Vyrus’s flame, where had the damned creature slunk off to?
‘Am I supposed to put my people at risk all to help Raul’s son?’ Seth appeared to pick some food from his teeth before he spoke again. ‘And after his bloody brother spent years living with the empress.’
‘That’s a fair point,’ Romero said, his pen working furiously before passing a note to his clerk, who raced to the Itoras contingent. ‘Surely your brother developed an attachment to the woman?’
Matthias inhaled sharply. ‘Ifan was sent there at your behest. He can barely speak about his time there, let alone hold any sentimentality for the empress. And don’t think I can’t see through your attempts to distract us from the most pressing issue here.
If you fail to support Asmar, you’re failing your own subjects, putting countless lives at risk. ’
‘I, for one, agree with Matthias.’ Sarus sat down, her back straight.
‘Lord Chancellor, please note, I’ll pledge a number of legions and my finest Anomalies to assist Asmar in our fight against the Empress of Carush.
Who will stand with us? Who else will make future generations proud of our stance? ’
I sat straighter as the other monarchs frowned between themselves and their advisors. Matthias leaned forward and damp locks of unruly dark hair tumbled across his forehead.
Romero stood. His steely gaze bore into Matthias, the hint of a smirk flickering across his face. By now I was so exhausted, it could have been a trick of my eyes.
‘King Cai.’ He turned towards Trespia’s monarch. ‘This past summer, you suffered terrible forest fires, did you not?’
Cai raised one of his dark brows; a flash of confusion crossed his teak face. ‘Aye, and we dealt with them.’
Romero nodded. I leaned forward. He was too calm, too collected. My skin prickled as he brushed down the dark sleeve of his jacket.
‘You did, Cai. You sacrificed acres of woodland in order to halt the threat. Cut off the blaze. Kill it. As the rulers of these nations, with so many lives depending on our decisions, we face the same choice. We fight fire with fire, so how are we expected to fight an empire with a few fractured kingdoms?’
‘This again?’ Matthias thundered. ‘You can’t actually expect us to—’
‘I have the floor, Asmar. Don’t forget to uphold the correct protocol and rules. Your father tried to work against The Alliance. It didn’t end too well for him, did it? You’re still paying the reparations to this day.’
A bead of sweat dripped down Matthias’s flushed face. My heart twinged. He pasted a tight smile on his face and raised his hand, an indication for Romero to continue.
‘We cannot defeat her with our forever dwindling Vyrium stores. That is why I suggest we become truly allied and join our kingdoms to become a single, powerful empire. All our resources will fall under a single ruler. A force even the empress will fear to face. Quite simply, it’s our only solution. ’
The chamber fell silent. Every gaze fell on a sombre Romero. Matthias’s white knuckles trembled on the desk; I placed my hand across his. He looked at me, raw fear lurking within his eyes at the realisation he was on the brink of losing his kingdom.
‘And,’ Sarus broke the suffocating silence, ‘I suppose you would make the ultimate sacrifice and offer yourself as our emperor. Isn’t that what you’re getting at here, Romero?’
My stomach churned as the smile spread across his face.
I could barely comprehend what he was saying.
I’d grown up with this man. I knew him to be a ruler not content with his own crown, but to usurp the other monarchs?
Declare himself Emperor? I swallowed down my rising rage.
Surely the other monarchs would never allow it?
‘It wouldn’t be an easy task and, of course, you would all retain a certain degree of control and influence in your former kingdoms. Yes, it’s a sacrifice, but like Trespia’s woodlands, by removing the dead wood, we become stronger.
Stand a true chance against her twisted army of Anomalies.
Who knows, as a truly united front, we may even be able to invade Carush. ’
I wished I could see the expressions of the others, get a feel of what they thought of Romero’s plans to forge an empire. I started as Matthias clapped slowly.
‘As a child you’d forever beat me at chivash. You were always several steps ahead of me. You knew exactly where to place your pieces, and every time you bested me, even when I thought I’d had you. One by one you took my pieces till you owned the board.’
‘Your point, Asmar?’
‘My point is you are using this situation for your own benefit, as you always have. When Sorrow’s father died you swooped in and forced her mother to marry you. I wouldn’t be surprised if—’
‘Where the bloody hell did my chicken go?’ Seth bellowed, scattering papers around.
The wolf appeared at my side, licking his chops.
‘I don’t know about this, Romero,’ Cai said.
‘You can’t possibly be considering this?’ Matthias cried, throwing his arms in the air.
‘We’re running out of options,’ Cai replied, his voice eerily calm as his dark brown eyes took in Romero. ‘Perhaps if there was another way? You’re not the only one running low on Vyrium. We all are. If we could locate more mines, strengthen our armouries, we could stand a chance.’
With my heart hammering, I stood. The room silenced. Heat flared across my cheeks as all eyes rested on me. I briefly turned my better eye towards Matthias, at his slumped shoulders, the shadows blooming beneath his young eyes, and spoke.
‘But we are close to discovering the lost mines.’
‘Rubbish,’ Romero spat.
‘It’s true.’ My pulse thundered, but I held my head high. ‘I’ve been working on this for the last few years. Read the theories from the greatest academics all over Eusis, and I know I’m close.’
‘Are you all going to listen to her?’ Romero’s cold stare held me in place. ‘She couldn’t even find an elephant if it were placed under her nose, let alone discover the lost mines.’
