Rani laughed softly. "Careful, Duchess. Curiosity about powerful n has led to many complications throughout history."
"I’m counting on it," Jazmin said with a wicked smile.
"You will get caught one of these days by your husband."
Jazmin sighed as she stared at the sky through the windows.
"Life’s too short to avoid complications. Especially interesting ones."
She stood, smoothing her dress.
"I’ll be hosting a salon in three days. Small, intimate, only the most interesting people in Cahns’ar. I want Baron Kaezhlar there."
"He might not accept," Rani pointed out.
"Then make the invitation irresistible," Jazmin replied.
"You’re good at that. And tell him—" she paused at the door "—tell him I’m soone who appreciates people who challenge the status quo. That should intrigue him enough to at least consider it."
After the duchess left, Rani sat alone in her chambers, thinking.
The capital was buzzing like a disturbed beehive. Baron Jolthar Kaezhlar had thrown a stone into the calm waters of imperial politics, and the ripples were still spreading.
Everyone wanted to know who he really was, what he wanted, and whether he was an opportunity or a threat.
Including, apparently, one of the most influential duchesses in the empire.
Rani smiled to herself.
Whatever else happened, the next few weeks in Cahns’ar promised to be very entertaining indeed.
She rang a small bell, summoning one of her most trusted ssengers.
Ti to extend an invitation that would be difficult to refuse.
*
The Imperial Palace - Healing Chambers
Princess Tamnarasi lay in a bed draped with silk, her body wrapped in bandages infused with healing enchantnts. The bed was long, and the room was spacious enough to accommodate a dragon.
The best physicians and mages in the empire attended her, their faces grave as they worked to nd wounds that went deeper than flesh. The Ice Phoenix transformation had saved her life, but reversing it while injured had caused additional damage.
The door to the chamber burst open with such force that it cracked against the wall. A woman dressed in regal attire, adorned with gold ornants that made a clanking sound as she walked into the room.
Empress Mandaqini entered like a storm given human form.
She was a woman in her early fifties, but age had only refined her beauty into sothing more formidable. Her face was a perfect blend of elegance and authority, her bearing that of soone born to rule. She wore robes of deep crimson and gold, and her presence filled the room with barely contained fury.
"Out," she commanded the attendants.
"All of you."
The physicians and mages scrambled to obey, bowing deeply as they fled.
Only one healer remained, bold or foolish enough to try to speak.
"Your Majesty, the princess still needs—"
"I said OUT."
The healer fled.
Mandaqini approached her daughter’s bedside, her expression softening fractionally when she saw Tamnarasi’s condition.
"My daughter. My precious, innocent daughter, reduced to this by so wretched brat."
Tamnarasi looked at her mother; she was in no state to get up, but she wanted to, as she didn’t want to show her weak self to her mother.
"Mother—" Tamnarasi’s voice was weak, each word clearly costing her effort.
"Don’t. He was... stronger than anticipated."
"Stronger?" Mandaqini’s hands clenched into fists.
"He humiliated you. He humiliated . He humiliated the entire imperial family by defeating the Commander of the Dreadmarchen."
Her voice rose.
"And he did it publicly, where the whole city could witness our sha!"
"It wasn’t... sha," Tamnarasi managed.
"It was... a fair fight."
"There is no such thing as a fair fight when it results in my daughter broken and bleeding!" Mandaqini turned away, pacing like a caged predator.
"Where is Bhaelava? I sent for him an hour ago."
As if summoned by the ntion of his na, the door opened again.
A young man entered, perhaps twenty-five, handso in a cruel way, with his mother’s eyes and his own particular brand of arrogance. This was Prince Bhaelava, Tamnarasi’s younger brother and another of the Empress’s children.
"Mother, you called?" He saw his sister, and his expression darkened. "By the gods, Rasi, what did that bastard do to you?"
"He defeated her," Mandaqini said bluntly.
"And now he walks free in MY capital, unpunished, unbowed. This cannot stand."
She turned to Bhaelava with intensity.
"I want you to gather your best fighters. Find this Jolthar Kaezhlar. Bring him to . Alive if possible, but I’ll settle for dead if necessary."
Bhaelava’s hand went to his sword instinctively.
"Consider it done, Mother. I’ll—"
"You’ll do nothing of the sort."
Another voice, deeper and carrying natural authority, ca from the doorway.
An older man entered, perhaps thirty, with brownish hair and the bearing of soone who had commanded armies. This was Prince Yaknapati, the Empress’s eldest son and one of the few people who could speak to her so directly without fear.
"Yaknapati," Mandaqini said, ice in her voice.
"This doesn’t concern you."
"It concerns the entire imperial family," Yaknapati replied calmly.
"And more importantly, the Emperor has made no pronouncent about Baron Kaezhlar. Until he does, no action should be taken."
"The Emperor sits in his palace and says nothing while my daughter lies broken!"
Mandaqini gestured sharply to Tamnarasi.
"The Emperor," Yaknapati said carefully, "is wise enough to recognize a complicated situation when he sees one. Rasi—" he looked at his sister with genuine concern "—attacked Baron Kaezhlar first. She threw him out of the city and pursued him. He defended himself. That’s not a cri."
"In the eyes of citizens, he is now a hero who stood against the unlawful ministers."
"He had gained a lot of attention in just a few days."
"He released his aura in the capital," Bhaelava argued.
"That alone justifies—"
"Justifies what? Execution? Arrest?" Yaknapati shook his head.
"After he was subjected to a sham trial orchestrated by Finance Minister Richardus? After he was confronted by the Dreadmarchen while trying to leave peacefully?"
He looked at his mother directly. "If we act against him now, we prove that the empire prosecutes those who defend themselves against corrupt officials. That’s not a ssage we want to send."
Mandaqini’s expression was glacial.
"Are you defending this... this upstart?"
User Comments
0 comments from readers