by Rosie Scott
Hasani huffed with amusement at my stubbornness, but he followed as I made my way to a large round table near the center of the floor that Nyx had reserved for us. It had ten seats and was almost fully occupied by Cerin, Nyx, Azazel, Maggie, Holter, Calder, and Mirrikh.
“I only recognize two of you fine people,” Hasani commented, exchanging friendly greetings with Cerin and Nyx as they stood for his arrival. I noticed that he wasn't flirtatious with Nyx, which was surprising given how much he'd fancied her years ago. Hasani turned to me and asked, “Where's Anto the Invincible and his little spunky beau?”
No matter how many times someone asked me this, I always felt pain when I answered. “Jakan and Anto were casualties of the Battle of Highland Pass. We buried them in Eteri.”
Hasani frowned and once again put his hand on my shoulder. “I'm so sorry to hear that, sister. I'm sure they would have followed you to the ends of Arrayis if they could. They seemed far happier with you than they were in my country.”
“They were happy together until the end,” I agreed heavily, before motioning to Azazel. “This is Azazel Beriah, the best archer you will ever meet and one with a mind as sharp as a blade. He is my right-hand man, strategist, and my first appointed general of Chairel.”
Hasani and Azazel shook hands. “I believe Kai when she says you are the best bowman,” the king said. “I believe you are the one who killed my messenger when you all were affected by Amora. It was the longest shot I've ever seen anyone pull off.”
Azazel grimaced. “I apologize profusely for that. It wasn't the best first impression.”
Hasani shook his head and smiled. “You were not of mind. There's no reason to apologize. Kai is clearly lucky to have met you. Over the past week since the battle, I've heard many people mention you.”
“Uh-oh,” Azazel commented, though he smiled.
Hasani laughed. “No need to fret, friend. While Kai has holed herself up in that gods-forsaken castle working, you've done one hell of a job whipping people into shape to get things moving in this city. I find your work ethic and your tireless loyalty admirable. I wish all of my retainers were as dedicated as you.”
“Thank you,” Azazel replied, appearing overwhelmingly appreciative of the compliments. He kept his composure as he said, “Loyalty begets loyalty. I owe Kai my life in many respects. In much the same way, your support of us here should not be understated. You had your own concerns in Nahara and have for years, but you took the trek here to support us. I was there when Kai negotiated assistance for you in Eteri. I saw how desperate she was to aid you. To see that favor repaid in kind says a lot of you.”
Hasani raised an eyebrow and glanced in my direction. “Keep this one close to you, Kai, or else I may steal him from you and put him to work.” Azazel and I laughed at that, and the king turned back to the archer. “Thank you for your compliments, friend. Allow yourself to enjoy this party tonight before you throw yourself back into heeding the requests of a demanding goddess.” Hasani grinned back at me.
Holter stood as Hasani came around the table and reached out a hand. “I am Holter Dunn,” he greeted. “It's nice to meet you.”
“And you, Holter, are a half-breed of the type I have never seen before,” Hasani commented. “Let me guess: Vhiri and Alderi?”
“Yes,” Holter replied. “I come from the wildlands. My father is an escaped slave and my mother is an expatriate of Eteri.”
“Ah,” Hasani said. “So you joined up with Kai during that little detour of hers through the wildlands.”
“No,” Holter said, with a regretful grimace. “I was too young at the time. I met Nyx in Eteri when she was separated from the others. We bonded, so she brought me with her when she rejoined them. I am only here because of her attraction.”
Hasani laughed heartily at that before I intervened, “Holter understates himself. He is a phenomenal scout. It was due to him that our allies cleared the way for you to kill Amora on the field.”
“Ah, truly?” Hasani smiled warmly at Holter and said, “That humility of yours is good to have, but don't let it undermine your abilities.”
Holter nodded, appreciating the advice. “I am also a musician, and Kai gave me a job to learn Naharan music. Would you mind if I spent some time with your men in Comercio to train with Naharan instruments?”
