Taming the Wind

by S. L. Kassidy

  Again, Nakia had to bite her tongue to keep from scoffing. She had something beyond extravagant planned, even if Empress Chandra was set to arrive in two days. Ashni wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of having something to complain about.

  Once all the pomp and ceremony was done, everyone moved over to an entertainment room. There were musicians, dancers, and servants brought in food as everyone found sitting pillows. Ashni took her usual space in a corner and Nakia cuddled into her. Adira and Saniyah were with them as were Layla and Naren. Bashira stuck around, even though royal parties were a bit too fast for her. She dealt with it to be around Nakia. Damn, who would’ve thought I have a best friend.

  Jay and Asad came to sit with them, but only to share a drink. Then, they found their own spaces with their attendants and possibly their spouses. Nakia wasn’t sure, but Asad shared his large sitting pillow with a young man and woman, both dressed to the nines with fabulous jewelry. Jay had a petite woman with him.

  “Are those their spouses?” Nakia asked.

  “The two with Asad are. I think the woman with Jay is just his favorite for the moment,” Ashni said.

  Nakia put her hands on Ashni’s cheeks. “I better be your only favorite.”

  “My only spouse, too. Eventually, right?” Ashni grinned, even as Nakia pressed her cheeks.

  “Of course. Whenever you see fit to halt your conquest for me. I mean, you’ll stop for your mother, but not me.”

  Ashni chuckled. “We didn’t come back here for my mother.”

  Nakia’s brow wrinkled. “Then why did we?”

  “Because it was cold as a bitch where we were. I think we’re not going to bother with the North. How the hell is the West so nice until you start going north?” Ashni gave an exaggerated shiver.

  “Isn’t your mother from the northern part of the Empire?”

  “Making the North even more worthless and useless and horrible to me.”

  Nakia scoffed, but didn’t say anything. She couldn’t figure out Ashni’s relationship with her mother and no one would help her understand it. Ashni made it seem like she disliked her mother, but whenever she talked about what Amal did, one of the things that got her the angriest was how he degraded their mother. And, whenever Ashni made some negative comment about her mother, Layla defended the empress or Adira would act like Ashni was making it up. Nakia couldn’t wait to see the relationship play out in front of her, so she could at least figure out how to approach the subject with Ashni.

  For now, Nakia would try to understand Ashni’s brothers. She studied Jay and Asad, but it was hard to pick up anything at a distance. Jay didn’t interact with anyone beyond the woman next to him. Asad indulged in everything the party had to offer, including feeling up one of the dancers, even though he had two spouses with him. Neither of his spouses said anything to him. He downed cup after cup of wine as well.

  The party wasn’t like Ashni’s usual fare. Many nobles seemed to fade from the room much sooner than she expected and they all retired at a reasonable hour. Jay complained the whole set up was “too much,” whatever that meant. Asad went the opposite way and said how “there should’ve been better wine and your dancers need more practice.” Of course, that didn’t stop either of them from taking two dancers each back to their apartments.

  “Your brothers are…” Nakia searched for something kind to say. Ashni always said kind things about her sisters after meeting both of them, but nothing came to mind for her to finish that sentence. They walked through the palace, heading back to her room.

  Ashni sucked her teeth. “Pains in the ass.”

  Nakia shrugged. “I’ll wait and see if they throw tantrums during chess.”

  “Oh, yeah. Play them tomorrow. You think Amal was a baby about it? You haven’t seen anything until that big idiot Jay gets hit with a checkmate. He actually breathes fire.”

  Nakia shuddered. She still had nightmares about the way Amal glared at her when Ashni helped her win the first time she played him. And to think that could’ve been worse had he used his fire.

  She grabbed Ashni’s hand and held it. “Anyway, are you finally coming to bed with me?”

  Ashni arched an eyebrow. “Finally?”

  “Come now. You haven’t slept beside me in days.”

  Ashni sighed. “Forgive me, my queen. I’m putting something together. You’ll see.”

  “Is it for your mother’s arrival?”

  “Yes.”

