Perhaps he hopes a war might make him king.
Inhaling deeply—which did far too little to cool the surge of flame within her—Amarande explained it as if he were four years in age, not forty.
“No.Envoys.Simply eyes in the room—a neutral party, representing the union of the Sand and Sky kingdom states.”
Menon chuckled mirthlessly, all that entitlement and brass returning full power after she’d put him in his place twice. This was a battle he truly thought he could win.
“‘Eyes in the room’ such as they are here.” Menon made a point to glance behind him at the sprawling collection of people supporting both Amarande and Luca—from the former pirates to the former rebels, to the Ardenian military presence.
In that moment, Amarande realized how it might look—she, and Luca by association, outnumbered the other kingdoms’ parties in this room three to one.
Still, as a matter of practice, Amarande thought her suggestion of envoys was a decent concession, one her father would’ve made. Koldo’s stoic nod was enough of a confirmation that this was indeed a decent recommendation. But the reaction of the others at the table did not reflect Amarande’s expectations.
Finally, after a series of tightly pursed lips and askance glances, the sole young female councilor, a woman from Basilica, piped up. Kirana—she was the same age as Koldo, old enough to be wise, but young enough to still see the world with fresh, unsettled eyes. “With all due respect to Ardenia’s generous history of protection, an envoy from any other kingdom present during these delicate discussions would be highly unusual.”
“I will say it plainly,” Menon spit with a flick of a hand. He speared Amarande and Koldo in a joint glare. “It is anoverreach.”
Amarande sucked in a steadying breath and resisted the urge to catch eyes with the general for additional guidance. “How so?”
“Ardenia is our traditional continental protector, yes,” Calan agreed from his side, “but no one representing Ardenia could be called neutral.”
“Look at it as we see it, Your Highness,” Kirana offered calmly, her attitude much more agreeable to Amarande than the others’, even as she was clearly arguing her case. “In this moment, Ardenia is the only kingdom on this continent with a functioning government. I do not mean that as a slight to Torrence, my Otsakumea, but there is much to be done to establish a formal kingdom in your name before Torrence will function as it did before the Warlord took control and the Torrent was born.”
Luca held up both hands, placating. “It’s not a slight—it’s true.”
Kirana looked to Sumira. “And Myrcell is also acting in a limited capacity for the time being. Meanwhile, Basilica and—if you do not mind my assumption, Pyrenee”—Menon inclined his head in agreement—“are much more unstable. Though we sit at this table as a union in name as we always have, we have just survived a seismic upheaval, as you so pointedly described it during your coronation speech, Your Highness. While Ardenia is firmly settled, the rest of us are still extremely vulnerable. Not that we believe you have the same designs that Inés or Domingu showed in recent weeks, but… you must understand our general reluctance to having any one kingdom impress its influence on our unstable states.”
Amarande could see that. She could see it exactly as Kirana explained it. More so, she knew that if she were in a similar position, she would never agree to someone from literally any of the other kingdoms save Luca’s own sitting in on these discussions.
The queen gave a curt nod. “Understood.”
Next, Koldo entered the fray in her stoic and solid way. “For the continent to properly stabilize, we must not allow the succession matters to stay unsettled long. We should meet again and soon, allowing only enough time for research and reporting on matters of succession. Extraneous time leaves openings for bad actors.”
The other kingdoms reacted favorably to the general’s assessment. Amarande nodded again. “Agreed. It is crucial not only that each kingdom have a succession plan, but also that we agree to any and all amendments to the laws set forth in the new Sand and Sky. If we are to rebuild the continent and make its union stronger, we need to do so from the bottom up. Any law that has stood for a millennium that affects the continent should only be in place if we desire it to be. We must bring the continent in line with the wills and hearts of the people who live here now, not the ancestors who became stars a thousand years hence.”
A throat cleared, old and slow. “That is the second step, yes.” This from the ancient Pyrenee councilor, Laurent, who had likely seen more new kings in his lifetime than he could count on his fingers and toes. “Succession, and then a conclave and reaffirmation of our continental covenant.”
Fine.
Amarande addressed the room. “Given the speed at which thiscontinent has changed in less than a month, we must work quickly. Would a week be long enough? By ship from Ardenia, the farthest port—Myrcell—is three days, yes?” Sumira confirmed this with a dip of her chin. “Three days there, a day to confirm with meetings what could not be verified during travel, and three days back?”
It was a brutal pace, but possible. And most practical, considering the circumstances of a continent held together like lemon cake pinched between a child’s fingers.
Perhaps this was why, though the others looked particularly aggrieved, no one verbally objected.
A week, then.
“Queen Amarande,” Kirana began gently, “your hospitality has been lovely, especially after all we have been through; you must beg my forgiveness but we cannot meethereagain so soon. It must be at another kingdom. This is how it has been accomplished in the past—a rotation of sites for a conclave of the Sand and Sky.”
That was a problem.
Not because Amarande did not want to travel, but because that meant either walking into enclaves that held vicious tragedies for all of the players—the Bellringe in Pyrenee for Amarande, Luca, and the Pyrenee councilors; the Aragonesti in Basilica for everyone else plus Pyrenee yet again—or they would be forced to congregate at Miragua in Myrcell, which could be an asp’s nest if Akil’s more distant family held the same convictions as Calan in questioning Sumira on her joyous news.
No one had to say it. In the silence, the guardians of the Sand and Sky sat with that truth.
Then, surprisingly, the leader of its newest kingdom spoke up.
“Perhaps,” Luca began, raising his steady golden gaze to the crowd at large, “we can convene at the Hand. It’s a neutral site, accessible within two days’ time or less from every kingdom seat and is completely open on all sides—as neutral a site location as we can have for such a conclave.”
