The palace doors were opened, and Angels, Pristil, and her many royal escorts stepped inside. The reverence for the building and its historical significance was shared by all, and with Aurra’s future on the verge of being negotiated and decided, both sides refrained from verbalizing anything on their mind. Still, the silence was nearly as painful as a misplaced statement, so even in this time and place, small talk managed to punctuate the air.

  “The palace has hardly changed…” Milla quietly murmured, as she walked side-by-side with Pristil—which made some of her nearby soldiers clearly nervous. “Most of the foyer paintings… are the same ones I knew.”

  She noticed another over the shoulder glance from Viveri, who was leading the procession with Kae and Charles. But the eyes under his raised blackout visor showed no malice, despite the two having been on opposing teams last time they had seen one another.

  “Ms. Nolland, I am just as curious about Viveri as you must be,” Pristil said after picking up on her inquisitive look. “I’m certain that he has an interesting story to tell us, once we are in an appropriate chamber. I was not even aware that he was still alive.”

  “Indeed I do have a tale…” Viveri replied. “Ahem. Your highness.”

  As they went up the steps to the throne room’s grand entrance, Milla checked behind her to check on the other Angel officers following, the child commanders among them. Her dad, at a loss for words even if he did work up the courage to speak at the moment, gave her a simple smirk.

  The weighty vertical slabs opened, and the throne room and all of its gold-plated pillars and checkerboard marble tile emerged for the Angels. In their dreams, such a sight had always felt liked it would signal an ultimate victory. But the reality was much different than anticipated.

  The palace staff, along with a few dozen local politicians and civilians that had sought shelter in the enormous building, lined the walls of the room, where they were kept back by more Guardsmen. Quietly, they shed frightened tears, prayed, or speculated with those nearby. Whatever their emotions, none of them could possibly know what was next.

  “Everyone,” Pristil said in a calming voice as she stepped up onto the dais where the throne resided. “Please, try and find peace within your hearts. None of you are in any danger, and our City is secure. No one inside this palace will inflict any harm. I expect days of intensive talks, and when changes are decided upon… I will be fully transparent. I am still here.”

  “Sounds like she already sees herself as leading these talks,” Leovyn mumbled into Milla’s mind. “We may have to be… forceful.”

  Pristil’s words seemed to comfort those nearby, if only a little. She breathed deeply, turned, and opened the doors behind the throne to the large meeting room on the other side. Comprised of ancient stone blocks and illuminated only by torches and an intricate skylight over a hundred feet above them, the chamber was instantly familiar to Milla.

  “I’ve spent days at a time in this place,” she remarked and led her officers inside. “In the heart of the palace, where so many decisions have been made… Queen Pristil, honestly, I’m not even sure where to start.”

  Pristil took her seat at one end of the lengthy wooden table, while her Guardsmen took up position around the room and the three pretorians still loyal to her covered the door. Flanking the queen’s chair were Terront, Savienth, Henri Stinebeck, and a young, unfamiliar boy.

  “Before anything else, we need some stability, in the near term,” Pristil said. “Please, everyone. Find a seat. We have plenty.”

  Milla, her father, the three paradigms, Osk, Xavier, Shin, Simon, and four of the Angels’ young commanders joined her at the table. Pristil gave the children a glance before looking back up at her guests.

  “Are we missing someone?” she wondered.

  “Ah, yes. Jaraphim is still with our naval forces in the sea,” Leovyn replied. “We thought it best to have him be part of the temporary blockade around A. Not that we don’t trust your captains in upholding the ceasefire.”

  “As long as Fordein isn’t out there…” Tabi let out a curt grunt.

  Pristil didn’t take offense; she actually responded with a slight nod. “We will arrive at that issue shortly. Commanders Savienth and Terront, however—I’m sure their reputations are known well by your people.”

  “Y-yes,” Osk said, noticing the icy glare from Savienth and the exceptionally grumpy expression worn by Terront. “We’ve always had respect for their leadership, even following our battlefield losses.”

  “Don’t try to butter us up, ‘darling,’” Savienth scoffed.

  Pristil continued with a subtle gesture towards the boy near her, “And this is Grant Hement. He represents the possible beginning of a child officer program of our own, late in the war as it is.”

