Migo didn’t answer, but he cradled her chin with his fingers as he lowered his face toward hers, finding her lips with his own, no sense of hesitation restraining him. She kissed him back, lips warm and soft, one of her hands clenching his shirt into a tight fist. He slid a hand along her back, tracing a tantalizing line down her back, preparing to pick her up.
A loud knock echoed through the room.
Migo sighed, wishing beyond all desire that he could ignore it. Their lips lingered close together, touching ever-so-lightly as they traded the same, wonderful air. He placed both hands on either side of Katsi’s head. Sands, she was beautiful. He touched his forehead to hers, but the knocking on the door came again, more insistent this time.
“Your Excellency.” A voice carried through. It was Adrina.
It was Katsi’s turn to sigh. She patted his chest with one hand. “That could very well be her coming to swear allegiance for all I know. We should see her.”
Migo set his jaw and withdrew his hands. “Very well.” He stepped toward the door. “I hope it’s worth it.”
When he opened the door, Adrina took a step back from it and dipped her head. “Sorry to disturb you here, Your Excellency, but I was hoping to speak with you after the wedding. I did not anticipate your departure so quickly.”
“That’s quite alright, Adrina,” Migo lied, feeling entirely that it was not alright. “I just finished sending a message back to Jehubal. What did you wish to speak about?”
“I wanted to let you know, formally, of my support for your role as emperor,” Adrina said. “I see your true devotion to the freedom of all people, and I believe the best way for me to assist you is to formally accept you with the hope that I may be admitted to your council.”
Migo pursed his lips, sparing a glance at Katsi, who still stood across the room, arms folded. He regarded Adrina skeptically. She’d chosen her words carefully. Support and acceptance did not mean service. “I understand things are different among shamans,” he said. “There are no kings or emperors among the tribes. I want to trust you, Adrina, but what was your relationship with Emperor Malrabia? How was he able to trust you?”
Adrina shrugged. “Perhaps he never fully did, but I was under blood oath to him. It gave him the power to kill me with a simple thought, but I took the oath with him willingly. It’s the same as swearing fealty, but with far greater consequences should I have betrayed his trust or met his displeasure.”
“Would you swear to me?” Migo asked. “Not a blood oath, I would not require that, but on your honor.”
Adrina looked over Migo’s shoulder at Katsi before returning her gaze to Migo. “I swear my allegiance to you, Emperor Rikaydian.” She bowed her head in deference.
Sands, whatever Katsi had done must have really worked. “Thank you, Adrina. This is a significant gesture, and I intend to remain loyal to any who swear to me, as is my role.”
Adrina nodded, though her expression was stony. He could tell that she still felt uncomfortable with the gesture of swearing fealty, but it was the only way he could be sure of her loyalties. “Thank you, Your Excellency. I understand you to be a man of your word. I will speak with the other shamans in the castle.”
“I would appreciate it,” Migo said. “The sooner we can all band together, the better.”
“Emperor Rikaydian,” said one of the guards outside the room after he’d spoken with another servant that had just come down the hall. Migo had already overheard their conversation with his sharp hearing, so he knew what the guard would announce. He really needed to learn their names…
“The meal is ready. Guests are filing into the dining hall now.”
“Of course,” Migo said before addressing Katsi. “Katsi, I hope you’re hungry.”
“Famished,” she said.
They’d been rushing from place to place and hadn’t had a good meal since returning from Wanay. “Adrina, I’d be happy to have you sit next to me at the table. I have invited Captain Suresh to sit with me as well. I can discuss my plan from there.”
“You have a plan already,” Adrina said, raising her eyebrow.
“I have endless plans,” Migo said. “Picking the right one is the hard part.” He held a hand out to Katsi as she approached, trying not to smile too much as she laced her fingers around his. He would slay every waheshi or bleeder shaman if it meant being able to hold her hand forever.
The walk to the dining hall was like walking on clouds—a freefall through the sky. Katsi grabbed his arm with her other hand, a subtle smile on her face as she continuously glanced up at him. And to believe that just a few months ago, all Migo could think about was trying to kill her. How far he’d fallen out of his mother’s graces and into love.
He’d scarcely been aware of his surroundings by the time they arrived in the room. Two long tables were on either side, with a third on the far end set perpendicular to the others. The space was less grandiose than he was used to seeing in the castle, the most prominent feature being a large window on one side that overlooked the city. Those were his people now. The whole of Malahem would look to him for protection as he’d been the one to remove their shield. He wondered, did that make him a villain? Perhaps to some. But his father had often said that leadership always came with enemies.
As Migo scanned the room, he was surprised by how distinctly he remembered each face. He’d seen most of them before when addressing the nobles in the ballroom, but he knew his memory shouldn’t be that clear. There were at least sixty people standing about, waiting for the emperor and empress to take their seats.
A round of applause filled the room as soon as people noticed them entering. Migo and Katsi raised their free hands, smiling and waving as seemed appropriate. They followed Mistress Neran as she led them to their seat at the center of the table in the back. People gasped as Scales crawled behind Katsi and Migo. “Katsi,” Migo said from the side of his mouth. “Is your pet supposed to be in here?”
Katsi shrugged. “There’s plenty of room for him back here,” she said, gesturing to the space behind their seats. “Besides, I haven’t seen much of him lately.”
“As long as he behaves,” Migo said, recognizing that this meal was as much about politics as it was about pleasure.
Migo expressed his desires regarding seating arrangements with Mistress Neran before he and Katsi sat down. The rest of the guests were quickly ushered to their seats by an army of servants. Migo still hadn’t dipped into the financing involved in running the castle, but he knew it had to be enormous.
The interior side of all the tables was left vacant, providing guests the visibility of each other, and allowing the servants to navigate between tables without reaching around anybody. Katsi sat to Migo’s left, but immediately to his right sat Donal, the noble who’d first rebelled against Migo, but had then been the first to swear fealty after Migo made a show of him. On the other side of Donal sat Suresh and the refugees from Wanay, then beside Katsi sat Adrina and the rest of the shamans.
“Your Excellency,” Donal said. “Congratulations on the wedding.”
Migo nodded back to Donal. “Thank you.”
“I admit I’m surprised that you wanted me seated beside you.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Migo said. “As I said before, I need leaders. People who have experience leading troops into battle. You’ve shown me your courage, and even your loyalty to a dead emperor, which is noble, and commendable, but I need you to be loyal to your people. To our people. Not just Mazanib, but Malahem. Can I count on you?”
Donal brushed his light hair back with one hand, mouth open as he worked through his thoughts. “Of course, Your Excellency,” he said.
“Good,” Migo said as dishes of food were laid out in front of them. “Then I will have you coordinate with Captain Suresh. I need to assemble at least one thousand soldiers and get them trained specifically on combating waheshi. They will need to be on call at a moment’s notice. You will need to be prepared to lead this team. Can you do that?”
“I am yours to command, Your Excellency,” Donal said.
“You and Captain Suresh will identify any soldier who has experience fighting waheshi. We’ll need them all.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Suresh said.
