“You might need to explain further about what happened with Trafaumh,” Nathan said, noticing that Sen and Seraph appeared somewhat lost. Or very lost, in the case of Sen. Seraph was sharp, but the intricacies of Imperial politics were not her forte, given she came from the Federation.
Truthfully, the only reason Nathan knew so much was because he had learned of this in his childhood. As the son of a noble, he had been forced to learn about the different governments of his neighbors.
“Right.” Anna drained her tea and poured another cup. “We attacked the Order of Trafaumh months behind schedule. His Majesty wanted to reclaim the Pearlescent Canyon along our northern border, as a symbol that the Empire was ascendant once more in the world. It was something to appease the Nationalists. Instead, negotiations dragged on. Then we invaded in the middle of summer, instead of spring.”
“And ran into heavily fortified positions, because Trafaumh had spent months preparing for an invasion,” Nathan said.
“Mmm,” Anna agreed. “Now the Nationalists blame everybody else for delaying the war, while the Emperor’s supporters blame the Nationalists for not preparing adequately and say that more time was needed.”
“Isn’t that politics as normal?”
“Sure, except that you and Leopold just flattened the Federation, accused them of heresy, and are asking for permission and resources to prosecute our claim.” Anna scowled. “You succeeded where the Nationalists didn’t. And your father is one of their leading figures and really, really hates you.”
She sighed and played with her teacup. Most of the cakes on the platter remained untouched. While Fei demolished any food placed in front of her, Sen and Seraph were pickier with how many sweets they ate.
After giving Nathan a sidelong look, Seraph spoke up, “And where does Falmir play into this?”
“The Nationalists made some stupid claims that not being with the Empire meant you were against us. It got out of hand, and their ambassador left the city in protest.” Anna pressed a hand into her cheek. “That’s what ruined the last few days. The Federation finally requested to negotiate with us but salvaging our relationship with Falmir takes priority.”
“We can’t do both?” Nathan said.
“Didn’t we just hear how incompetent the Diet was? Does it sound like the sort of place that can negotiate with two countries at once? Three, if we include Trafaumh,” Seraph said.
Anna rolled her eyes. “Technically, Leopold is supposed to negotiate, but that will go nowhere. High Lord Torneus isn’t responding to any of us, after all. I think he’s upset about the heresy accusation.”
“That means he’s scared,” Nathan said. “Good.”
“That sort of thinking is dangerous,” Seraph chided. “All this feels too intentional to be a coincidence, or purely the result of political ineptitude.”
“What?” Anna asked, frowning.
“Torneus is refusing to negotiate, but suddenly attempts to at the last second. The Nationalists are at a political disadvantage, but then blow up a political relationship with another major power.” Seraph paused, realizing that neither of them were following her. “Tell me, how would you describe our current position relative to when I joined you?”
“Unchanged. That’s my point,” Anna said.
Nathan leaned back and looked thoughtful. Sen’s attention focused on him, and she took the opportunity to take a cake while she thought nobody was watching.
“No, we’re worse off,” Nathan eventually said. “The whole point of the heresy accusation was to force the Federation into a weaker position, so that they would either surrender or face the full might of the Empire. But neither is happening.”
“And why is that?” Seraph pushed.
“Because the Emperor is too distracted with a larger political fuckup to negotiate with the Federation. And the Nationalists have successfully prevented anybody from forcing them to withdraw from the north, starving us of resources to fight a war against the Federation.” Nathan scowled as he realized the truth. “We’ve been hung out to dry.”
“Exactly.” Seraph smiled. “And it’s all a little too convenient. The Nationalists played their cards at the right time to frustrate us, and the Federation can even claim they attempted to negotiate. If we’re truly unlucky, the faeries may even use that as an excuse to intervene in the conflict.”
Anna’s jaw hung open, and she looked between Seraph and Nathan. “You’re suggesting that the Nationalists are working with the Federation?”
