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Chapter Forty-Seven

Bastien

H igh Commander Axius reins his horse to a stop at the crest of the low hill. The rest of our small party draws to a stop around him.

We peer down over a sprawl of fields and shrubland that stretches at least a couple of miles before rolling into small slopes farther north. The mild early-spring breeze carries the faint scent of the newly blooming wildflowers that dot the landscape.

It’s a far more peaceful scene than it should be, given our purpose here.

Axius glances around at us—Aurelia, her guards, my foster brothers, and a handful of other military officers he holds in highest esteem.

“This is the only route it’d make sense for Tribune Valerisse to take when approaching Vivencia.

The hillier areas to the west and the river marshes to the east would slow them down too much and make them vulnerable to ambush. ”

Gazing over the open terrain, Aurelia nods slowly. “And there aren’t any settlements near this particular stretch of terrain?”

“The nearest town—other than the one we passed an hour ago coming here—is on the other side of those hills to the north. There aren’t even many farms in this region as the soil doesn’t take crops well.”

“All right.” The empress appears to gather herself. “This does appear to be the best place to make our stand. Good visibility, some higher ground to position ourselves on, minimal collateral damage.”

She can’t quite stifle her grimace at those last words. The woman I love hates the thought of innocents being harmed in this war more than just about anything.

Which is why I’d rather be marching with her than any other leader I can think of.

“We don’t have much time left to prepare,” Captain Evando remarks.

Axius’s mouth twists tighter. “We don’t. Based on our latest reports from the limited means we have, her army will make it to this point in a few days.”

We’re only three hours’ brisk riding from the capital, but it’ll take much longer for the main mass of our soldiers to make it out this way, just as Valerisse’s force has to travel at marching pace.

Marc clears his throat. “I’d imagine we should give the infantry their orders and send them on their way almost immediately, then.”

He manages to make the statement sound more like a suggestion than a command, no matter how tempted the former emperor might be to give the latter. One of the many ways the man I once hated has transformed himself before my eyes.

How different might the empire have become if it’d always been Marc acting as imperial heir and then emperor—if Linus had never existed?

He was still a prick in his own ways, if not quite as horrific as his twin. And I’d rather not picture any alternate world where he was able to win enough loyalty from Aurelia that she never strayed into my and my fellow foster princes’ arms.

The life I’m living right now… impending war be damned, it’s a more fulfilling one than I dared to picture even a few months ago.

As I’m reminded of by the grunt of agreement from Axius and the sweep of his gaze toward me, Lorenzo, Raul, and Neven in our little cluster off to the side. “They’re already well-organized and prepared to set out. Do Your Highnesses have anything to add?”

I restrain the smile that tugs at my lips. Aurelia has made it amply clear that she considers the four of us generals of sorts in this conflict.

There’s a prickling in my one lung after the exertion of the ride and a knot in my gut at the thought of the violence no doubt ahead of us, but I wouldn’t give up the chance to fight for the woman I love and the dazzling future she’s imagining for anything.

“Nothing obvious occurs to me,” I say. As much as I want to help Aurelia every way I can, military strategy is hardly my forte.

All of us dismount to stretch our legs briefly while the true military officers further discuss strategy amongst themselves. Aurelia ambles over to join our royal cluster, her brow knit.

“I’ve been thinking of more ways we might skew the odds in our favor in the coming battle,” she says quietly.

“I’ve found a rather large range of uses I can put my gift to.

I may be able to create a potion that would weaken the soldiers—mentally or physically.

Or perhaps even better, make them lose their nerve so they’ll outright desert. ”

Raul makes a dismissive sound. “Why spare them from justice after they marched against you?”

“It’s hard to say how much they should be blamed for following a godlen’s urging.” Aurelia aims a small smile at Neven. “Not even we have been impervious to Sabrelle’s influence. If I can prove that I’m the stronger ruler, surely both she and those she’s set against me will back down?”

Neven shifts on his feet with a frown at the intended battlefield. “Sabrelle hasn’t felt all that reasonable to me.”

Aurelia squares her shoulders. “We’ll just have to see. I’ll do whatever needs doing. I just—I don’t want my reign to begin on a bloodier note than I can help, if I can help it.”