  Nakia squeezed Ashni’s hand. “Don’t run yourself into the ground for one guest, even if she’s the empress. You could always let me do it.”

  “I could, but I won’t.”

  “You let me handle plenty of things.” It seemed strange Ashni wouldn’t trust her to do this. She had organized so many other things in the last year.

  “I know. If I could let you do this, I would. And, it’s not me letting you. Have you ever tried to stop you from doing something you want to do? It’s a headache. You beat me down every time.”

  Nakia scoffed. “Liar.”

  Ashni grinned, eyes sparkling with pure affection, and Nakia let her off the hook. She didn’t want to give Ashni a reason not to go to bed with her tonight. She missed their intimacy. Lying next to Ashni gave her a chance to cuddle and caress Ashni in ways she couldn’t with people around. They always talked before going to sleep. She missed that.

  “I miss you,” Nakia said.

  “I miss you, too. Let’s not have that happen when it’s unnecessary. Should we go to your room or mine?” Ashni asked. Nakia’s was closer, so that was where they spent the night.

  ***

  “This is crazy, right? I shouldn’t have done this. I mean, this is crazy, right?” Ashni paced her small sitting room. Why did I think this was a good idea?

  “No, this is good,” Adira said from her space at a desk, going through a list they had.

  Ashni’s face scrunched up. “You sure? I mean, do people do this?” She felt like no one did this. This was her own little unique bit of madness.

  “People don’t do it, but that’s what makes it good. You’ll see tomorrow when it happens. When are you going to have her outfit delivered?”

  “In the morning. I’m going to tell her it’s for meeting my mother.”

  Adira nodded. “Is your mother here yet?”

  “She should be within the hour. Layla rode out to meet her.”

  “Little brothers with her?”

  “Last I heard. Think the twins are still cute?”

  “Considering what I’ve seen Layla, Nakia, Naren, and Hafiz do at this age, no. There’s no way they’re close to cute, especially if your mother taught them witchcraft.”

  Ashni couldn’t argue. “I’m pretty sure she did, but then again, she taught us all a little. Apparently, they just find it more interesting than the rest of us. So, is everything in place?”

  “We’re good to go whenever you are. Keep her away from the main garden until it’s time.”

  Ashni scrubbed her face with her hands and sighed. Keeping Nakia away from stuff was difficult. “Why couldn’t we just get Bashira to take her shopping again?”

  “She’s not going to keep going shopping. Bashira said she didn’t want to do it the other day when your brothers arrived.”

  Ashni groaned. “Those two. They have such nerve!”

  “At least they didn’t try to kill you.”

  “Such a small favor. They’re more secure in their positions than damned Amal. It’s a lot easier to be first and second than third.”

  Adira waved the matter off. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s get this out of the way and then worry about the other things later.”

  Ashni nodded. She wanted to make sure everything was perfect for tomorrow. So, until her mother arrived, she checked, double-checked, and triple-checked everything. Butterflies flitted around in her stomach. She wanted to vomit them up. Despite Adira assuring her so many times that this was good and romantic and great, she felt like it was the dumbest idea
she ever had and that said a lot.

  “Adira told me you were pacing.”

  Ashni gasped and turned at the sound of her mother’s voice. Her pacing had traveled from the small room to one of the gardens, but she kept glancing at the main garden. Just the thought made it feel like her guts were going to fall out of her body.

  “Mommy, when did you get here?” Shit! I was supposed to greet her. She then winced as she realized she said ‘mommy’ instead of ‘mom.’ Standing before her mother took her right back to her childhood.

  Chandra gave her a small smile with pale, pink lips. Her mother often reminded her of someone who was freezing. She was even cold to the touch, like the northern frost was etched in her bones. But there was also a warmth about her. Ashni sometimes felt like it lived inside of her, too, but she didn’t want it to. A warrior wasn’t supposed to have the warmth of an embrace inside of her.

  “Not too long ago. Adira showed me the space. It’s beautiful.” Chandra’s smile grew and her eyes twinkled.