“They have a common cause,” Nathan said bitterly. “The Federation doesn’t want to surrender or fight a war against the Empire. The Nationalists don’t want to lose political face and are building up strength to overthrow Emperor Gorthal.”
“So, the Emperor is focused on relations with Falmir, the Nationalists have convinced everybody to continue throwing more soldiers into the meat grinder that is Trafaumh, and we’re on our own?” Nathan summed up.
“That would be mad of them,” Anna grumbled. “They failed far too publicly against Trafaumh to pull off a coup now. If they keep up their nonsense, the Emperor will be able to publicly back us once Falmir is pacified and nobody will bat an eye. Plus, we still don’t know for sure why the Federation chose to negotiate now rather than earlier.”
“Like the Empire, the Federation isn’t a single cohesive entity,” Seraph said. “It’s possible the Regency Council overruled Torneus. Or perhaps one of the regents is going rogue and reaching out on his own.”
“Can you find out?” Nathan asked.
“I’ll try. My contacts are sparse now, as it’s become public knowledge that I’ve betrayed the Federation, but money greases plenty of wheels.”
The fire in the room continued to burn late into the afternoon as the four of them chatted about the situation. Sen made the least contributions, as the political nature of the problem overwhelmed her.
For the most part, Nathan suspected that Anna wanted company. She lounged and whined for hours. The servants brought out wine, and Nathan indulged alongside her. Although his tolerance was much higher than Anna’s. It only took a few glasses for Anna to be drunk enough to need saving.
“I believe it is time for Lady von Clair to retire,” one of the catgirl maids said, placing a hand on Anna’s shoulder. The countess glared up at her servant but didn’t resist.
“I understand,” Nathan said. “It’s probably best for us to head back before it gets too dark.”
That was a lie. They were in the dead of winter, and a glance out the windows confirmed that it was already black as pitch outside. But nobody protested, and the servant gave Nathan a warm smile in response.
Nathan, Sen, and Seraph piled into the carriage and began the ride home. Little of consequence happened, despite the darkness. The bandits that had once plagued Gharrick County were largely eliminated, and the few that remained were used as training for Nathan’s knights.
The fortress was quiet when they arrived. Few people wandered the streets. Hardly a surprise, given the subzero temperatures.
Their carriage rode through both the outer and inner gates without pausing. Gharrick Pass was a fortress split into two layers: the outer layer, where the residential populace lived and worked; and the inner layer, where the keep and main defenses were built atop a hill. A sturdy limestone wall separated both layers. Soldiers kept watch at all hours from the walls.
“Finally, warmth,” Sen shouted as she burst into the keep. The double doors of the entrance slammed into posts that kept that from opening too far, and the booming noise echoed around them.
Nathan and Seraph followed more sedately. Within moments, both of them stopped. Their eyes darted around the hall, looking for something that wasn’t there.
Or more accurately, people that weren’t there.
“Nathan,” Seraph muttered.
He didn’t respond, too busy diving into the mental world of his binding stone. Using its power, he scanned the castle interior. The results came back withi
n moments, and he scowled as he returned to reality.
“Sen, get back here,” he shouted.
Seraph waited patiently by his side as his younger Champion doubled back, a confused look on her face.
“There are intruders in the castle,” Nathan said. “And I’m pretty sure at least one of them is a mystic fox.”
Chapter 5
Seraph’s eyebrows shot up. “You can sense that?”
“It’s more accurate to say that I can’t sense it, which is what gives it away.” Nathan tapped the side of his head. “The binding stone gives me complete control over the castle. I can add additional rooms at a whim or slap a staircase in place within minutes. That requires me to know what’s happening around me, or else I couldn’t control the binding stone without line of sight of what I’m doing.”
“That’s not how most Bastions work, you know,” Seraph said flatly.
“Well, I guess I’m not like most Bastions.”
“I’ve noticed.” A smile floated on Seraph’s lips. “I wouldn’t be your Champion if you were.”
