“Do you want me to read it to you?” Adira asked.
“Have you read it already?” Ashni wouldn’t mind a brief summary, so she could get back to not eating properly.
“I’ll tell you all about it if you at least eat the yogurt with some berries.” Adira nodded to her breakfast tray.
Ashni groaned. “I’ve had some already.” What will it take to get Adira to stop mothering me when we’re out on campaign?
“Yeah, like you’ve had some apples and honey.” They both knew it was bad if she hadn’t eaten her favorites. The thought of sweets turned her stomach, though, and the apples reminded her of when Nakia shared baked apples sprinkled with cinnamon with her.
Ashni frowned. “Just tell me. If not, Princess will tell me when she gets here.”
Adira rolled her eyes. “Princess doesn’t know about it. This came directly to me. Now, do you want to talk about this or do you want to pout?”
Another thunderclap shook the air. Adira didn’t flinch and Ashni sucked her teeth. She took a breath to master herself, and then motioned for Adira to sit with her. Adira eyed her, so she made a move for some of the yogurt, grabbing some nuts too. After a couple of spoonfuls, her stomach relaxed. Layla showed up before she was finished.
“Oh, apples!” Naren was right behind his wife and went for the untouched sweets.
“Don’t eat everything. Our fearless leader needs something inside of her to keep her going,” Adira said.
Ashni scoffed. “I’ve got this.”
Layla nodded. “That explains the thunder.”
Ashni gnashed her teeth in Layla’s direction, but didn’t say anything. Layla rolled her eyes and helped herself to some berries. Adira made a show of unrolling the scroll, clearing her throat. Ashni almost bit her tongue to keep from saying anything. The glint in Adira’s eye made it clear she knew what she was doing.
“They’re open to discussing terms of partnership,” Adira said.
“It’s the smart move since they’ve let us get so far on the wall and we talked to the people under their thumb,” Ashni replied.
“They probably couldn’t figure out what we were doing with the wall until it was too late. Bless your grandfather for having the foresight of making sure everyone in the army is also capable of basic construction.” Adira chuckled.
Ashni waved that off, not in the mood to give her grandfather credit. The war machine that marched with her was due to her father’s hard work. Her grandfather did his best job getting sores from sitting on an expanding throne gained from her father’s conquests.
“To show they’re well meaning, they’ve agreed to deliver Nakia back to you,” Adira said.
Ashni smiled and felt her body untie itself, relaxing. “This is her doing.”
“You think?” Layla twisted her mouth up to the side.
“She knew I’d rather negotiate than dig in for a long siege.” Ashni’s soul rejoiced. She had chosen well.
Layla blew out a breath. “Wouldn’t we all?”
“All right.” Ashni rubbed her palms together, missing the time when they could grasp Nakia instead. “What would we want with this partnership? Tribute and military assistance in the conquest.”
“You want to give them a chance to claim victory with us?” Naren asked.
“Of course. If you can have some of my victory, you’re much more likely to accept we’re in charge,” Ashni replied.
“Because it’ll take you too long to realize we’re in charge,” Adira added.
“What else do we want? We can make them trading partners with the Empire, which is a given as they’ll eventually be part of the Empire,” Ashni said.
“Tell them to give us Dorian,” Layla said.
Ashni snickered. “You want him because he slipped through your fingers, eh?”
Layla scowled. “He’s an outlaw, fleeing from Empire justice.”
“How do you figure that?” Adira asked.
“He’s still proclaiming himself a leader of a city under the Roshan banner. He’s a fraud.”
Ashni nodded. “You’re right. We’ll ask for him, but we follow the law once we have him. And, most importantly, I’ll tell them to receive us, as a gesture of friendship.”
“So, how much tribute would you like to ask for?” Adira asked. This Ashni could handle, especially since it meant Nakia would be back in her arms soon.
***
Nakia watched her father pace the room. A vein in his neck popped out and seemed to get bigger with every passing second. She had seen him mad on several occasions, but not before he had all the facts. She didn’t think her father would take the news that his allies were willing to negotiate with Ashni well, but she hadn’t expected this eruption of violence.
