by Radu Aldea
The Senatorial Council had allowed the Guild to exist because it had its uses. It was a way to weed out the more disgruntled senators from the families. Brute strength alone was not enough to rule. Battle-senators had learned that the hard way. Before the Great War some lost their lives in the assassination attempts of their weaker brethren. The Guild solved that problem and had other uses as well. When a family wanted something done and didn’t want to be involved directly, mostly because they were meddling in territory that was not their own, they asked the Guild. The organization had members in every province and a truly global reach. Sure, it could refuse a request, but Kara didn’t have that particular problem. The Guild may have grown in power over the years, but they were no match for the Arvillii.
She had taken a lot of risks coming here. Since Orenburg they had only traveled at night. The mercenary she had hired had proven incredibly useful. Her greatest fear – that she was going to be pursued by Cuttland senators – did not come to life. Instead Kara was faced with a far more daunting problem. The closer she got to the Gap, she had to evade more and more Suttland soldiers. And she wasn’t sure all those soldiers came from the eastern part. There were no crests or flags, but she was pretty confident some of them belonged to her family. It didn’t take long for her to realize she was dealing with a full-fledged invasion. Kara calculated the odds of meeting a diviner, decided they were not significant and took over the mercenaries. They helped her hide from the mass of soldiers. She thought that she could see the armies laying siege to fortresses if she set on top of the dome. They were that close.
This situation forced Kara to change her plan. Meeting the grand-master of the Guild was one of those adjustments she had to make. She didn’t like it, but things were developing much faster than she thought and she had to act quickly and improvise. So she took the chance of sending a message to Stephen, the grand-master. Kara was one of the few persons who knew how to do that and she hoped he would be waiting for her inside.
Sure, she would reveal to someone else that she was alive and all her plans rested on everyone thinking she was dead. Kara knew Stephen, she had had dealings with him in the past. He could keep a secret. The problem was she wasn’t sure what motivated him. He was of medium power, which made him a battle-senator, and was born in one of the Wessland families. It was unusual for battle-senators to leave their families, in fact Kara could not think of another who did. Stephen joined the Guild, rose through its ranks and became its leader. Which proved power mattered in the Guild as well. Kara didn’t know what made him leave and that irked her in a way she couldn’t quite explain.
She let her mercenaries guard the entrance to the temple, pulled the hood over her head to hide her face and walked inside. Stephen was waiting for her alone, just as she had asked. He must’ve had guards, but she didn’t see any of them outside.
“This place is beautiful. I didn’t imagine it could be like this,” Kara spoke.
Stephen turned her head and hid his surprise. Twice her age and of average height – he was actually shorter than her – he had an imposing look nevertheless. It was not by accident he had become grand-master and Kara was well aware of that.
“Lady Kara, what a surprise. I heard you were dead.”
“Not yet! The rumors of my demise are grossly exaggerated.”
“I can see that. I have to say that when I got the message, which only a few people in this world know how to deliver, I asked myself who wanted me to come here alone. I have wrestled with the thought this might very well be a trap and somebody wants to kill me. In the end my curiosity and the mysterious nature of the message convinced me to come.”
“I have the same problem and a lot more people want me gone. I think you understand the need for secrecy. I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused you.”
“There was no inconvenience. I’m just surprised you’ve chosen to meet with me.”
“I have a problem I need to solve and I require your help.”
“Has this something to do with the invading armies camped a few miles away?”
“Not directly! There’s a message I need sent to a count in Essland. I was going to do it myself and find out what he knows but I am short on time.”
“Julia is justifying the invasion by saying she has followed your killers here.”
“Is she now?” Kara had no idea what Julia was doing, but her friend always had at least a plan, a backup plan and backup of the back-up plan. It annoyed her she couldn’t figure out what the blonde senator was doing. Usually, she could. Trying to conquer the Gap before Essland and Cuttland could react was insanity and Julia knew that. She was a little impressed that her allies managed to track the soldiers to Ornulf’s Gap, but, more likely, they didn’t. They had just taken the opportunity and executed their plan.
“Are you saying you didn’t engineer that? Pretending you were attacked so you could take over the Gap. You could stop all this with a word.”
“I’m afraid not. Nothing can stop this. I didn’t start it and I was attacked, believe me, I’m not lying about that, and I didn’t engineer anything. I left a thousand bodies on that field and some of them were my friends. They killed my father. Blood demands blood.”
“Are you saying you have nothing to do with this invasion?”
“My family and Julia’s think I’m dead. So no, I haven’t the faintest idea what they are doing. It seems crazy to me. What I don’t know is who I can trust.”
“And you decided you can trust me?”
No, she didn’t trust him at all. Kara just figured that if Stephen was going to lay a trap for her he would use senators. The weakness of the Guild, besides its senators’ lack of power, was omnipresence. It was everywhere, but it was weak everywhere. Stephen wouldn’t be able to put together a strong enough army to challenge her on such a short notice. He could, however, gather ten or twenty weak senators. She had no illusion he wouldn’t try something like this. Stephen wasn’t stupid and knew that the message was from somebody important. In his place, Kara would’ve scouted the place and had people positioned close by. Just because she had not seen them when she came, it didn’t mean they were not there. In fact, she was willing to bet they were. And her small retinue might work as an incentive for him to try something. Yet with her newly acquired powers she wasn’t that worried.