  Grant rather timidly spoke up, “I am only in an advisory position at the moment. I didn’t expect to witness such… a historic day.”

  “I’d very much like to speak with you, Mr. Hement,” Daschel said as Yvell fidgeted in the seat next to him. “When we get a moment.”

  “And this is Henri Stinebeck,” Pristil concluded the introductions. “A scholar, a doctor, my personal physician. He’s been a mediating voice within the palace, and is the one person I can trust to never shy away from offering a counterpoint. We’ve had many peaceful debates. He is the closest we may have to an independent moderator for these early talks.”

  “Mr. Stinebeck,” Milla greeted him. “You visited the academy I attended in N when I was nine. I still remember your lecture about how various Earthen governments would likely fail if attempted in Aurra.”

  “Precisely why such a transition will take time and be a balancing act,” Henri replied. “Recollection and rebirth bring an entirely unique perspective of purpose and leadership to this world.”

  “Speaking of…” Pristil held up a paper that had been resting on the table. “We have a copy of the Angel manifesto. As our goal today and over this week is to find a path towards order, of course there will be many issues in which we’ll have to compromise, and some requests that are not yet possible to pursue. Mr. Nolland, I would like to read them aloud, for the record. Do speak up if any of these demands are out of date.”

  “Right,” Leovyn said. “It has… hardly changed over the years.”

  There came a knock at the door just then, and a mousy girl was let in by the guards. Her hair was a mess, and she was out of breath. Keeping a firm grip on a folder full of papers, she rushed over towards Pristil.

  “I’m sorry I’m late,” she apologized in a huff. “I was forced to evacuate to M, and only just now let back into the capital.”

  “You’re just in time,” the queen replied. “Everyone, this is Irietté, a personal confidant and old friend. She also, on occasion, checks in on Hold and has tried to keep things between myself and Escellé cordial.”

  “Please, don’t let me cause a delay, Tethis…”

  Pristil cleared her throat and read off the desires that Angels had fought and died for, and hoped to manifest for nearly eight years. “Should we take the capital, we will support a peaceful transition and discussion of terms upon the assurance that the following demands will be met. One: An immediate purge of nearly two-thirds of the senate. Specifically, these senators…” She looked up. “And there’s a long list of them, many of which you want to put on trial. I am glad that Ms. Luna is not among the names.”

  “Not all of them are corrupt, criminals, support oppressive local leaders, or were loyal to your uncle,” Masayuki emphasized.

  Pristil continued, summarizing, “Two: Dissolve the security council in full. Three: Provide immediate aid to Angel-held Cities, and neutral Cities that require assistance. Four: Agree to hold open elections within a year.”

  “That would be the big one,” Osk remarked.

  “Indeed,” Henri replied. “You wish to bring a full democracy to Aurra, let the common man have their vote, but you never specified if you want to continue a senatorial system, or if you seek a sort of parliament, with… the queen perhaps retaining some official capacity.”

  Eyes fell onto Leovyn, who took a breath and answered, “We hadn’t exactly decided that just yet. We never wanted to see Lontonkon politically survive our rebellion, but Queen Pristil… We aren’t sure.”

  “Hm.” Pristil returned to the paper. “Five: The immediate deposition and subsequent trial of King Lontonkon.”

  “Um, then yes, your copy may be a little outdated. Queen.”

  “Requests seven through twelve are more menial, dealing with trade, travel restrictions, holdings, and military limitations… But it’s your sixth demand that I need to focus on specifically, before we can proceed.”

  “To free prisoners of war? It’s a typical condition of…” Leovyn stopped himself. “Well, however you consider what happened today.”

  “Of course. I’m not suggesting otherwise. I know that both sides will release all but the worst offenders, back to their people. We should make this a priority for our truce—we will both need as many soldiers as possible for what is just ahead, somehow… working together. However, I must demand an addendum, for matters involving certain war criminals.”

  “I see. Who…” Leovyn glanced at Milla, “do you have in mind?”

  “First, a preface. Context. War is, by its nature, chaotic. Officers and soldiers lose some of their humanity in the harsh noise. Yet there are always lines that shouldn’t be crossed. When a pretorian dies, especially in the line of duty, an obligatory investigation is undertaken. But due to the ongoing fog of war, we haven’t been able to finalize our reports, going as far back as Breen and Palar… Actually. Might we first spare several minutes to clarify some of these deaths, while we are together in this room?”