“This is your doing!” Dorian flung the nearest object across the room.
A bowl of hot aromatic oil hit Nakia in the forehead. Pain spiked in her head as she dropped to the floor. The oil burned her skin, dripping down over her eyes, and she wiped the oil away. Her hand came back bloody.
“Father!” Thia fell to Nakia’s side and clutched her close.
Blood poured down Nakia’s face, forcing her to close her eyes. The wound throbbed, the oil adding an unwelcome sting. Her entire head hurt, all the way down to her teeth. Liquid fell on her face, washing away the oil. As it slid to her mouth, she could tell it was water. Her vision was fuzzy, but she could dimly see Thai dabbed the water and blood from her face.
“We can’t make a deal with that demon whore! She’s already corrupted Nakia. She’s devoured my city. You’re supposed to be my allies. This is outright betrayal.” Dorian was a hazy image to Nakia, but she was certain he was pointing at Timon. Wicus stepped in front of her and Thia. The more she got to know Wicus, the more she could see why Thia loved him.
“We have to do what’s best for our city. Your city’s gone, lost to you. We have people who are still here and counting on us,” Timon said. Nakia hoped he meant that and would fight her father on his stance. If not, this could get messy, especially if Ashni found out her father assaulted her.
“We have an agreement, and I’m counting on you to return to me what is mine!” Dorian pounded his fist against an object Nakia couldn’t see, but heard it shatter from the force. The sound echoed and it pounded in Nakia’s already agonized head.
“We have a responsibility to our people. Are we supposed to stay in here and wait for her to starve us out?” Timon asked.
Wicus backed his father. “Or wait for her to break through our wall and we have nowhere to go thanks to her wall.”
“We have the thing she wants most in the world.” Dorian pointed to Nakia as Thia helped her to her feet.
Nakia leaned heavily on Thia, unable to stand without her support. With each thump of her heart, her head beat in time and it felt like her skull might break apart. How did Ashni just take an arrow like it was nothing? Nakia couldn’t figure out how she wasn’t dead from the agony. Agony caused by her father, who didn’t seem to think anything of the assault.
“Are you planning to kill your daughter to get the queen to do what you want?” Wicus put his hand on a sword on his hip.
“What I do with my daughter is my business,” Dorian replied, his voice like ice.
“Not when she’s under our protection.” Wicus stepped forward.
“I’m going to take Nakia to our healer,” Thia said, her arm around Nakia’s waist.
It felt a little weird, but Thia’s arm around her reminded her a bit like having Ashni’s arm around her. There was a protective feel that she never experienced before with her sister. Dorian might snarl, but Thia wouldn’t allow him to hurt Nakia further.
“You leave her there and let her suffer for her foul ways. She’s betrayed us all,” Dorian said.
“How can I betray someone who has never been loyal to me?” Nakia tried to stand up tall as she issued the question, but her head swam and she tilted. Her sister caught her. “You gave me away to someone who was barely a man
if only to keep your precious kingdom, which you lost to Ashni’s little sister. And now, you’re hoping King Timon will throw away his good sense for your pride and a city you’ll never see again!” Spots floated before her eyes and Nakia was certain she’d fall, but she refused to do so in front of her father. She wouldn’t look weak in front of him ever again.
“You think this bitch will save you? She’ll discard you soon enough.” Dorian spat in her direction, adding true insult to her injury. He couldn’t possibly respect her, spitting at her feet, as if she weren’t a noblewoman, as if she weren’t his child. It was beyond not seeing her as an equal, or even seeing her as inferior.
“He has gone mad,” Wicus said. “Father, we owe this man nothing. He’s been disrespectful to us since arriving. He’s insulted Thia multiple times, insisting she’s not part of any discussion we have when it’s our custom to include her in all matters of Court. And now he injures his daughter while she’s under our protection. I say we give Queen Ashni what she wants.” Wicus glanced at Dorian.
Why put it that way? It was already agreed she’d go back to Ashni, long before the other demands came in. “What do you mean?” Nakia asked and then closed her eyes for a long moment, wanting to block out the light. Her head throbbed and she just wanted to sit down, but she had to know.