Papers flew like a snowstorm as Matthias dived across the desk towards Romero, and Pablo joined him in the next heartbeat. A guard blocked the king’s path, another drew his sword and aimed it straight at the snarling wolf.
‘Matthias!’ Sarus called, a warning tone to her voice.
‘If he—’
‘I know, but this is not the time. Take your seat and allow your queen to have the floor. I’m sure she appreciates your chivalrous loyalty, but I imagine she’d appreciate her husband whole and without a sword embedded in his heart more.’
Amala of Ostos stood. All eyes went to the warrior queen. Her dark brown skin glittered in the fading light; coils circled her head like an ebony crown. She hadn’t said a word for hours. ‘What evidence do you have, girl?’
Glancing over at Romero, I watched the smirk slip from his face. I had no delusions my defiance, my anger over the mine’s concealment from the other nations had been a factor in his choice of Tribute.
‘Because I’ve already found a mine. On the northern coast of Drufaera. I sent engineers to excavate the area.’
A trembling silence settled over the chamber. Gods, how I wished I could see the thunder in Romero Thorne’s eyes.
His dark chuckle swiped the grin from my face. ‘She found nothing. The area’s barren.’
‘Then you won’t mind if we investigate?’ Amala said.
‘Not at all,’ Romero crooned. ‘It’ll prove the girl is nothing but a liar.’
Matthias leapt again, only halting when I placed my hand over his arm.
‘I imagine you’ll ensure The Alliance finds nothing but an empty field,’ he spat.
‘See, even the wolf queen’s husband knows that’s all they’ll find.’
I gripped the table. Matthias was right. The damned king was always a step ahead.
Standing straighter, I focused my attention on the other leaders.
‘If you want to give up your thrones, your legacies and present them on a plate for Romero to take, then do it. But what if there was a better way? I swear on Evella I can find more Vyrium. Share it between all of you. Replenish your armouries. The choice is yours. We strengthen our Alliance or we shatter it.’
Matthias laced his tender fingers with mine. I squeezed back.
Amala turned to me. ‘Can you do it, girl? Can you find more mines and give us a real chance of defeating the empress?’
I blew out a breath. ‘Yes. If I could have my notes—’
‘There are no notes.’ Romero had taken his seat again, his usually neat hair plastered across his furrowed brow.
‘There are. In the library. Your library. I left everything behind. My notes. Drawings. They hold the key to it all.’
‘Such a shame then.’
‘What’s a shame?’ Matthias hissed.
‘The head librarian was informed you wouldn’t be returning, so they burnt it. All of it. So, as that option is no longer available to us, I suggest we return to—’
‘I can still do it.’ My voice rang out. There was no way I was going to become a citizen of Romero’s empire. ‘Matthias, you have a good library at Asmar?’
‘The best.’ He sat back, his fingers tapping his lips. I couldn’t quite make out the look in his eyes, but my pulse skipped as I faced The Alliance.
‘Then I have a head start. I have most of the information locked up here.’ I tapped my forehead, wishing I could clearly see the devastation on my stepfather’s face. ‘I swear to you, I can find more mines – information Matthias and I are more than happy to share with The Alliance.’
‘We’ll have stronger weapons. We’ll have more of a chance.
’ I swallowed at the authority in Matthias’s voice as he stood, his hand lying against the small of my back.
‘So, I say we take a vote. I’d like to turn in for the night and know we’ve made the right choice.
Each kingdom will send a legion, including any suitable Anomalies to strengthen my coastline.
We’ll feed and clothe them, while Sorrow discovers the locations of the lost mines and then, we defeat the empress and go back to our own kingdoms, knowing The Alliance has achieved what it was set up for.
Who stands with me? Raise your hand and say “aye”. ’
Matthias raised his hand, as did Sarus. I held my breath as I scanned the other monarchs. I think Amala had a smile on her face as she raised her hand. That was half of The Alliance. We only needed one more to join us in order to stifle Romero’s attempted takeover.
‘Trespia, Itoras. Who will you stand with?’ Sarus asked.
King Cai smiled and raised his hand. ‘Aye.’
All eyes turned to Seth of Itoras, but he shook his head.
‘We’re placing the lives of every man, woman and child on Shuteran soil in the hands of a slip of a girl? A blind one at that?’
‘She. Is. Not. Blind,’ Matthias hissed.
Seth continued to shake his head, jowls wobbling. ‘I’m saying no. Not that it matters. You’ve got your majority, Matthias. I’ll send the guards you need. Now let’s pray to Evella your new wife isn’t the failure Romero thinks she is.’
I ignored the sting as Romero stood abruptly and swept from the chamber, his retinue speeding after him.
‘And to think I was going to send you home to Asmar.’ Matthias cupped my face. His thumbs traced over my cheeks while his glinting eyes searched mine. ‘Your first time at a summit and you manage to save The Alliance and my kingdom. I’d forgotten what a brilliance you are. I could kiss you.’
For a moment, I stayed there, wondered if I could close the gap, before I tugged myself away.
‘I’d wait till I actually uncover a mine first.’
‘I’ll do more than kiss you when you find one.’
My retort died on my lips as Pablo pushed his snout between us, Matthias backing away as the wolf locked his eyes on my husband.