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Atalantia watches him with a growing smile. “Wait till Atlas sees you!” She sighs. “There you have it, goodmen. The ugly truth. To the boudoir we go again with our ugly cousins.” Carthii tries to interrupt. “I am Dictator, Asmodeus. My war powers are absolute. To protect our predominance tomorrow, we must make concessions to pragmatism today.”

Only after Atalantia assures the Primuses they will have a hand in crafting the treaty after their imminent endeavor do their holograms disappear one by one. It is not done. There will be weeks of negotiations. Neither side will budge. And eventually they will both leave feeling cheated. But the alliance will happen. What’s more, I believe Atalantia wanted it to happen as soon as she heard it was a possibility. She does not celebrate, but in her mind she has just won this war, and now has an angle on the next.

First the Rising. Then the Rim.

I feel suddenly very heavy wondering how I will manage to convince her not to turn on the Raa as soon as she sees profit in it.

One of Atalantia’s muscular male slaves brings her a piece of bread on a platter. She breaks several pieces to share with the Raa. Once they have eaten, they are formally her guests and under gens Grimmus protection. Whoever means them harm is her enemy. It is a formality that actually bears weight as it did for our ancestors; Atalantia can hardly accommodate another enemy at this stage.

“We will begin discussion tomorrow atop the Water Colossus of Tyche,” Atalantia says. The Raa look at each other then at the planet below. “Today, however, I require a demonstration of good faith.”

She snaps her fingers and a hologram of Mercury three stories tall fills the star globe. It is stained with markers for known enemy strongholds and legions, and wrapped with thousands of dropship and starShell trajectories.

I knew something was afoot by the battle readiness within the Annihilo, but I did not expect this.

So it will be an Iron Rain.

It is a risky and declarative gamble that could prove very expensive. So either Atalantia is swollen with confidence, or she thinks her window is closing. I suspect I know where Atlas is now.

Diomedes takes in the battle plan and frowns. “Our instruments suggested the planet was shielded by a fortified landchain of shield generators.”

“All suitable landfalls, yes,” Atalantia says. “For now.”

“How will you…”

She smiles. “Do you think Atlas returned from his Kuiper sojourn just to tan in the desert? We have over nine million Martian slaves trapped. I broke Darrow’s armada. I broke Darrow’s heart. Now I break his back. If we kill him and destroy the legions here, we shatter the alliance between Mars and Luna. Virginia will see her little rebellion split right down the center.”

“And you need the tank factories of Heliopolis and your dockyards need Mercury’s metal to further your campaign,” Diomedes adds.

“It has been a long war,” she allows. “You say you wish to fight with us at the end, Raa?” Here it comes: the proverbial snakebite. “Prove it. Fall with us in an Iron Rain. Shed blood at my side and I will know I have a true ally.”

The silence grows as Diomedes considers. “I am sorry. But I cannot.”

“Of course not,” Ajax says with a laugh. “The Sword of Io is best in its sheath.”

“I was trusted to be a voice, not a sword. It is impossible.”

Atalantia raises her eyebrows, dangling the bait. “A pity. I saw such promise in our union. But how can I trust an ally tomorrow who will not fight with me today? Ajax, please escort them to their ship and send them back to their dust bowl.”

I watch Kalindora as Seraphina thinks. Is Kalindora like the rest of these predators? Enjoying the hunt, watching for the takedown? Her face remains the same, but her eyes search the shadows cast by Atalantia’s braziers as Seraphina steps forward.

“I will do it.” Her brother wheels on her, overestimating yet again the patience of the women in his family. “You are the voice of the Rim, Diomedes. I am here only to assist you in your mission. If I die, what of it?” She holds one hand over the other hand in her family’s private way of saying “shadows and dust.” “You desire a quota of blood, Grimmus? You may have all of mine. Does that satisfy?”

Atalantia smiles. “It satisfies.”

As Diomedes realizes his sister will fall amidst an army of men who would proudly mount the head of his father above their mantels, he grows very still. I feel for him, but after seeing Seraphina amongst the Ascomanni, if anyone can survive their first Rain, it is her.

Diomedes gives me a dark look as he and his sister are ushered toward the door by Ash Guards. Atalantia nods for Kalindora to leave. I am left alone with her and Ajax to watch the door close. Atalantia drifts to the viewport to stare down at the planet. She will be wondering what machinations move in Darrow’s mind. I wonder the same.

“Ward?” Ajax says suddenly. I expected his anger, but that did not diminish my dread of it.

“I—”

He moves with the sort of staggering velocity that is impossible in the

low gravity of the Rim. His fist cracks against my jaw so fast only the Willow Way’s instinct to go with the blow saves me from having my jaw shattered and my neck fractured. I slam into the ground nonetheless.

“Ward?” he roars.