Hasani grinned and glanced back at me. “Of course that would be your request of this poor man.” To Holter, he answered, “You can train with them as much as you'd like, and I'll see what I can do about getting you your own Naharan instruments. True desert music requires more than one instrument, so you must be trained well enough so you may teach others.”
Excitement waved over Holter's handsome features before he said, “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
Hasani moved to greet Maggie next, and the engineer promptly stood, smiling widely at him from above as they shook hands. “You are just as beautiful as Nyx has always claimed,” Maggie complimented him.
Hasani grinned, surprised. “Well, thank you, friend.”
“I'm Maggie Roark,” the engineer continued. “Builder, inventor, warrior, lover of things that go boom, and lover of beautiful people.” Surrounding Hasani's hand with both of hers, she asked, “Are ya still lookin' for a wife?”
Hasani burst into laughter at her enthusiasm. “If that was a come-on, I'm sorry, friend. I have a wife and three little ones at home.”
“Son of a bitch,” Maggie cursed heartily, and the rest of us chuckled. “Well, allow me to congratulate ya, then. Lucky one, your wife is.”
“I'll tell her,” Hasani said happily.
The king finally moved on to Calder and Mirrikh, and Calder stood up to greet him, a ferris cigarette hanging out of his mouth as he offered a hand.
“Calder Cerberius?” Hasani questioned.
“The one and only,” Calder replied.
Hasani took Calder's hand, but instead of shaking it, he pulled the other man into a warm embrace and slapped him on the back like an old friend. “A handshake doesn't cut it, friend. You have been one of the best allies I could have hoped for. It is beyond a pleasure to finally meet you.”
The two men separated, and Calder grinned as he said, “It's a pleasure to meet you as well. You're a lot more fun in person than I could have imagined.”
“I'm glad for it,” Hasani replied, before motioning to Calder's cigarette. “And now I know why all of your correspondence smelled like ferris. Some of my closest confidants suspected that I had taken up the habit, for my office now stinks like a den of criminals.”
Calder chuckled roughly. “I apologize.”
“No need. I assume the drug is legal in the underground.”
Calder nodded. “And in the wildlands, and it'll be legal in Chairel when Kai takes it.”
Hasani seemed to find that intriguing. “It is still illegal in Nahara, but perhaps I'll look into the issue. If you two are doing away with its stigma, there are probably good reasons for it.”
“It is necessary for beastmen,” Calder said. “It helps with our pain. And while we're on the subject, thank you for letting my men have access to Nahara's wildlife while they were there.”
“Did your scientist have any luck with the rocs and scorpions?” Hasani asked.
Calder jerked a thumb back to Mirrikh, and the scientist stood, trembling with nerves. “I did. I'm Mirrikh Sly. I've created many roc-kins and created one scorpion-kin. Myself.”
“Truly?” Hasani shook Mirrikh's hand when he offered it. “Then I suppose it was worth the trouble. I heard your group had a hell of a fight with the scorpions just south of T'ahal.”
“It was an entertaining fight,” Mirrikh replied, his voice shaking and words rambling. “One of them partially decapitated Melka. They split her skull at the nose with one clasp of a pincer. That's when I knew I wanted to be scorpion-kin. The others kept charming the scorpions until they fought each other to the death. We made bets. I won some gold. I got the blood. It was a good day.”
As Hasani raised his eyebrows, Calder cut in, “Mirrikh gets really excited over very odd things.”
“Many of the beastmen do,” Hasani replied, shrugging off Calder's concerns. “They are a bunch of eccentric people. Receiving your reinforcements certainly expanded my worldview, friend. I was used to only seeing the occasional beastman when they were sold into slavery as gladiators. I understood little about them until I had to learn how to lead them.”
“Did they give you any problems?” Calder questioned.
“Many at first,” Hasani said with a laugh. “But I tried to lead them like any of my other soldiers. I finally learned to set them loose on the frontlines and give them orders sparingly. They wouldn't listen to me the rest of the time, anyway.”
Calder chuckled.