  “I suppose so,” Milla said, a leg involuntarily bouncing under the table as her anxiety suddenly spiked. “Where do we begin?”

  “Zander Avenkapp, iron adept. His death was reported three years ago, but details are inconsistent. His family has yet to see any closure.”

  Leovyn sighed, closed his eyes for a moment, and replied, “With apologies, Queen, I was the one who ended his life. He and a strike team attempted to attack a conference in G. I tried to spare him, but he was insistent on at least taking me out when things went badly for his men.”

  “He always was stubborn, even when iron is a poor match against vector adepts. To be honest, Ms. Nolland… I was terrified to face you.”

  “You handled that fear well,” Milla assured her. “If your goal was to show your people that you would fight for them, you accomplished it.”

  “Cadius trained me well. I know… he’s in Hold right now, never prouder of his service. But, moving on… what of Octavius Imsem? Harken of Guardfall claimed responsibility, but we aren’t even certain of the time and location. He had some of Imsem’s personal effects mailed to his family, with a cruel, taunting letter. An ‘enjoyable warm-up,’ he called it.”

  “Christ…” Leovyn said under his breath, before faking a cough and replying, “I apologize for Harken’s behavior. I believe Mr. Wulf can provide specific details. He worked with and kept him in line more than most.”

  Viktor explained, “I remember that day, shortly after the accords. When Guardfall… fell under our umbrella. The Guard retaliated against our new alliance, with an assault on one of our naval ports. After we fended them off on the first day, Harken took several of his men, without orders to do so, and… led an attack on the Guard’s forward position. When he came back to us, half of his team was gone and he was covered in second degree burns from his fight with Imsem, yet he wouldn’t stop grinning all day.”

  Pristil closed her eyes and shook her head. “We had lost all contact with our forces in the area. But we could never prove Imsem died there.”

  Osk added, “We did our best to rein in Guardfall after that night, punished them severely, but we never managed to fully tame the animals.”

  “Wild beasts,” Terront grunted, his cane smacking the floor.

  “And Gause Lenal?” the queen pushed on. “Is it true, what we’ve heard? That Formel killed him in his laboratory in W? We haven’t been able to question Formel, of course, seeing as how he’s petrified deep within Z.”

  “Yes,” Milla confirmed it. “He suffocated the pretorian without a second thought. We were there, we saw it. And nearly died ourselves.”

  “Thank you,” Pristil said, appearing relieved after seeing through a painful task. “We have enough information already about the others—those that your brother… eliminated. That is the vital topic that I wanted to move onto. First…” She looked across the room at the lightning pretorian. “Sir Viveri, I believe that the present Angels are just as curious about your survival as the rest of us. Where have you been all this time? And while I do not doubt your loyalty, I would like to know your intentions.”

  Viveri, looking bashful at first, hesitantly walked towards the table, glanced at those seated—his eyes on Leovyn for the longest—and gave the back of his neck a scratch with his partially concealed mechanical arm.

  “Well… where to begin? I was never one to speak much about myself. Just before the citadel sunk into the sea some eight years ago, the other pretorians betrayed me. Least, I felt betrayed by them. I barely made it into a fibrocator to save myself. But it hadn’t been configured, so no telling where I’d end up. Turned out, it was in the middle of the Onasian Desert, a wasteland. But odds were against me living at all, I s’pose.”

  “We had assumed you died back then,” Leovyn remarked.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  “I brushed against the reaper’s robe, true. Would’a burned up right away had a lamp not been on my person. Didn’t warp in underground, or high up in the air, either. Wasn’t quite perfect, though.” He looked at his prosthetic fingers and flexed the metal digits. “Whole right arm ended up transported into a rocky cliff. Had to cut it off myself. Not easy, that sorta thing. Then wandered east for two weeks, barely surviving, before I found a nomadic village that fixed me up and took me the rest of the way to X. Got a new perspective on life by the end. Call it a spiritual journey of sorts.”

  “You were in X? The whole time?” Milla replied. “Do you have anything to do with the City now being in open rebellion?”

