Abisai
In twenty-four hours, I will be emperor.
I've never carried so much pressure, yet my hand doesn't tremble as I study the maps spread across my desk. The problems are many. The time is short. And the margin for error is none.
First: the internal conspiracy. Thymá has the support of half the minor clans, those who have spent years believing my father ruled too softly and that a change in bloodline would give them more power.
They're wrong, but ambitious men rarely need to be right to act.
Second: the passage to Galgoth.
That's the real problem.
The reports arrived this afternoon. The breach is opening. Not all at once — slowly, like a crack in a dam, millimetre by millimetre. The priests of the temple have been recording tremors in the eastern border stones for weeks. Dark light seeping from beneath the earth at hours when there should be no light. Forest animals fleeing in the wrong direction.
Signs my father ignored because he had other problems.
Signs Agur ignored because he didn't believe in them.
Signs that are now my inheritance, along with the throne.
I lean back in my chair and stare at the ceiling for a second.
How convenient.
They hand me a kingdom where everything is in chaos and expect me to fix it. Or Thymá expects me to collapse under the weight so he can point at me and present himself as the stable alternative.
Well, uncle, let me show you.
I know how to play this game too. And now it's personal.
I lift my eyes from the maps and look at Levin, who stands on the other side of the desk with his arms crossed and that expression of his — like he's already calculated three moves ahead but is waiting for me to reach the same conclusions on my own.
"Let's get everything ready," I say.
"Where do we start?"
"With Galgoth."
Levin steps closer to the table. I point at the map with my finger.
"If the passage opens completely, the problem won't just be internal." I trace a line from the northern border to the east. "The demons of Galgoth don't distinguish between dragons and humans. They have no alliances, no possible negotiation, no regard for treaties or borders. They are pure destruction. And if they come out in sufficient numbers, they'll drag everything they find with them."
"Including the army?"
"Including everything." I pause. "But there's something worse than the demons coming out of Galgoth."
Levin looks at me.
"The humans seeing the kingdom."
The silence that follows is that of someone processing the full scale of the problem.
"If the passage opens," I continue, "the barriers that keep Anwar invisible to humans will also fall. They've gone generations without knowing we exist. Without knowing that the forest of Jurdiena holds a kingdom within it. Without knowing that dragons walk among them in their own form." I lean back in my chair. "When they find out — and they will within hours if the barriers fall — they won't stay quiet. They'll attack. Because that's how humans react when they find something they don't understand and that scares them."
"War on two fronts," Levin says quietly.
"War on two fronts with demons in the middle."
Levin curses under his breath.
"And what's the plan?"
I stand and point to the Mordur clan's territory on the map. It occupies the northeastern quadrant of the kingdom, the farthest from the passage to Galgoth. Built on solid rock, with walls that have been reinforced for three generations.
"Mordur is the strongest clan in Anwar. Their territory is the most defensible if the passage opens. They have provisions to sustain double their population for months, their own water access, and a trained guard that outnumbers the royal guard." I look at them. "If Galgoth opens, Mordur is the safest place in the kingdom."
"And the alliance with them?"
"The wedding gives it to me." I say this without emotion, like someone acknowledging the strategic value of a piece on the board. "Faguer knows his daughter becomes empress tomorrow. That gives him influence in the court. But what I'm offering him in return is more important. Direct access to the new emperor in case of crisis. Guaranteed protection for his clan. And his grandson will be the future emperor of Anwar. That will be enough."
"And if Mordur decides it's better to wait and see if you survive before committing their forces?"
"I'm not giving them that option." I walk to the window. "Tomorrow, after the coronation, I'll summon the leaders of all the clans. I'll present the reports on Galgoth. No filters, no softening. Let them see exactly what's coming." I turn to Levin. "Men who have something to protect don't wait. They act. And Faguer has a lot to protect."
"And Thymá in that meeting?"
I smile.
"In that meeting, Thymá will have to choose between continuing to weave his conspiracy or preparing for what's coming from Galgoth. Because the demons won't ask him if he's the emperor's uncle or the alternative candidate for the throne. They'll devour him just like everyone else."
"Do you think that will stop him?"
"No. But it will force him to show which side he's on in front of all the clans. And that gives me what I need."
Levin nods slowly.
"One more thing," I say, returning to the map. "I want reinforcements on the northern border before dawn. Not to stop the demons if they come out — no guard can do that. I want them there to measure the speed of the breach and warn me in real time."
"It will be done."
"And Levin," I stop. "If something goes wrong tomorrow during the coronation. If Thymá makes any move, if there's any sign that something isn't where it should be — don't wait for my order. Act."
He looks at me for a second.
"How much leeway do I have?"
"None. If you see it, it's already too late to ask for my permission."
He nods.
"And your concubine?"
"Zabina is a card up my sleeve." I say this in a neutral tone.
"But if the only solution is…" Zymei doesn't finish the sentence.
I look at each of them.
"Then I'll do what's expected of me."
"Are you sure?" Zymei asks in a whisper.
They know she matters to me.
"I can't put one life above thousands. My feelings won't interfere with my responsibilities. You all know that well enough." I pause. "But I don't expect it to come to that. It's unthinkable to believe that a single gem can stop the demons. The priests are desperate and have only given us the easiest path. In the end, war has caught up with us, and it has become inevitable. Waiting another ten years… No. This ends with me."
The silence becomes heavy.
"Now go carry out the orders."
They leave the room.
I stay alone with the maps, the silence, and the weight of what's coming.
I didn't ask for this.
I didn't want this throne.
But now that it's mine, I'll rule it by my own laws.
And the first one who tries to tell me how to reign will quickly discover that I'm far more dangerous than my brother.
Than my father.
Than anyone who has ever sat on that throne before me.
I just hope I don't have to sacrifice you, Zabina. I'll give every last drop of my blood to avoid hurting you. Because I'll hate myself until I die for having to choose the kingdom over you.
I turn off the lamp and leave.