“Queen Ashni wants Dorian. She’ll get him,” Timon replied. His tone was final and Nakia took that as a good thing, like this was done. She felt relieved.
Nakia cheered on the inside, victorious over her father. He hadn’t beaten her; he hadn’t used her until the very end. This assault was his swan song, even though she doubted Ashni planned to kill him.
Dorian turned blue and purple. “What?” His voice seemed to shake the room. “You’re my allies. You can’t just hand me over to our enemy!”
“You haven’t acted like an ally. You’re only here for your own selfish reasons and don’t care how you could bring about our ruin,” Timon said.
“We have an agreement!”
“We have lived up to our end. We promised to defend you against your enemies. You squandered it. The decision has been made. And it was my decision to deal with the barbarian. She has betrayed no one,” Timon said, making a slicing motion with his hand before he leaned against his cane.
“You can’t do this!” Dorian seemed to puff up, like an angry cat. His breathing was heavy and his face was so purple it looked unnatural, but he didn’t move.
“Stay there.” Wicus unsheathed his weapon and guards came from every inch of the room.
Thia gently urged Nakia toward the exit. She returned Nakia to her room, settling her down onto a couch. A doctor came in moments later. The doctor sat next to her, wiping any remaining blood and oil from her face. Part of her knew she should wince, but the area was numb.
“I have to clean it. It’ll sting.”
Nakia shook her head. Part of her doubted she’d feel it, as she could barely feel anything beyond her terrible headache right now. But, when he put a cool cloth to the injury, she hissed as more pain shot through her body. It felt like her head was on fire and it burned down every inch of her body. Her hair hurt.
“I can’t believe he did that,” Thia said.
Nakia wished she could say the same thing. The blow was a surprise, but she could see Dorian doing anything at this point, going out of his mind with the thirst for revenge. Ever since she arrived, all she could see was rage in his eyes. She hardly recognized the man and after this moment, she was certain he was a stranger to her now.
“It’s a shame this’ll probably scar,” the doctor said, examining her wound.
Nakia heard the words he didn’t say. Her beauty was marred. In Phyllida, this would be considered the end of her. She doubted Ashni would care she was scarred. Ashni was covered in scars and tattoos. Roshan culture had different standards of beauty.
“It’s mostly split your eyebrow. It’ll need stitches,” the doctor continued and that made her tense.
“Will…will they hurt?” She disliked the tremble in her voice. Ashni’s voice wouldn’t waver over stitches. Layla’s voice wouldn’t quaver as hers had.
The doctor only sighed and offered her wine to help relax her. She was about to decline, but caught sight of the needle he’d use to stitch her. She took a gulp, barely tasting it. He rubbed something on her wound, which made the area tingle, and then began stitching. It didn’t hurt as much as she thought, more pressure and a sting than anything else. She suspected something in the wine or the salve made it so.
“It’s done,” he said after a few minutes. He leaned in, studying his work. He handed her a small jar. “Put this ointment on the wound for the next week and you should be fine.”
“Can I lie down now?” She’d love nothing more than to sleep this whole nightmare away.
“I think it’d be best for you to stay awake for the moment.” He glanced at Thia and she nodded, a signal for Thia to stay with her. The doctor left.
“How do you feel?” Thia asked.
“I’ve got a bad headache.”
Thia nodded. “I’m sure you do. I wish I could say I’m surprised by this level of violence, but he’s been frothing at the mouth since he arrived. Losing Phyllida seems to have unhinged him.”
“Is that supposed to be a good reason?” Nakia went to touch her wound, but changed her mind. She didn’t want to risk opening the stitches or troubling the injury. She didn’t want to see the doctor again.
Thia scowled. “Of course not. There’s absolutely no reason for him to hurt his child. He’s so used to getting his way that he doesn’t know how to act. His behavior won’t get by here. I told you, Timon and Wicus are good men. They’re not going to allow this.”
