A princess of Melcia was no common armsman to be detained in the stockades. Not only was Nkeoma given a large pavilion tent equal to any other in camp, it was furnished with the best accoutrements the camp workers could rummage up out of the wagons. The ground was covered in thick rugs dyed cerulean and silver. A pair of tapestries were draped between the central tentpole and the edges, providing both decoration and privacy. There were pinewood tables and chairs, alabaster flatware, wrought iron braziers, and enough silk to clothe a small army of handmaidens. Somewhere in all of that, Enfri knew a four poster bed was hiding.

Winds and storms, she's got a nicer tent than I do. They only gave me a folding cot.

If anyone in the legion had tried to set her up in finery like this, Enfri thought she'd have protested. For one, a couple weeks of living like this in Ecclesia had been more than enough for her. For two, she could already hear Ban grumbling about how long it would take to pack all of this away in the wagons each morning and set it back up in the evening.

Before she stepped all the way in, Enfri paused to retrieve a potion vial from the pocket sewn into her sleeve. She uncorked and drank it quickly before putting it back in its place.

A precaution, one she sorely hoped wouldn't be needed.

The investiture was a new formula, an idea she'd toyed with since she first met Rippling Moon and Light Hoof. Headmistress Ardra's notes on the oren had provided a few interesting theories on alchemy, and Enfri used what she learned from them to make this new spell.

Oren enhanced a royal assassin's blood with the Nadian toxin, strengthening their body and fortifying their ether. This spell was different. It suffused Enfri's skin with iron.

She locked the spell and went inside.

Jin followed a step behind. Deebee, Jalla, and the guards remained outside.

"Princess," Jin said. "Present yourself."

A heavy sigh came from behind the tapestries, then the sound of a chair sliding back from a table as someone stood. A moment later, one of the angels held the tapestry aside as Nkeoma came out. The angel was unarmed and unarmored. Their strange, spellwrought glass equipment had been the first things they'd had taken away from them.

As the first angel followed Nkeoma into the front of the tent, another four angels joined them. All together, four men and one woman to serve and protect their princess. Only a small number of the angels were being permitted to remain with Nkeoma to act as her servants. The rest had been sent away with the Melcian prisoners released into King Fen's custody.

Winds, Yora murmured. That's one tall fella.

Enfri was inclined to agree. Each of the angels were between seven and eight feet tall. All with impressive builds and perfectly formed muscles. And beautiful. Winds, but Enfri couldn't imagine beings more beautiful than the angels. Their skin was a deep burnt umber, yet it shimmered as if glazed with silver. Their faces had broad noses and full lips, piercing eyes that glowed with inner light, and bold jawlines. Each of them had their long, snow white hair dreadlocked in the manner of Melcian knights, with glittering gemstones woven throughout the length.

Beautiful beyond words. And terrifying. Even without their light-born wings out, it was impossible to mistake them for anything other than true warriors. Angels were born from spirits of devotion, and it was clear that every fiber of that devotion was dedicated to Princess Nkeoma Akazewi.

Standing in front of the angels, Nkeoma looked tiny in comparison, but it did nothing to diminish her. She remained as lovely as ever. A radiant northern princess. She wore her sturdy cotton dress as if it were the silk gown of a queen or the shining armor of a paladin. Her plump, voluptuous figure would leave any number of admirers falling to their knees in her wake.

"I nay thought to hear such rough words from you, little viper," Nkeoma said to Jin. She let out a disaffected sigh. "Nay to receive such poor treatment at your hands, either. I had always believed your house and mine to be close."

Jin frowned. "I am not the one you are to address, Princess."

"Quite so." Nkeoma's mouth twisted in contempt. "You have forsworn your nation, your house, and your father king to serve as glorified bodyguard to an abomination."

Jin took a step forward. The five angels went immediately on guard. With their size and strength, they'd surely be able to give Jin a fight even while unarmed.

Enfri put a hand on Jin's arm. "If I really were what you say I am, we wouldn't be having this conversation, Princess."

"Oh?"

Enfri narrowed her eyes. "The Dragon Emperors you fear, Shoen and others like him, would see you gagged and bundled into the back of a manure cart. Considering all the nonsense Melcia has put me through, count yourself lucky I'm more reasonable."

"You snake," Nkeoma hissed. "I will nay stand here and be..."

"Then sit down, Princess," Enfri commanded, pointing sharply at a nearby table and chairs. "Sit down and shut your mouth. I've heard nothing but bile from Akazewis, and there's not a single word you have to say that you and your father haven't already said. It's past time you listen to me."