Hasani and I finally took our seats, but not before the king motioned to a Naharan standing near the band, causing the man to jog downstairs.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
“As I told you, sister, I bring gifts,” Hasani replied. “We'll talk, drink, and dance once we get tipsy enough.” He nodded toward the open floor in front of the band. “I've been looking forward to our reunion for years.”
“Me too, brother,” I admitted, leaning over the table on my forearms to rest as much as I could right now. I was mentally and physically exhausted from the work I'd been doing in the week since Comercio's takeover. My allies helped as much as they could which I was grateful for. Cyrus and Zephyr handled the prisoners of war while Uriel and Dax put themselves in charge of healing the injured. Marcus and the giants oversaw Rek and the orcs while they camped out on the plains, for the giants couldn't fit in such a cluttered city, and I ordered the orcs to stay out for the safety of the civilians. Calder sent messengers to the Alderi tunnel near Narangar requesting reinforcements, for his casualties were the highest of all of us because of Melodi's insistence on using her song against the people with the most sensitive senses. I'd also asked Calder to take his illusionists to interrogate the prisoners of war and try to recruit them to my army, using charm to ensure their honesty if they agreed.
As for the Renegades, Maggie made herself busy the first few days by finding things to complain about in the city before putting her mind to fixing or upgrading them, though she'd abided by my eventual request to focus on making shells for the cannons we'd brought with us from our last campaign. I hadn't wanted to use them against Comercio due to its lack of resources, but I would certainly use them in Sera, and it was possible Narangar's inland entrance required the siege weapons as well. Holter spent his days making potions to aid our injured, and he transformed at night to scout Comercio's plains for foes. Other than throwing this party, Nyx had done little but entertain groups of my soldiers. Cerin helped me go through Comercio's castle and other government buildings for information, and he ensured I had enough to eat since I always neglected my own needs when I was this busy. As always, Azazel was the tie that held everything together, for he directed people to their tasks when I couldn't, delivered my messages and requests to others, and often made suggestions that saved me time or stress. Whenever my to-do list overwhelmed me, Azazel remained calm-headed and always had solutions to my concerns. Sometimes I'd go to work on a task just to find he'd already completed it.
As stressed as I was, this situation only reminded me of how lucky I was for each of my friends and allies. I'd built a court of loyal people with vastly different backgrounds and abilities over the years, and my takeover of Comercio was the first time our ability to work together in such a way was put to the test. Thank the gods it was a test we seemed to pass.
The Naharan Hasani motioned to earlier finally approached us with a closed wooden crate, hefting it up onto the table in front of the king. The man brought out a metal crowbar and stuck the wedged end beneath the lid of the crate, prying its nails loose until it was open. Hasani thanked the man and stood, digging into the mysterious box with an arm.
“Please tell me you brought some of that fine Naharan ale,” Nyx pleaded, lifting in her seat to look for it.
Hasani raised an eyebrow and gave her a playful glare. “Don't ruin the surprise, blabbermouth,” he teased, pulling out a large, curvy bottle of spiced Naharan ale.
“Do go on,” Calder said happily, leaning forward in anticipation.
Hasani chuckled and set the bottle on the table before grabbing another. “I have enough to go around.” He poured the spicy ale into mugs for all of us before sitting once again. Leaning over and clashing his glass with mine, he said, “I saved some of it for you, sister. As you asked.”
“Thank you,” I replied, before taking a sip. It was both spicy and sweet, just like I remembered. I was transported through time with nostalgia. When I put the mug back on the table, I turned to Hasani once more. “It's just as delicious as I remember. Now tell me how you managed to kidnap a wife and have three children during all of this nonsense.”
Hasani laughed heartily at my quip and took a swig of his ale. “She married me out of pity, I'm sure.”
“Is she Alderi?” I questioned.
“No,” Hasani replied, though he grinned as he met Calder's eyes from over the table. “But I have to admit, I had some fun with that first batch of reinforcements you sent. Your people sure know how to party.”
“Before or after you married?” Calder asked.
“Before,” Hasani replied. “I love a good time, friend, but I wouldn't cheat on my wife.”