  “Haven’t even had a moment to share the situation with Lady Pristil. Don’t suspect much information is coming from X, isolated as it’s always been. The majority of the lower Guardsmen reservists and laborers there have risen up against their superiors. Barely had anythin’ to do with the Angels. Inspired by, maybe, but would’a happened eventually. Yours truly took up a leadership role for a while, working underground. Feeling like a rebel myself. When word got out about N and its governor, well, that was the back-breaking straw for us. Revolt spread like wildfire. Oh, and…” He looked back at Milla. “I was out in the open by the time that Gretchen Heartzfel girl tracked me down, let me know what William was up to. And she only had good things to say about you, Ms. Nolland. Drides has lost the plot, to put it lightly. He and his scheming ilk have to be stopped.”

  “Where is Gretchen now? We last saw her in Hold.”

  “Still in X, continuing my work. City’s ours now, but could use some help to keep things going. Reckon there’s a good chance they’ll be just as gracious for aid from the Angels; might get yourself some friends. Raging discontent with the Guard at large. Kicked them out and waiting to see who comes to their side. Think I could keep them loyal to you, as well, your highness. See them as a bridge between this war’s belligerent.”

  “Just to be clear, where are your loyalties now, Viveri?”

  “I no longer support the Guard, if that wasn’t obvious. But I still want to help its servants get out from under it, build something new, and see the queen succeed in this union. And while I may have disagreements with many of those under your command, Ms. Nolland… I have no want to raise a hand against you. I see too much of Kamsa in your visage.”

  Milla, making a sudden decision to share information at what felt like the right moment, revealed, “We saved the current line of her siblings, Viveri—and everyone else. We hid their tracks, faked their deaths in the lab fire. W is working on finding them loving families.”

  “I thought that might be the case,” Pristil said quietly.

  Terront remarked, “A good deed, truly. Lontonkon’s use of Nish’s ‘services’ will forever stain whatever legacy he had hoped to achieve.”

  “It does warm my heart, hearing that,” Viveri said gratefully. “I very much want to meet them, in better times. And, Milla, I pledge to work with you… but I’m not so sure about your brother. Kamsa would not want me to harm him, but on the other hand, the things he has done…”

  Pristil clasped her hands together on the table. “This brings us back to where I was headed. It’s no mere gut feeling that a schism is imminent in the Guard. Today’s events will only accelerate it. The capital’s intelligence agency believes that an offshoot was already close to showing itself, filled with Drides loyalists. Several units of Tillethy’s forces, led by Fordein, are among the most likely to break off. Whether or not B fell to the Angels probably made no difference to their long-term plans. The apostle wanted to see this conflict last as long as possible, so that he could formulate plans and alliances behind the curtain of war. Put simply, this isn’t over yet. The dark times continue… and I am desperate for new allies.”

  The officers in the room glanced around at one another, needing a moment to take in the fact that for Aurra’s sake, they needed to start working together. Their first question: in what capacity?

  “If we are to form a partnership…” Milla spoke softly. “Who do we answer to? Who makes the decisions? The Angels at large aren’t ready to answer to the Guard. Integration wouldn’t work—not this early.”

  “We combine our war councils and operate with autonomy,” Pristil replied, trying to assuage any fears. “We only need to agree on the strategy and movements of both our militaries. We don’t want to interfere with how you do things, and vice versa. We have the networks, logistics, and breadth of transportation and war machines. You excel in guerrilla tactics, modern Earth technology, and knowledge of how to fight against Guard maneuvers. Aurra will change, when the time is right. I ask only that I retain a leadership role until this conflict truly ends. And, first, we need to achieve a degree of trust and stability between us. We can’t waste even more lives and supplies on further fighting. I already have assurances with my generals, and Ms. Luna in what is left of the senate, that they will work on an alliance. But…”

  “Here they come,” Leovyn whispered to Milla. “The demands.”

  “Guardfall needs to be brought to heel. The bulk of their men can work on logistics, but will remain in reserve and off the field unless we feel that it is absolutely necessary to deploy them. Harken, however…”

  “You consider him a war criminal,” Osk said after a beat.