“You’re forgetting I know you, Stephen!”
“So you do!” A few years ago Stephen decided it was wise to expand the Guild. It might’ve not been a recent occurrence, but it was when she found out about it. Only senators outside of families were allowed to join the Guild. A breach of that accord would lead to bloodshed. And it was exactly what Stephen did. He tried to recruit a senator from Kara’s family. That he tried something like this with the Arvillii meant he had been successful before. Kara and her father had no illusions and were well aware they had spies in their ranks. The Guild was just like any other family in this regard. So instead of retaliating they decided to talk to Stephen. He swore he wouldn’t try to recruit from them again, which was a lie and they all knew it, and promised them a favor, which he did mean. Kara was now collecting that favor.
The other senators of her family who knew about it were disturbed by this particular development and advocated a far less lenient approach. Their grimmest prediction was that the Guild had thousands of members, virtually all the weak senators, and not only the two or three hundreds they were supposed to have. Personally, Kara thought the Guild had double that number, not thousands. The plebs, which were the under twenty senators, might be willing to sell their patrons, but wouldn’t leave the comfort of the families. As brutal as their life could be inside a family it could be worse outside of one. The Guild offered practically no protection against the houses. The least powerful of the battle-senators was more valuable than ten plebs in any given day. The more powerful ones, the over two hundreds, could worth as much as thirty. This was without taking under consideration the ability of the battle-senators to take human
s from the weak senators. This second reason was why the plebs would be crushed if they revolted and the hierarchy of the Order remained the same. That was why the Guild did nothing when its members were harassed by families, which did happen. The Senatorial Council had to show who the top predator was. Kara knew of instances when senators of the Guild were forced to leave the province and lost everything they owned. By being part of the Guild you forgo the protection of the Council, as flimsy as that was. Stephen was taking steps to increase its power, but taking on a family or the Council in its entirety was a far-flung dream.
“Perhaps you think me stupid or desperate, Stephen!”
“It has never crossed my mind that you might be stupid.”
“I’m not desperate either. I’ve chosen this course of action, but I can change my mind.”
“This count might be under the control or the protection of a senator.”
“I’m betting he is not. If he is, let me know and I will deal with it.”
“I’m guessing you will not be easy to find.”
“I will send a message. I have other things to deal with.” That was an understatement.
“What if Lucian is behind this count?”
“If someone’s behind this count, he or she will die, no matter who they are.” Stephen looked doubtful so she added. “I’m more powerful than you think!” Let him interpret this any way he wanted. Suddenly, a few connections in her mind were extinguished. She panicked for a moment and then realized it was the connections with the soldiers she had captured. Kara had followed their progress and knew they had arrived home. The count offered a feast in their honor and praised their success. The connections had been broken seemingly without reason. No senator had seen them, she had been curious if one would reveal himself, and they hadn’t been attacked. Kara was pretty sure they were dead and the count had rewarded their success by poisoning them. If you failed, you died, if you were successful, you still died. She wouldn’t have liked those choices much, but the soldiers didn’t seem to mind.
“I will deal with the count. This is the favor I owe you.”
“I know. Thank you! And I don’t think I should have to say this, but you don’t tell anybody I’m still alive. If people find out because you told, there will be consequences.”
Stephen nodded. “War is coming, isn’t it?”
“No, war is already here. How many soldiers did Julia send in the Gap?”
“About ten thousand, on both sides of the Gap. As far as I can tell they only belong to the Metteli and the Arvillii.” That was almost the full strength of their battle-senators. She remembered they had made a plan to take the Gap, but that couldn’t be what Julia was doing.
“I’ll see you soon.” After Stephen left she stayed to admire the interior of the temple.
“There were a lot of senators out there.”
“I know. They were weak, though.”
“They could’ve disposed of your guards and then killed you.”
“They could’ve tried.” Michael’s smile made her laugh. “You came back.”
“I promised you I would.” He did. And she felt a lot better with him by her side. Kara had missed him a lot. Still, she was glad Stephen didn’t know about Michael. She told him what happened since they parted, why she had been meeting with Stephen, about the soldiers.
“We need to hurry and cross the Gap. And I need to send a message.”
“You mean avoid thousands of soldiers in a narrow corridor. What can be easier?”
Chapter thirty-two
Aleyna didn’t get any sleep. She berated herself for making a mistake. Or at least a part of her thought so. Everything was made worse by her ambivalence. The walk in the cold morning air while everyone was still asleep didn’t help much. Practicing with Sarah was a welcome distraction. She could always focus and put everything behind her while she was fighting. They were in their camp outside Gerick’s manor and no one would disturb them.
