“Children of the Winged Empire,” Juste said solemnly, standing in his stirrups so all could see him and his writhing crown. He looked so very young – and yet ancient in the ways of cruelty and power. “We ride today into the heart of the inferno. Do we ride for glory?”
He let the question hang in the air.
“Yes!” the Claws around me shouted, clashing swords against bracers. I hadn’t seen them do that before, but I could see why they did. It sent a little thrill of anticipation down my spine even though I knew this was crazy.
They were all crazy.
“Do we ride for the honor of the Empire of War and Wings?” Juste asked, a little louder this time.
“Yes!” Another clash.
“Do we ride for the domination of our enemies and the conquest of all the world?” This time he was shouting.
“YES!” the chorus shattered through the air with the smash of metal against metal and my breath caught in my throat.
Whatever else I might want to say about Juste Montpetit, I had to admit, he knew how to inspire his followers.
“Ride with me, Children of the Empire.” He sounded like a lover seducing his beloved. “Ride with me to our destiny.”
He pointed forward and the party began to move, horses walking at first but once we were moving there was a jingle ahead and then the horses moved to a trot and Elodie finally let go of my fist so she could handle her reins.
Which left me somewhat free for the moment. Not free to ride away and escape, but free to plunge my sword into Juste’s heart right now if I wanted to.
Maybe.
I maneuvered my horse with care, trying not to look suspicious. Trying to keep my face calm and serene as I brought my brown mare up alongside Juste and his wild-eyed bay.
“Already trying to kill me, wife?” he asked, his eyes never even glancing in my direction. My heart stuttered as he spoke my intentions aloud. “I think you should reconsider. It’s not in your best interest to see me dead.”
Chapter Two
“And why would that be?” I asked, my heart in my throat as we raced down the street, our trot turning into a canter. Civilians scattered on either side of the road. Already panicked from the fires, they spread themselves against walls and packed into alleys to make way for the new-crowned Emperor and his entourage. Juste hardly seemed to notice them. His eyes burned hotter than the fires we rode toward.
“I am headed to the Heart of the Forbidding Wife. To the Seat of the Adder.”
He’d said that before, but this time when he said it, a memory flickered up in my vision – a memory of a great, dark seat inside the jaws of something tangled and shredded. There was something odd about the seat ... it had holes in it almost as if it was meant to drain some kind of fluid and under the seat, runnels were carved. Before it, a table was laid, but not with food, and around the table, other seats were set in place. The vision faded and I shook my head, squinting in confusion. What had that meant?
When I glanced back at Juste, he was smiling. “I knew that would bring a memory. What did you see, wife?”
“I saw a large black seat with tangled, shredded ... something ... around it. There was a table and there were seats for companions.”
His smile grew in both size and satisfaction. “Yes. That’s where we go. And when I sit on that seat, the Forbidding will withdraw and become mine, and everything it has touched will be mine, too. It will fit itself to my hand like a glove and I will make it dance to the flick of my finger and tear when I form a fist.”
“And why would I want any of that?” I asked, grimly.
His eyes grew wide as if he thought it would be obvious. “The Forbidding will return those it has claimed – every life stolen, every father or mother or child claimed by its tangled magic will be set free. I thought you would want that. Have you not lost people to the Forbidding? Would you not want your dead returned to you?”
I licked my lips thinking of Osprey running from the Forbidding with my nieces and nephews with him. My siblings and their spouses hadn’t been there. I’d known immediately that they had been taken by the dark magic. It was the only reason for them not to be there defending their little ones. Just the memory of that sent stabs of pain through me to the point where it was hard to breathe. Agony clawed up my throat, burning across my chest and my thoughts froze half-formed. I knew this grief. I knew it from when I’d seen my father killed. I knew it from when my mother’s life had faded. It would hold me in its grip if I let it.
With great effort, I forced it aside. There would be a time for grief. That time was not now. I must keep my eyes clear and my mind on the game. I felt for my bees, for any trace of their buzz. Nothing replied to my inner call.
“You see what that would mean for you.” He sounded pleased.
“The Forbidding is on fire,” I said, hedging. “Nothing could survive that.”
He shrugged. “So it would seem. But that doesn’t negate what I’ve said. I know you have lost people. I know you want them back. I know that you’ve fought this monstrous evil all your life. What would life here be like without it? What would hold you back from accomplishing everything you’ve ever dreamed of as a fledgling settlement?”
I gave him a long, dry look. “You?”
His laugh was harsh but truly amused. “Am I so much worse than the Forbidding that you would rather see it survive and me dead on this street?” He lifted a single eyebrow at me. “I am only a man. I am only mortal.”
I wasn’t sure that he believed those words. And yet, he was right. He could be dealt with later. He was only a man, but a chance to strike the Forbidding – to get back those who were lost ...
A hunger began to rise in me, a desperate need I couldn’t fully force back down. With it, the smallest tendrils of my overwhelming grief clutched at me. It would have me if I let it.
I sucked in a deep breath, trying to force it back, trying to cleanse it from my heart, but it would not budge.
“I see it in your eyes wife. I see that you finally see what I see. You finally want what I want. And I need you to accomplish it. The Hissan were very clear. We are both needed.”
I met his eyes. Truth and certainty burned side by side in them. I swallowed down all my hate, all my fury, all my desperate desire and tried to think.
It was possible that I could kill him right now, however unlikely since I didn’t have the element of surprise anymore. He was stronger than me. His magic was not depleted. He was a better swordsman than I was. I could also kill him later – when he slept or when another opportunity cropped up. I hadn’t been able to do that before. Murder, it turned out, had been a line I couldn’t make myself cross. But I thought I could do it this time. Now that I really knew what would happen if he lived – how many were bound to suffer and die at his hand. And if I did, then the madness ended. Someone else would rule. The martial law could be over. The drastic measures that curtailed my people – done. Even the Hissan could be ousted from the continent. All of that could happen.
And there would still be the Forbidding curling around our homes and towns – not just here anymore but across the sea to the main continent. It would always be a threat, always be a problem. I tried not to think of the siren song that was singing in my heart, you could get them back, you could get them back, you could get them back.