Did her expression sharpen, or was that Nathan’s imagination?
“Can’t say I get it,” Sen said. She tilted her head. “Although I get the feeling you’ve done this sort of thing before. And explained it in excruciating detail.”
“Ifrit already knows what I’m about to tell you,” Nathan said, referring to the spirit that possessed Sen and granted her supreme power over fire. “It’s possible to use magic to actively hide from sensory detection magic. But it’s not elemental magic, it’s a form of spatial magic. And there’s only one race who is good enough at it to hide from a Bastion inside his castle.”
“Foxes,” Seraph said. “They’re master illusionists, assassins, and mage-killers as a result. You say you can sense a void?”
“When I try to scan the entrance to the basement, I can’t sense anything. Not the walls, not the door or its enchantments, not the summons that should be guarding it.” Nathan shrugged. “That’s a surefire sign that somebody is using spatial magic to cut me off. Demons can use it, so it’s something I need to be able to detect.”
Nathan walked forward, and the two women followed. Neither had their proper weapons on them. While Seraph usually used tonfas and Sen a greatsword, they were clumsy tools to carry around everywhere. Both of them carried a simple enchanted longsword. Far from an ideal situation to fight mystic foxes, but Seraph was a duogem Champion.
Of course, that only applied if the intruder wasn’t also a powerful Champion. That void prevented him from learning anything about them, so he was going in blind. Perhaps he should head farther inside the keep and call for help from his other two Champions.
The entrance to the basement was only around the corner, however. Nathan’s curiosity was piqued, and the intruder surely knew he had returned. Sen’s loud entrance had made sure of that.
The three of them rounded the corner, weapons drawn. A long staircase led down to the basement. At the very bottom was a solid steel door. Runes glowed on it as a visual indicator of the enchantment that Nathan had cast on the door to prevent intrusion. The enchantments only opened the door for those who Nathan had granted access to, and those were a limited few.
Nobody stood in front of the door. A pair of bulky knight summons stood guard outside, staring at nothing in particular. Not a sound could be heard, and no damage was visible.
Seraph and Sen frowned. Sen’s free hand glowed, and he felt her reach out with her magic. A moment later, she shook her head at him.
With a raised eyebrow, Seraph looked at Nathan.
“Tell me, what do you find wrong with this picture?” Nathan asked.
Sen tilted her head to one side. She looked down the stairway, her eyebrows furrowed.
Seraph’s lips quirked upward. “I’m not a sorcerer, so I can’t pick up whether something is off or not. But everything looks fine to me.” She paused for effect. “Except for one thing.”
Nathan waited for her to continue, but she didn’t. He waved a hand in the air in exasperation, urging her to go on. “Do you have to be like this?”
“I’m imagining the tension this must be causing.” Seraph laughed. “But fine. You mentioned you couldn’t sense the summons guarding the gate, so I tried to command them. No response. I’m not very good at controlling your summons yet, but I’m not so incompetent that I can’t order them around when they’re literally in front of my face.”
The summons that Nathan created with the binding stone were mentally tethered to him. Seraph and his other Champions had a similar connection due to the gems implanted in their collarbones, which bonded them to him for life and granted them their immense power.
Using that connection, Seraph could give orders to Nathan’s summons. His Champions tended to be rather clumsy at it, as they weren’t trained to command summons or control magic using mental commands. But as Seraph said, both she and Fei were more than capable of ordering around the summons if they had line of sight.
“You can’t order them around because they’ve been destroyed, I imagine,” Nathan said, crossing his arms. “Their true state is covered up by illusion magic.”
“Should we confirm by touch?” Seraph suggested, her eyes twinkling with mirth.
“Are you trying to get me killed?”
She giggled, much to Sen’s confusion.
Nathan sighed. “If our uninvited guests are talented, then the summons will feel real to the touch. But there is no way for them to detect our mental commands.” He raised his voice. “I know you can hear us. Stop wasting our time and show yourselves.”
