Page 12 of A Reign of Embers

Her brow creases with thought. “Reactive strength isn’t the easiest sort of commitment to show. The people need to see that I’m prepared to defend them before I actually do.”

“We’ll get there,” Raul says. “There’ll be plenty you can show them, whether it’s with this sword or another. Sabrelle won’t be able to dismiss you.”

Our empress doesn’t appear totally convinced. Her expression stays pensive through the next several exercises and her good-byes before she hurries off for the funeral rites. The rest of us depart the hidden passages through the unused bedroom that’s our preferred entrance.

As Marc lopes off to rejoin the palace guard without a word to us, Bastien holds me back. “Are you sure that was a good idea?”

“How does him knowing hurt anything?”I ask.“If he decides to start revealing all our secrets, we’ll have much bigger problems.”

Raul glares in the direction Marc went. “I still don’t like it.” He sighs and slings his arms around my shoulders. “Come on, let’s get to the bigger asshole’s funeral.”

Maybe I should have realized Aurelia was making more plans to prove herself behind her thoughtful eyes. When we gather on the steps in Vivencia’s main city square before the pyre, there’s a resolve in her posture and the set of her chin that sets off a twang through my nerves that I can’t explain.

After she’s finished her speech commemorating the reviled husband no one knows tried to murder her, she holds Coraya up a little higher for the watching city folk to see.

“I intend to protect our daughter, your next empress, with all the strength I have,” she declares, her clear, steady voice ringing out through an amplification charm. “And so I swear on my own life that as soon as the medics declare me recovered from the birth, I’ll begin my training alongside the palace’s soldiers, until I can fight for her and all the people of this empire in every possible way.”

As shock ripples across the watching faces alongside a rising swell of applause, my heart plummets.

She’s going to spar with the hardened soldiers? Despite all their training, even they take accidental injuries in practice from time to time.

But our empress never goes back on her word.

Chapter Five

Aurelia

When I emerge from my chambers to head to the palace training room, I find Kassun among the guards currently posted outside. His gaze flicks to Marc exiting behind me, and his eyes narrow beneath his light brown curls.

He clears his throat, his expression determined though his cadence is a little awkward. “Your Imperial Highness—if I could raise a private concern with you…?”

A chill squeezes my gut. Has something gone wrong among my guards?

“Of course,” I say, and motion him farther down the hall where the others can still keep watch but won’t hear our conversation.

Kassun glances over my shoulder towardthe others and lowers his voice for extra caution. “This new fellow—Marc… I know he helped get you out of the fire. I’m glad he did. But he seems to be… imposing on your good will. A lot.”

A softer pang runs through my chest. The guard who’s proven to be so loyal despite his initial misgivings is looking out for me as he has often in the past. He can’t help that he doesn’t know the full story.

I offer him a genuine smile. “I promise I’d have no trouble sending him off if his presence felt like an imposition. I do actually find it comforting having him close at hand for additional protection. It’s no criticism of your or anyone else’s abilities. I know it’s silly. But ever since Marclinus’s death and the fire, it’s been hard to even sleep…”

I don’t like showing that shred of weakness, especially when it’s false, but my last comment relaxes Kassun’s shoulders. A trace of chagrin crosses his face. “I’m sorry for making you think about that awful time.”

“It’s all right. I appreciate your concern. Don’t ever hesitate to speak to me if something is troublingyou, no matter what it is.”

His pale face brightens, and he returns with me to the rest of my entourage with more energetic strides—and less glowering at Marc.

When we come to a stop just inside the training room a few minutes later, a tang of sweat meets my nose. All of my guards tense around me with hints of uncertainty. The soldiers jerking to rigid attention don’t look much more comfortable.

Even after a week and confirmation from the imperial medics of my recovery, no one’s quite convinced that my latest venture is a good idea. I’ll have to persuade them with actions rather than words.

I brush my hands together and tip my head to thesoldiers. “Thank you in advance for the patience and guidance I know you’ll offer me! It means more than I can say to learn all I can so I’ll be able to stand up to whatever forces threaten us by the most practical means. We’ve faced too much tragedy in Dariu already.”

Most of the soldiers have been running through their exercises in a stripped-down version of their usual uniform, wearing only the loose slacks and short-sleeved shirts, no jackets or belts. A man in an officer’s garb moves between them to meet me, his mouth set at an uneasy angle beneath his trim moustache.

Though he stands only a few inches taller than my five and a half feet, he’s sturdily built with a clear impression of strength in his brisk strides. His features look oddly delicate in contrast, but his eyes shine with alertness beneath the short waves of his fawn-brown hair. I can’t help thinking of the hunting terriers Nica’s family keeps back home in Accasy.

“Captain Evando at your service, Your Imperial Highness.” He dips his head with a sweep of his gaze over me. “Although I’m not sure— Our typical regimen is quite vigorous. We can do our best to adapt it to your needs?—”

---