“That's not why I was asking,” Calder replied. “Alderi women are crafty. If they knew they could birth an heir to a throne, they might track you down and promise a good time hoping to gain a connection to power.”
“Yes, but I thought Alderi women were sterilized,” Hasani replied.
“They were forced to be before our takeover,” Calder said. “Now we leave it up to personal choice.”
“They could've duped you,” Nyx spoke up in agreement.
Hasani chuckled dryly. “Even if they did, it clearly didn't result in a child. That was back in late-422, and I married late the next year. If they wanted to cause a stink, they would have by now.”
“So you married in 423 and had three children in seven years,” I mused. “Are you competing with Terran?”
Hasani huffed with humor. “Ah, it seems you gathered intel about his children before I had to tell you. No, sister, but I was desperate for heirs. I married late. My wife is a mage you taught in the magic school you and Cerin built in T'ahal all those years ago.”
“Truly?” I asked. “What is her name?”
“Jessenia,” Hasani replied, waiting to see if I could recall her.
“I'm sorry, brother, but her name isn't ringing a bell.”
“Ah, no matter,” Hasani shrugged lightly. “You've taught many over the years. Jess is an earth mage, but she doesn't practice. She only teaches. Otherwise, I wouldn't want her to have to bear so many children. I met her in that school, you know, during a visit. Jess expressed her admiration for how I was changing Nahara, and we got to talking.”
“And then the true magic happened,” Nyx blurted.
Hasani laughed abruptly. “Yes, as a matter of fact. We married the same year, and in 424, my eldest son Chasin was born. In 425 we had a daughter, Amira, and in 427, my second son Nahor came along. All three are cute as buttons, but gods, do babies stink.” A few of us chuckled before he continued, “I've been so busy with the war at the border that I haven't seen any of them for a good two years.”
“Gods, I'm sorry,” I sympathized.
“That wasn't a complaint, sister. I miss them so much it hurts, but I wouldn't miss finishing this war with you for the world.” Hasani took another drink of his ale. “I heard about your little spat with Terran up north. The rumors say you broke Arrayis in half trying to kill him.”
“I did some rearranging of the landscape,” I replied dryly. “I decided the northeastern plains could use some rivers.”
Hasani chuckled. “Your powers know
no limits.”
“Clearly they do, or he wouldn't have escaped.”
“Forgive me for saying this, sister, but when I heard you chased after him I couldn't believe my ears. You showed him mercy near T'ahal.”
“Don't remind me,” I mumbled before I took another drink of alcohol.
“You really have grown,” Hasani commented, watching me carefully. “You have that look in your eyes that was missing the last time we saw one another.”
“What look?” I questioned.
“The look that says you've been through hell and back again,” Hasani replied. “Every soldier and general at war for any real length of time gets it. I have seen some of the most innocent and vulnerable people go into war, and if they're lucky to make it out alive, it changes them. Some go mad. Some get depressed. Some swear off violence. Some gain a taste for it. You were never weak, sister, but you are stronger than ever before. This war has put you through some awful things and required you to respond in kind, and you have with resolve and purpose. It is admirable to me that you have the mental fortitude to charge forth with your goals even though it means you have to commit acts you never wanted to do.”
“War is brutal,” I replied. “If you don't play along, you become its victim. I don't like being a victim.”
Hasani chuckled. “Neither do I. You know, when Edrys's men killed my father, I felt enlightened. I loved my father. Well,” he blurted, “sometimes I hated him, too.” Cerin and I laughed at that, knowing it was true. “I loved him more often than I agreed with him, that's for sure. The thing I hated most was his groveling to Chairel, but I understood it. Nahara has been weaker than Chairel for generations, and we relied so much on them for magic. Chairel wouldn't relent on keeping their magical knowledge hostage, so he decided groveling was the next best thing. Then, you came along and offered us what you did. For the first time in so long, we were no longer reliant on Chairel. Because they could no longer boss us around, they decided to wipe us out. When my father was killed, I had an epiphany. I wasn't going to follow in his footsteps. I might not be a better king, but I wanted to be a different king.