AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He’s hired mercenaries, Majesty,” Evemer said. “We can’t do it with just four.”
“You’ll have to,” she said, and then she turned on him. “And now for you, Evemer Hoskadem,” she said in a dark voice, stalking toward him. She was a handspan shorter than him, just a little taller than Kadou, yet as she came blazing toward him, Evemer felt as small as the footstool in his mother’s workshop.
She stopped before him, looking up into his face, her eyes steady on his—not searching. Not at all—firm and sure andcertain. In ringing tones, she said, “Evemer Hoskadem, lieutenant of my core-guard,get on your knees.”
He fell to the floor before he had told his legs to do anything. “Your Majesty.”
She gazed down at him. “You’re something special, aren’t you?” she said in a soft voice. “Generations upon generations of kahyalar, training and honing their service and teaching it to the next generation, all culminating with you, right here.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. He wasn’t sure whether anyone else in the room could even hear her. “You’ve read yourTen Pillars,I presume?”
“Yes, Majesty.”
She reached out and touched his chin, lifting his face. “Beydamur began your lineage, kahya. Will you serve me as he served his sultan, Asanbughaa?”
“Yes.”
“Even unto death?”
“If I’m turned away from Usmim’s scales, then I’ll serve even beyond that,” he said. She was captivating, enrapturing. And yet . . .
There had been a time, Evemer realized, when he wouldn’t have been able to look away from her. There had been a time when he would have absolutely tripped over himself for her. She was made of the cold edges of a steel blade and controlled, intense fire. He would have spluttered and blushed and embarrassed himself even worse than he had last night, even worse than he had when he was sixteen and entirely distracted by Cadet Nihani and all her perfect, gorgeous rage.
He would have fumbled, and Zeliha would have looked on impassively and watched him do it. She would have made him earn her approval. She would have commanded him to follow her into battle and carry her banner and her glory. She would have graciously allowed him to die for her, and he would have done so joyfully and felt that his death was not in vain. She would have ruled him by the sheer breadth of her power and fearlessness and by the tight bindings of his oaths, and Evemer would have thought that right and proper. He would have given her everything and never once thought of reciprocity.
Looking at her was like looking into the sun.
But Evemer’s north star sat at the kitchen table, the seal in his hands, biting his lip as he watched them. His expression was wary and fearful, and at a single murmured word from him, Evemer would have turned away from Zeliha’s blazing fire, would havecrawled,if he had to, over coals, over broken glass, over mountain ranges and deserts, just to come to Kadou’s feet and press his forehead to the backs of Kadou’s hands.
Reciprocity was a thing you had to learn. Someone had to tell you, first, that you deserved to be treated well, before you knew it for yourself.
“Lieutenant,” Zeliha said, and his attention snapped back to her.
“Your Majesty.”
“Besides my daughter, I consider my brother the most precious thing in the world. I’ve given him a difficult and dangerous task, and now I have one for you.” Her voice was very soft now, not even a whisper. “You’re going to follow him into whatever trouble he finds, and you’re going to do whatever it takes—whateverit takes—to make sure he comes back to me.”
“Yes,” he said.
She leaned down a little and offered him her hand. “Will you swear it, kahya?”
Evemer took her hand and pressed his forehead to her rings.
There was a shriek of wood—Kadou had pushed his chair back from the table. He strode across the room and grabbed Zeliha by the elbow. “What are you doing? You can’t,” he said. “You can’t have him. No.” She shook him off. He grabbed her again. “Sister,” he said, an edge of desperation coming into his voice before it dropped to a whisper, “This one’smine.”
“I’m not taking him from you,” she replied, shaking him off once more. “He’s just making me a promise on his life.”
Kadou looked between them, his face all knotted up, and Evemer wanted nothing more than to reach for him. He yearned for it, ached for it.
He took Zeliha’s hand again, pressed it again to his forehead. “On my life,” he said. “And whatever is left of me beyond that.”
“Good.” She leaned down close to his ear and murmured one more thing, one single thing that hit him like a physical blow: “I grant you the privilege of disobedience. Use it wisely.” She stood straight. “Now get up.” Evemer rose, feeling rather wobbly in the knees and hollowed-out with shock. Zeliha put her hands on her hips and looked around. “Logistics next,” she said, and went to the table, ordering Melek to bring her paper and ink. Kadou, with another uncertain glance over his shoulder at Evemer, followed her.
Evemer took the opportunity to vanish into the workroom, and indulged in a moment of weakness: He leaned against the wall with one hand, put his other hand to his heart, tried to catch his breath in a room that suddenly seemed to have both too much and not enough air in it.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when, just behind him, Tadek said, “So can I get you a strong drink or a bucket of ice water?”
“Are you partcat?” Evemer snapped.
“I got training for the ministry of intelligence, so . . . Yes, nearly. Never mind me, what wasthatabout?”
