“Apologies, your Majesty,” said Rennus, dipping his chin. Despite the show of deference, he still sounded excited, like a boy discovering a new game. “I’m here because – well, because coming to understand the tribesmen’s elixir gave me an idea.”
The Empress narrowed her eyes. “Please don’t tell me you want to replicate it for our own troops. I can understand the necessity of imitating mountain man strategy on the field of battle and turning it against them, ambushing and picking them off one raid at a time, but that is where I draw the line. I will not have my soldiers fighting like undisciplined banshees.”
“No, no,” Rennus said, shaking his head hastily. “I’m not suggesting we replicate the elixir. But I see an opportunity at hand: We know the mountain men General Ambrose currently faces have dug in at Bawold, which means they must be brewing the elixir there, somewhere in the town, before each assault. The composition of the elixir is delicate enough that it only remains viable for a few hours after its creation.”
“Alright. And this knowledge helps our cause because …?”
“If we can capture a wounded mountain man,” Rennus said, eyes shining, “I can use the art of skinwalking to enter his body and learn precisely where in Bawold the brew is being made. Empress,” he said, speaking slowly for emphasis, “imagine if we poison the elixir the next time it is brewed. General Ambrose could retake the territory he lost and liberate Bawold, all without ever unsheathing a single Imperial sword or losing a single Imperial life.”
Linna could tell the Empress was considering the Brother’s proposition. One of her hands tapped her clay tea mug while the other went idly to her belly. Rennus’s eyes flicked towards the Empress’s belly.
“I like your idea, Brother Rennus,” the Empress said at last, leaning both hands upon the table. “But how would you sneak your poison into Bawold? Would you use your prisoner and … skinwalk it in?”
“No, I cannot possess a body for that long. Or control it from such a distance – Bawold is not quite six miles, and the limit of skinwalking is about one mile, even for a practitioner with skills such as mine.”
The Empress lifted an eyebrow. “But you could get closer, could you not?”
“Perhaps. But a mile from Bawold … a Brother is quite vulnerable while skinwalking.” Brother Rennus hesitated. “I actually had a different idea. Rather than use skinwalking, I wanted to suggest something more … traditional. We need someone capable of sneaking into Bawold at exactly the right moment, poisoning the brew, and sneaking out again without being seen. Otherwise, our efforts will be for naught.” His eyes drifted to Linna. “I have heard the story of how the Commander’s apprentice entered into a camp of soldiers after you had been taken captive, managed to add a sleeping draught to their stew, and –”
Linna’s heart fluttered. At last! Someone trusted her to do something more than carry tea!
But the Empress cut him off before he could finish. “Absolutely not.” Her tone was sharp as a razor blade.
“I’m simply saying that we know L’Linna already has the temperament for –”
“I said no, Brother Rennus. Linna’s place is at my side.”
“Empress, she is perfect for this task. I know you are attached to the girl, but –”
The Empress’s face clouded with anger, green eyes flashing hot. “You may believe the Brotherhood serves a mission that is higher than the concerns of the Empire of the House of Dorsa,” she said, “but this is still my army and my camp, and Linna is my guard and servant. I have told you ‘no’ twice. If you make me say it a third time, I will have someone wire your mouth shut for a few days until you think better of openly arguing with me.”
For the briefest of moments, Brother Rennus looked as angry and defiant as the Empress. But then he deflated, and Linna felt herself deflate along with him, although she did not let it show. “Apologies, Empress.” He glanced one last time at Linna. “I only thought … We have within our ranks someone who moves like a cat and wields a sword with nearly the same skill as the Commander. Someone who has already carried out this exact task successfully once before. I was merely considering that –”
“Keep speaking at your own peril,” the Empress warned icily.
“Yes, your Majesty.” Rennus was silent for a moment. “I will think on other candidates who might be able to successfully carry out such a mission.”
“That would be wise,” said the Empress. “Was there anything else, Brother Rennus?”
“No, Highness.” He dropped his gaze. “With your permission, I will take my leave. The healers have a particularly high number of injured soldiers at the moment, and Udolf and I would offer our assistance.”
“Permission granted.”
He nodded. “Come, Udolf.”
Brother Rennus and his apprentice both bowed and backed out of the tent. Udolf caught Linna’s eye at the last moment before they left and gave her one more smile. Linna couldn’t help but feel a certain kinship with him. She and Udolf both stayed silent while their elders argued over things that would impact everyone’s fate, including their own. Yet neither of them had a voice.
How Linna longed for a day when she could speak as well as listen.
She smiled back at him, then immediately regretted it. What if the boy was sweet on her? If he was, Linna would have to find a gentle way to explain that he would need to place his affections elsewhere.
An image of Princess Adela flashed through her mind, and that taunting inner voice returned. Udolf isn’t the only one who needs to place affections elsewhere.
When Linna turned away from the entrance, she realized the Empress was watching her.
“You do understand why you cannot go, don’t you?” the Empress asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Linna said. “The Commander told me to watch over you.”
“That’s certainly one good reason. But it’s not the only one.”
Linna hesitated. “Only … when you were in the Great Desert, it is true that I snuck into the camp and put Goran’s sleeping draught into the stew.”
It wasn’t quite challenging the Empress, was it? After all, Linna was just saying something that was true. She’d saved the Empress’s life – twice.
But the Empress made a face. “A small contingent of Imperial soldiers who believed themselves completely alone in the Great Desert is totally different from multiple clans of tribesmen surrounded by enemies in the middle of a war, Linna.”
Linna dropped her gaze to the floor, biting back three different counterarguments before they could escape her lips.
“Yes, ma’am.”
The Empress took a step forward and placed both her palms on Linna’s cheeks. “Linna … if something were to happen to you … and I was the one who made it possible for you to come into harm’s way … I would never, ever forgive myself. It scares me enough already that you are here, on the front with us, and not safely back with Adela and Milo in Port Lorsin. Do you understand what I’m saying? I couldn’t ever forgive myself. I don’t think Joslyn would ever forgive me, either.”
Linna’s heart leapt. So perhaps the Empress and the Commander did see her as family. She swallowed back the torrent of mixed emotions suddenly in her throat.
“Yes, ma’am.”