Nakia nodded from lack of a better thing to do. Well, she thought she nodded. It was hard to tell with the throbbing in her head. She couldn’t resist touching her head now, feeling a rising lump and the rough string of the stitches. The little brush of her fingertips sent bolts of pain through her head, down into her neck.
“Nakia, this queen…she’s true to her word, yes?” Thia asked, her voice low.
“Her word is everything. If she claims you as an ally, you’re an ally. She won’t use you and disregard all your concerns. This is better than fighting against her because she won’t stop until she’s won.”
Thia nodded. “Is my family going to be safe?”
“I’ll make sure of it.”
Thia had been nothing but good to her since she had come to the palace. Gone was the mean big sister she recalled, and she was replaced with a mature, wise, and kind future-queen. Well, she wouldn’t be a queen now, but she’d be allowed to continue ruling by Wicus’ side when Timon was gone. She wasn’t sure how this would end, but she’d see what she could do.
“She really cares for you?”
“She does.”
Thia gave her a tight smile. “I’m happy for you. This is odd, but I’m happy for you after seeing how Father treats you. He was never quite kind to me, but I can’t imagine him assaulting me. I can’t even imagine him assaulting Saffi and we know how he felt about her.”
“This was the first time he hit me.” But, Thia made a point. Saying their father hated Saffi was far from an understatement and he had never hit her. Nakia had pushed him far beyond his breaking point and she couldn’t bring herself to care.
“It shouldn’t be any times. His bellows, barks, and bites aren’t the only way. I learned that here.”
Nakia could understand that. She learned there were other ways when she left home as well. Have I changed like Thia had?
“Are they really going to give him to Ashni?” The possibility of not having to deal with him anymore filled her with relief.
“She’s not asking for much, not at all what we expected anyway. Him, tribute, and men if they wish to join her campaign. The amount of tribute is decent. We get more from nearby towns. Well, we used to get more, but she’s called forth those men to stand against us. It’s not a hug
e burden to us.”
Nakia could see why they took the deal. Ashni was asking for nothing in comparison to what she asked from Dorian not too long ago. Why, though, when Valen had much more to give? She’d have to ask Ashni.
***
“Armor or robes?” Ashni asked as she prepared for her invitation into Valen. She’d pick up Nakia and Dorian. Soldiers, who acted as servants with the hope it would get them some sort of recognition or reward, held up different outfits to help her decide. She needed to make a statement with everything possible, including her clothing.
“Robes. I’ll be in armor. It says what you want it to say,” Adira replied.
Ashni nodded. She could show up as an elegant queen rather than a warrior queen. Besides, they were aware she was a warrior. She’d march into Valen as she’d march into Khenshu after victory on campaign. She put on her best robes, teal and gold with golden thread, but attached her swords to her back. She even had a diadem on her head, made of gold in the shape of eagle’s wings in honor of Khurshid, dotted with the emerald of her kingdom and the pearls of the Empire. Adira nodded her approval.
“You look regal,” Adira said, as she buckled her armor in place.
“As opposed to the mess you’re used to seeing me in?” Ashni smirked.
“You can’t deny you’re a mess when your spouse is gone and you don’t know what’s going on with her.”
Ashni didn’t say anything. Layla swept in, dressed in a mix of her armor and robes. Naren was behind her, dressed in a similar fashion and eating. Ashni wanted to slap the bread out of his hand but knew it helped keep him calm.
“Let’s get going.” Ashni wanted to get this over with, get Nakia back, and continue on with their conquest. There was so much West still left to take and she wanted to do it with Nakia at her side.
She rode Midnight Thunder into the city. People cowered in his shadow. Right behind her were Adira on her mighty steed and Layla, who rode a beast she claimed was a horse. Demon was probably closer to the truth, but she could never prove it. There was just something about it, like there was nothing but smoke and darkness inside of it. The creature had been with Layla longer than Ashni had and Ashni wasn’t about to question it, as it served Layla as well as Midnight Thunder served her. Adira had Hafiz join them, for the experience and also for people to see him riding his alphyn. People would be left in awe to see him control Yata, as alphyns were believed to once fight with dragons and win.
Taming the Wind Page 21