Page 70 of Scorched Earth

Moving to the bar, Teriana leaned her elbows on the polished wood, glad for the shadows of the corner in which she stood.

Then a familiar voice said, “You’re back.”

Ereni rested her own elbows on the bar next to her, silvered blond hair falling around her stooped shoulders.

“Bold,” Teriana murmured. “They all know your face.”

“They know the warrior’s face. The imperatrix’s face.” Ereni lifted a walking stick. “Not the old woman’s face. And old women aren’t threats.”

“That’s not been my experience.” Teriana took a sip from her drink. “I’m sorry for what has happened. It’s not what I intended.”

“Isn’t it, though?” When Teriana didn’t answer, Ereni added, “You brought them to these shores, girl. Have aided them at every turn in their conquest, and now you weep when you see what your actions have wrought? You let the beast out of its cage with delusions that you could keep it on a leash, and now that those delusions are shattered, you say ‘this was not what I intended’?”

“Don’t forget that you agreed to the alliance with them,” Teriana answered softly. “Were happy to allow them free rein if they deposed Urcon. So are your tears worth any more than mine, Ereni?”

“A mistake I will never forgive myself for. Life was hard beneath Urcon. It’s worse now. So many succumbing to injury and illness bred by the Empire, more still to hunger, for there are no healers left, no tenders. Faith in the Six diminishes, and with its loss, the gods give no marks. Titus’s men pulled down the god towers in Aracam and Galinha, destroyed the shrines in every village where they found one, and threatened to cut out the tongues of anyone who invokes the gods.” Her mouth twisted. “But the Seventh’s tower remains, lording over our skies. I think that tells you all you need to know and more about who these men serve.”

“They serve no gods, Ereni, you know that.” Teriana couldn’t keep the frustration from her voice. “That’s why they tore them down in the first place. They’d have taken the Seventh’s towers down as well if they could figure out how. Only they’re too strong.”

“And why is that?” Ereni plucked Teriana’s glass from her handand drained the contents. “The gods’ strength comes from the faith of the people, Teriana. You know this. The Seventh’s strength comes from those who look into darkness to achieve their ends. These boys may not see themselves as serving a god, but they serve evil and that feeds the Corrupter. Look around. Can’t you feel it?”

Teriana’s skin crawled as she looked around the bar, the Forty-First not seeming happy with their hours of leisure but sullen and angry. In the corner, two men began shoving each other, only the bellowed threat of a centurion keeping it from coming to blows. She’d thought the tension the result of Titus’s death.

Except what if she was wrong?

“I’m running out of options, Ereni.” She swiftly explained her people’s worsened situation. “Gamdesh has no interest in helping me, and I think you have no interest in helping me, either. Which means, in order to save them, all I have left are these legions.”

“I will not help you if it means aiding the Empire’s conquest,” Ereni said. “The inlanders, whoweonce conquered, have set aside old animosities because they know much of Celendor from one who walked the paths before. They say that the Empire must be repelled at all costs or it will destroy all that we hold dear, and there is no denying the recent proof of that claim.” She was quiet, then added, “I think Marcus understands that the alliance between us and his legions is burned to ashes, and that is why he’s not bothered to make overtures.”

That, or he hadn’t thought of it. Teriana wasn’t sure which was worst.

“I wish I had an answer for you,” Ereni continued. “I wish I saw a way to free your people that was worth the cost. But I do not. It may be time for you to concede that you have lost that battle and look toward winning the war for all the other Maarin who live free in the West. For in continuing to give aid to the Empire, you put their lives in jeopardy.”

“You want me to just let my imprisoned people die? Let them hang, despite being wholly innocent?” The faces she’d left behind in the prison marched across her mind’s eye, and Teriana’s chest tightened so painfully that she couldn’t breathe. “You want me to abandon them?”

“Sometimes the hardest choice is the right choice.” Ereni squeezed her arm. “I grieve for you, Teriana. Truly. But you cannot win this.”

Hefting her walking stick, Ereni stooped across the bar toward the exit, none of the legionnaires paying her any mind. Not even Quintus, who passed her on his way in.

“I want to go to the beach,” Teriana said to him. “I need to be in the sea.”

He shrugged. “All right. All the gold is spent, anyway.”

They wove through Aracam and then down a well-traveled path to the beach. Teriana pulled off her boots and stepped into the warm white sand.

“You doing all right?” Quintus asked, scanning the sky. “You got awfully quiet.”

“Fine.” A lie, but she didn’t want to tell him about her conversation with Ereni. “You heard anything about Miki lately?”

“No.” He kicked the sand with his toes. “I was going to try to bribe one of the sailors that makes runs to the island to deliver a letter, but I can’t afford the going rates. It’s gold or nothing, apparently.”

She rounded on him. “Why didn’t you tell me? You could have used that gold dragon Nic gave us. Instead, you let me spend it entertaining the Forty-First.”

Her friend shrugged, eyes again on the sky, not even the obvious heartache that was plaguing him distracting him from his duties. “Was yours. It’s fine. I’ll win some more at cards. It’s my own fault for spending it all. Bad legion habit to spend it as soon as you get it, because you can’t spend it when you’re dead.”

That made a painful amount of sense.

Taking a handful of her braids, she picked out one and began to unravel it, extracting a bead made of solid gold set with a small emerald. One she’d bought for herself years ago that held no sentimental value. “Here.”