LITMIR.BIZ

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      Vaisra’s expression softened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to be the one to have to tell you. I know how much pain you must feel—”

      “No. No, shut the fuck up, I don’t want that.” Kitay backed away. “I don’t need your fake sympathy.”

      “Then what would you like from me?”

      Kitay lifted his chin. “I want troops.”

      The Warlords’ summit would not commence until after the victory parade, and that stretched over the next two days. For the most part Vaisra’s soldiers did not participate. Several troops entered the city in civilian clothes, sketching out final details in their already extensive maps of the city in case anything had changed. But the majority of the crew remained on board, watching the festivities from afar.

      Every now and then an armed delegation arrived aboard the Seagrim, faces shrouded under hoods to conceal their identities. Vaisra received them in his office, doors sealed, guards posted outside to discourage curious eavesdroppers. Rin assumed the visitors were the southern Warlords—the rulers of Boar, Rooster, and Monkey provinces.

      Hours passed without news. Rin grew maddeningly bored. She’d been over the palace maps a thousand times, and she’d already trained so long with Eriden that day that her leg muscles screamed when she walked. She was just about to ask Nezha if they might explore Lusan in disguise when Vaisra summoned her to his office.

      “I have a meeting with the Snake Warlord,” he said. “On land. You’re coming.”

      “As a guard?”

      “No. As proof.”

      He didn’t explain further, but she suspected she knew what he meant, so she simply picked up her trident, pulled her scarf up higher over her face until it concealed all but her eyes, and followed him toward the gangplank.

      “Is the Snake Warlord an ally?” she asked.

      “Ang Tsolin was my Strategy master at Sinegard. He could be anything from ally to enemy. Today, we’ll simply treat him as an old friend.”

      “What should I say to him?”

      “You’ll remain silent. All he has to do is look at you.”

      Rin followed Vaisra across the riverbank until they reached a line of tents propped up at the city borders as if it were an invading army’s. When they approached the periphery, a group of green-clad soldiers stopped them and demanded their weapons.

      “Go on,” Vaisra muttered when Rin hesitated to part with her trident.

      “You trust him that much?”

      “No. But I trust you won’t need it.”

      The Snake Warlord came to meet them outside, where his aides had set up two chairs and a small table.

      At first Rin mistook him for a servant. Ang Tsolin didn’t look like a Warlord. He was an old man with a long and sad face, so slender he seemed frail. He wore the same forest-green Militia uniform as his men, but no symbols announced his rank, and no weapon hung at his hip.

      “Old master.” Vaisra dipped his head. “It’s good to see you again.”

      Tsolin’s eyes flickered toward the outline of the Seagrim, which was just visible down the river. “So you didn’t take the bitch’s offer, either?”

      “It was rather unsubtle, even for her,” Vaisra said. “Is anyone staying in the palace?”

      “Chang En. Our old friend Jun Loran. None of the southern Warlords.”

      Vaisra arched an eyebrow. “They hadn’t mentioned that. That’s surprising.”

      “Is it? They’re southern.”

      Vaisra settled back in his chair. “I suppose not. They’ve been touchy for years.”

      No one had brought a chair out for Rin, so she remained standing behind Vaisra, hands folded over her chest in imitation of the guards who flanked Tsolin. They looked unamused.

      “You’ve certainly taken your time getting here,” Tsolin said. “It’s been a long camping trip for the rest of us.”

      “I was picking up something on the coast.” Vaisra pointed toward Rin. “Do you know who she is?”

      Rin lowered her scarf.

      Tsolin glanced up. At first he seemed only confused as he examined her face, but then he must have taken in the dark hue of her skin, the red glint in her eyes, because his entire body tensed.

      “She’s wanted for quite a lot of silver,” he said finally. “Something about an assassination attempt in Adlaga.”

      “It’s a good thing I’ve never wanted for silver,” said Vaisra.

      Tsolin rose from his chair and walked toward Rin until only inches separated them. He was not so much taller than she was, but his gaze made her distinctly uncomfortable. She felt like a specimen under his careful examination.

      “Hello,” she said. “I’m Rin.”

      Tsolin ignored her. He made a humming noise under his breath and returned to his seat. “This is a very blunt display of force. You’re just going to march her into the Autumn Palace?”

      “She’ll be properly bound. Drugged, too. Daji insisted on it.”

      “So Daji knows she’s here.”

      “I thought that’d be prudent. I sent a messenger ahead.”

      “No wonder she’s getting antsy, then,” Tsolin said. “She’s increased the palace guard threefold. The Warlords are talking. Whatever you’re planning, she’s ready for it.”

      “So it will help to have your support,” Vaisra said.

      Rin noticed that Vaisra dipped his head every time he spoke to Tsolin. In a subtle fashion, he was bowing continuously to his elder, displaying deference and respect.

      But Tsolin seemed unresponsive to flattery. He sighed. “You’ve never been content with peace, have you?”

      “And you refuse to acknowledge that war is the only option,” said Vaisra. “Which would you prefer, Tsolin? The Empire can die a slow death over the next century, or we can set the country on the right path within the week if we’re lucky.”

      “Within a few bloody years, you mean.”

      “Months, at the most.”

      “Don’t you remember the last time someone went up against the Trifecta?” Tsolin asked. “Remember how the bodies littered the steps of the Heavenly Pass?”

      “It won’t be like that,” Vaisra said.

      “Why not?”

      “Because we have her.” Vaisra nodded toward Rin.

      Tsolin looked wearily in Rin’s direction.

      “You poor child,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”

      She blinked, unsure what that meant.

      “And we have the advantage of time,” Vaisra continued quickly. “The Militia is reeling from the Federation attack. They need to recuperate. They couldn’t marshal their defenses fast enough.”

      “Yet under your best-case scenario, Daji still has the northern provinces,” Tsolin said. “Horse and Tiger would never defect. She has Chang En and Jun. That’s all you need.”

      “Jun knows not to fight battles he can’t win.”

      “But he can and will win this one. Or did you think you would defeat everyone through a little intimidation?”

      “This war could be over in days if I had your support,” Vaisra said impatiently. “Together we’d control the coastline.

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