Ana prevented him from surrendering to frustration. She helped him, guided him, and pushed him when he needed it. And in the evenings her desire to start a family had become infectious. Her enthusiasm rubbed off on him, and he looked forward to returning to their shared room after a full day of study and training.
The last set of books Brandt examined gave him no further clues than any others. When only torches lit the hallways, they bid each other farewell so Brandt could meet with the emperor.
The guards welcomed him, giving him the slightest of bows as he passed. When he reached the emperor’s private training hall he knocked on the door and was invited to enter.
Brandt did, relaxing the moment he stepped through the door. Libraries didn’t often suit his disposition. The stacks of books intimidated him with the weight of their knowledge. But a training hall he understood. The smell of sweat and blood clung to the walls, a silent testament to the generations of emperors who had trained within. It smelled like home to Brandt.
The emperor was already seated cross-legged at one end of the hall. He was in meditation, so Brandt took up a position across from him and did the same. His breathing slowed and his heart beat steady. As he slipped deeper into meditation he heard the songs of the elements more clearly. The fire from the torches still sang loudest, but the low hum of stone wasn’t far behind. Even the whisper of the wind offered promises of secret knowledge.
Though they weren’t physically close to the gate, Brandt noticed its influence. The songs were louder, the notes clearer. Here he was stronger.
The sound of the emperor shifting his weight brought Brandt out of his meditation. Their gazes met, and as usual, the emperor began. “What did you learn today?”
“Nothing useful. One monk in the time of Anders II developed a wind technique similar to the stone technique the Etari use. By manipulating a mass of air one bit at a time, continually adding to the movement of the element, he was able to create small tornadoes. But the scale was hundreds of times smaller than the Lolani queen’s efforts.”
“Has it occurred to you that perhaps the queen’s strength is the result of nothing more than her connection with her gate? Perhaps she has no secret knowledge.”
“Then why does her strength so far surpass your own?”
Hanns took no offense at the question that would have cost Brandt his command had he said it when he served as a wolfblade. “Her connection is stronger.”
Brandt narrowed his eyes. “Do you believe that?”
Hanns offered a slight smile, as though he’d been trapped by his own argument. “I do not.”
“Why not?”
“Because Anders I mastered the gates, and although he didn’t pass down everything, I believe he passed down all we needed to know about them. If there was a way to make a stronger bond, he would have found it.”
Brandt stopped himself from arguing. The two of them had speculated plenty on the source of the Lolani queen’s strength. But no amount of speculation changed the truth: they had no idea why the queen was so strong.
Hanns’ defense of Anders did lead Brandt to another question, though. “Do you know why he destroyed so much? I feel like the answers are in our past, but we have no past to look back on.”
Hanns didn’t answer immediately. “I think I understand, but this is only my guess. I do not know.”
Brandt indicated that he understood.
“I think, in a way, you answered your own question. Anders was driven by a single purpose. He wanted to create an empire that would protect and serve as many people as possible. I agree with you. I think the answers to some of our most pressing questions are locked in the past, before Anders rose to power. But I suspect there is a danger there, too. Knowledge can cut the knowledgeable just as easily as it can control the ignorant. By destroying our past, I believe Anders sought to protect us.”
“That decision might be what dooms us in this war.”
Hanns acknowledged the point. “And it might be the decision that allowed this empire to flourish for two hundred years. How does one weigh such a choice?”
Brandt didn’t like the direction of that argument. “Why do you defend him?”
Again, Brandt was grateful the emperor didn’t take offense. In public, any word spoken against the emperor could cost the speaker their tongue, or even their head. But in person, nothing could be further from the truth. “Because, like you, I have met him. My power is descended from his. I do not know his memories and I cannot always speak to his reasons, but I trust him.”
The answer didn’t suffice, but Brandt felt that Hanns was telling the truth. “Then what do we do?” he asked. “How do we get strong enough to fight the queen?”
“I wish I knew the answer to that question, Brandt. But for now, all I can do is offer you what I can. I know it doesn’t feel like much, but I know nothing better.”
Brandt sighed. If there was nothing else to do, there was nothing else to do. “Let’s get to it, then.”
Today they began with fire. Small orbs of flame danced between the two men, faster and faster, the pattern growing ever more intricate.
Hanns faltered first, two of the balls flickering out of existence as the energy feeding them died.
Brandt frowned. Hanns never made the first mistake.
He studied the emperor. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead. “Hanns?”
The emperor waved away Brandt’s attention. “I’ll be fine. I just need a moment.”
Brandt didn’t argue. Hanns looked pale, but he was also the emperor. Brandt followed his requests as though they were commands. Eventually his ruler composed himself. “Again.”
Brandt created more orbs, pulling one each
