‘Let him pass,’ she instructed the guards coldly.
The captain, a fair-haired man with blue eyes, headed toward them, a metal chest in his hands. He deposited it in front of the steps, bowed, and retreated behind the princes and princesses.
Mila lifted the cover of the casket. The foul smell of rotting flesh reached Crovir’s nose. She removed something from inside the container and tossed it toward the dais. Red droplets sprayed the marble floor and golden lions as the object sailed through the air. It landed on the stage with a wet sound, rolled, and came to a stop against Crovir’s right foot.
He stared at the gory remains. ‘What is this?’
Mila cocked an eyebrow. ‘Why, my king, you asked Jared and I to bring you the head of a pig.’
Fury ignited inside Crovir. He rose and stepped over the animal carcass, his body shaking with rage.
‘Your instructions were to bring me the head of the governor of Hazaara, not that of a boar!’ he roared.
His voice bounced off the domed ceiling and the granite and marble pillars. Tense silence fell inside the throne room in the dying wake of the reverberation. The attending servants and guards blanched. A figure moved at the edge of his vision. He looked around and saw Helena stop at the edge of the dais.
Mila glanced at her mother before meeting his gaze once more.
‘I could not do that, my king,’ she said in a level voice. ‘For not only did my brother and I find no evidence of the treachery you accused Governor Nazul of, we also discovered that the mitigating circumstances Hosanna had spoken to you about were very real indeed.’
Hosanna took a step forward and glared at Crovir. ‘How could you? I explained what was happening in Hazaara, about the scourge that destroyed their crops and the illness that soon followed! I told you explicitly that they cannot pay the extortionate tithes you demand, nor can most of our other cities.’ She glanced at Kronos. ‘I now hear the supplies I have been sending to Governor Nazul have not reached him for many a month. And as I feared, the disease has spread.’
Kronos stiffened. ‘I did as I was instructed, Hosanna.’ He bestowed a chilly stare upon his siblings and cousins. ‘So should all of you. To disobey the commands of the kings constitutes an act of treason.’
‘Then call me a traitor, brother,’ snapped Jared. He frowned at Crovir. ‘I am not a puppet who will dance to the will of anybody.’
‘What is this I hear, my king?’ said Baruch in a quiet voice. ‘You have raised the levies again? When and why?’ He paused. ‘I know now why my wife has looked so strained these past years whenever I have enquired after her duties.’
‘I am sorry, husband,’ Hosanna murmured. ‘I did not wish to burden you with—’
‘Enough!’
Crovir glowered at the figures below him, blood pounding in his ears. That Mila was brazen enough to oppose him was one thing. For her siblings and cousins to even entertain such an idea was anathema to him.
‘Have you all taken leave of your senses?’ he hissed. ‘What madness possesses you to defy me so? Why, I am inclined to strip you of your titles and banish you from—’
‘The reason we are seeing so many revolts is down to a simple fact,’ said Mila. ‘Your excessive demands cannot be met. You have to lower the tithes. Not only that, you need to suspend them for the cities afflicted with famine and disease. It is the sensible thing to do. Our empire is prosperous enough to survive several years without the levies.’
Crovir blinked, shock dampening his anger for a moment. ‘You have the temerity to interrupt your King, child? And the nerve to dictate to him?!’
Mila straightened and looked him squarely in the eye. She then uttered words Crovir had thought would never pass her lips.
‘You have not even begun to see the limits of what I dare do, father.’
Her statement hung in the air in the deadly lull that descended on the throne room. It slowly crystallized inside Crovir’s mind, a red flag of flagrant defiance that stunned and inflamed him.
‘Father, please overlook this transgression,’ murmured Kronos from where he hovered protectively behind Mila. ‘It will not happen again.’
His plea penetrated the outrage filling Crovir’s veins. ‘Are you saying that you want me to disregard her blatant act of insubordination? And those of your brother and cousins?’ His gaze switched between Kronos and Baruch. ‘Maybe I should teach you princes a thing or two about controlling your wives.’