  “Many of them are war criminals, but we know we can better control the rest with their leader locked away. Yes, we want you to turn him over to us. Even more importantly, it’s Garder that—”

  “No!” Milla exclaimed reflexively. “I… I’m sorry, Ms. Pristil, but, please. Show him leniency. Rage can overwhelm him, because he’s under the influence of Caeden. We can keep him in the burrow, away from your men. Believe me, I understand. He scares us, too. I know the Guard can’t…”

  “They can’t see him running wild,” Pristil replied forcefully. “I am sorry, Milla. I respect his unique circumstances, but if the burrow holds him, he would be seen by us as a holstered weapon. If we can contain him within our maximum-security facilities, deep under the capital, it will go a long way to building a bridge between our two sides.”

  “My son is not a monster,” Leovyn said defensively. “He’s sick, he needs care from friends, family, professionals… If we can just suppress the power Caeden has on him, you’ll see that he’s still caring, relatable, loyal.” He looked around the table, and saw the lack of enthusiasm to speak up for him on the faces of his officers—only Milla, and to a lesser degree Sasoire, seemed upset about the situation. “Shin, Masayuki… And you, too, Simon? Xavier? Come on! You know what he’s like, deep down.”

  “Leovyn, I’m… I’m not sure anymore,” Shin replied. “I’ve tried to hold onto my trust in him, despite our differences, but at this point, I fear he may be more Caeden than the Garder we once knew.”

  “He’s never hurt his friends,” Sasoire argued. “Maybe it is to a fault, but he is loyal to us. We’ve never been able to help him enough.”

  “To the Guard, he is a monster,” Pristil spoke over them. “I am not unaware of what he means to you and the Angels, but he has simply done far too much harm. Regardless of my own feelings, I doubt the Guard will ever trust him. Any unity will be tenuous as is. If he is allowed to roam free, or be detained on your land, how can you expect a truce to last?

  “I’m not asking you to make this sacrifice for nothing. If you give us Garder and Harken, I’ll see to it that Quinlin is arrested right away for his deeds at Evirtide, and I’m certain I can bring in Arthur Camryde as well, for conspiratorial sedition. I would offer you Phisa, but as Garder went out of his way to seek a vendetta, that is no longer possible, just like the full investigation we wanted to have for N’s governor. So, either you help us, or I’ll be forced to no doubt sacrifice more of my men bringing him in.”

  “What do you expect us to do, Queen?” Milla shouted, knowing she was out of line. With Kae and Savienth glaring at her, she took a breath and continued in a calmer tone, “He’s one of us. He’d never agree to being imprisoned. We would have to be able to… act against him.”

  “Friendly fire, difficult to achieve among those outside the Guard,” Henri remarked. “But there are easy ways around that. Surgical means.”

  Milla shook her head. “No… I’m not doing that. No.”

  “Well. I suppose he did manage to break providence over in B.”

  “True,” Savienth added in her raspy voice. “Aurra may no longer even see him as human. Concentrate. Do you think you could harm him?”

  “There may be an alternative,” Pristil said before Milla could fire back. “You’ve already demonstrated that you can use the Divine Cry.”

  “I still don’t actually know what it is,” Milla said with a sigh.

  “It’s an ancient ability that only apostles could execute and a form of base control alchemagi, on the same spectrum as Drides’ destructive and chaotic sphere that sank the Caspianti citadel. Apostles weren’t once simply ‘granted the throne;’ they could seize it by incapacitating everyone around them, even those with royal implants. However, it was thought a lost power, just like any of nova’s spells… I don’t suppose Caeden has told you yet, how it is that he can use it through you?”

  “We haven’t exactly had a chance to talk, since the first time I saw it in action in B. But how does a scream stun people?”

  “By freezing the very aechens present in the human body.”

  Viktor grunted. “Aechens sound familiar… but it’s been a while.”

  “The fundamental particles that make alchemagi possible,” Simon explained. “They are present in all life in Aurra. Little has been published on them since their existence was first theorized centuries ago. We’ve tried to make advancements in C’s labs, but it’s difficult research.”

  “I won’t put you under pressure to decide how you want to handle Garder here, surrounded by so many,” Pristil told Milla and stood from her seat. “Let’s take a fifteen-minute recess. You may walk in the throne room, but don’t wander off. I don’t want any incidents with the guards.”

  “I don’t like this,” Milla said, arms crossed as she paced back and forth between the throne room’s pillars and the gold-plated brick wall. “Is a coalition the right course of action? What would we owe her, what does she expect to happen? And these demands she’s made…”

  “Milla, try to relax,” Leovyn replied from his spot against the wall, near several of the other commanders. “You don’t have to make decisions on your own. We’re here with you to work this out, together, as always.”

