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Kella broke the stalemate that gripped the court. The princess of nomads and new leader of the Ashes was not an emotional woman, after devastating battles, desert survival, and bonding to the vicious sand cat that served as her mount. But she looked at Solia with tears in her eyes.
“Eldest Sister,” Kella addressed the Empress, “may I approach your throne?”
“Come forward and welcome your sister-in-arms once more among you.”
Kella’s cat stalked forward, her broad paws silent on the tiled floor. Solia stood still, as if she half-expected Tilili to pounce on her instead of simply carry Kella to her side.
As soon as Kella came within arm’s reach, she wrapped Solia in a fierce embrace. At last, Solia’s true mask fell away, and she came to life. She held her friend, squeezing her eyes shut over her own tears. Solia’s words were too quiet for the humans to hear, but Lio’s ears picked them up.
“Can you forgive me?” Solia asked.
“What is there to forgive?” Kella replied. “Loyalty and freedom are all that matter in this life. You answered to one and gave us the other.”
The rest of the Ashes soon surrounded Solia. Karege grinned with all his fangs, his affectionate words booming through the court. Tuura fussed over her, her mere presence as a mind healer soothing the fraught encounter. Hoyefe, charming as ever, managed to make Solia laugh even without conjuring a single illusion.
Lio felt an unexpected pang. The Ashes had accepted him. When would Solia?
Ukocha’s daughter broke into the knot to throw her arms around Solia. The Empress observed young Chuma with an indulgent smile.
Solia looked at the top of Chuma’s head. “I can scarcely believe how you’ve grown, First Bladelet.”
“I missed you so much, Sunburn! When the Golden Shield searched our village, it was you, wasn’t it?”
“I’m so sorry if I frightened you.”
“Me, frightened? Ha. Never. I was angry. But now I realize you must have been there to protect us.” Chuma beamed, her bright spirit lighting up the room as always.
Her mother stood behind her. Ukocha, Solia’s mentor. Her gaze went from the sword on the floor to Solia’s embrace around Chuma. “You turned out well.”
Solia bowed her head. “You honor me.”
“You have brought great honor to me as well. My trainee, a Victor of Souls and Golden Shield. That will be a fine tale to tell around the village fire to keep retirement interesting.”
Tendo watched the reunion unfold. When Solia’s gaze lifted to his, Lio sensed the ache of hope in her aura.
Tendo gave the woman he loved a faultless bow. “Princess Solia of Tenebra, greetings from the monarchs of the Empire. How momentous, to have a royal from that faraway land among us.”
Lio felt the urge to drag Tendo into the fighting ring himself. There were any number of romantic or at least conciliatory things he might have said to Solia, cloaked in courtly discourse. But he had chosen to draw his line in the sand here: she was a foreign monarch to him.
Solia bowed to Tendo in return. “I rejoice to be welcomed by Her Imperial Majesty’s brothers and sisters. I am blessed to walk in her Empire freely.”
Lio had to credit her. It was an excellent reply. She twisted Tendo’s words into a welcome, reminding him the Empress had granted her the right to be here. Was that reference to freedom an invitation or a taunt? With Solia and Tendo, one never knew.
The Empress turned her gaze upon Lio’s Grace. “Cassia, Crown Princess of Tenebra, we restore your sister to you.”
Crown Princess Cassia. That title would once have struck horror in Lio’s heart, but it had no power over him now. He had her promise. And she had his strategy, which she was about to enact. It was her turn to play her role in the spectacle she and Lio had promised the Empress. The one he had devised not only to protect their alliance with Her Imperial Majesty, but to send a message to his Grace-sister.
Cassia came forward with Knight shadowing her. She and Solia embraced in front of the excited court. Solia clung to her a bit longer than necessary, and Cassia leaned in, as if they drew strength from each other.
Then Cassia rested her small hand on Knight’s powerful shoulder, reminding Lio of the first time he had seen her, a petite mortal with hidden strengths. They were not hidden now. “Your Imperial Majesty, you have my gratitude for sheltering my sister and me. We have fled the kingdom of Tenebra, where your light has yet to shine. We beseech you for your guidance regarding the future of the land of our foremothers.”
The Empress, who had spent years moving everyone in this room into position, not least by having Captain Ziara steal her a Tenebran princess, now answered Cassia’s petition with a benevolent smile. “How fortunate that you and your sister arrived safely on our shores. The ancestors empower us to speak their wisdom. How can we advise the shadowlands?”
“We face a succession crisis, Your Imperial Majesty. A wicked king holds the throne, while the rightful queen goes unacknowledged. For I am the only descendant of our greatest matriarch.”
Solia’s heart swelled with emotion. This was the moment she had fought for. She knelt before Cassia. “My Queen. I am now free to swear my fealty to you.”
Cassia placed her hand on Solia’s head. Lio could only pray that what he and his Grace were about to set in motion would not damage the newly restored bond between her and her sister.
