Breakfast was not served inside the fortress by the general’s orders. He wanted everyone to walk to the second square building. The one on the right of the large main block. So we gathered everyone in the throne room and decided to walk to the new mess area. I agreed with the general’s decision. The movement would encourage imperial soldiers to move around the fortress complex and grounds, get some much-needed exercise, and keep an eye out for attackers. What I didn’t expect was for General Lloyd to exceed all my expectations.

  For as long as I could remember, I had been a silent hunter. I didn’t speak, nor was I spoken to. There was no need for that. My purpose was to keep order, and silence followed me everywhere. Maybe that was why I wasn’t prepared for the noise that hit me in the face when we exited the fortress. The wall of sound made me hunch my shoulders and recoil. In my defense, the fortress’s mana-dense stone was designed to block everything from localized sonic blasts to trebuchet impacts.

  Saha’s small hand wrapped around my pinky finger, and she tugged. I looked from her to the man she was waving at. She let go of me and rushed over to hug the pretty boy.

  “Ravel,” Saha said excitedly.

  Ravel laughed and picked Saha up in a hug.

  I suddenly wanted to punch his pretty face with my big fist.

  Jealousy. That was what Saha had called this emotion. I didn’t like it. It made me want to dunk myself in the dark waters and wash it off. I considered doing just that when Saha brought Ravel over with a beaming smile.

  Ravel smiled and bowed formally. “Your Highness, Prince Voss Truechild. I am Ravel Voss. His Majesty has appointed me as the Imperial Chancellor to the Voss Range.”

  “Voss?” I asked.

  “He is my cousin,” Saha said.

  The jealousy fizzled away, replaced by embarrassment. Emotions were strange. How did people move from one emotion to another so fast? Strangely, I no longer felt the urge to take a dip in the waters.

  “Hello,” I said.

  “Hello, Clan Head.” Ravel bowed again and turned to Saha. “Did you put makeup on Jet?”

  Saha giggled. “Didn’t I always say that makeup would look good on Sylvaris?”

  “Good?” Ravel’s eyes lit up. “He looks hot.”

  “Hot, cousin?” Saha asked. “What are Shaya and Sarogen going to say?”

  Ravel waved his hand dismissively. “Oh, we’ve been looking for a fourth for a while now. And you know, both Shaya and I have a history with Jet.” He leaned closer to Saha. “Do you know if he’s with someone? Maybe we can add a fifth. Emperor knows I can afford it now.”

  I didn’t know how to feel about Ravel’s words. As long as I could remember, I had been alone. Except for a few times when I was very young. That was a long time ago, and I barely recognized that younger soul. Here, Ravel already had multiple favorites and was looking for more.

  I knew it was normal in the empire to build unions of close-knit favorites. From the empire’s perspective, its population had been limited and was only now rising after eras of decline. Favorites created family units, with one or two members caring for their progeny and even enjoying it. The empire also found it easier to tax collectives than individuals. For the nobility, having multiple favorites allowed weapons, tools, and spells to be passed down to the most talented child. It also gave a dynasty the numbers it needed to endure. For commoners, it allowed families to take care of each other and their children in times of need.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Intellectually, I understood why it worked. Still, the idea unnerved me. The idea of being as emotionally naked as I had been with Saha yesterday. And Saha was vulnerable with me. I didn’t beleive I couldn’t do that with any one else. I loved Saha. I didn’t feel that way about anyone else. Moreover, the more I would open up my soul to others would create more weak points in my soul shield. That is why the idea of bringing someone else in our relationship, unnerved me.

  As we walked, the two cousins kept chattering on and on. I didn’t know people could have so much to say to each other. To be honest, most of it was Ravel boasting about his new perks and position.

  Finally, Saha smiled. “Well, it looks nice to be an Imperial Chancellor.”

  Ravel snorted. “Oh, cousin. You know the emperor is only showing his favor now because of you. And in a small way, he feels pity for us Vosses. So, I’m going to milk that favor as long and as hard as I can.”

