get in.”
“More than enough,” said the flagship captain, an enormous sailor who looked like he’d spent his life on the sea. He turned to Josef, and the swordsman saw a flicker of disgust on the sailor’s face. Josef tensed. King he might be, but most of Osera still thought he was dirt. But whatever the captain’s private feelings, he hid them with the discipline that made the Oseran navy famous.
“On your word, sire,” he said with a sharp salute.
“Go,” Josef said, moving up to the prow of the ship.
The moment the word was given, the deck jerked under his feet as the oars hit the water, and the narrow ship darted into the bay. The other ships rocked to life as well, falling in behind the king’s flagship as the fleet shot out of the sheltered Rebuke and into the blue water of the open sea.
Josef stood on the prow, letting his body adjust to the wind and the pitch of the boat. He’d almost got it when the boat suddenly dipped. Josef turned as the sailors cried in alarm, and his face broke into a smile as he saw Nico stepping out of the shadows beneath the mast.
“We’re fine,” Josef said. “She’s with me.”
This didn’t seem to reassure the sailors, but they kept rowing, glancing sideways at Nico as she squinted at Josef from beneath her dark hood.
“How’d it go?” Josef said.
“Pretty well,” Nico answered. “I went to every one of the outer villages just like you said. They didn’t believe me at first, but once I pointed out the Empress’s ships, they went along just fine. The catapults are being set up right now. If a palace ship gets within two hundred feet of the outer island shores, it’ll be bombarded.”
“Good,” Josef said. “Won’t be enough to sink a palace ship, but a barrage will make landing troops hairy. That’ll have to be enough to protect our flank for now.” He squeezed Nico’s arm and stepped past her, climbing back up on the prow so he could look the rowers in the eye. “Listen up!” he shouted. “The admiral and I explained this earlier, but since we’re the flagship and everyone’s following our lead, I’m going to say it again. We’re not out here to fight the Empress’s fleet. Our only objective is to stop her advance long enough for reinforcements to arrive from the mainland.”
He threw out his arm and pointed down at the water. This far out, it was beautifully clear. Down below, the shadow of their boat shot across the bright, rocky reef that waited thirty feet below the waves, the natural barrier between their island and the sea. “See that?” Josef said, stabbing his finger at the reef. “That’s our weapon. All we have to do is hold them over the shallows and let the tide do our work for us.”
The captain gritted his teeth. “Begging your pardon, majesty, but how are we going to hold ships that big with no clingfire? The admiral said you had some kind of secret weapon, but, and I ain’t intending to be speaking above my station, I don’t see nothing on you but a big metal bar.”
Josef grinned wide and reached over his shoulder, drawing the Heart in a smooth arc. “This big metal bar is all we need. Just row where I tell you to go. I’ll do the rest.”
“Aye, sire,” the captain said, though he couldn’t hide the tremble in his voice. “Full ahead.”
The flagship shot forward, cutting through the water like a knife toward the front line of the palace ships.
The Empress’s fleet slowed to meet them, the palace ships halting their unnatural speed as they reached the edge of the reef. Josef fell to a crouch. The other runners had fanned themselves out around the flagship and were keeping pace, just as they were supposed to. Josef was just starting to feel good about this whole crazy operation when he felt Nico tense beside him.
“What?” he said, glancing at her.
Nico was staring straight ahead, eyes wide. “Was there always an island there?”
“What are you talking about?”
Nico pointed at the sky behind the palace ships. Josef squinted against the bright sun, and then his eyes went wide as he saw it too. There, rising like a specter over the enemy fleet, was the shadowy shape of a large, rocky island. But that was impossible. Osera was the last land in these waters. Yet there it was, sturdy and large as any of the Oseran mountain islands. Even this far away, Josef could make out the shape of buildings clinging to the island’s rocky slope. Buildings in a style he’d never seen before.
His blood began to run cold, but even as the fear rose, Josef made himself let it go. “Forget it,” he said, raising his voice. “Nothing has changed! Full ahead!”
“Aye, sire,” the captain said. “Steady!”
The sailors obeyed, and the Oseran fleet flew at the line of palace ships like a tiny bird flying at a wall that spans the world.
Nara stood on the balcony of her war palace, watching the tiny specs of the Oseran fleet approaching her front line. Her ornate sword was out and naked in her hand, a rare sight, and one that made her general extremely uncomfortable.
“Hail, Empress,” he said after waiting a solid minute for her to notice he was there.
“One of the Hundred Conquerors has fallen,” the Empress said, raising her sword for him to see. “I still don’t believe it. I haven’t had a sleeper fall since I took the high mountains. What was that, two hundred years ago?”
“Two hundred and fifty-three,” the general said. “If my Empress is referring to her war with the Ascetics of the Great Glacier.”
“Oh, yes,” the Empress said. “That pack of ice builders. A good war, if I remember. I think I ended up commanding their glacier to provide the water that turned the northern plains green.”
“For which your people will forever sing your praises, Empress.”
The Empress nodded and sheathed her sword. “So long as the sleeper accomplished its task, it matters little, I suppose. I’ll just have to make a new Conqueror when this is finished. We have more with us, don’t we?”
The general bowed. “Seventy-three of the Hundred ride with your fleet, Empress. They await your command.”
“That should be more than enough,” the Empress said. “Report.”
The general stood at attention. “A hundred ships approaching from the island, all light attack craft, just as in the last war. None have shot the clinging fire yet, but your wizards are standing by to squelch the flames if needed.”
The Empress nodded. “And the shallows Den warned us about?”
“At our present speed, our front line should cross them in plenty of time to avoid the tide,” the general said.
The Empress frowned. “The front line is fifty palace ships?”
“Fifty-five, Empress,” the general corrected gently. “More than enough to take such a small island. We’ll begin bombardment as soon as the first ships are in range. The land will be yours before nightfall.”
“See that it is,” the Empress said.
The general bowed and backed into the palace, closing the curtain behind him. The moment he was gone, Nara felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle in a familiar way. A smile of pure joy spread over her face as she turned to find the Shepherdess lounging on her imperial couch.
“My Lady,” the Empress whispered, falling into a deep bow.
How goes the invasion?
Nara stiffened. The Lady did not sound happy.
“We’re about to crush the Oseran fleet,” she said quickly. “Do not worry, Lady. I told you I would give you the world, and I will, starting with this island.”
It is a dour little island, the Lady said, twisting her snowy hair between her fingers. Promise me you’ll burn it to the ground.
“I will crush it into the sea,” Nara swore. “Anything to make you smile.”
And to her great joy, the Shepherdess did. She held open her arms, and Nara ran to her, falling into the Lady’s lap like a lost child.
Darling, loyal Nara, the Shepherdess said, stroking her dark hair. Would you die for me?
“In an instant, Lady,” Nara said, tears rolling down her cheeks as she pressed her fingers against Benehime’s bare, white skin. “I am loyal to you body and soul, life or death. Every breath I take is yours, as it
