Брайан Макклеллан - Blood of Empire

Lindet seemed to consider this question for several moments. Speaking in a quiet voice, she said, “I’ve spent the last ten years preparing for a Dynize invasion that I was certain would come sooner rather than later. It arrived as I suspected, and yet even with all my sacrifices and preparations and control, I still wasn’t ready. It… it taught me a valuable lesson.

“Next week I’m announcing the dissolution of the Blackhats. No more secret police. No more systematic oppression. It didn’t work before and now that I see that, well…” She shrugged. “I can either spend the rest of my life trying to hold on to power for fear of what will happen when I lose it, or I can put into place a system in which I can retire in peace without everyone on the continent hating me. So, yes. The elections will be real.”

“Will you run in them?”

“It depends on whether I’ve managed to get everyone to forget how much they hate me by then.”

“That’s awfully ambitious for six years,” Styke said glibly.

“Have you ever known me not to be ambitious?”

“Point taken.” Styke tapped his ring against his lance. “Will you stay a couple days? We haven’t spoken at length in… quite some time.”

“No, we haven’t.”

“I’ve got a proper house in a nearby town, until I’ve finished building my new one here.”

For the first time since she was a little girl, Styke saw his sister smile – a real smile, without cruelty or hidden intention. “I’d like that, thank you.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope. “I heard you legally adopted the girl?”

Styke gave those papers a wary glance. “I did.”

“Good. This is a list of schools in Fatrasta, and the best universities in the world. I know you’re a fan of learning in the saddle, but my niece will be educated. We can discuss those options over dinner tonight.” Glancing once more down at their mother’s grave, Lindet turned to walk back toward her waiting retinue.

Celine waited until she’d gone before joining Styke at the graveside. He looked down at her and snorted. “Lindet wants to send you to school.”

“I heard,” she replied thoughtfully. “I’m not sure that I’ll like school.”

“It would be good for you.”

“Did you go to school?”

“I did. Boarding, then university, then the continental military academy. Hated every minute of it, but I did learn a few things. Would you rather go off to school now, or help me get the horse farm set up first?”

Celine’s forehead creased. She stared at nothing in deep thought, then looked up at him. “Why didn’t you tell Auntie Lindet about your deal with Ka-poel?”

“Telling her to her face that a foreign empress has made me her prison warden won’t go over well. She might be learning, but Lindet is still a proud woman. Either she’ll get thirsty for power again and find out that I’m here to check her power, or it’ll never come up. I’m hoping it’s the latter.”

Celine nodded along with the explanation. “When will Lindet want me to go to school?”

“Immediately, I’m guessing.”

“And when will Ibana be back from Dynize?”

“She’s going to oversee the new imperial guard for another year, then join us. She wants to rebuild her father’s smithy over there.” Styke pointed off into the woods.

Celine considered for several more moments. “I’d like to be here to watch your new town grow. I can go to school when I’m older, right?”

“Absolutely.” Styke took his lance and walked over to his mother’s grave. He leaned on the shaft, sinking it butt-down into the soft earth until the point was at chest level. Removing his big Lancer ring, he placed it on the tip of the lance and stepped back to view his handiwork. Nodding to himself, he offered his hand to Celine. “Agreed. Now, let’s go pretend to be interested in Lindet’s schools.”

Thank you to my wonderful editor, Brit Hvide, for helping me finish out this series with a bang. Thanks to my fantastic agent, Caitlin Blasdell, and all her colleagues at Liza Dawson Associates, without whom the Powder Mage universe wouldn’t be what it is today. Also thank you to the awesome staff at Orbit who work hard to make sure that my books are edited, marketed, printed, given cover art, and so much more.

Thanks to my wife, Michele, for all the work she’s spent editing this and all the previous books – for giving me great ideas and pointing out where I go wrong and cheering me on when I get it right.

And of course, thanks to my beta readers, Mark Lindberg and Peter Keep, for taking a look at an early manuscript and giving me valuable feedback. Their help has saved me countless headaches.

Finally, thanks again to my old editor Devi Pillai. Her job change may have prevented her from finishing out the series, but she’s the one who gave me my first big break and bought both the Powder Mage Trilogy and Gods of Blood and Powder . Without her support I probably wouldn’t have gotten this far.