  Ashni frowned and folded her hands across her stomach. “You don’t think it’s stupid?”

  Chandra shrugged, her white and gold robes swishing from the movement. “You know her better than I do.”

  Ashni sucked her teeth. They had spoken about this so often, but she still wasn’t sure if a surprise was the way to go. She wanted something no one had ever done. Adira promised her every single time they had a meeting, no one had ever done this. Because it’s stupid and you’re an ass.

  “How are you feeling, Ashni?” Chandra tilted her head. She had to be careful or her crown, a golden eagle design studded with priceless gems, would slide off.

  “Stressed,” Ashni replied before she could think. She scowled. “Don’t work your witchcraft on me.”

  Chandra rolled her eyes. “Yes, because we both know you’d never admit the truth to me. Would it make you feel better to know I cast bones for you?”

  Ashni frowned even deeper. “No. I need you to not do things to draw attention to me. I’ve been blessed by the gods and I’m good with what I’ve been given. I don’t want them to think I’m dissatisfied in any way, so don’t look into my future. It doesn’t help that my last few sacrifices have been in Adira’s honor rather than theirs, which I’m sure the gods aren’t happy about.”

  “Adira does a great deal for you. I’m sure they’ll understand. Why do you fear losing their favor? You told me before you thought they cast you out of their grace. I don’t understand why. Life isn’t as easy as it used to be? Life isn’t meant to be easy when you’re destined for greatness, when you’re building something that’ll outlast all of us.”

  Ashni ran her hands through her hair. “It used to be.”

  “It was easy for your father at first as well.”

  “And then he met you?”

  Chandra chuckled. “Indeed. Maybe it’s because I was the first thing he couldn’t just bowl over, and at first, he questioned why the gods would give him these emotions for me. I did the same. We started out the worst for each other, toxic, poisonous until we learned to navigate each other and found we coexisted better than we ever did floating alone. You couldn’t bowl over Nakia, could you?”

  Ashni shook her head. “That’s none of your business.”

  Chandra reached out and caressed her cheek. Because her mother ran both hot and cold, it was always strange to experience her touch. There was an initial chill followed by soft flare under the skin. The sensation calmed Ashni and reminded her of happier times, times when she was too small to hug her mother anywhere but around the waist, times when her father was there, and times when she didn’t know her older brothers wouldn’t be there for her the way she’d been taught a family should be.

  “Your father would be so proud of you right now. Well, he’d make fun of you, but he’d be so proud.” Chandra chuckled.

  Ashni scoffed. “He is in the Heavens right now, laughing and joking with all the gods about this, especially since I can’t figure out if it’s stupid or not.”

  “He doesn’t have the right to laugh. He knows what happened to him on his own special day.”

  “I’m not going to the surgeons at the end of the night.” At least she could be confident about that.

  “I doubt you are.” Chandra stepped closer. The long, flowing white robes she wore always made it seem like she hovered. Her pale skin made her seem so much like a ghost. “Your father would be proud of you for everything, but this would be the biggest. You know how he felt about family.”

  Ashni scratched her eyebrow. “And I count?”

  Chandra frowned. “Of course. Don’t you dare believe any of that venom Amal spouted. You are the child of the Amir, not just in blood, but in legacy. And, I promise you, even if it wasn’t in blood, he’d choose you out of a hundred thousand children and he’d love you just as he did. And trust me, disguised as your father or not, there’s no way the storm god could’ve fooled me.”

  Ashni shook her head. “I know you’d never be fooled by anyone pretending to be Dad.”

  Her mother wore all white always as a sign of mourning. White, the color of death, she’d wear it until her own funeral. She respected her mother more than words could express just for honoring her father in such a way. Bonds didn’t have to be blood. Amal proved blood meant nothing sometimes. Connections went deeper than blood. Layla taught me that.

  “You know, it doesn’t bother me about the blood. I know Dad chose me and that’s all that matters. I am his daughter. No matter what.” Ashni knew that, but saying it aloud fortified her in a way she hadn’t expected. She was connected to her father in ways her brothers could only dream of.

