S. Farrell - A Magic of Twilight

“Kraljiki. .”

“I assume that I am sufficiently clear on this, Archigos,” Justi barked, not giving the man time to protest. “I am not my matarh. I will not avoid confrontation by bandying marriage and alliances; I will not sit on the Sun Throne and weave spiderwebs of intrigue to tangle and confuse my enemies. No one will dub me ‘Generi a’Pace,’ and that bothers me not at all. When I am threatened, I will deal with the threat directly and with full, terrible force. I have played your little game regarding Archigos Dhosti and the Numetodo, and that has placed you in the position you so long coveted. Now it’s time for you to return the favors I have granted you: in full, without reservation, and with full interest. If you cannot do that, Archigos, then-as I said-I will deal with that in a direct manner. I will consider your refusal to be a threat. We leave in three dozen turns of the glass, Archigos. I will see you with your carriage and any attendants you care to take with you at the walls of the Pontica Mordei at that time, as well as every war-teni you can muster from within the city. . or I will see you swinging from the Pontica as a warning to the new Archigos.”

Ca’Cellibrecca blinked. Sat. His body slumped like a loaf of uncooked dough. “Kraljiki, you wound me to the core. I was only attempting to make certain that you’ve considered all aspects of the situation, as is the obligation of any good counselor. You have my entire loyalty. I will be there at your side, as you wish.”

“It’s not what I wish,” Justi told him. “It’s what I demand.”

Francesca ca’Cellibrecca

“Three dozen turns of the glass… What is the man thinking? He can’t possibly muster enough soldiers by then.

Even with the armories running at full capacity, they won’t have the quantities of swords or armor they’ll need. He’s impossibly impatient to have his war.”

Francesca heard Vatarh’s irritated muttering from the hallway as his secretary escorted her up to his rooms. The entire temple grounds were in a frantic uproar with rushed preparations, teni and staff scurrying around like a nest of disturbed hornets. “Archigos,” his secretary said, clearing his throat, “Vajica Francesca ca’Cellibrecca is here, at your request.”

“Ah. .” Orlandi looked over his shoulder. She had rarely seen him so obviously agitated and worried. The pouches of skin under his eyes were dark; his hair was disheveled; there were stains on the front of his robes. He waved his hands wildly at the servants. “Don’t forget the new robes the tailor brought over this last Parladi,” he told them. “I want them available to me. And make certain that the wine is packed carefully in straw. Oh, and we can’t forget the sacristy articles. Francesca, no doubt you’ve heard. .” He took his daughter by the arm and escorted her out onto the balcony of his apartments, closing the door on the chaos behind them. There, he embraced her.

“Vatarh, you’re trembling.” She released him, stepping back.

“I know, I know,” he said. He went to the railing, looking down on the plaza, where dozens of people were readying the Archigos’ train of carriages. The temple itself was ablaze with light. The line of the Avi a’Parete was a glittering row of pearls snaking through the city.

“Francesca, I don’t know what will happen. Kraljiki Justi. . the man is forcing my hand before I’m ready. He knows. Somehow he knows that Hirzg ca’Vorl and I have been in contact. He doesn’t know the full extent of it, or we wouldn’t be here talking, but the knowledge itself is dangerous.”

For the first time, Francesca felt a burning of fear in her own stomach. Justi might be genuinely attracted to her, but if Vatarh were no longer needed as a political ally or if the Kraljiki perceived him as an active enemy, then his attraction to her would dissolve as well. Justi didn’t desire people or objects that failed to either glorify or serve him, and he discarded such useless things without a thought or regret. The heretic Ana cu’Seranta had demonstrated that for Francesca all too well. It perhaps explained why Justi had been so distracted and rough during their lovemaking this afternoon. She could feel the bruises rising on her arms and breasts. “What will you do, Vatarh?”

“I don’t know.” It was nearly a moan. His eyes rolled from side to side in the reflection of the teni-light from the square. “I don’t know. I am trapped between two forces.”

“Vatarh, Justi would marry me. I can force the issue. In fact, wouldn’t making that commitment now allay his suspicions?”

“And what good would that do for either of us if Justi dies, or if he’s cast down as Kraljiki?” He shook his head so fiercely that sweat-heavy strands of white hair moved. “No, my dear, we need to keep as many options in play as possible. I won’t know more until we meet with the Hirzg and I can see what the situation truly is, with my own eyes. In the meantime, you must leave Nessantico. As soon as I’ve left the city with the Kraljiki, go to the main temple at Prajnoli and wait there for word from me-I’ve already sent instructions to A’Teni ca’Marvolli and he’s told his u’teni to expect you. It may be that you will need to leave Nessantico entirely, Francesca. You’d be able to reach the border of Firenzcia in two days from Prajnoli if you need to, or return to Nessantico.

You have the code wheel I gave you? Keep it with you-you’ll need it for any messages I send.”

“Vatarh. .”

He shook his head again. “I don’t have anything better to offer you, Francesca. Not at this juncture. It is all in Cenzi’s hands.” He took his daughter’s hands in his own. “I know this. Cenzi looks down on us with favor because I am the Defender of His Word and of the Divolonte. He will not desert me. He will not fail us, however this turns out.”

Ana cu’Seranta

The procession trailed off south over the Pontica a’Brezi Nippoli and north to the gates of the Avi a’Firenzcia. Ana could not guess at the number of the troops escorting the Kraljiki: several thousand or more-many of them forcibly enlisted in the last few days as squads of Garde Civile moved through the city snatching up able-bodied men. Oldtown particularly had been scoured; the tavern below Mahri’s rooms had been raided twice, though the squads had somehow ignored their rooms above. The unison bootfalls of the swelled ranks of the Garde Civile shuddered the ground like an earthquake, their spears as thick as marsh sawgrass above them. Ana huddled against Karl on a rooftop across the Avi from the ancient city wall. Mahri stood next to them, fidgeting with some contraption near the edge of the rooftop.

“That’s Commandant ca’Rudka,” Ana said. “There-see him on the white charger? He looks our way, to the rooftop. .”

‘He won’t see us or recognize you,” Mahri said. “Not today. Not with me here.” He spoke with utter confidence, and if Karl scowled uncertainly, Ana believed Mahri without understanding why. She held Karl’s arm, watching the procession stream by and out of the city.

“Look, there’s the Kraljiki,” Karl said, and Ana hugged his arm tighter as the Kraljiki’s carriage appeared at the north end of the Pontica. Blue-and-gold banners with the clenched fist of the Kraljica holding Cenzi’s broken globe fluttered from the attendants around him and the carriage itself, and the huge stone heads of ancient rulers at the gates rumbled and groaned as they turned to track the current Kraljiki’s progress. Ana heard the chanting of teni and smelled perfume and saw the glow of teni-light around him, visible even in the sunlight. The ca’-

and-cu’ chevarittai pressed around him on their mounts, clad in armor draped with their family colors, the crests of their rank as offiziers of the Garde Civile on their surcoats. The crowd around them cheered at the sight, and the Kraljiki lifted his radiant, muscular arms to them, clad in ornate robes under which polished armor plate glinted. She saw his outthrust chin lift to the accolades, saw the tight satisfaction on his lips. Some of the court wives and grande horizontales were among the courtiers and pages accompanying the Kraljiki’s train, but Francesca was nowhere to be seen-that was a small consolation. Ana wondered what had happened to the woman, and why she wasn’t accompanying the Kraljiki.