Helena drew a breath in sharply. Hosanna paled. Baruch took a step toward Crovir, a muscle jumping in his cheek.
Crovir ignored them, his body stilling, eyes focused on his youngest child.
‘Go ahead. Draw your sword,’ he said quietly.
Everyone’s gaze dropped to where Mila’s fingers clasped the hilt of the blade at her waist.
Mila stared at the man who had sired her, her heart drumming against her ribs. During their journey back to the capital, after she had slain one of the boars in the pens of Hazaara and taken its head to bring to her father, the potential ramifications of her actions had filled her thoughts.
That Jared approved of what she had done was of some comfort, as were Baruch and Hosanna’s reactions when they stopped in Lagaesh to see their cousins. The two had insisted on accompanying them to Uryl and they had met with Kronos in Issin before proceeding south.
Still, Mila had returned to the capital troubled. Not because her husband was involved in Crovir’s machinations, a revelation that saddened her but hardly came as a surprise; he was stubbornly loyal to the kings and never questioned their father’s orders. It was what Crovir would make of her blatant disobedience that had filled her with disquiet.
Although she had been prepared to deal with the consequences of the bold deed she had just committed, the words he had spoken doused any concessions she would have been willing to make to meet the terms of his punishment. Along with the visceral wrath his callous statement invoked, a cold certainty filled her heart. She would not bow meekly before the man who dared suggest that she and her cousin be treated with the same despicable violence he exhibited toward his wives.
A hand landed on her shoulder. Kronos’s fingers tightened on her skin, his quiet desperation evident.
‘Mila, stop,’ he said in a low voice.
‘Daughter,’ Helena murmured from the dais.
Her mother’s voice finally broke the dangerous spell ensnaring her.
She took a deep breath and lowered her hand from the hilt of her sword, her gaze locked on the man on the dais. ‘The words I speak are uttered in goodwill. What I said to you about the tithes is my sincere recommendation as the lieutenant commander of your army. I would not wish you to do anything to endanger the Empire you and my uncle fought so hard to build. You are free to take my advice or ignore it, my king. The Empire is yours, after all.’ Mila paused. ‘But you do not own me, or my siblings and cousins. We are not your slaves or your tools. We will not always obey you blindly.’
Kronos flinched beside her.
Mila twisted on her heels and headed for the doors, aware of the stares at her back. She passed Aäron and heard him fall into step behind her. It was not until they exited the citadel that she finally stopped, on the stage where she had greeted the kings nearly two Half Moons ago. She stood and stared beyond the fortress wall toward Uryl until the frenetic beat of her pulse finally slowed.
‘Do you think me a fool, Captain?’ she said after a while to the man standing silently at her side.
‘No, Princess,’ Aäron replied. ‘You chose the right course of action in Hazaara.’ He hesitated. ‘Although I would personally have chosen a less flamboyant way to demonstrate resistance to the king. Bringing him the head of an actual boar and casting it at his feet was bound to enrage him.’
Mila frowned at the wry undertone of his voice. ‘I was trying to prove a point.’
‘You did so, Princess. Spectacularly,’ drawled Aäron. ‘You may not be aware, but we have many soldiers in our ranks from that
city. They will be relieved to hear that you spared the governor and the citizens.’
A bitter smile twisted Mila’s lips. ‘Some may see my act as mutiny.’
‘And for every one of them, two more will champion you.’
Mila gazed into his eyes and sensed a deeper meaning behind his words. Before she could question him further, her mother rushed through the bronze doors of the citadel and headed toward her. Aäron bowed, murmured a greeting to the queen, and moved a discreet distance away. Helena engulfed Mila in her arms.
‘Oh child, I fear you have done it this time,’ she said tremulously. ‘I have never seen the king so angry.’
Mila hugged her mother back fiercely. ‘Just answer me this. Do you believe I did the right thing by sparing the governor of Hazaara?’
Helena went still. She leaned back and stared at Mila for silent seconds. ‘Yes, I do.’
