A shape emerging from the depths, vast and terrible, its outline barely visible in the darkness.Scales caught the moonlight, gleaming like polished emeralds.Eyes opened—six of them, each the size of a man's head, burning with ancient hunger.
The creature rose from the Udamili like a Titan.
The men screamed, crashing back into the trees, their confidence shattered by the appearance of something far more dangerous than they could ever be.Their screams faded into the night, swallowed by the sounds of the river and the beating of the Dowager's heart.
She knelt in the mud, staring up at the thing that towered above her, and felt something she had not felt in decades.
Awe.
"You came," she whispered."You heard me.You—"
The creature’s mouth opened, and the woman was swallowed whole.
Chapter 34
Thesiegehadenteredits twelfth day, and the Borjigin were starving.
Orda Naiman's army surrounded the city in an unbroken ring of steel, their siege engines looming against the horizon, haunting layman and soldier alike.They were waiting; they cut off supply lines and poisoned their wells, letting hunger and despair do the work their swords would otherwise claim.
Inside the walls, the mood dimmed with each passing day.
Rations had been cut twice already.The stores that should have lasted months were dwindling faster than anyone had predicted—thanks, Somadina knew, to the corruption that had hollowed out the palace from within.Iyom’s family was not the first to use their power to take advantage of the city, and they were certainly not the last.
Somadina sat on the edge of Azul's bed, his head in his hands, his armour discarded in a heap by the door.He had not slept in three days.Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the faces of the children in the city, begging for scraps.He had ordered rations to be distributed evenly, but from top to bottom, there were too many discrepancies; too many Elders were lining their pockets even in this dire situation.
Azul's hand found his hair, stroking gently.
"Rest," she murmured."You're no good to anyone dead on your feet."
"I can't."His voice was raw."There's too much to do.Too many lives depending on—"
"And yet the city still stands."Her fingers continued their gentle rhythm."The walls still hold.Your people still fight.My lord, cherish yourself more."
He wanted to argue.He wanted—more than anything—to be strong, to be the king everyone needed him to be.But her touch was so gentle, and his body was so tired, and before he knew it, he was lying down, his head in her lap, his eyes drifting closed.
"I'll just close them for a moment," he murmured."Just a moment."
Azul smiled down at him."Of course."
Within minutes, he was asleep.
Chidinma, seated in the corner with her ever-present embroidery, watched the scene with an expression that gave nothing away.
"He comes here every night," she observed quietly."Do you open your legs for him too?I was hoping he would stop pestering me, or are you leaving the dirty work to me?"
"When you say things like that, it makes me squirm.Remember, I have my betrothed; he wouldn’t dare do anything until he’s dead."
Chidinma's needle paused."Does the Great Khan know?"
Azul shrugged.“If he knows, what can I do about that?"
Chidinma shook her head, returning to her stitching.If the Great Khan was a paranoid man, wouldn't Azul be suspected of adultery?"You're playing a dangerous game, sister."
"The only kind worth playing."
"The Valthorne!The Valthorne are coming!"
On the twentieth day, Azul heard the cries from her room, where she sat reading by the window.She closed her book and smiled.