The thought of the upcoming bloodshed has been weighing on her more with each passing day. It shows in the slant of her mouth and the tension carried in her jaw.

I wish I could kiss all that strain away. I could kiss her now in front of all these witnesses, and no one would be shocked, but I’m not such an idiot I’d assume it’d actually solve anything.

Our biggest problem isn’t even how much blood is shed but stopping most of it from being on our side.

Lorenzo brushes his fingers over the back of Aurelia’s hand, a subtle caress that’s still more than any of us would have dared before she claimed us as her partners. “If you made a potion like that, how would you get the enemy soldiers to drink it?”

Aurelia tilts her head to one side, her gaze going distant. “That’s part of what I’ve been mulling over. I could concoct a formula that would be absorbed through the skin—but I’m not sure how far we could distribute it catapulting vials into the soldiers’ ranks.”

An image comes to me almost as vivid as a divine vision, with a tightening of my gut. “We could work together on that.”

Her attention jerks to me. “What do you mean?”

I wave my hand toward the sky with its puffs of drifting clouds. “We should be able to combine our gifts without much trouble. Perhaps I could summon rain and we could imbue it with your concoction to pour down over Valerisse’s army.”

Aurelia stares at me in silence for long enough that embarrassed heat starts to creep up the back of my neck with the suspicion my idea sounded absurd.

Then she reaches to squeeze my forearm. “Are you sure you’d want to attempt it?

A collaboration that immense… You didn’t want me to attempt any collaborations at all. ”

Oh. She’s simply recalling my earlier cautions.

I offer a crooked smile. “I’m not saying I like the idea of losing another piece of myself or seeing you harmed.

But if that’s the only way we can win this—or the only way we win without more casualties than you can forgive yourself for—then…

then I suppose an empress gets to decide how she’s going to reign despite anyone else’s misgivings. ”

Aurelia’s answering smile is so bright it lights me up from inside. “We’ll do whatever we can, then.”

Raul lets out a disgruntled sound. “If there’s any other way to distribute it without taking that step, maybe we should try to find it?”

Have I become the incautious one between us? I rub my face. “You’re right. I might be able to cast an already-brewed potion into the wind and rain it down without any merging of gifts. We should attempt that first. ”

I just don’t know how much time we’ll have to weigh the logistics and risks in the moment.

As if in answer to my suggestion, the breeze gusts over us with a little more force, stirring wisps along Aurelia’s upswept hair.

Neven makes a puzzled sound. “What’s that?”

As I glance over, a delicate shape comes flitting through the air, so small and thin it’s only visible when it’s within ten feet of us. It looks almost like a butterfly, but there’s a shiny yet papery quality to its wings that makes me doubt it’s anything alive.

It swoops down and lands on my shoulder.

The others gape as I pluck the unexpected arrival off my jacket. It is an insect constructed out of paper, coated with a bit of wax presumably to fend off bad weather.

When I turn the figure over, it unfolds into a flatter page. There are no words, only a simple illustration of a cloud of actual butterflies descending on a castle.

Raul’s forehead furrows. “Who in the realms sent that, and why?”

My breath has caught. A giddy tremor runs through my nerves. “Who else would send a note specifically for me? It must be from my father. He has a devout on staff who can send messages across long distances with his magic.”

Lorenzo blinks. “And he’s warning you about a horde of butterflies?”

I can’t hold back a short laugh at my foster brother’s bewildered tone.

“No. I think he felt that writing anything specific would be too risky if intercepted. It’d have to pass by whoever Valerisse has left in Cotea to keep an eye on my family.

It’s a symbolic message. The best I can guess, knowing him and the situation we’re in…

He’s saying he’ll send people. As many as he can.

They’re the butterflies. Aurelia—the empire—that’s the castle. ”

Did my past arguments finally win him over, or did he have his own vision showing Aurelia’s claiming of me and that convinced him?

I suppose it doesn’t matter either way, only that we have the additional support. And he wanted me to know so we could make use of the fact.

Aurelia presses a finger to her lips, already thinking through the possibilities. “They’ll be approaching from behind. How will he stop Valerisse’s allies from realizing?”

“Maybe they’ll bowl right over the pricks,” Raul says, sounding very satisfied with the thought.