Page 119 of A Kiss of Hammer and Flame

And thought, how could she possibly compare to a ruler like Thierre?

This was why she had exchanged herself for him. Because no matter their history, their differences, Thierre was a leader and the King his people needed even when their hearts were burdened with such grief.

Maybe she could learn something from the Prince, now King.

‘You have Luminaux’s support,’ Raiden said softly.

Cahra exhaled, remembering their conversation before the battle.

‘The question is, does Cahra have theirs?’ Sylvie stared at the remaining sister kingdoms.

‘She will,’ Hael said. It was hard to miss the warning in those words. He faced them. ‘Kolyath, Ozumbre. Do you accept the terms of your surrender, and pledge your allegiance to your prophecy’s Scion, the Omen-bringer, and your new supreme sovereign of the realm – Empress Cahraelia of Kolyath, now of Hael’stromia?’

Ugh, that name again.Cahra tried not to wince.

But she couldn’t hold onto the thought, not when the ringing in her ears, the buzzing in her head was blotting everything else out.

Empress. She wasEmpressof the realm. How had she gotten here? And, worse still, how would she live up to everything that title meant? A ruler, a leader, when in her head, she was still the same poor smith from Kolyath. How could she possibly be responsible for an entire realm, and its three kingdoms containing more people than she could count?

Suddenly, an ocean of faces gazed at her: Kolyath’s soldiers, Ellian and the other children, the traders and apprentices of Kolyath, the aged veterans past their warring prime. Her view widened to Ozumbre’s army, Cahra watching their faces cloud with suspicion and fear. Both kingdoms knew only tyrants for rulers, who wielded their sovereignty with cruelty and death. Who was she to ask anything of these people? They had no love for self-imposed rulers.

Cahra’s mind raced as an idea began to take shape.

Glancing at Hael, she stepped forward. Three pairs of the shadowy hounds he had summoned moved with her, their muscular forms slipping through the space between people like spectres. The hounds’ flaming eyes scanned the crowd as vigilantly as Hael did, before they sat on their skeletal haunches, still as death.

‘People of the tri-kingdom realm,’ she took a deep breath, trying to project her voice. ‘I am Cahra, from the kingdom of Kolyath, so some of you may know me. But that is not all you know, and it is our shared plight.’ Cahra frowned, struggling to think of what to say, as she fought her shaking voice and body. Hael’s affirming nod breathed courage into her.

Cahra steeled herself, continuing on. ‘The problem is that this realm knows only the evil of rulers, a Steward and a King, and their Commanders, their courts, who don’t care how you, me, or anyone else barely scrapes a life together in this blasted realm. All weknow,’ Cahra cried, thumping her chest, ‘is the opposite of what they have in their high-born castles. Poverty, hunger, sickness, danger. Death. Always death,’ she told them, letting herself feel the air inflate her lungs, give her strength. ‘No one should ever have to live like that. Like I did. Like so many of us do in the kingdoms of this realm.

‘But maybe we don’t have to any more. You’ve seen Hael, the “ultimate weapon”.’ Cahra watched as his flames shifted. ‘Yet he is more than that. And he is here tohelpus, to help me, in figuring out what the kingdoms really need. Because it’s not another token ruler, that’s for sure.’ She gazed at Hael, his mesmerising eyes, and looked out at the crowd. ‘So if you do wish to pledge your allegiance to me, fine. But if you don’t, that’s fine too. All I ask is: give me some time to find us common ground.’

Give me time to learn what I can do to help.Cahra thought of Thierre.

Maybe she wouldn’t end up making such a bad leader, after all.

Cahra waited, heart pounding in the stillness. No matter what, she had made her stand. And gazing into Hael’s ember-glow eyes, Cahra knew that she was not alone.

In the aftershock of her words, silence stretched across the plain, the air thick with the weight of expectation as soldiers stood, motionless as Hael’s statue in the capital.

Just when it felt the world itself had stopped, her hammer sparked to life in her hand, seeming to pulse with the emotions flooding her: mad, buoyant hope; but also trust in herself and the people around her. The great-hammer began to glow, the light becoming a brilliant flare that reflected her inner strength, her inner fire.

And from this resplendent light, a creature erupted into the sky.

‘A phoenix,’ Hael whispered, his voice barely audible as he watched the creature soar. ‘Cahra, your crest – it is a blessing!’

The phoenix, incandescent in its fiery brilliance, spread its wings and shot above Cahra to soar across the bloodied battlefield, a majestic symbol of hope amongst the carnage. Its trail of flames blazed red against the perfect azure of the now-cloudless sky and awe filled her every breath as it swooped, unleashing an ethereal cry that echoed over the capital’s jet sands. Finally, in a dazzling display, it dived, disintegrating into a shower of sparks at her feet.

The palpable silence that had enveloped Hael’stromia was at once shattered by the collective gasp of all three armies. If Cahra’s words hadn’t reached them, the phoenix did, the symbol of rebirth searing itself into the memories of all present. As the last vestiges of the flaming bird faded, she locked eyes with Hael.

A gratified smile tugged at the corners of the Reliquus’ lilac lips.

It was hard to know who was in charge of Kolyath’s army, with Commander Sullian in custody, but after a flurry of discussion, a group of men parted and a grizzled, high-ranking officer stepped forward.

‘I am Marl,’ the man said to Cahra. ‘We accept the weapon’s terms. And your own.’ He clutched his fist, holding his sword to his broad chest.

Cahra withheld a sob, knees buckling, but Hael was there, catching her before she fell. She had never expected acceptance from Kolyath; the cruel kingdom Atriposte had built had always felt irreparable and like it would last forever. But the Steward was gone. And the idea that her kingdom could finally be free, be something more…

She nodded to Marl, a heartfelt lump thick in her throat. ‘Thank you.’

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