warm.
‘I am Cheerwell Maker of Collegium. I do not speak for my family. I do not speak for my city or my kinden. I speak for myself, though, and I say that I owe you more than I can ever repay, for in my time of greatest need, you were there for me. I do not know why. I have no answers. Still, you were there, and you came into the place of our enemies and you shed their blood to free me.’ The words were just tumbling out, and she had a strange feeling that they were only partly hers.
Certainly Achaeos’s expression was stricken by them. ‘Do not say such things so lightly,’ he said, for a moment trying to pull away. ‘You do not know how strongly oaths can bind us!’
‘I say nothing lightly,’ she told him, and he ceased resisting, staring into her face.
‘You can
‘Yes, I see you,’ she confirmed. ‘I spent so long calling out to the Ancestor Art, but it was only your. . only the dream that woke it in me.’
He did not know what to do with her now she could see. All masks were gone within that moment. She scared him, drew him, shocked him. Realizing that, she became scared herself, acutely aware of the warmth of his hand in hers, of how close he suddenly was to her.
‘I-’ she started, feeling the line between them — the line that had played out its length all the way from Helleron to Myna — draw tight. A moment later she had released his hand and was stumbling back, hurrying inside before whatever words now arising within her could escape.
A few ragged hours of the night were all Thalric was given to sleep in. Once Che and her compatriots had made their escape, there had been order to restore in the palace, and only then had he sought out a field surgeon of the garrison to attend his wounds. He could have summoned a doctor from the city, but Thalric’s experience had led him to rate the hard-won skills of a field surgeon over the most educated physician in the world.
Now it was late after dawn, and the whole palace was up and about. Order, in a greater sense, was being restored to its pedestal. He knew that the Rekef would have things well in hand, that whispered voices would pass throughout the imperial staff in Myna informing them of the true state of things.
He had meanwhile sent for Aagen, and now met the man in a small anteroom set aside for waiting guests.
The artificer gave him a cautious nod. ‘Still alive then.’
‘Only just. Any trouble?’
Aagen shrugged. ‘I heard that some soldiers were looking for her — the Butterfly girl. The locals round here aren’t exactly Empire sympathizers. Odd what counts in your favour, sometimes, isn’t it?’
‘This city is working itself towards revolution,’ Thalric decided. ‘Ulther didn’t see it, he thought it was still tame in the palm of his hand. He’d lost sight of the realities.’
‘Let’s hope we’re both well clear before that happens,’ Aagen said, and Thalric nodded.
‘I’m sorry I had to use you, Aagen. I had nobody else.’
‘Well,’ the artificer said with a sheepish grin, ‘I’m not complaining, you know?’
‘She danced for you?’
Aagen tried to suppress the smile, but it spread regardless. ‘She did, as it happens. Just danced, nothing else, but. .’
‘I know. I’ve seen her.’ Thalric stood, clapped his comrade on the shoulder, feeling glad that here at least was one friend that he had not been forced to turn against. ‘I’m glad you came through this safely. I owe you, as a comrade and as an officer. I’ll remember.’
With dragging footsteps he made his way to the throne room, for he knew there was bound to be a reckoning. The doors were opened for him by fresh-looking soldiers, and closed again as soon as he had gone through. The room itself was almost empty. Much of Ulther’s finery had already been removed.
It did not surprise Thalric at all to see the central throne occupied by the same nameless man who had been at Latvoc’s council. He now regarded Thalric keenly, his thin face creased into calculating lines. Colonel Latvoc was there, too, standing to one side of the throne, a scroll half unfurled in his hands. Odyssa the Spider was absent, but Thalric noticed te Berro lounging to one side, almost hidden behind a pillar.
‘Colonel,’ Thalric managed a salute, ‘you’ve made good time.’
‘I haven’t,’ Latvoc told him with a smile. ‘In fact I haven’t officially arrived yet and, indeed, will not for some time. The handing over of the governor’s power will be as seamless as if Colonel Ulther himself had effected it. However, someone must oversee matters until then — in an unofficial capacity of course.’
‘Of course, sir.’
‘You appear to be one of those rare officers who delight in leading the charge, Major Thalric,’ Latvoc observed. ‘It is a mixed blessing but I can only congratulate you on your work here.’
‘Thank you, sir.’
‘It can’t have been easy for you.’
Thalric blinked once, considering. The wise course was to disavow all personal feelings in this, but they were weighing him so heavily that he did not think he could. Not quite. ‘I am loyal to the Empire, sir. I made my choice.’ But his voice was not as steady as he would have liked.
‘Good man,’ Latvoc said. ‘Of course, this resolution will not be entirely without benefit to yourself and-’
‘That’s not why I did it, sir,’ said Thalric, more firmly than he meant. He was aware that after the previous night he was not as in control of himself as he would prefer.
There was a flicker of annoyance in Colonel Latvoc’s face. ‘I was not suggesting, Major, that you did. However, as far as the records show, you are ranking Rekef officer in this city. If you have any decisions to make, as de facto governor, then make them.’
It was a harsh question to put to a man unprepared for it, but Thalric guessed that he would be given no second chance.
‘The Butterfly slave, Grief in Chains.’ He looked keenly at Latvoc for a reaction.
‘I hear she’s quite the performer,’ the Colonel said mildly.
‘She belonged to Colonel Ulther. I would like to give her to Lieutenant Aagen, who was instrumental in aiding my work here.’
‘Agreed,’ said Colonel Latvoc without even a batted eyelid. ‘Anything else?’
‘Another chattel of the colonel’s, a slave of our own kinden named Hreya, was of some assistance to me. I would like her freed.’
Latvoc coughed into his hand as though Thalric had made some error of etiquette at a social gathering. ‘The Empire does not free its slaves, Major. It may gift them, reward them, treat them finely, bestow responsibilities on them, even suffer them to render advice, but never grant them freedom. What a precedent to set! However, the Empire will gift her to
‘Just that I would also like to mention Lieutenant te Berro’s good work on my behalf.’ Thalric saw the Fly flinch at the mention of his name, but then raise his eyebrows at the compliment.
Latvoc nodded approvingly. ‘Recognizing the worth of subordinates is a good trait in an officer. It breeds loyalty. Duly noted.’ From te Berro’s unguarded expression Thalric had the impression that this was not a trait Latvoc himself possessed. ‘Anything else?’
‘No, sir.’
‘Nothing, Major?’ Latvoc frowned. ‘Colonel Ulther had a great many more chattels than that — a whole palace full of them, in fact.’
‘I leave them in the safe hands of the Empire, sir. I would like only to return to my work in Helleron. The plan must be nearly at fruition now and my agents will need my leadership.’
‘Well.’ Latvoc glanced briefly at the enthroned man. ‘Major, there has been a proposal made concerning your future. General Reiner has noted your abilities and sensibilities and decided that they are just what the Rekef is seeking in its officers.’
Thalric stood quite still because, by the naming of that silent, enthroned officer, he had been admitted to some greater and more secret world. The generals of the Rekef were themselves almost never knowingly seen beyond the imperial court.