Enfri forced herself to maintain eye contact with Nkeoma without blinking. It was even harder than she expected it to be. She felt her whole body wanting to shake. Somehow, she kept steady. At her side, Jin glanced her way in surprise.

Barking orders wasn't something Enfri thought she was known for. Other than to the occasional stubborn patient, she almost never raised her voice. But now she was angry. Angry at King Adeyemi for forcing her into the Battle of Moran Valley, at House Akazewi for stubbornly refusing to believe her when she said she only wished for peace, and now at Nkeoma for the sneak attack that cost the lives of nearly a hundred people, Aleesh and Melcians both.

Winds take her, one hundred people. Men and women who would never see their families again, all because of a war that should've ended centuries ago.

Nkeoma scowled at Enfri's tone. Then, unexpectedly, she did as she was told. One of the angels pulled out a chair from the table for her, and the princess sat down, prim and proper as if it was because she wanted to.

Enfri pulled out a chair for herself and sat down across from Nkeoma. Jin remained standing at her back.

"The Aleesh wishes to speak?" Nkeoma snarled. "Do so. There is nay else for me to do but listen to what lies pass your teeth."

"I didn't take you for a fool," Enfri said. "I've never once lied to your father, or to you. The dragons that attacked the Crescent Legion belonged to Elise Alinwe, or were your heads so far up your backsides that you failed to notice how my legion fought them in the air while we drove your forces out of Nadia?"

"Whatever trickery you..."

"I told you to shut up," Enfri snapped. "I am not done speaking."

Nkeoma bristled but held her tongue.

Easy, Sunny, Yora cautioned. I get you're peeved, but you're taking it a little far.

Enfri pressed her lips together and clenched her jaw. Peeved didn't begin to cover it. So many people are dead because of her, Papa. Most of them were her own people, but all she cares about is how the nicest tent in camp isn't good enough for her. She makes me sick.

You do not understand, my empress, Inwe said, joining the conference. Her demands are not born of selfishness. She does so to test you, to gauge your adherence to the law. By fulfilling what is required of you, by treating her with the respect due to her station, you are proving to her that you are an honorable opponent. Do not squander what you've earned thus far for the satisfaction of seeing her cowed.

Enfri dropped her gaze.

You are better than that, my empress.

It was difficult, almost more difficult than she could bear, but Enfri swallowed her anger. She let it out in a single, long breath.

"I must beg your forgiveness, Princess," Enfri said softly. She stared at her hands in her lap. "That was unworthy of me. I'm sorry."

"Nay," Nkeoma said graciously. "I well know the pain of command. I am nay more accustomed to it than you appear to be."

Enfri gave a small nod. "Whether you believe it or not, I do understand your position."

Nkeoma lidded her eyes as she listened.

"I've seen the slave pits of Shan Alee," Enfri continued. She lifted her chin to meet Nkeoma's eyes again. "What the Dragon Emperors did to your people is unforgivable."

Nkeoma raised her brow. "It is so."

The set of Enfri's jaw was firm. "As is what the Highest Kings have done to mine."

Anger grew like a storm cloud in Nkeoma's expression. She opened her mouth to argue.

"Slavery," Enfri said to interrupt her, "or genocide. I'm not a philosopher and won't try to debate which is worse. I've thought a long time on it, and I still can't decide. However, can we at least agree both are evil? Whether Aleesh, Althandi, Melcian, or whatever race of humanity you could name, all of us have ancestors who've done ugly things." Her hands clenched into fists. "All of us continue to do ugly things."

Nkeoma swallowed before responding. "Some might say the Aleesh deserve their fate."

"Some might say," Enfri agreed, "but the ones who deserved it died six hundred years ago. They were killed by their own emperor, and millions of people who didn't deserve it died with them."

"She speaks the truth, Nkeoma," Jin said. "I saw the evidence with my own eyes. Hundreds of collars broken by the abolitionists among the Aleesh. The uprising against Shoen might never have succeeded were it not for our allies within Shan Alee."

Nkeoma blinked, discomforted. "I heard your words to mine father in Ecclesia," she said. "You claimed the people we hunt are the descendants of those who fought for us."

"None who remained in Shan Alee survived Shoen's death curse," Jin said. "I ask you, any Aleesh not within the borders of their empire, who would they have been but exiles?"

Looking away, Nkeoma began breathing heavily, horror evident in her eyes.