  “I just… I wasn’t expecting to do this on the day of our invasion. It’s not how I pictured it, not at all. I didn’t have any time to prepare.”

  “We still hold most of the leverage, don’t we?” Tabi said. “We have the capital surrounded, and you can paralyze the queen… I’m just saying.”

  “But we lost so much today,” Shin argued. “If Drides is going off on his own, with a nuclear weapon on hand and some insane scheme, he’s going to come for both us and the queen’s loyalists. We need allies.”

  “I can’t just throw my brother to the wolves, Shin!”

  “Milla… If we hand him over, we can still negotiate later, after…”

  “They’ll never let him go free. And I know what you’re all going to say—we can’t risk more bloodshed for the sake of one person. But more of you could have at least spoken up. Simon, I thought you, if anyone…”

  He frowned. “I’m sorry, Milla. This is the first time I’ve ever met someone with so much power. I was too nervous to speak against her.”

  “General, you may have to accept the fact that Garder is too far gone at this point,” Menin put it bluntly. “We don’t even know if he’s alive yet. We can honor who he used to be, and what he did for us, but people change, and break. We have to hold onto the chance we just secured.”

  “I know…” Milla rubbed her eyes. “I’m just not certain of the best course to take. It feels like we’ve suddenly set foot in the dark forest.”

  On the other side of the room, the pretorians and Guard officers had been keeping an eye on the Angels. Most of them wrapped up their own talks to head on over. Only Grant and Terront kept back.

  “You know we’re enjoying this even less than you are,” Savienth said. “The Guard has been humiliated, and all of those aristocrats you hate are running about like headless chickens. Whatever concessions Pristil has asked for will be little more than an inconvenience, I’m sure.”

  “Savienth, the queen is asking her to stand against family,” Charles reminded her. “And, furthermore, the Angels must have thought that their fight would end today. They aren’t obligated to help us fight against Drides and his loyalists. We’re asking for both their aid and cessation of hostilities.”

  “Yeah, I just realized, that is true,” Leovyn replied. “But we hate him, too, so that’s a good thing for everyone. And if he’s really lost it and is trying to replicate nuclear weaponry, we may have just gone from reshaping this world to trying to save it. I don’t see a way forward but together.”

  “You haven’t spread this information, have you?” Kae asked.

  “The nuke? No. It would get to the public, incite a panic. Hell, at this point, Aurra’s other Cities don’t even know what’s transpired here yet. If we don’t do this right, I’m worried about the additional retaliations and mayhem that could erupt once people hear that we’ve ‘taken’ the capital.”

  “I’m conflicted about this moment,” Masayuki said. “Shin and I swore to avenge our clan for what Lontonkon did to us, and yet, the Xin dynasty has historically been loyal to Aurra’s royalty. We’ve focused on the Guard all these years, but we were never sure on how we’d confront the queen. Now that we are acquainted… Pristil seems honorable. I think this partnership is worth a shot, as well. But we may have a short time frame.”

  Osk wondered, “Have you heard anything at all from Fordein, or the other pretorians, since B fell? I’m thankful we aren’t contending with Trinqit’s smug attitude today. Just imagine trying to negotiate with her.”

  “No,” Kae replied. “And it does now feel oddly… tranquil here.”

  “I must ask,” Viktor said. “We fought soldiers from the League of Flame today. Where is Lenox? And where are their loyalties?”

  “Split, like the Guard,” Charles explained. “Many of his men will fight for the queen, but Crawn himself and his more devoted followers are going to side with Drides. Now that… Hm.” He rubbed his chin. “Come to think of it, Mr. Wulf, you may be able to regain a leadership role among those in the League that choose to support us.”

  “Aye, that sounds promising. I can erase their doubts.”

  Savienth coughed and commented, “Nollands, a word of advice. Don’t get stars in your eyes around bringing full democracy to Aurra. There are reasons we’ve long been wary of any and everyone being able to vote, in every City. We will have to tolerate some terrible elected leaders, the likely destruction of the tier system, and the resulting chaotic societal shifts.”