The young senator was better than the human master she had killed a day before. They were using wooden swords and there was no chance they would be seriously hurt, but it kept her from thinking about Aidan and the previous night. He had appeared out of nowhere. Maybe not nowhere, he had walked through the front gates, after all. Her senators must’ve known he was there. They just didn’t have the time to warn her while she was preparing for the battle.
Aleyna had been able to make him leave Hilderfort because they had been on Arvillii land. Now they were on neutral territory and Aidan had as many soldiers with him as they did with them. She didn’t want to kill him when she had the opportunity and she didn’t want to do it now. His presence unsettled her, made it harder to focus and Aleyna didn’t particularly like it.
She knew herself well enough to realize the attraction between them would not go away easily. At least that was true for her, she wasn’t sure about him. Truth was, Aidan was risking a lot more than she did. Because she didn’t risk anything. Her reputation was not a concern and there would be no loss in status. He, however, might lose a child.
Aleyna still hadn’t drunk the contraceptive potion she had ready in her room. She had given into her impulses and bedded him. He was charming and attractive and interested and she saw no reason why she shouldn’t do it. After it was over and Aidan slept, she sneaked out of his room and was hit by regret. If Kara had been with her she would’ve tried to convince her it was a mistake. Marcia, who knew exactly what she was thinking, did nothing. The powerful, senior senator didn’t care what Aleyna was doing as long as it didn’t affect the family.
She did want children. Maybe this was not the best moment for that, but sometime in the future Aleyna did see herself having some. She dreamed her children would be senators, powerful ones, and Aidan would guarantee all of this if he was the father. In fact, she couldn’t think of a better available candidate. He was almost as powerful as Christian and Sarah and while there were three male members of the Circle of Five – the only senators significantly stronger than him – she didn’t like any of them. Being with Aidan had its hurdles, though.
If this was to continue, sooner or later Aidan will want her under his control, which was never going to happen. Aleyna knew too many secrets of the Arvillii for them just to let her go. And if she got pregnant, by law Aidan had the right to take his child. Male and female senators might be equals, but senators and humans were not, especially if the human was not a consort. If Kara had been alive she could’ve easily kept the child. Her friend would’ve skirted around that law. Any rumblings from the Valerii and their leadership would’ve been decimated. It wouldn’t have gone that far, though. The Valerii knew to fear Kara Arvillia.
Aleyna wished Marcia would give the order to drink that damn potion. It would be easier that way. Someone else deciding for you left little guilt to deal with. The order didn’t come as she knew it wouldn’t. Whatever mess she had created, she would be the one to solve it. Besides, there wasn’t much of a chance she had gotten pregnant. Aleyna knew how difficult it was for senators to have children. Perhaps there was a compromise to be found. Maybe Aidan wouldn’t be totally unreasonable and would allow their child to spend time with both of them. She knew that was going to be very hard, but it was worth the pain.
Aleyna almost missed Sarah’s attack. Thus the myth that she could always focus while in battle was shattered. The young senator was fighting with two long swords. More difficult to wield, they did have their advantages. The longer reach kept your opponent at bay. Since the two women were of similar heights, Sarah was effective. Her sword came perilously close to Aleyna, who barely managed to deflect it and had to move back.
“I’ve never thought I would see the unflappable Aleyna distracted during a fight.” Christian mocking tone grated her, but what could Aleyna say. She knew he was right.
“Shut up,” was all the retort she had managed to muster. It was weak, obviously, because Christian started to laugh. She really wanted to spar with him right now.
“Wh
at are you talking about? She deflected the blow,” Sarah came to her defense.
“No, I’ve seen her fight. If she hadn’t been so distracted, you wouldn’t have come that close to her. Aleyna was a little slow reacting to your attack.”
“Maybe I let Sarah get that close to me.”
“You wouldn’t do that, Aleyna. You never let me. How would we learn otherwise?”
“Maybe I didn’t let you because you are really annoying.”
“That’s simply not true. You know I’m adorable. What’s the matter? The Valerian prince wasn’t that good in bed? The pretty ones are always disappointing.” She didn’t mention her dalliance to anyone, but Christian and Sarah were not the type you could keep things from, even if they weren’t reading her mind, and Aleyna hadn’t exactly tried to be secretive. It just happened and she wasn’t worried that people would find out then.
“You are a pretty one, too!” Sarah had just stolen her biting remark.
“I am very manly and rugged. That’s what all the girls say.”
Christian was not rugged and manly. He was still sixteen. In a few years he would be, maybe, if he grew a beard and had a scar on his face. He wasn’t pretty in a feminine way, though. Girls wouldn’t like him much, then. And neither was Aidan. Two years older than her, he was striking and handsome and strong in a way that appealed to Aleyna. Last night had been nice. More than nice, in fact, and Aidan had been really good in bed. Really, really good! She had been exhausted afterwards and still couldn’t sleep because she couldn’t stop thinking about it. “Maybe you would like to spar with me now, Christian!”
“I don’t think so! As mad as you are now I would end up covered in bruises. I’ll tell you how I am going to help. I will go to the Valerian prince and give him some advice about how to please you, because he didn’t do a very good job so far.”