Catherine Asaro - The Night Bird

Colonel Arkandy Ravensford, the man who had found Allegra among the sleeping army yesterday, came with Muller. A gray-haired man walked on Mullers other side, someone so well-known, even Allegra recognized him. Sphere-General Samuel Fieldson, formerly of Aronsdale, now commander of the Harsdown forces.

When the queen of Taka Mal entered, the force of her presence blazed. To say Vizarana Jade Quaazera was arresting was akin to saying the lava in an erupting volcano was warm. She wore a gold silk tunic and trousers, with a dagger at her belt. Weapons were forbidden at the summit, but no one challenged her. She raked her gaze over every man in the room as if sizing them up and discarding the results. Allegra wondered if it had occurred to all those kings in Taka Mal and Jazid who were so intent on choosing wives to give them strong, fierce, powerful sons that they might end up with strong, fierce, powerful daughters instead.

Drummer entered with Vizarana, his appearance far different than when Allegra had last seen him. He wore gold trousers and a light shirt with topazes on the cuffs. His yellow hair gleamed. Although he walked with crutches, he moved with a natural agility that made Allegra suspect it wouldnt be long before he recovered. Compared to all the brooding lords here, he was sunlight. If he felt self-conscious entering this place of towering warriors, he gave no sign.

Two Taka Mal generals flanked the queen and Drummer. The older man with silvered hair dazzled in his red and gold uniform, with a sash across his chest that bore five disks enameled in sunrise colors. The other general looked so much like Vizarana, he could have been her brother. But she had no siblings, which meant he was almost certainly Baz Quaazera, her cousin, the commander of her armed forces. Given the pride that blazed in his eyes, Allegra doubted he would ever rest until he took back the Topaz Throne for the queenor died in the effort.

The Jazid warlords came next.

The Taka Mal retinue had just stopped by their chairs when the color suddenly drained from Drummers face. Following his gaze, Allegra felt as if ice formed within her. Yargazon was entering with Ardoz and Bladebreak. She wanted to bolt from the room, and it took a great effort of will to remain.

Yargazon regarded her coldlyand with satisfaction. Her clothes covered the welts he had left on her body, but he knew she felt that measure of his revenge.

The General glanced at Drummer, and the prince stared back, his hands clenched on his crutches. In that instant, Allegra wondered how Markus could live with himself, giving Yargazon free rein. Fast on the heels of that thought came another: How had Markus turned into a decent human being given the father figures in his life? Maybe good existed in Yargazon and Ozar, but Allegra knew Ozar Onyx only by his deeds, and she would never see anything but Yargazons brutality.

Markus, too, was staring at the General. To anyone else, his face may have looked impassive, but Allegra saw the tightening of his lips, the twitch of his eyelid. It had to be excruciating, knowing he could be condemned to death for what Yargazon had done. She had little doubt Vizarana would demand Markuss execution, and Cobalt still wanted him dead.

It wasnt until she heard Markuss indrawn breath that she looked at the other men with the General. No, not the men

The boy.

Like his father before him, Ozarson dressed in black. His dark hair gleamed. Allegra didnt know if the other leaders here had expected him to attend, given his young age, but she felt certain Yargazon had tried to forbid it. With Markus as a hostage, no one could override the Generals authority except Ozarson. The boy must have insisted, which meant he had stood up to Yargazon.

The atajazid regarded the gathered leaders, and they stared back at him. Allegra saw wariness in their expressions, hostility, and curiosity, too, about a child no one had seen for two years, while speculation about him ran rife. When Ozarson saw Markus and Allegra, his shoulders lowered the slightest bit, as if he had tensed for a blow and now realized it wouldnt come. She wondered if the others here sensed the power in this boy, the signs of the formidable man he could someday become. It already showed in the lift of his strong chin, the confidence of his posture as he took his place at the table and the intelligence in his eyes.

Then Cobalt enteredand the room seemed to shrink.

Almost seven feet tall, with a massive physique, he towered over even the Jazidians. He wore his black hair in a warriors queue, and he had on dark clothes with no adornment except a jaguar in dark blue on his belt. General Cragland came with him and other officers Allegra didnt know. It didnt matter who they were. Cobalts presence dominated the room.

They were all gathered then, standing by high-backed chairs, Aronsdale at the far end of the table, Harsdown to their right, Taka Mal on their left, with Jazid and the emperor toward the other end. Bodyguards for every leader stood around the walls, towering, imposing. Daunted, Allegra realized that except for Vizarana, who had a lifetime of dealing with these people, she was the only woman.

Cobalt spoke in his impossibly deep voice. “Let us begin.

Everyone took their seats, clothes rustling. The emperor settled back, one elbow resting on the arm of his chair, and said, “We are met today to decide who will hold the Topaz Throne.

“The Topaz Throne is already held, Vizarana said. “By me.

“How odd, then, Yargazon mused, “that my soldiers occupy your palace while you, your child and your cousins consort are with the Aronsdale army. He glanced at Drummer as if just remembering his existence. “Oh, and him, too.

Drummers fist clenched on the table. Vizaranas hand dropped to her dagger as her gaze stabbed at the General. Yet neither she nor Drummer lost their calm.

Baz Quaazera leaned forward. “Your soldiers may be in the Topaz Palace, Yargazon, but theyre losing on the battlefield. Its a lot easier to occupy a building than a country.

General Ardoz gave him a sour look. “The last I saw, General Quaazera, your fearsome troops were asleep.

“A trait seemingly shared by yours, Muller Dawnfield said. “When my men rode into your camp yesterday, your infamous Jazidian warriors were out like babies.

Everyone at the table glanced uneasily at Allegra. The queen considered her, then let her gaze travel over the others until it came to rest on Cobalt.

“You have a price on General Yargazons head, Vizarana told him. She jerked her head at Markus. “And on his. Well, you have them both. Carry out their sentences. Execute them.

“Prince Markus is in my custody, Jarid said sharply. “If you plan to kill him, youll have to go through me first.

General Cragland spoke from his chair on the emperors right. “Everyone here is under the protection of the Alatian Codes of War. No one can be imprisoned, attacked or killed at this summit. He regarded Markus, then Yargazon. “Not even those under a death sentence.

Although he didnt say, Even those who deserve it, the words seemed to hang in the air. Markus sat listening, his face as cold as the first time Allegra had seen him.

Baz Quaazera spoke to Yargazon. “Look at the numbers. You have, what? Four thousand men, counting the Jazid deserters. He let the word “deserters curdle on his tongue. “I have two thousand, and Aronsdale and Harsdown together brought over three thousand. The emperor has another two, in addition to the thousand already here. Thats eight thousand.

Yargazon didnt look in the least daunted. “Three thousand Dawnfield, he mused. “To fight for whom? And what do we have? Four thousand Jazid, two thousand Taka Mal. Six thousand total. Three thousand Dawnfield and three thousand from the emperor also makes six thousand. An interesting balance, there.