"They may have been slavers," Enfri whispered. "Governors, soldiers, or imperialist settlers. The truth is, Princess, I can't vouch for the innocence of any Aleesh who survived the death curse. I know now that some of what made the old empire horrible has survived to this day in my aunt. If nothing else, the elder bloodline survived, and I know I descend from the worst murderer the world has ever seen. But that was never the issue. Not really. Was it?"

Nkeoma couldn't look at her anymore.

"Whether it was wrong or right to hunt the Aleesh never mattered so much as if it was... pragmatic. Your father never said it directly, but the more I think on the times we spoke, the more I'm certain King Adeyemi knows the extermination of my people is wrong."

Jin uncrossed her arms and looked down at her. It must have sounded like a baseless claim for Enfri to say what she thought Adeyemi believed, but after the things he'd said in Ecclesia and before the battle, and how Nkeoma was reacting now, she was more certain than ever.

"You tell yourselves we deserve it because of who our ancestors were, but justice wasn't the reason Queen Algara commanded the secret history become a secret. It wasn't vengeance that drove her and the kings sworn to her to hunt down and murder every Aleesh left alive. My mother of the heart once told me hate and fear are very similar things. You don't hate us. You're afraid. You're afraid we may be the tumor that will kill the world. You're afraid an Aleesh will return to the ruins of Shan Alee and find the secrets hidden there. Lost magics, theurallurgic artifices, or a weapon to rival the death curse. For six hundred years, you've been afraid Shan Alee could come back. Now we have, and you're so busy being afraid you don't even bother asking if what you're doing is right."

Now it was Nkeoma who wrung her hands in her lap.

"Only one thing is still in question," Enfri said. "Shan Alee has returned, but it remains to be seen if my new empire will be an enemy of the Five Kingdoms or a part of it. If you believe nothing else I say, Princess, believe this. I want the second option, and I will do whatever I can to make it happen. I want my people to be safe, and that's why I'm taking my legion to Melcia." Nkeoma's eyes snapped wide open. "Why?" she demanded. "How can you be so certain your aunt is in mine homeland?"

"Because she and I both want what's hiding there," Enfri said.

"Aleesh," Nkeoma breathed. "In Melcia?"

"Nearly all that remains of us," Enfri said. "It may be an enclave as large as the one destroyed in Ejasta. I may not get to them before Elise, but I will get to them before Cathis. Whatever is required of me to save them, I will do it. Whether they realize it or not, I'm their Dragon Empress, and I serve them above all else."

Nkeoma drew back in her chair. "Why have you come to tell me this? You wish to ransom me to mine father for your people?"

"If that's an option, I'll take it without hesitation. Somehow, I doubt it'll be that simple. So, instead, I'd like you to advise Jin, Ban, and I."

"Advise?" she asked, incredulous. "Why would I do such a thing?"

Enfri leaned forward in her chair and tried to make her tone as sincere as she could. "Let's not pretend. I've damaged Melcia's standing and that of House Akazewi. The great houses don't know the real reasons why two elder houses attacked a young one, seemingly unprovoked. Unless I miss my guess, they're already protesting what your father did."

The tightening at the corner of Nkeoma's mouth told Enfri she was correct on that point.

"The Crescent Legion was routed and driven out of Nadia. Now, an army of knights, goblins, ogres, orcs, and dragons is marching for your borders. Your goodfolk will start to panic, and when people panic, horrible things start to happen. I'd like your help in stopping as much of that as I can. There will be a lot of Melcian villages between us and the Aleesh, villages who no longer have the Crescent Legion to protect them. I want your cooperation, because that's the easiest way to keep your people safe."

Nkeoma was unsteady in her chair. It must have struck her only in that moment how precarious Melcia's position could become if things went on as they were.

Without warning, one of the angels lunged at Enfri. His hand seized her throat and began to squeeze. The fey was so strong that he might have snapped her neck before he strangled her, but it didn't last more than a moment.

The angel howled in agony as he recoiled. He held his hand which now smoked and hissed as if it'd been doused with acid. Enfri only had half a moment to congratulate herself on how well her iron-skin spell worked.

Jin drew her sword as the other angels surged forward. Enfri was on her feet and grabbed the nearest thing at hand, coming up with one of the alabaster plates off the table. Not the most intimidating of weapons, to say the least, but it was something.

Yora and Inwe were shouting to her, but Enfri couldn't spare them the attention. She drew ether through her bond with Deebee by reflex. That ether went immediately into the plate, breaking down and changing the imprint into something more useful. She reshaped the plate into a short blade, like the head of a spear, and transmuted the material into something harder.