  “Ravel. That is almost blasphemously obscene.” Saha glared at her cousin.

  “Is it? Oh, no. By mana, no.” Ravel crossed his arms hastily. “I didn’t mean His Divine Majesty. I meant Jet. It’s been a while since I’ve been with an elf.”

  Saha snorted. “Looks like you have a good life. Maybe I should have picked up law.”

  Ravel rolled his eyes. “Sweetheart, don’t tell me you haven’t scored. Look at this hunk of a man-mountain here.” He froze mid-gesture, thumb still pointing at me. “Oh, by the Divine Emperor… What have I been saying? I’m sorry, Your Highness. I didn’t mean to...”

  I raised my hand slowly. I didn’t want to frighten the skittish man. “The unofficial term is Imperial God-War, not hunky man-mountain.”

  Ravel stared at me for a moment, then began to laugh.

  I tried to smile and looked to Saha for guidance. She gave me a subtle thumbs-up. I had been working on that. Somehow, a smiling giant was less frightening than a silent one. I didn’t know why, but Saha insisted it helped. Judging by the nervous chancellor, she was right.

  I took the lull in the conversation to look around. I saw many new soldiers on the fortress grounds. There were some old ones too, but they had wide-eyed, bewildered looks. As if something had struck them and left them reeling. The new soldiers were professionals. The way they walked, talked, and went about their work showed confidence and purpose. The older ones lagged behind.

  We stopped near the grounds to watch the soldiers train.

  “I’ve never seen the fortress this busy,” Saha said in awe.

  “Well, a duchess does need her troops,” Ravel said with a smirk.

  Saha gave him a look and said flatly, “Ravel, these are the empire’s soldiers. Not Voss family troops. I know we’ve lost the duchy. You don’t need to make me feel better.”

  Ravel frowned, his gaze drifting toward my head. Suddenly, the noise and voices around us cut off.

  He exhaled. “By the Emperor, it’s hard doing that with someone your size, Your Divine Highness.”

  “Ravel, what are you doing? What’s with this sound barrier?” Saha asked.

  “You’re wrong, Saha.” Ravel wiped his brow. “His Highness is a Truechild. He will be a duke. If not now, then sometime in the future. But the chancellery believes the Divine Emperor has a bigger plan for him. We believe our range could become an imperial duchy.”

  “Imperial duchy? What is that?” Saha asked.

  “A duchy governed by the imperial house.” Ravel grew animated. “Think about it. The emperor is creating a state within a state. And there’s nothing the senate can do about it.”

  He took a breath. “Let me start from the beginning. You know the law where any soldier of the empire can be turned into an imperial soldier in times of need, right?”

  Saha nodded. “Yeah. The law Lady Savera used to quell the rebellion in the City of Sages. Wasn’t its legality called into question?”

  “Yes, initially. But Savera, the Southern Star, is one of the emperor’s favorites and a member of the imperial family.”

  “She wasn’t then,” Saha said.

  “She was,” Ravel replied. “Her relationship with the emperor was registered in the imperial registry over three hundred years ago. They just took a break in the middle. Everyone forgot.”

  Saha chuckled. “Cousin, all this intrigue is interesting, but what does it have to do with us?”

  “Everything.” Ravel took a deep breath to steady himself. “Cousin. Clan Head. Officially, there’s a beast wave on its way, and no one knows why. But the nobles of Voss are paralyzed. This morning’s bulletins will report their incompetence and point out that their inaction led to an attack on the emperor’s children.”

  Ravel turned to me, fire in his eyes. “Clan Head, you need to punctuate that fact. That will allow you to turn the Eleventh Brigade into an imperial legion.”

  I looked at him for a few seconds. “Why?”

  “Because that will allow you to turn them into the Voss Legion. It will allow our clan to...”

  I raised my hand. “Stop. The nobles are infested by the damned. Commoners are suffering. Souls are being tortured. I don’t have the time to think about one clan or one family. No matter how much I want to.”