  Chandra gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Blood doesn’t mean family all the time. You have bonded to a good family. You’re growing that family.”

  “Dad will be here, won’t he?” She needed her father to see this moment, even if it was from the afterlife.

  Chandra smiled. “He wouldn’t dare miss it. After all, I have to die eventually. If I get to him and find out he missed it, he’ll be looking to get reincarnated to escape my wrath.”

  Ashni finally smiled. Tears pricked her eyes, but she could cry later, when her mother wasn’t right there to tease her. Her mother gave her another pat on the shoulder.

  “Come. You have a wedding to attend and no princess deserves to be kept waiting.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  NAKIA WAS QUITE NERVOUS about meeting Empress Chandra. Ashni hadn’t helped prepare her, too busy in whatever project she had going on, so Nakia didn’t know what was expected of her. This was Ashni’s mother and ruler of about half the known world as far as Nakia understood. There had to be all types of ceremony and tradition to go with this, like when she formally met Samar and Badar, Layla’s parents. The only help Ashni had been was to have a dress delivered to her.

  “Highness, please, we must begin to dress you.” The servants rushed about, fluttering around the rooms in ways she had never seen.

  Nakia turned her eyes to her outfit, more fabric than she was used to. There was so much teal, gold, and red. Servants kept coming in with jewels and gems that went with it. Then there were so many shoes. She couldn’t remember a time Ashni even suggested what sort of footwear she should use to meet someone. Empress Chandra had to be even bigger than she thought. I have to do everything right.

  “Would it be too presumptuous for me to wear pearls?” Nakia had worn them on many occasions, but they were for royalty. Yes, everyone around saw her as Ashni’s consort, but that wasn’t official and she wasn’t sure how Empress Chandra would take it.

  “Of course not.”

  Not expecting an answer, especially not from an unfamiliar voice, Nakia jumped and turned. An unknown woman, dressed all in white, stood before her. She looked almost ethereal with skin so pale, it could rival the most polished pearl. Nakia knew her, even without her saying. She knew those eyes, had seen them in painting, mosaics, and tapestries.

  “Empress!�
� Nakia quickly ducked into a bow.

  “Stand, child. You’re my daughter’s consort. No need to stand on ceremony for me,” Chandra said.

  Nakia did as ordered. Her heart hammered in her chest. I’m not ready for this. She didn’t know any of the rituals that went with meeting Empress Chandra. “I don’t…I don’t…” Her mouth and brain refused to work together. “I’m getting ready to meet you.”

  Delight danced in the empress’ faded green eyes. “Oh, well, we’ll pretend we didn’t meet to save face, but I wanted to see you as soon as possible. I can help. We’ll decide on the best arrangement, and you can impress Ashni that you knew exactly what to wear to meet me. Of course, as soon as I express any praise, she’ll act upset. She might think I’ve tainted you.”

  Nakia swallowed down a lump in her throat. “Tainted me?”

  Chandra chuckled. It was a surprisingly light sound for someone so intense. “Don’t worry. She just hates when I approve of anything she does. Or at least, she likes to pretend she does. On the inside, when I tell her how well she’s chosen, she’ll preen more than the happiest eagle. You are her sun, after all.”

  A blush burned Nakia’s cheeks. The empress seemed to know more about her than she knew about Empress Chandra. It was nice to know she was liked already, but it didn’t calm her nerves.

  “Samar wrote me after you had dinner with her family. She told me how much she liked the way Ashni acted with you. So, I don’t want you to be nervous.”

  Nakia swallowed again. “A way to make me less nervous is to not bring up Samar again.” Every time she went to their villa—compound really, hosting all of the Shadow Walkers of Khenshu—Samar watched her like she could see under Nakia’s skin. Of course, she looked at everyone that way, but it was unsettling.

  Chandra laughed. “Yes, she can be unnerving, but you call her Samar, so that’s a good sign. She and I took a while to warm to each other as well. I always feared she was trying to steal my daughter, but we’ve learned to share. She thinks highly of you. I’ll think highly of you as well. You’re my daughter now.”