Inevera met her mother’s eyes. ‘Forgive me, Mother. The First War must come before even family.’
‘You are my daughter,’ Manvah said. ‘I would love you if you put out the sun.’
Asome’s aura spiked hot with anger. He jerked his head and Kasaad was shoved into the hall, stumbling on his peg leg. Behind him Cashiv grinned, a knife at her father’s throat. His exposed forearm was armoured, and he was careful to keep the heavier Kasaad in place as a shield.
‘Let us start small, then,’ Asome said. ‘Surrender my jiwah, now, or Cashiv will open your father’s throat.’
Inevera’s fingers itched to raise her wand, but it would do little good. She could not strike at Cashiv without risking her father any more than she could kill Asome without risking her mother. Down the hall, she heard reinforcements coming. They would arrive soon, dama wielding hora staves and many, many Sharum.
‘Do not, daughter,’ Kasaad said, drawing a sharp breath as Cashiv pressed the blade to his neck. ‘The Deliverer forgave me. My soul is clean.’
Inevera looked into her father’s aura and knew it to be true. In his Sharum days, he had been a drunk and a coward, but now he was ready for death and Everam’s judgement. His spirit looked to the lonely path, ready to walk it for his family’s sake. He knew Asome saw him only as khaffit – expendable. Manvah had true value. His grandson would never kill her.
‘It will never be clean after what you did to Soli!’ Cashiv’s muscles bunched, but Asome threw out a hand, staying him.
‘I will go, Damajah,’ Ashia said.
Inevera fell deep into her breath and shook her head. Sharak Ka must come first. The dice said Ashia still had a part to play. Kasaad did not. ‘You tried to murder your wife once already, my son. You will not have another chance.’
Asome dropped his hand and Cashiv’s blade flashed, drawing a hot line of blood across Kasaad’s throat. Inevera screamed as her father fell, choking on his own blood. The moment Cashiv lost Kasaad’s body as a shield, Inevera raised her wand, blasting the life from him. The warrior was thrown down the hall to land in a smoking ruin, but the damage was done.
Manvah made a choked sound as Asome pulled her in close, shielding himself with her body as he dragged her back inside. His men closed ranks to cut off pursuit.
‘Kill them!’ Asome shouted, kicking the door shut.
Inevera let them go, glad to have Manvah out of harm’s way as she raised her hora wand. With her free hand, she spoke to her Sharum’ting.
Leave no survivors.
I am a fool, Inevera thought as they returned, singed and bloody, to her wing of the palace.
They had taken a heavy toll, leaving a trail of dead Sharum and dama throughout Asome’s halls, but it was nothing compared with the numbers at her son’s command. Already his guard would be tripled. There would be no second chance, now that his trap was sprung.
Only Asome, Manvah, and the spear sisters lived to bear witness to what happened, but it made Inevera’s failure no less complete. She had been arrogant, letting anger guide her instead of the cold reason of the dice.
Now her father was dead, and it was doubtful she would see her mother alive again. Asome had confirmation of something he already suspected – that Ashia was alive.
And in return, what had she gained?
Nothing.
‘Damajah.’ Ashia bowed as they returned to her private chambers. ‘May I go to my son?’
Inevera’s eyes flicked to the girl, not yet twenty years of age, and saw the fear in her. Not for herself – she had been willing to die this night, in battle or in sacrifice. But the encounter with her husband had her worried over her son. Inevera could see Asome’s image, hovering over her like a haunting spirit. Ashia knew he would willingly kill every man, woman, and child in Krasia to have Kaji back.
Inevera reached out and Ashia stiffened, her aura shocked. Did the Damajah mean to embrace her?
But Inevera did not put her arms around the girl, instead pressing her hand against Ashia’s robe where it had been cut by a Sharum spear in their escape. The wound beneath had healed, but Inevera’s hand came away wet with blood.
She knelt, drawing free her dice and rolling them in her palm, coating them in her niece’s essence before she cast.
‘Everam, giver of Light and Life, your children need guidance. How can I best protect your honoured son Kaji asu Asome am’Jardir am’Kaji, that he and his mother might serve you in Sharak Ka?’
The glow of the alagai hora brightened, and she threw, watching coldly as they fell into a complex pattern. It took her long moments to decipher it.
—She must seek the khaffit through the father of her father, and find your lost cousin.—
Inevera blinked. That Abban still had a part to play was no surprise, and sending Ashia out of Everam’s Bounty might well be the only way to keep her and Kaji safe. Ashia’s father’s father was Dama Khevat, who had once been in command of the monastery, and was likely there still.
But cousin? What cousin?
She cut herself this time. The dice said her cousin, not Ashia’s. Perhaps her own blood might provide answers where Ashia’s could not.
But as ever, the dice raised more questions than they answered.
—She will know him by his scent.—
‘You will slip out in the hubbub as the Majah prepare to leave,’ Inevera said. ‘Asome won’t expect me to send you away. Make for Everam’s Reservoir. Jayan’s defeat has left many widowed mothers there. Another will not draw scrutiny, and no one will recognize you or Kaji outside the capital.’
‘And once there?’ Ashia asked. ‘How will I find the khaffit?’
‘Seek out Qeran,’ Inevera instructed. ‘The drillmaster commands the town now, and his privateers dominate the waters, at least until spring. If any can aid you in finding his lost master, it is he. I will cast daily and update you if I have any more information. It should be days before the hora stone in your earring is out of range. After that, you will be on your own.’
‘And this lost cousin?’ Ashia asked.
Inevera shrugged. ‘You will know him by his scent.’
‘That is little to go on,’ Ashia said.
‘We must trust in Everam,’ Inevera said. ‘The dice were clear. You must find them, if you are to do your part in Sharak Ka.’
Ashia touched her forehead to the floor. ‘As you command, Damajah.’ She rose and left to say her goodbyes to her spear sisters waiting silently outside. They knew she would be leaving, but none save the two of them would know where, or for what purpose.
‘Niece,’ Inevera said, pulling Ashia up short. She turned to meet Inevera’s eyes.
‘Know that I could not be prouder of you if you were my own daughter. ‘If any shoulders can bear this burden Everam has set, they are yours.’ Inevera held her arms open, and Ashia, stunned, fell into them for the first time in her adult life.