No response.
Sen gripped her sword nervously, looking between Nathan and the bottom of the stairway. By contrast, Seraph twirled her sword and placed a hand on her hips.
“They have to be here,” Nathan muttered.
“What if they’re not?” Sen asked.
“Then they’ve escaped. I can’t sense anything closer to the binding stone.”
Sen nodded slowly. She licked her lips. “Then I’ll flush them out.”
Wait, what? “Sen, don’t—”
Ignoring him, Sen cast a fourth rank spell. A glowing square of red light appeared in front of her open palm, and flames fountained down the staircase. Fire consumed Nathan’s vision within moments.
But the fire never reached the bottom. It slammed into an invisible barrier of force and bounced off. Jets of flame spiraled every which way, scorching the walls and melting the decorations on the walls. The spell threatened to bounce back up the stairs at any moment.
“Stop that,” Seraph snapped. She raised her sword, the jades in her chest glittering as she prepared to use her gem abilities to destroy Sen’s spell.
The flames vanished in a moment, and Sen lowered her arm. Her eyes were wide, her expression lost in shock at the fact her spell was so easily blocked. She hadn’t even seen her opponent’s spell.
Their opponents were visible now, however. A man and a woman stood at the bottom of the stairs. The summons were in ruins, and the door showed signs of damage. Nathan felt relieved to see that the runes still glowed on its metallic surface. The intruders hadn’t broken through.
That was the only good sign Nathan took from the intruders.
Nathan vaguely recognized the man, but not by name. His face was familiar, which likely meant they had fought together in the past. Nathan knew this because there were a pair of red garnets in his collarbone. If he was a duogem Champion, then that meant he was from the Federation.
The familiarity that Nathan felt likely stemmed from the fall of the Federation in his timeline. He must have fought alongside this particular Champion at some point.
But it was the other Champion that truly caught Nathan’s attention.
Six silver fox tails. Long silver hair past her shoulders and a twitching pair of fox ears. A pair of sapphire gems in her collar. A slim, buxom frame hidden by a dark blue robe in the fashion of the Kurai Peninsula. Although Nathan susp
ected that most women from her homeland didn’t tailor their robes to hug their figures and reveal so much thigh.
The fox’s bright blue eyes stabbed at Nathan, but he didn’t look away. He knew this woman.
Narime.
What was she doing here? Silly question. She worked for the Federation, and he was their enemy. She was bound to appear at some point. He had merely hoped that her arrival would take place later, when he was better prepared to deal with her.
Right now, fighting two duogem Champions was a tough call. He had Seraph, but the rest of his Champions were only monogems.
The gap created by each gem a Champion received was enormous. Each gem provided an exponential increase in power for a Champion, as well as new abilities and powers. Not only were Narime and the male Champion stronger than Fei and Sen, but they also had tricks at their disposal that most of Nathan’s Champions didn’t.
“Wait—” Nathan began to say, holding up a hand.
Narime didn’t let him finish. Her hands thrust forward, palms together, and a glowing golden pentagram appeared in front of them. Her tails glowed and the surrounding stones lit up with white incandescent light. The sapphires in her chest remained dull.
A moment later, the pentagram exploded into a furious flash of light.
Seraph cursed and raised her sword. Nathan was faster, already prepared for Narime’s spell.
As the pentagram vanished into motes of golden light, time slowed to a crawl. Nathan’s body was frozen, but he still perceived everything perfectly.
He had entered the mental world of his binding stone, but this time he focused his physical senses.
Sen’s eyes widened millimeter by millimeter. Seraph’s muscles rippled in slow motion, the fabric of her cheongsam frozen in space. Both of her jades glowed brilliantly, and Nathan saw the glow of her gem ability focus in her longsword. When time resumed, a blast of magic would fly from her sword and attempt to destroy the spell that Narime had cast.
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