  “I’m confident that the system will find stability, in time,” Milla said. “And that it will lead to the end of City tiers, and thus judgment. That is why I didn’t demand such a sudden, monumental change. Garder always wanted it right away, but I believe it should be a gradual, evolving process.”

  “I hope Aurra can tolerate it. Millions are resistant to such change.”

  Milla eyed Irietté, keeping to herself by a pillar. “Um, Irietté, right? When I was last in Hold, I was told you know my mother.”

  She poked at her glasses and replied, “Y-yes… I speak for Pristil when I visit. She’d been worried that Escellé could join the war.”

  “I understand. I, too, had that concern. The first time we met, I asked her not to help… You must be the reason that Pristil knows so much about the two of us. I wish I could convince her to ease up on Garder.”

  “Please don’t hate her. She’s only looking out for her people.”

  As Milla thought of a response, Pristil made a timely appearance, entering from a side hall and quickly noticing the group bunched together. Given a chance to change, her clothes were now formal-casual.

  “Everyone, we should begin our talks properly in a few minutes,” she told them. “Also, a personal request… Ms. Nolland, I was hopeful that I could see Rayna today. And perhaps have a brief conversation.”

  “She really needs to rest until tomorrow,” Milla replied. “I will do what I can to fulfill that request, but ultimately, it’s up to her.”

  “Yes. Of course. I wouldn’t want to make her uncomfortable, and I do realize… that she isn’t actually my mother reborn. Anyway. You and your officers must be starving after everything you’ve been through today. I’ll have the cook staff prepare a banquet. If we opt for the simpler dishes, a meal could be brought to us within the hour.”

  Leovyn grinned, just a bit. “I’m sure that even the most basic of palace food will taste like heaven compared to what we’ve gotten used to.”

  The dinner plans, however, were interrupted when the chamber’s front doors suddenly tore open and a small contingent of royal guards walked in, surrounding what seemed to be a prisoner. It was Corus, a scowl on his face with his hands in front of him, in binding that kept his fingers from casting any spells. He was clearly frantic and angry at his escorts.

  “Corus, what did you do this time?” Leovyn grumbled.

  “Ma’am, this man demanded to see everyone,” said one of the guards keeping Corus’ arms immobile. “He insisted that it was urgent.”

  “It is!” Corus exclaimed. “Ridiculous, that there’s no line to the outside world in here! Listen. That bastard Harken…” He let out a wheeze. “He came into the square, with a bunch of his men. Swear to God, I saw Garder with him! He’s in bad shape, a mess, but still walking.”

  “What…” Milla murmured. “Why are they so deep into the City?”

  “No idea, not the issue. By the time I saw them, they were carrying off Rayna and Temki—the kids must’ve been knocked out. The two were slung over shoulders, not moving. I tried to go after them and call for help, but next thing I know, they’re all piling into a captured Guard carrier. When backup arrived, they were already in the air, engines roaring.”

  “Oh. This is bad,” Leovyn stated the obvious. “We already saw what happened when Garder had Temki with him. But, Rayna, too? The hell is Guardfall planning? Are they… Don’t tell me they’re coming here.”

  “No. I don’t think so. They went full throttle to the southeast.”

  “L,” Pristil exclaimed as her eyes widened. “They’re going to L.”

  “One of Rayna’s nova spells, amplified by Temki… That couldn’t wipe out an entire City. Right?” Xavier nervously questioned.

  “Maybe not,” Simon replied. “But a military base… Agh, damn it, we have to get out there right away and stop them. Who’s been to L?”

  “A demirriage won’t work,” Pristil explained. “The City has been locked down for such transport, to keep our conscripts safe. And to prevent desertion, admittedly. With the Mezik grounded, the fastest way is to take another carrier. We can’t even send a message—all our long-range networks go through B; they’re knocked out. We have to act now. Please, there’s no time. Ms. Nolland, there are still 75,000 soldiers at L. Young, innocent.”

  “One crisis follows another. We don’t have a choice. We need to prep for surgery,” Milla announced. “Garder… What have you done?”

  Garder was already some thirty miles away, silently piloting the stolen aircraft from the cockpit as it bored through clouds. Not getting any conversation out of him, Harken looked back into the cabin to check on the twenty loyal and fierce soldiers he had taken with him. Among them and in the very back were two children, buckled in and fast asleep.