CHAPTER
14
The Empress stood on the balcony at the top of her war palace, looking over her fleet. It was an impressive sight. Even Nara, who had fielded countless armies in her conquest of the continent that was now her Empire, had never seen its like.
Palace ships filled the bay, packed so close that the sailors could step from one ship to the next without stretching their legs. Overhead, wind spirits kept a smooth inland wind blowing at her command, filling the enormous sails and keeping the ships together against the ocean’s tide. Each palace ship was large enough to fill three blocks in one of her well-ordered cities and as tall as the war palace at Istalirin would be were it perched on the sea instead of a mountain. Square sails as large as wheat fields hung from the tower masts, and each enormous, tar-black, iron-girded wood hull was packed to capacity with men ready to die at her command.
For the first time in many centuries, Nara felt a quickening of the excitement that came before a conquest. She had emptied her garrisons for this day, marched her troops to the bay at Istalirin from all corners of her Empire. Before her lay the largest fleet ever assembled, carrying the largest army she’d ever fielded, the largest army the world had ever seen.
“It’s beautiful,” said a deep voice beside her.
Nara caught herself seconds before she jumped. Excitement turned to cold rage as she turned to face the man who had impertinently joined her on her balcony.
Den wasn’t even looking at her. His eyes were locked on the fleet, his face pulled into a wide, white-toothed grin that was more snarl than smile. “I think that’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever see.”
“I’m glad you’re pleased,” Nara said sharply. “But I didn’t build it for you.”
“Pity,” Den said with a sigh. “It would be a real challenge to take that army.”
Nara sighed. “That’s an absurd joke, Warlord.”
“I don’t make jokes,” Den said, reaching in his pocket. “Look here, I made you something.”
He pulled out a folded paper and jabbed it at her like a spear. Nara took it gingerly, eyebrows going up in surprise as she shook the paper open. It was a map. A hand-drawn, surprisingly detailed map of lands she did not recognize.
“The western continent,” Den said. “Your maps were a bit sketchy. I filled in the details.”
“My maps were taken from description given by the winds,” Nara said crossly.
“What do winds know of war?” Den said, shrugging. “War is a human enterprise, woman. See here.” He snatched the map back and laid a calloused finger on the long chain of islands just off the continent’s eastern seaboard.
“Osera,” Den said. “We have to take them first or you’ll have their runners on your back the whole campaign. Now, your maps showed only the coastline, but look here.” He moved his finger to the cross-hatching that surrounded the islands. “These are the shallows, the rocks and reefs that guard Osera’s eastern shore. Your big ships run deep. They’ll ground themselves if they get too close.”
“I am well aware of that,” Nara snapped. “You presume too much. Remember, my generals have fought at Osera before.”
“And they let Whitefall and his cronies lure them into the handful of deepwater approaches like idiots,” Den countered. “That one act of stupidity narrowed their fleet, lowered the effectiveness of superior numbers, and lost them the war. If I hadn’t switched sides and taken out Whitefall’s army on the cliffs, your ships would never have made it back here to report their own defeat.”
Nara glared at Den’s weathered finger on the cross-hatched shading marking the dangerous water. “You never did tell me why you turned that day. You were the greatest threat to our soldiers, greater than the wizards or the ships with their clingfire.” She glanced up at his dark eyes. “Tell me, why did you do it?”
Den looked genuinely puzzled. “Why do you ask?”
“As your new master, I think it is wise to know what triggers your betrayal.”
Den threw back his head and laughed. He laughed long and loudly, frightening the servants who hovered just out of sight. Nara stayed still, growing angrier with every passing second. Finally, Den’s laughter died away, leaving him grinning at her like a wolf.
“You don’t get it, do you?” he said. “That war was the happiest time of my life. For the first time ever, I could fight as much as I wanted. Strong men literally jumped out of the sea at me. No more wandering looking for a challenge, no more wasting my time. Truly, I’d found paradise. So when your fleet started to lose, it was the natural choice to switch sides and keep my paradise going. It worked for a bit, but then your coward of a general ran home. I considered slaughtering him and what was left of his crew, but I wanted to meet the woman who could start a war without even going to the front herself. I thought if you could start one war, maybe there were others.” His grin widened. “But you should know, Nara, it wasn’t betrayal. Betrayal requires loyalty. I had no loyalty to Whitefall, and I have no loyalty to you. You can call yourself my Empress all you like, but I have no king by myself.”
With that, he started to laugh again, and for a moment, Nara seriously considered killing him. She turned the idea over, toying with how to do it. She could order the air around him to stop moving and suffocate him where he stood. She could open the floor below him and let the fall break him on the rocks. But she did none of these things. Instead, she turned back to her fleet.
“You know I could kill you before you lifted a hand.”
“But you won’t,” Den said. “A woman who’s spent ten lifetimes conquering knows better than to throw away her best weapon.”
Nara stiffened. “And if we start to lose now, will you kill five thousand of my men and join the other side?”
“Five thousand of your men wouldn’t even be a dent,” Den said, grinning down at the endless ships. “But what a fight that would be, eh?”
The Empress shook her head. “Go and take your place, Bloody Den. Take your map to the fleet head and tell him I said to put you on the first-wave flagship.”
Den took his map back, folding it neatly. “Just so long as you promise I won’t die of old age waiting for you to get moving. We’re not all immortal here, Nara.”
“I’ll throw you into war soon enough,” the Empress said. “When this is done, even you might have had your fill of fighting.”
“Impossible,” Den said, laughing as he vanished through the curtained door.
Nara did not watch him go. She watched her fleet, standing still as a gold-plated statue on her balcony until, hours later, the last of her army had finally marched up the plank from the dock to the waiting ships. As the captain called for the plank to be raised, a shiver went through her. Almost, she breathed to herself. Soon, sooner than Den could dream, her fleet would be landing on the far-western shore. Soon she would carve a swath across the world large enough that even Benehime would notice. She would force the Lady to look up from her spoiled boy, and when she did, she would see Nara standing triumphant with the world in her hands, ready at last to shape it to the perfection she’d dreamed of that night in the swamp so many years ago.
Will you, darling girl?
The voice broke over her like a shower of ice water. Nara froze, unable to breathe, unable to think as the thrill of that beloved, beloved tore through her. When she could move again, she turned and fell to her knees before the pure white light.
Benehime sat on the balcony railing like a great white bird, a smile on her perfect, white face. She was glorious, beautiful, and so beloved Nara could barely look at her. Instead, the Empress kept her face down, biting her lip against the overwhelming tide of emotion threatening to capsize her.
Are you crying? Benehime’s voice was cool and soft as her white fingers lay their burning touch against the crown of Nara’s head. Did you think I had forgotten you, Nara?
“No, Lady,” Nara lied, raising her tear-streaked face to kiss the Lady’s fingers.
I could never forget my dashing Empress. Benehime’s voice floated over her mind. Just because you are no longer first in my heart does not mean I do not care for you.