Sharp. I need it to be sharp!

Apotheosis shook the tent. Nkeoma fell out of her chair and scrambled away on her backside. The angels staggered as the apotheosis crashed against them.

In her hands, Enfri held a white blade. She moved it the slightest amount, and tendrils of lightning crackled across its surface. It left a biting scent hanging in the air, like ozone.

The fight stopped in an instant before it could begin in full. Everyone was frozen with their eyes fixed on Enfri and her impossible weapon. Jin stared with a shocked look in her beast-like eyes, her mouth hanging open.

Enfri brandished the short knife in the direction of the nearest angel. Lightning trailed in the weapon's wake with every move it made. It hummed, a low noise that was more felt than heard. The angel took a slow step back, her glowing eyes never leaving the white blade.

Before anyone else could so much as blink, half a dozen dragons and their knights burst into the tent. Deebee frantically called Enfri's name.

Enfri coughed and rubbed at where an angel tried to throttle her. "I'm alright, love," she said.

Winds and storms, Yora murmured. If I still had a heart, it would've just stopped. You sure you're fine, Enfri?

Enfri assured him she wasn't hurt. As she did, Jin came cautiously up to her and put her fingers to Enfri's hand holding the sparking blade. Enfri met her eyes and was momentarily surprised to see fear reflected in them. It almost looked like Jin was afraid of her.

No, don't be ridiculous, Enfri told herself. She's worried for me, and I did sort of just do something odd. She looked down at the weapon she was holding. It was so incredibly sharp she could hardly focus on the cutting edge, unable to see just where the blade ended. And the discharges of tiny lightning bolts were simply bizarre. She'd thought astramancy was improbable for alchemists. What in the name of the king did she do?

Enfri placed the blade point down on the table and let go. She'd meant to leave it in the wood, but the blade sank effortlessly to the handle. It dropped into the table without so much as a sound until the handle thunked against the wood. Once it was immobile, the lightning stopped.

Winds, Enfri thought, startled. Well, I wanted it to be sharp. Might have overdid it.

From the way Deebee was eyeing the knife's handle, she must've been aching to get a closer look at Enfri's handiwork. Her academic curiosity swiftly gave way to outrage. "Say the word, love, and I'll have them in manacles."

Enfri shook her head. She looked from the angel cradling his injured hand to Nkeoma. The princess was still gaping at Enfri as if she'd sprouted antlers. Enfri sighed. "Princess Nkeoma didn't order her attendant to attack me. As for him, he must have interpreted something I said as a provocation. If anyone is at fault, it's me. Again, Princess, I must beg your forgiveness."

A visibly shaken Nkeoma was assisted to her feet by the woman angel. "Nay, Your Majesty. The fault lies elsewhere."

"Lady Taskmaster," Enfri said over her shoulder. A violet dragon stepped forward. "Please escort Nkeoma's attendant to the green ones. I'm sure they'll know how to treat an iron burn." She brought her attention back to Nkeoma. "If you require more time to consider, I can come back when..."

"Nay, Majesty," Nkeoma interrupted, a slight tremor evident in her voice. "I nay need to consider. Your point is made. Light take me, it is made. For mine people, I will see you conducted through Melcia as best as I am able."

The Taskmaster led the injured angel out of the tent, and Jin went to retrieve the white blade from where it was embedded in the table. The lightning began to crackle again as Jin moved it through the air, and her pupils contracted into narrow slits as she stared at it in her hands.

"Enfri," she whispered, "there is no spellcraft on this."

"How is that possible?" Deebee asked. "Something to do with astramancy, surely. I can see that much from here."

"Ethersight does not lie, Deebee," Jin said. "I see... nothing but the imprint of the blade itself. No ether. No affect upon the Weave. Whatever causes the lightning, it is not magic. My heart, what did you do?"

Enfri had no idea. She'd been desperate and acted on instinct. It might have been irrational, but she felt incredibly guilty for some reason. Everyone was looking her way as if they didn't know what to make of her.

Without another word, Enfri turned around and withdrew. The dragons and knights parted to allow her to pass. Jin and Deebee followed.

She couldn't just come out and say she was just as much in the dark as the rest of them. Not in front of Nkeoma. Whatever she'd done, it might have been what tipped the scales to get her to agree to help them find the Aleesh enclave. No, better to leave Nkeoma guessing at how powerful she really was.

Winds, that's something I might need to find out for sure, too.