‘Then that is all I need to know.’ Mila took a deep breath and glanced at the plains beyond the capital. ‘Let us leave this suffocating place. I want to see Romerus. Will you come with me, mother?’
Helena’s face brightened. ‘Of course. It has been too long since I last visited him.’
Mila looked at Aäron. ‘You will escort us to the citadel of the kings’ father. After that, we leave for Issin.’
The captain inclined his head. ‘Yes, Commander.’
Chapter Twelve
Navia blocked out the sounds of the battle and clasped the head of the terrified soldier kneeling at her feet, hands bound behind his back. She focused on the latent energy inside her heart and closed her eyes, conscious of the ring of armed guards who shielded her from the bloody conflict raging around them.
Heat bloomed in the center of her being and flooded her body. She steered the unworldly power she had been born with and focused it into the mind of the man in her hold. Random images streamed across her inner vision as she probed his scattered thoughts.
Show me the fortress.
A wall of resistance rose to block her out as the soldier fought her unspoken command. Surprise flashed through Navia. It was rare that she encountered someone with the ability to deflect her mental assault.
The people of this land are indeed gifted, she thought grimly.
Still, she had yet to meet someone who could completely match her skills. She frowned and tightened her grip on the soldier’s temples. A cry escaped the man’s lips as she blasted through the barriers he had erected to protect his most private memories, pain filling his skull with a red glow.
Navia paused. Though she knew it would take but moments to break his will, she had had more than her fill of suffering and death in the last three months.
She reduced the intensity of her attack. Do you want to save your city from destruction?
The man’s consciousness froze for a moment at her question. Fear clashed with bitter hope inside his thoughts.
He sagged beneath her. Yes.
Navia opened her eyes and stared into his blank, defeated gaze. Then show me how to get inside the fortress.
The soldier hesitated, then clenched his jaw. Navia drew a sharp breath as he finally allowed her to see the thoughts he had so carefully masked. She released him and turned to one of her guards.
‘Yaham, send a message to the first general. There is a hidden tunnel at the west watergate which leads inside the fortress. I will create a path for us.’
The captain nodded and vaulted onto his horse. Navia watched him disappear into the section of middle town they had conquered. She drew her sword once more and turned to face the battleground.
Three months had passed since Mila and Jared openly defied Crovir by sparing the governor of Hazaara. Following the disturbing events in the throne room in Uryl, the older king immediately set in motion a series of brutal military campaigns, much to the dismay of the army’s generals and commanders. Bar Baruch, Beatrix and Kronos, all the princes and princesses were dispatched to the farthest corners of the Empire with entire regiments, under strict instructions to crack down on any uprising they came across and claim more territories.
Tasked with expanding their East Eurasia domains, Tobias and Navia travelled through the Zagros Range and the vast plateau beyond until they reached the Toba Kakar Mountains and the territory of the Harappas, the Indus Valley nation under their rule. From the capital Mehrgar, they proceeded through a tortuous mountain pass some twenty leagues long to the cities of Nal and Balako, where they quashed minor rebellions on their way to the town of Amri, on the border of the Empire. There, they restocked on provisions and rested a full day before heading into the unknown, arid wilderness of a great desert.
On the far side of the expanse of shifting sand dunes and scorched flat plains, they discovered sweeping salt marshes and mudflats populated by onagers, flamingos, and antelopes. Finally, on the first Full Moon after they left the known frontier of the Empire, they arrived on a peninsula ringed by the Great South Sea. According to the rumors passed on to them by the ruler of Mehrgar, the land was known as Saraostas and was home to a prosperous nation skilled in growing crops, building, and the art of working with metals, clay, and precious gems.
They came upon the first cities some days later and discovered that the stories were indeed true. It took Tobias and Navia nearly two Half Moons to capture Kotada and Surkotada. After leaving factions of their army to maintain control of their newly acquired provinces, they made their way south to Laothal, the capital of Saraostas.
Situated on a protected bay that opened onto the Great South Sea, the metropolis was an impressive sight to behold. An immense, circular stone wall surrounded the city and extended part way across the cove, enclosing its flourishing port. Completing its defenses on the waterside were thick wooden ramparts that boasted a pair of massive gates which could be closed to seal off the harbor from an attack from the sea. Inside the metropolis itself, and visible from the hills to the north where Tobias and Navia had encamped their army, the advanced nature of the town structure and defenses were clear to see.
Laothal had been built around a large mound of land that featured a towering citadel protected by its own heavily fortified walls and gateways. Below this acropolis lay a middle town cleverly constructed on platforms made of mud-brick. Each one featured up to twenty residences and commercial buildings, the raised areas offering another level of protection to the city’s populace. Ringed by tall ramparts with defensive towers and a wide artificial canal that could only be crossed at two bridges, one to the east and the other to the north, the middle town gave way to a crescent-shaped lower town abutting the city’s main defenses.
After five days, the Empire’s army finally breached the gates of the outermost wall. Once inside, Tobias and Navia rapidly conquered the lower town and concentrated their efforts on the fortifications of the middle town. They finally broke through at sunrise, on this, the tenth day of the siege. As they advanced through the city, they discovered a complex street arrangement featuring wells fed by an underground river system, public baths, drains, and large open spaces that could be closed off individually to provide another layer of security, all signs of the advanced nature of the civilization they were set to conquer.
‘Princess, what would you have us do with the prisoner?’
Navia looked over her shoulder at the Laothal soldier who had just provided them with a way into the citadel where the ruler of the city had mounted its strongest defense. The man stared at the fires raging through the middle town, his agony clear to see.
Navia deflected the tormented thoughts she could sense from him and addressed the guard who had spoken. ‘I made him a promise. Take him to where we are keeping the other captives. And see to it that no harm comes to him.’
Navia’s grip tightened on her blood-stained sword as she studied the enemy soldiers protecting the road that led to the west of the port. Despite the grueling fight that still lay ahead, she could taste the Empire’s victory on the wind. There would only be one conclusion to this battle. By su
ndown, the king of Saraostas would be on his knees at the end of Tobias’s blade.
The vision she had had that morning promised this outcome.
‘Tell our men to leave the horses here,’ she told her troop commander. ‘We will not need them beyond this point.’
The man’s eyes widened. He glanced at the fortress on the hill. ‘Did you see—?’
‘Yes, I did,’ Navia interrupted curtly. ‘This siege ends tonight.’
A murmur of anticipation ran through the soldiers close enough to catch her words.
Navia gritted her teeth and ignored the dull pain resonating between her temples. As was the case whenever she was in the midst of a conflict, the rage and suffering of those who fell before the Empire’s greater military strength, and the glee and jubilation of the Immortals’ army at defeating their foes, threatened to drown her own consciousness. It was only with the strictest training that she had mastered the ability to block out the minds of entire cities and regiments. Still, it always left her with a headache.
To her, the gifts of a Seer were both a blessing and a curse.
‘The battle is still not won,’ she said in a grim tone. ‘Do not let down your guard.’
She headed toward the enemy, her pace accelerating the closer she drew. Behind her came the Empire’s soldiers, voices raised in battle cries that shattered the air.
Chapter Thirteen
Nawaar appeared on the horizon, its mud-brick ramparts dark against the setting sun. A sea of tents punctuated by the flames of cooking fires crowded the base of the tall walls. Above the encampment, the red banners of the Empire fluttered in the cool breeze coursing across the land.
Despite his weariness, Rafael dug his heels into the flanks of his stallion and urged the horse on. Next to him, Ysa followed suit, as eager as he to reach the northernmost outpost of the Empire’s immediate domain.
Four months had passed since they had been sent to the Arals to expand the northernmost territories of the Empire. Of the thousand-and-five-hundred-strong army they had left Uryl with, only half remained. A third they had lost in battle. The others had been left behind to guard their newest jurisdictions in Upper Eurasia.
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